What makes them so good?
The Dodgers are playoff bound for the ninth straight year in the West and are slowly becoming a super team. Their success is the top story around the league and everyone is wondering what makes them so good.
One major reason they have the success that they do starts with their gap in run differential, having 39 runs more than the team in second place being the Minnesota Twins. They also lead the league in runs and earned run average. The reason for these stats is the many players who are shaping the team to be great and playing their best game, people like Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler for example.
At the beginning of the season there were a couple questions surrounding Buehler and Kershaw. Kershaw started on the injury list at the beginning of the season and Buehler reportedly didn’t throw a pitch in training camp. A month later, Kershaw gave up only 2 runs and 17 strikeouts over 14 innings and Buehler only allowed 1 run and 11 strikeouts in 6 innings.
Another one of the standout players for the Dodgers is Cody Bellinger. Bellinger started out slow with a batting average of .165 and 2 home runs in 85 plate appearances. Since then, he is batting .314 with 6 home runs and the dodgers are now at 9-1. The amount of star power that the dodgers have is really what’s setting them apart from the other teams.
To spotlight a few others, Tony Gonsolin has been playing at the same level as his 2020 breakout season, throwing 94.8 mph balls which is up 1.3 mph from his season average.
Lastly, there’s Mookie Betts. Betts is a seasoned veteran and now dodgers player who in 28 games with the team is hitting a .300 batting average and is tied for second in the league with 11 home runs. His defense has also been something of note too.
Despite all of their success, they didn’t start and stay at full power, they worked through their tribulations and played their best games despite not have some of the aforementioned key players at points in the season. When you look at their success, it really comes down to that notion. They play as a team, win as a team, and lose as a team and they prepare for whatever conditions they have to go through, which is the key to being a great franchise.
They don’t rely on one or two players to carry them to a victory. However, they aren’t going away scott free. Even though they are playoff bound, the San Francisco Giants are still ahead of them by 2 and a half games in the fight for the National League West.
This is going to prove more difficult than it may seem since as of now there are only 16 games left in the season so the Dodgers have no time to rest if they want to win the NLW.
Watch the first MLB playoff game on Tues. Oct. 5 and stay tuned to see who will be taking home the 2021 title.