The Dodgers Top Three Moments of the 2017 Season

“Absolute Madness”

Many can look back at the 2017 Dodgers and say this was the beginning of a very special season. The Dodgers were hovering around .500 for the first month of the season and they looked very far away from any kind of magic. They fell behind 5-2 in the ninth to the Philadelphia Phillies and sent up Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and a pinch hitter.

It was improbable, but after Puig and the rookie Cody Bellinger unexpectedly hit back-to-back shots to make it a one-run game, the heads in the parking lot turned around and the “last channel” button was pushed. Down one and Justin Turner at the plate, flashbacks of the back-to-back-to-back-to-back game flicked on in Dodger fans memories.

Then, absolute madness. Turner tied the game with a shot into the left-field pavilion and the Dodgers won the game on an Adrian Gonzalez single. This game slingshot a team dragging its feet along to a team that would never be out of games for the rest of the season. Hitting three home runs in a row to tie the game was as crazy as a comeback a team can pull off. Everything after would be childsplay. Down four with three outs to go? No problem and Dodger fans knew that. By midsummer, no Dodger fan left early from a Dodger game no matter how bad it got.

Dodgers tie MLB Record 43rd win in 50 games

No one since 1912 won 43 in a 50 game stretch until the 2017 Dodgers did. But Dodger fans were here before when they won 42 of 50 in 2013. This run was special for the moments that took place during the stretch. In June, the Dodgers set the franchise record for home runs in a single month. There was also a span of six or so games when all of the Dodger runs came via home run, one of those games was Corey Seager’s three-home-run game.

The run of the summer also propelled the Dodgers so far out in front of the N.L. West, not even the resurgent Diamondbacks or Rockies could catch up when the Dodgers had their worst stretch in late August through September.

This run saw the Dodgers come back from the dead against the Reds twice in the same series, the latter coming back from a 7-3 deficit in the eighth. It also saw Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez tag elite reliever, Andrew Miller, for home runs to complete a comeback against the Indians. Comebacks against the division rivals including a 4-1 deficit comeback against the Diamondbacks, a wild comeback off wild pitches against the Rockies, and Kyle Farmer’s first hit as a walk-off against the arch-enemy Giants. Yasiel Puig showed the league the Dodgers were still hot after the All-Star Break with a go-ahead three-run shot in the ninth in Miami. And Cody Bellinger hit for the cycle the next day.

The 43rd win itself also had magic in it. The Dodgers fell behind 3-0 and were blanked until the sixth inning. Then five Dodgers went yard including Cody Bellinger who hit his 31st as a rookie.

The Dodgers Win the Pennant

29 years that National League Pennant eluded the Dodgers. They’d fallen short in consecutive years to the same team in 2008 and 9 and lost in 2013 and 2016 as well. But in 2017, they finally claimed the title of best in the N.L. in a dramatic fashion as well.

This is kind of cheating, but the Dodgers winning the pennant also includes two different individual moments. The first came in Game 2 of the NLCS, on the 29th anniversary of Kirk Gibson’s home run. In the bottom of the ninth, who else but Justin Turner took the final swing in the spotlight again in 2017. A blast into the Chavez Ravine night shifted the momentum fully in the Dodgers favor to win the series.

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The second moment came on the night the Dodgers clinched the series. Kike Hernandez, who’s glove, athleticism, and central role in the Dodgers clubhouse had been overshadowed by his inability to hit, finally came through. Not once, not twice, but three times he left the yard against a Jose Quintana who squared off against Clayton Kershaw in Game 1. If the Dodgers hadn’t had so many big memorable team moments this year, these two would definitely be in consideration with their individual moments.

Winning the pennant also meant the Dodgers would host their first World Series in 29 years, and Chris Taylor took advantage of that with a deep shot off Dallas Keuchel’s first pitch in Game 1. Results aside, bringing the World Series to Los Angeles brought the city together and the Dodgers fanbase something that was missing for so long. It was also the “never die” attitude this team carried throughout the season that revived the winning culture, and strength of the Dodgers fanbase, with Pantone 294 at the core.

Honorable mention: Chris Taylor’s grand slam completes comeback against Milwaukee Brewers down 8-5.

2018

This year has a lot to offer. The Dodgers are coming with vengeance and they have the tools to do so. 2017 admittingly caught a lot of people by surprise, with the unexpected success of Bellinger, Taylor, and Austin Barnes, and decline of Adrian Gonzalez and Yasmani Grandal. But entering 2018, Dave Roberts and the front office have a clearer picture of who they have and what they want to do.

Now, the Dodgers also have a roster in which every spot is occupied by production. Not to insult anyone but Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, and Andre Ethier were expensive roster spots that played very minimally. But with the salary dump trade, the Dodgers can fill those spots with the youth talent they have.

2018 also has an intriguing off-season which the dump trade set the Dodgers up for. So expect 2018 to be filled with cash and gold.

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