Los Angeles Dodgers: Top 5 moments of the 2020 season

5. Dodgers trade for Mookie Betts

For years, Dodgers fans have been waiting for the missing pieces to their potential dynasty, courting a non-homegrown star or two to make all the difference. They got a super-duperstar this spring when Mookie Betts arrived in Los Angeles, along with lefty ace David Price.

Both players were part of the Red Sox team that defeated the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series. By adding Betts to their lineup, the Dodgers could boast two MVPs roaming their outfield. Though Price opted out because of the COVID-19 virus, in a shortened 60-game season Betts performed like an MVP, leading the NL in WAR (3.4) and pushing the Dodgers to the best record in baseball.

Betts continued to display his worth in the playoffs serving as a catalyst for the offense and displaying Gold Glove-caliber defense. Before the season, the Dodgers were among the good teams; after the Betts trade, they went to the pinnacle of baseball.

Betts was, of course, extended midway through the summer. As he should’ve been.

4. Dodgers Put the Division Away

On September 15th, the Dodgers’ once six-game lead in the NL West had been reduced to just 1.5 games in front of the upstart San Diego Padres. The night before, the Dodgers had lost 7-2 to the Pads when Clayton Kershaw faltered in a 1-1 game in the seventh inning, his inherited runners were let in by the bullpen, and all of a sudden, Dodgers fan angst was elevated.

The resilient Dodgers responded by pulling away from the Padres, going 9-2 over the remaining part of the season to once again gain a six-game lead. Adding the first two postseason series, which included a three-game sweep of the same Padres in the NLDS, the Dodgers went 14-2 after that loss to the Padres.

The Dodgers captured their eighth straight division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. It took that loss to incite it, but the Dodgers remembered who they were and took care of business.

3. Will Smith vs. Will Smith

In the 117 years of modern playoff baseball, there had never been a pitcher vs. batter matchup where the players had the same name. Until Game 5 of the 2020 NLCS in the top of the sixth inning, that is!

This wasn’t just a matchup for future trivia games — it was actually the turning point of the Dodgers’ playoff hopes! Dodgers catcher Will Smith came up to bat with two men on, trailing the Atlanta Braves and their relief pitcher Will Smith on the mound.

With two outs and a 1-2 count, Will Smith the Dodger swung at a low pitch and drove it deep into left-field and out for a stunning three-run home run to put the Dodgers into the lead and start their comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the series. Our Will Smith struggled in the playoffs, but there would have been no World Series triumph without his huge game-changing home run.

2. Cody Bellinger Homers in Game 7

The Dodgers had come back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7 against the Braves, but they needed one more comeback in the game, having come back from a 2-0 deficit and sitting tied in the bottom of the seventh at 3-3.

A year after winning the 2019 NL MVP, Bellinger had struggled during the regular season, hitting just .239 and producing a sub-par OPS of .789. During the postseason, he continued to struggle, and in the NLCS against the Braves, he would get just five hits and strike out nine times.

Despite his struggles, his biggest hit of the series came in the bottom of the seventh with the bases empty and two outs. Bellinger took a ferocious swing at an elevated sinker and sent a no-doubter to right-field, giving the Dodgers the margin of victory and the NL pennant.

1. FINALLY! The Dodgers Win the World Series.

Was there ever a doubt what the top moment of the year was for the Dodgers?! After 32 years, eight division titles, back to back World Series losses, the Dodgers had finally done it. They won the World Series.

The Dodgers’ 4-2 series win over the Tampa Bay Rays managed to wash away all the hurt and pain the franchise had dealt with over the years. It was a redemptive story, Clayton Kershaw went 2-0 with a 2.31, his best showing on the ultimate stage. Dave Roberts was redeemed after so many bullpen mistakes in Game 4, handling things masterfully in the team’s Game 5 and Game 6 wins.

It was a story that came full circle. Eight months after pulling the trigger on the Mookie Betts trade, he hit a towering home run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish in the clinching Game 6 win. That home run was a further validation of the move President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman made back in February, and the team he had built was a validation of his time running the Dodgers organization. He had finally built the October winner.

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