Dodgers stay the course while the Yankees collapse around them
What we’ve seen here during the 2024 World Series has been downright phenomenal. We saw Tthe highest of highs and the lowest of lows, usually by the same team and often in the same inning.
Many questions have arisen for the Yankees on the back end of this loss just as many questions have been resolved for the Dodgers. The first of which is dismissing their 2020 championship win.
I’ll be honest, I am one of those who has often been very critical of that victory. And while my reasons for being so haven’t changed, one gigantic stone in my argument – namely the fact that the Dodgers always collapse in October after a long, full season – has now been removed from the wall I built and reinforced my argument. The Dodgers have not only survived October, but have been resilient throughout.
An assumption underlying this concept I guess that’s how the Dodgers have always been a very talented team. often the most talented team across the entire MLB. Marchhey came across softly. When the going got tough, they just fell apart. The difference this year was their willingness to stand and fight.
There’s a lot to watch in New York this season. Although they were completely outclassed and outplayed in the first three games, they made a powerful statement in Game 4 and showed what they are capable of. And tonight they were well on their way to proving that they are still the powerhouse of all time in Major League baseball.
And then in the most stunning baseball inning you will ever see in your life, they fell apart. A dropped flyball by Aaron Judge, a ball put into the ground by Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole somehow forgot that he had to cover first base, catchers interfere a few innings later and suddenly a 5-0 lead becomes a 7-6 loss.
No of the runs scored by Los Angeles in the fifth inning were earned. Gerrit Cole went from working and not hitting to allowing five unearned runs in the blink of an eye.
Game 5 indeed was a microcosm of the entire 2024 season for both teams.
New York has been extremely talented, making the fundamentals of the game terribly unstable. Their astonishing strength took them to the World Series, but their mistakes were too great to overcome.
For Los Angeles, this season has been one of dogged determination. They put the ball in play, drew walks when necessary, leaned heavily on their bullpen and grounded out wins. Sometimes ugly, but it still wins.
In Game 5 we saw all of this take place.
It might have been poetic that Los Angeles Dodgers great superstar Shohei Ohtani was virtually silent in the World Series. Without him they would never have gotten as far as they have. But their play in the situation proved they didn’t need him to win the championship. While Ohtani actually did nothing, they still managed to suppress the big Bronx bombers.
And while there were flashes of brilliance from many different players on both teams, the real standout star was Freddie Freeman. He was named World Series MVP because of course he was. After all, who else could it be?
Vrijman hit a home run in the first four games, including a walk in extra innings of Game 1, bringing his total to six home runs in six consecutive World Series games, going back to his days with the Atlanta Braves, an MLB record.
Freeman didn’t hit a home run in Game 5, but he did drive in two of the seven scored. And no one could have deserved that MVP recognition more than Freeman.
As for the Yankees, they’ll really have to take a hard look in the mirror this winter. But for the Los Angeles Dodgers, all minds are put to rest. Even from people like me who underestimated what was going on.
And while I’m still critical of how much Dave Roberts will utilize his bullpen and rely on short outings. I have to tip my hat to him and everyone else in Los Angeles. It was a hard-fought and deserved victory. So go ahead and celebrate. You deserve it.
And I promise to stop criticizing 2020.