“I don’t believe what I just saw!” That was the iconic call made by baseball announcer Jack Buck after the famous home run by Kirk Gibson in 1988 – the last time the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series.
It’s been a long 32 years for Dodgers fans and the city of Los Angeles, but the wait is over as the Dodgers have once again won the elusive commissioner’s trophy.
The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, who have had a magical season themselves: Randy Arozarena had the greatest postseason performance in history, with a .368 batting average despite only being a rookie with a combined 42 games in his Major League Baseball (MLB) career.
Los Angeles’ Corey Seager was named the World Series MVP after batting .400 in the World Series with a 1.256 on-base plus slugging sum. Seager is the eighth player in history and the first player since 2014 to win both NLCS MVP and World Series MVP in the same season.
Game Six of the World Series started off with Arozarena smacking a home run to right field off pitcher Tony Gonsolin in the first inning, notching his 10th home run in the postseason. The Dodgers remained silent until the sixth inning when Rays manager Kevin Cash made the decision that ended up being the biggest talking point of the game. Cash pulled pitcher Blake Snell after he had thrown 73 pitches and allowed two hits, no runs and nine strikeouts, silencing the Dodgers offense. Snell had been having great success against the top of the Dodgers lineup, with Mookie Betts, Seager and Justin Turner being a combined 0-6 with six strikes in the game. However, he had allowed Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes a base in the sixth inning, which eventually led to Cash pulling Snell out of the game. Cash put in Nick Anderson, who would give up a double to Betts, a wild pitch that tied the game and a groundout to first which gave the 2-1 lead to the Dodgers. Betts sealed the game with a home run off Pete Fairbanks in the eighth inning, putting the Dodgers up 3-1.
The Dodgers were too much to handle with great pitching from closer Julio Urías, who rose to the occasion, becoming the first Mexican-born pitcher to ever close out a World Series by striking out Willy Adames.
The longest-tenured Dodger on the 2020 roster, Clayton Kershaw, finally got the elusive World Series ring he has been chasing for years. Kershaw hasn’t had the best history in the playoffs, with a 13-12 record and 4.19 ERA, but he revitalized himself in this World Series with a 2.31 ERA.
After the game, it was announced that Turner had tested positive for COVID-19 and was taken out of the game in the eighth inning. During the Dodgers’ postgame celebration, Turner came out to take pictures with the team and interacted with several players. This created much controversy within the baseball world, as many were concerned about Turner coming out onto the field. Both the Dodgers and the Rays self-quarantined after Turner tested positive.
It seems fitting that one of the most bizarre and unusual MLB seasons in history ended with more questions coming to light even after the final out. Heading into the offseason, commissioner Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball still have yet to decide if the 2021 baseball season will begin on its usual opening day.
Photo Courtesy of Wally Skalij
