LA is finally on top of the baseball world
The Dodgers are the 2020 World Series Champions. LA took game six from the Rays 3-1 to secure their first championship in 32 years.
After winning eight straight division titles, routinely having the best record in the regular season and losing the world series twice in the last three seasons, the Dodgers finally got over the hump.
Randy ‘hotter than the freaking sun’ Arozarena went deep in just the second at-bat of the game to put the Rays up 1-0, but that’s all the offensive output Tampa Bay would get.
The most talked about and conservational decision of the game, series and recent playoff memory came at the top of the sixth inning. With one out and clinging to a 1-0 lead, Rays starter Blake Snell gave up just his second hit of the game to Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes. Following the single, with Snell sitting at 73 pitches and nine strikeouts while looking thoroughly dominate up to that point, Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled his starter.
Six pitches later, the Dodgers were up 2-1. A Mookie Betts homer in the eighth made it 3-1, but by the looks of the Rays, the game was already decided by that point.
Cash spoke after the game on his decision to pull Snell saying, “The only motive was that the lineup the Dodgers feature is potent as any team in the league. Personally, I felt Blake had done his job and then some…I felt it was best after the guy got on base, Barnes hit the single, didn’t want Mookie or (Corey) Seager seeing Blake a third time.
Cash was roasted like a marshmallow on social media for his decision. Whether it was the analytics that Tampa Bay champions or someone in the front office pulling strings behind the scenes, the decision to pull Snell proved to be the Rays downfall in game six.
Seager, the Dodgers shortstop, was named MVP of the series. Seager finished the series batting .400 with a pair of homers and five RBI’s while being flawless on defense. Seager becomes just the eighth player in MLB history to take home Championship Series and World Series MVP honors.
Clayton Kershaw, who won two games in the fall classic, said, “It’s a really special group of guys and we won a World Series, can’t believe it, it feels good to say.”
Much has been said about Kershaw and his failures in the postseason, but the ‘best pitcher of his generation’ has finally cemented his legacy as one of the best left-handers to ever pick up a baseball.
“This is our year,” Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers had stormed back to win the NLCS after being down 3-1 to the Braves.
“This is our year. We said it,” Roberts exclaimed again on Tuesday night after his team became a champion.
After a pause, Roberts said once more, “This is our year.”
Indeed it is.