The 2017 Dodgers are arguably the best Dodger team since the last Dodger team that won the World Series in 1988. Stacking up pitching versus hitting, which team is better?
It might seem like the 1988 team is superior since they won the World Series but that may not necessarily be the case. The Mets were the best team in the National League and were the favorite to win the championship in 1988. This year, the Dodgers are on pace to have the best record in the entire league, let alone the National League and are the clear favorites to win the championship.
While the current team has an assortment of young stars with the best starting pitcher of the generation, the 1988 team had several solid pitchers of their own including the “bulldog” Orel Hershiser. The ’88 squad also featured several tested veterans like Mike Scioscia, Kirk Gibson and Steve Sax.
This year’s Dodgers team has a few veterans like Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez, but it’s a young team, for the most part, sprinkled in with savvy veterans like Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe. While it may be difficult to consider this Dodger team as better than the team that won the last championship for LA, it’s worth having a discussion.