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Dodgers Dugout: How sweet it is, the fruits of victory

1 November 2024

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Like I said all along, Dodgers in sev…. um, five.

They did it. What else is there to say? They did it. After one of the weirdest seasons in Dodgers history, where every pitcher seemed to get hurt. In a postseason where it looked like they had maybe one reliable starting pitcher. In a season where it looked like their young stud pitcher might never be a great pitcher again. In a season where their first baseman almost lost a son and had to leave the team, then battle the mental hurdles involved in seeing your son paralyzed, then severely sprained his ankle, then had an amazing World Series. In a season where they signed the best two-way player on the planet to a massive contract, only to see him caught up in a gambling scandal he had nothing to do with because of a low-life former friend and interpreter.

A season where their best pitcher of the last 50 years, seemed to be back, until he wasn’t. A season where their All-Star right fielder started the season at shortstop and did … OK, until his wrist was broken by a pitch, causing him to miss two months. A season where their closer lost his job. A season where they used 40 pitchers. A season where the catcher went into a horrendous slump. A season where …

I could go on, but when a great moment like this happens, I look for people to thank. Let’s do that instead.

—Thank you, Dave Roberts, for making almost all the right decisions this postseason. For putting up with the constant criticism on social media. The 20% of Dodgers fans who are constantly calling for you to be fired will have to get used to you, because you will be here for a long time now.

—Thank you, Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes, for making all the right moves at the trade deadline.

—Thank you, Walker Buehler, for reminding everyone that you are Walker “Freakin” Buehler and finding your stuff just when the Dodgers needed it.

—Thank you, Mookie Betts, for playing the game with joy, for being a Gold Glove right fielder and for not pouting when the media started paying all its attention to Shohei Ohtani.

—Thank you, Will Smith, for not carrying your slump on offense behind the plate and instead calling masterful games and stopping everything in the dirt.

—Thank you, Freddie Freeman, for playing baseball on one leg, for getting to the stadium six hours ahead of everyone else so your ankle would be ready, and for erasing cheating Astro George Springer’s name from the record book. The baseball gods reward those who play the game the right way.

—Thank you, Shohei Ohtani, for playing the final three games after your arm had been ripped from its socket. Also, thanks for deferring almost all of you salary so the Dodgers could sign guys such as Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández. Also for that Game 1 homer against the Padres, that set the tone for the postseason.

—Thank you, Gavin Lux, for not whining when the Dodgers pretty much said you weren’t good enough to play short and moved you to second near the end of spring training. And for being the Dodgers’ best hitter, batting average wise, after the All-Star break.

—Thank you, Clayton Kershaw, and all the other injured Dodgers who stayed with the team during the postseason to cheer them on. This victory is as much yours as theirs.

—Thank you, Teoscar Hernández, for bringing a certain grit and joie de vivre that the team had been missing the last couple of seasons. Let’s hope for a reunion next season.

—Thank you, Kiké Hernández, for bringing your postseason swagger to L.A.

—Thank you, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, for stepping up in the postseason after an injury-filled season. Let’s hope for a full season of your magic in 2025.

—Thank you, Blake Treinen, for emptying the tank and leaving everything you had out on the mound.

—Thank you, Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda, both left-handers, for being the only two relievers to not give up a run in the World Series.

—Thank you, Ben Casparius, Brent Honeywell Jr. and Landon Knack, for eating up innings and occasionally taking punishment to protect the other arms in the pen. They call you low-leverage guys, but the Dodgers don’t win without you.

—Thank you, Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol, Daniel Hudson and Michael Kopech, for being willing to pitch in whatever inning you were needed, even if it didn’t lead you to a save and probably more money. If you were needed to start for an inning, you were there. Needed in the third, you were there. Needed a shutdown seventh, you were there.

—Thank you, Jack Flaherty, for Game 1, which set the stage for the rest of the series and for holding the rotation together down the stretch during the season.

—Thank you, Tommy Edman, for that NLCS MVP, and for doing all the little things that all ballplayers did once upon a time.

—Thank you, Max Muncy, for an outstanding NLCS. Sure, you slumped at the plate in the World Series, but you made several nice defensive plays. The people who say you are overrated are crazy.

—Thank you, Miguel Rojas, for stepping into shortstop again when Betts got hurt. You hit better than ever and played at a Gold Glove level, helping the Dodgers stay afloat during tough times. Thank you for spending hours with Betts at short to help him improve. We hope to see you on the coaching staff one day.

—Thank you, Chris Taylor, for quietly accepting a secondary role. It was a tough season, but you kept battling and people seem to forget you hit .303 after the All Star break.

—Thank you, Austin Barnes, for backing up Will Smith despite broken toes. And thanks for years of solid play.

—Thank you, Dodger defense, for being so outstanding during the postseason. And thank you to the offense for taking advantage of all the Yankee errors.

—Thank you, Evan Phillips, for being the closer most of the season and pitching great in the postseason before hurting your arm.

—Thank you, Joe Kelly, just for being Joe Kelly.

—Thank you James Paxton and Ryan Yarbrough, for pitching effectively and eating up valuable innings before the Dodgers traded you.

—Thank you to all the Dodgers who played this season, whether you pitched only one inning, such as Connor Brogdon, or had only six at-bats, like Taylor Trammell. You all will get a ring.

—Thank you, Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and all the other members of the 2020 Dodgers who are no longer on the team. You may not be there physically for the parade Friday, but Dodgers fans will make sure you are there in spirit.

—Thank you, Yankees fans, for being so classless as to almost breaking Mookie Betts’ wrist, or chanting profane things at Freddie Freeman during a Stand Up to Cancer segment. Because of it, no one felt bad for you that your team lost.

—Thank you, Yankees, for a great World Series. You are a great team.

—Thank you, Yogi Berra, for always reminding us that “Nobody likes Manny Machado.”

—Thank you, newsletter readers. This has been the most interesting season of the 10 I have done. I squabbled with a few of you via email who told me this team was finished and had no chance to win this year. I thanked many of you for your kind words. I tell everyone here that I have the best newsletter readers in the country, and I stand by that. When I was a little kid waiting for my bus for elementary school (Hawthorne Christian School in Harbor City), I would sit on my front porch and read the L.A. Times sports section to get Dodgers news. I didn’t always understand everything I read, but I knew that I wanted to write about the Dodgers for the L.A. Times one day. And here I am, doing it. And it’s because you all have responded so well to it that I keep doing it. The newspaper business is in perilous times right now, so I’m glad to have 10 seasons under my belt. Here’s to 10 more.

Parade!

The Dodgers’ parade route.

(Los Angeles Dodgers)

The parade will be Friday (today), which is also Fernando Valenzuela’s birthday. The parade is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on Spring Street in front of City Hall. The parade run from 1st St. to Grand Ave. to 5th St., ending at the intersection of 5th and Flower. The Dodgers will ride atop double-decker buses. According to the Dodgers, fans wishing to attend the parade are emphatically encouraged to take public transportation because of significant street closures and limited public parking.

After the parade, the Dodgers will gather at Dodger Stadium for an event that begins at 12:15 p.m. Parking gates will open at 8:30 a.m. and stadium entry gates will open at 9 a.m. Ticket information is here. In-stadium entertainment, including coverage of the parade on DodgerVision scoreboards, will precede the arrival of the team. Hopefully Fat Joe won’t be part of the entertainment.

Television coverage of all of Friday’s events will begin at 9:30 a.m. on SportsNet LA and local channels CBS 2, NBC 4, KTLA 5, ABC 7, KCAL 9 and Fox 11. Radio coverage will air on AM 570.

The 2024 Dodgers

Here they are. They all get a ring. I’m guessing I won’t get one for writing this newsletter.

Nick Ahmed
Anthony Banda
Austin Barnes
Mookie Betts
Cavan Biggio
Ryan Brasier
Connor Brogdon
Walker Buehler
Ben Casparius
Nabil Crismatt
Tommy Edman
Hunter Feduccia
J.P. Feyereisen
Jack Flaherty
Freddie Freeman
Tyler Glasnow
Brusdar Graterol
Michael Grove
Edgardo Henriquez
Elieser Hernández
Kiké Hernández
Teoscar Hernández
Jason Heyward
Brent Honeywell Jr.
Daniel Hudson
Kyle Hurt
Joe Kelly
Clayton Kershaw
Kevin Kiermaier
Landon Knack
Michael Kopech
Dinelson Lamet
Zach Logue
Gavin Lux
Bobby Miller
Max Muncy
Shohei Ohtani
James Outman
Andy Pages
James Paxton
Michael Peterseon
Evan Phillips
Nick Ramirez
Yohan Ramirez
Miguel Rojas
Amed Rosario
River Ryan
Eduardo Salazar
Will Smith
Gavin Stone
Chris Taylor
Taylor Trammell
Blake Treinen
Ricky Vanasco
Miguel Vargas
Gus Varland
Alex Vesia
Justin Wrobleski
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Ryan Yarbrough

Some odds and ends

Most home runs by a Dodger in one World Series

4
Freddie Freeman, 2024
Duke Snider, 1952
Duke Snider, 1955

3
Reggie Smith, 1977
Davey Lopes, 1978
Joc Pederson, 2017

Most RBIs by a Dodger in one World Series

12
Freddie Freeman, 2024

8
Duke Snider, 1952
Gil Hodges, 1956

7
Duke Snider, 1955
Davey Lopes, 1978
Pedro Guerrero, 1981

6
Billy Cox, 1953
Charlie Neal, 1959
Ron Fairly, 1965
Ron Cey, 1981
Max Muncy, 2020

Most home runs in one World Series

5
Reggie Jackson, 1977
Chase Utley, 2009
George Springer*, 2017

4
Babe Ruth, 1926
Lou Gehrig, 1928
Duke Snider, 1952
Duke Snider, 1955
Hank Bauer, 1958
Gene Tenace, 1972
Willie Mays Aikens, 1980
Lenny Dykstra, 1993
Barry Bonds, 2002
Freddie Freeman, 2024

*-Springer knew what pitches were coming.

Most RBIs in one World Series

12
Bobby Richardson, 1960
Freddie Freeman, 2024

11
Mickey Mantle, 1960

10
Yogi Berra, 1956
Ted Kluszewski, 1959
Sandy Alomar Jr., 1997
Mike Napoli, 2011

Bill Ladson of MLB.com talked to Richardson after Freeman tied his record, and Richardson, now 89, said, “Records are made to be broken, and I knew one of these days it would happen. No. 1, you have to have a lot of men on base. Freeman started everything with a grand slam. That’s a pretty good start. He has been fantastic. I first saw him with the Braves and I hated to see him leave Atlanta, but he is an all-around consistent ballplayer. He is the kind of guy you don’t mind saying, ‘Boy, he is a good one.’ The record was made to be broken, and he is the one to do it.”

Lowest career World Series ERA by a Dodger
(minimum 18 innings)

Walker Buehler, 0.47 (19 IP)
Claude Osteen, 0.86 (21)
Sherry Smith, 0.89 (30.1)
Orel Hershiser, 1.00 (18)
Clem Labine, 1.65 (27.1)

—Freeman was voted unanimously as the World Series MVP. He went six for 20 with a triple, four homers, 12 RBIs, two walks and struck out only once.

—The Dodgers won despite Muncy going 0 for 16 with four walks and 10 strikeouts, Ohtani going two for 19 , Lux going one for 10 and Smith going two for 18.

—Edman scored six runs, most on the team.

—Every Dodger appeared in at least one game except for Barnes.

—Teoscar Hernández talked with ESPN about his impending free agency: “The Dodgers will be my priority in free agency. I will do whatever is possible to return. It’s not in my hands, but if it were I’d pick them.”

—From this New York Post story on the Yankees: “The Yankee response annually seems to be to chase more homers and more swing-and-miss stuff — which is valuable, of course. But when a foe like the Dodgers has that too, what is going to be the separator? If you were scoring at home, the Yankees hit three balls off the wall in the 120th World Series. As part of his 90-feet saving, series-long defensive tour de force, Betts held two to singles — one at each stadium.”

—The Dodgers played virtually flawless defense during the World Series. They did all the fundamental things you need to do to win championships.

—The Yankees actually hit better than the Dodgers, going .212/.332/.412 to the Dodgers’ .206/.296/.406. The Dodgers outscored the Yankees 25-24.

—The Yankees had a lower team ERA (3.83 to 4.80) because all runs the Dodgers scored in the fifth inning Wednesday were unearned. The Yankees made five errors in the series, leading to six unearned runs. The Dodgers made two, and neither one led to an unearned run.

—You can view all the World Series stats here.

Your memories of Fernando

From Michael Roth of Los Angeles: I was aware of Fernando when he pitched in relief in 1980 and had the feeling he was potentially a great talent. I was at Opening Day in ’81 when he shut out the Astros (we hated them then too but for different reasons). I was blown away by it, it was incredible. I then made it a point to go to as many games that he started as possible. I was so struck by his baseball intelligence, such as the time he fielded a comebacker and a baserunner was caught between second and third. Without a second’s hesitation, Fernando just ran straight at the baserunner, who froze and then at the last second tried to reverse himself back to second. Fernando tagged him himself without making a single throw.

I got to meet him when he returned to L.A. after his holdout before the ’82 season and I was so impressed by his warmth and humility. I’ll never forget the feeling in the stands whenever he pitched, the excitement, the pride the Latino fans felt, and just the great excitement of rooting for this special talent and amazing human being.

From Blair Thurman: I’m a lifelong Dodgers fan, so of course I was enraptured with Fernando. But my best friend is a die-hard Reds fan, and hates the Dodgers. But he loved Fernando. Everyone loved Fernando.
————

Please share your memories of Fernando, to be published in upcoming newsletters. Put Fernando memories in the subject line of your email and send to me at fernandomemories@yahoo.com.

World Series results

Game 1: at Dodgers 6, New York 3 (10). WP-Blake Treinen. LP-Jake Cousins. (box score)
Game 2: at Dodgers 4, New York 2. WP-Yoshinobu Yamamoto. LP-Carlos Rodón. Save-Alex Vesia. (box score)
Game 3: Dodgers 4, at New York 2. WP-Walker Buehler. LP-Clarke Schmidt. (box score)
Game 4: at New York 11, Dodgers 4. WP-Clay Holmes. LP-Daniel Hudson. (box score)
Game 5: Dodgers 7, at New York 6. WP-Blake Treinen. LP-Tommy Kahnle. Save-Walker Buehler. (box score)