The Los Angeles Dodgers cruised to an MLB-best 43 wins during the regular season, clinching an eighth consecutive National League West title, and more importantly, another chance at redemption in the playoffs.
The club made quick work of the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres in the first two rounds, setting the stage for an NL Championship Series showdown with the Atlanta Braves.
After digging themselves into a 3-1 hole, the Dodgers battled back to win three consecutive games and solidified their third trip to the World Series in the past four seasons.
L.A. then was tasked with knocking off the Tampa Bay Rays, who won the most games in the American League. In what was a back-and-forth start to the series, the Dodgers jumped out to a 2-1 lead and were three outs away from expanding it, but suffered a heartbreaking defeat in Game 4.
Rather than let the loss deflate them, Cody Bellinger explained the Dodgers stayed positive to not lose sight of their ultimate goal and he will ultimately remember the 2020 team for that ability, via ESPN’s Sam Alipour:
“I’ll tell them what resilience is, how our backs were against the wall and it made us stronger. Down 3-1 [in the NLCS] and we’re like, “Well, why not? We got the best team. We had it all year. Let’s go out and prove it.” And we proved it, man. Then, in Game 4 of the World Series, that slap in the face, that crazy game [when the Rays rallied to win in the bottom of the ninth inning]. What happened? We get in the locker room, and guys are like, “We gotta let that go.” The group we had, the positivity we had was special.”
Most teams likely would have folded after a loss of that nature, but the Dodgers were no stranger to adversity, finding themselves in similar situations in past postseasons.
That experience, coupled with the amount of leaders inside the clubhouse, undoubtedly helped the club navigate through difficult waters to capture their seventh World Series championship in franchise history.
Barnes: Dodgers were determined to not let fans down in 2020 World Series
In addition to their resilience, another factor that led to the Dodgers ending the franchise’s championship drought was a desire to not let down the fanbase.
Austin Barnes noted that after recent years of postseason heartbreak, the club did not want to come away empty-handed against the Rays, and had this in the back of their mind throughout the month of October.
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