During the Dodgers first 65 years in the National League, they won the pennant ten times. They lost nine times in the WS, six to the Yankees. Their only WS victories were The Boys of Summer in 1955 who finally beat those villainous Yankees. Yankee Don Larsen returned the title perfectly in 1956. NY City Planner Robert Moses had allowed the house that Ruth built for the Yankees to rise along the Hudson. Walter O’Malley and the Dodgers were afforded no such consideration by Mr. Moses. First term LA city councilwoman Roz Wyman heard of O’Malley’s and Moses' mutual disdain. Their stern stalemate was documented in the press. She reached out with a deal that forever changed the trajectory of the Dodgers. O’Malley dragged Horace Stoneham and the NY Giants with their wagon train west. The Willie Mays led Giants won the 1954 WS. NY lost both championship franchises because of Robert Moses' singular clout. In 1962, he allowed the Mets to build on the land O’Malley had originally desired. The move paid immediate dividends for the Los Angeles Dodgers with three WS titles in their first decade in the City of Angels. The City was eternally invested, and Yard youth was infected. The Giants had to wait fifty years for their titles but with better stadium concessions.
Tony at the Yard was launched in October of 2007. Dr. Jerry was still running the Lakers with his crazy kids. They were on the cusp of their second repeat and fifth title of the decade. Pete Carroll was pursuing championships at USC with his latest Orange County stud QB Mark Sanchez. The Karl Dorrell experience was limping towards its delusion. Ben Howland was about to lead the Bruins to three consecutive Final Four trips sans titles. The Rams were still in St. Louis dancing with Georgia Frontières’s minions. The Rockies swept to the World Series only to be swept by a historic Red Sox team. Grady Little had just resigned as Dodger manager after guiding the team to 4th place in the NL West. The steroid era was being exposed. It was fertile ground for this cub writer.
The Yard has never cloistered our rabid Dodger demons. In 2007, the Dodgers were not our lead story. The Lakers were always relevant with Kobe on the floor. The Dodgers were a boring mix of young Matt Kemp, ordinary Russell Martin and Brad Penniless. This was the Dodger period of extreme averageness. Tommy Lasorda managed the team to finally beat the Yankees again in 1981. Tommy conjured up the improbable impossible 1988 championship over the mighty A’s. It would be almost 30 years before the Dodgers would return to the WS. Our Dodger fanaticism was skewered with trey Giant WS titles during the bitter interlude. We were tortured by the 2017 trashcan Astro ball. Clayton continued his regular season mastery followed by postseason misery. Red Sox Mookie and company crushed the Dodgers 4-1 in 2018. Our affliction was suppressed with the 2020 COVID title in the Texas bubble but not exorcised.
In 2024, the Dodgers were vindicated with a second title in real time. This time we got the parade with the tee shirts! The Yard boldly predicted that last year’s championship was the end of the beginning. Andrew Friedman had moved the pieces into place and Dave Roberts maneuvered them with precision. Padre Manny and the steroid kid pressed the Azul to the edge of the barranca. The Mustard and Brown clenched while the Dodgers clinched for two straight years. The Padres were the anointed before they were the quieted. This year they were just quiet. The Yankees' misfortunes are best told by others.
There is a lot to unpack with these 2025 playoffs. The Dodger stumbled through the season. The vaunted starting pitching would have but 33 victories. Kershaw and Yoshi had 23 of those wins. Max Muncy would only play in 100 games. Mookie Betts would have his worst season since joining LA. The bullpen was the strength in 2024 but a liability in 2025. The pen’s ERA in September was 4.90 and 6.16 in the postseason. Relievers had 43 saves with 27 blown saves. They were ranked in the lower half of MLB all season. The expectations for the WS were aflutter. Toronto had a better record in the more competitive AL East with comparable well-paid talent.
In the main event, the Blue Jays matched the Dodger pitching; they had more hits and runs than the Dodgers. The Dodgers had three more homeruns. It was those last three home runs that mattered most. To snatch victory from a Toronto franchise that had never lost a WS, in Toronto before 50,000 pissed off Canadians was Yard shattering. They don’t like Trump, Ohtani or the Dodgers. After surviving the protracted 18 inning death march, the DTSS Dodger Traumatic Stress Syndrome reached DEFCON 2. Every game was a sofa grind of anxiety snacking malaise.
The Dodgers have played in consecutive WS three times all versus their New York nemesis. The PinStripes won two and split with Jackie Robinson’s teams. For a team to repeat as MLB champions is Big Red Machine stuff. The Dodgers are the only team in the last 25 years that has a chance to Three-Peat TM Pat Riley.
Game three was a cross section of the entire series. It was essentially a doubleheader. The first game was a slugfest ending in a 5-5 tie. The second game was a pitching battle ending with another Freddie WS walk off 1-0. Ohtani getting on base 9 straight times is timeless. He would walk five times, four of them intentional. Seven players were thrown out on the bases. There were manager challenges at every base. There were over 200 baseballs used. 25-year-old Will Klein came in to pitch the 15th inning. He was the last available pitcher in the bullpen. Will joined the Dodgers in July and was just added to the World Series roster. The most innings in any game that Klien had pitched was 1.3 all season. He needed to go four on this night and he did with 5 K’s and a WS W. Not a lot of major league pitchers have one of those WSW’s. He will be forever remembered in Dodger lore.
The 2025 team is largely intact for 2026. Ohtani will pitch more. Mookie will probably hit better and might win a Gold Glove at shortstop. Freddie and his special sauce will be penciled in at first most nights. Yoshi’s greatness has been revealed which questions the loser Josh Reddick’s intelligence. Snell and Glasnow will start and win more games. The bullpen will get figured out. There are lots of salaries going away with Kershaw retiring and Conforto getting kicked to the curb. Tanner Scott is a glaring liability. The Giants are rebuilding. They are .500 since their last title in 2014. They are going to give it the old college try in 2026. The Padres have a clubhouse that scowls off managers. The Diamondbacks can’t decide if they are in or out but mostly out. The Rockies are an embarrassment to the MLB. The team that led to the gentrification of downtown Denver lost 119 games and finished 50 games out. When we launched Tony at the Yard, the Rockies were in the World Series and Mark Sanchez was a first round pick. Hope Pete gets the Raiders back to being competitive. How far have we come, Toto?
Our prayers to Alex and Kayla Vesia’s for their tragic loss of their newborn daughter Sterling Sol. Class act with Blue Jays bullpen staff stitching Vesia’s number in their hats to show support for one of their brethren in arms.
Interesting facts: Shohei Ohtani set a record with the four intentional walks in Game 3. Three of the walks were with the bases loaded. Ohtani has intentionally walked 88 times in his career. In his MLB career, he has never issued one as a pitcher. Congratulations on your 4th MVP in five years.
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