The Los Angeles Dodgers had a historic 2022 regular season that saw them win 111 games, which tied them for the fourth-most in MLB history, and they looked like a juggernaut no other team could match.
But once the playoffs rolled around, the Dodgers won just one game before they were eliminated by the San Diego Padres, a team they dominated throughout the season, in the National League Division Series.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, that has become an all-too-common theme in October. They have made the postseason 10 consecutive seasons and nine of them have ended in heartbreak, with the shortened 2020 campaign being the lone outlier.
The constant playoff failures have led to blame being placed on Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and questions of the team’s roster construction, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman doesn’t believe either of those are an issue.
“I guess a different way to answer that, if you’re asking me if I think the best team wins the World Series every year, I would say no,” Friedman said when asked if he would build a roster for the postseason only and in a different approach than he does for a full season.
“I think the hottest team wins the World Series every year, so it’s how to put us in the best position going into October to be the hottest team. In 2017, we went through that cold streak, we got hot and we rolled through the playoffs until the World Series.
“Each year has its own different narrative to it. I don’t believe that the best team wins the World Series every year.”
Over the stretch of the past 10 seasons, the Dodgers have been in a class of their own when it comes to the regular season. They have averaged 7.3 more wins per season than the next-closest team, the New York Yankees, and over the last six years, their .645 winning percentage is the best mark of any post-integration team.
But at the end of the day, the Dodgers’ success is defined by the amount of championships they win, and they need to find a way to bridge that regular season success to lead into the postseason. “I guess my point is partly how you define ‘best team,’ but again, I think it’s about the hottest team,” Friedman said.
“I think you can look at after a series and say, ‘Oh, this team played better,’ and that’s true. They played better than we did. That’s not in dispute. But how much of it are things you can foresee in advance as opposed to after the fact? I think that’s a really important distinction.
“I feel like our regular season goal, we accomplished. We put ourselves in the very best position you can to go out and win 11 games in October. We didn’t come close to doing that. I think there are fairly clear answers as to why, and others aren’t as clear.”
This offseason should be an interesting one for the Dodgers after their early playoff exit. They have multiple holes to fill in their starting rotation, along with Trea Turner set to reach free agency. In addition, the Dodgers have to make decisions on the futures of Cody Bellinger and Justin Turner.
Andrew Friedman confirms Dave Roberts returning as Dodgers manager
Friedman confirmed Dave Roberts will “100%” return as manager for the 2023 season while speaking with media at Dodger Stadium this week.
“The passion that they have is shared. The expectations that they have, are shared. The disappointment that we all feel, is shared,” Friedman said of frustration Dodgers fans have expressed and some wanting to see change.
“I think it’s just the way I personally see the world, is for everyone you work with that pours themself into this, also feel that same way. It’s us collectively trying to learn what we can from what has happened and putting ourselves in the best position to avoid it going forward.
“I feel like the vast majority of the time the best team has always won the World Series and this happened to be an example of not, then I think it’s easier to point fingers and isolate why. Some of it comes down to what happens in the crazy tournament that is the playoffs of baseball. It cuts both ways.
“It’s exhilarating and awesome when it works out, and it’s crushing when it doesn’t. I just don’t see the world in terms of pointing the finger and firing someone for those reasons. Now, I think as a group, if we’re not constantly trying to get better, even if we won it all this year, I think the mindset of always trying to improve what we do is shared among everyone we work with. Those are people I very much believe in figuring this out with together.”
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