The Los Angeles Dodgers had another great season in 2021 as they won 112 total games, but in the end they were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, two victories shy of reaching the World Series a fourth time in the past five years.
The Braves went on to win the championship, which extended the Dodgers’ postseason streak to six years of either being eliminated by the eventual World Series winner or capturing the title themselves.
The Dodgers overcame a lot to get to the NLCS, with multiple injuries to key players, such as Max Muncy and Clayton Kershaw, and controversy caused by sexual assault allegations against Trevor Bauer, but the players continued to perform and win games.
Despite their accomplishments this past season, Mookie Betts is not satisfied with the results and said the team needs to stay hungry for next year, via Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
“We’re always going to stay hungry,” Betts said. “We played good ball and you can always argue injuries and stuff like that, but we have to play better. Next year, we just have to do better and win the last game.”
Although he wasn’t satisfied with the final result of this past season, Betts previously mentioned he was proud of what they were able to accomplish playing with a target on their back and through all the challenges.
“It’s easy to overlook all that, but we don’t,” he said after the Dodgers were eliminated. “We know what it takes to get to this point. The injuries, being on the road so much, people don’t think about you dedicate your life to this.
“So I’m not going to hang my head. I’m going to be excited and be happy about what we did, what we accomplished and tip my cap to the Braves.”
Betts likely avoiding hip surgery
Betts was among the many Dodgers players to miss a significant amount of time this year due to injuries.
The 29-year-old dealt with a variety of ailments, including a bone spur in his right hip that twice caused him to be placed on the 10-day injured list.
Despite some speculation that he would need offseason surgery to repair the issue, it appears likely Betts will be able to avoid it.
During the season, Betts treated the pain with rest and received two cortisone injections that provided him temporary relief.
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