After sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Wild Card Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into Globe Life Field as part of MLB’s postseason bubble plan.
The Texas Rangers’ home stadium was one of four ballparks used during the postseason, playing host to the NL Division Series, NL Championship Series and World Series.
Since they went the distance to capture their seventh World Series title in franchise history, the Dodgers spent just under a month at Globe Life Field,” “Probably,” Will Smith said of the ballpark eventually providing the Dodgers a home-field advantage because of familiarity.
“We’re in a pretty good routine, we’re comfortable in the hotel, comfortable in the clubhouse. So yeah it probably feels like our home away from home. We’re just here to play baseball. Here to win a world championship, so that’s how we’re going about it.”
The Dodgers hit a total of 35 home runs at Globe Life Field this year, which includes a three-game series against the Rangers during the regular season. Of those, 30 were hit during the postseason, led by eight from NLCS and World Series MVP Corey Seager.
By comparison, the Rangers hit just 27 home runs at Globe Life Field this year. They did not get a chance to expand on that in the postseason, but still played 11 more games there than the Dodgers (30 to 19).
L.A., who paced the Majors with 118 home runs this season, managed to make the spacious Globe Life Field look tiny on occasion. “It’s definitely not small, I’ll say that. We have hit some home runs, but you definitely have to hit it for it to get out of here,” Justin Turner noted.
“We have played a lot of games here and we are pretty familiar with it. It’s no Dodger Stadium, it’s not our home park, but so far we’ve done a pretty good job here.”
Roberts felt previous experience at Globe Life Field would benefit Dodgers
Having gotten a first look at Globe Life Field in late August, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts felt his group of players would have an easier time adjusting to the park’s dimensions. “Just the turf itself, it’s kind of like Arizona,” he said.
“Knowing the ballpark, getting the reads off the bat, how the infield plays. As I understand it, I think the roof is going to be open. When we were here it was closed, so just kind of adjusting to that.
“We’re going to have one of these (workout) days with the roof open to see. But certainly three games is better than none.”
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