The Dodgers are World Series champions after defeating the Yankees in Game 5

How does it feel in LA?! The Dodgers are world champions after defeating the Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 on Wednesday!

After losing Game 4 to the Yankees and falling behind in Game 5, Dodger fans began to believe the series would return to LA

But instead… the Dodgers became the “Comeback Kids.” Actually, they had to do it twice. The inning where they took the lead – the eighth inning, when a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts brought home Tommy Edman and the Dodgers took a 7-6 lead and never looked back. Strong late inning pitching from Blake Treinen and Walker Buehler sealed the deal and the Boys in Blue became world champions!

“Who wants a parade?!” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said at the postgame ceremony.

Shortly afterwards, LA delivered the necessary fireworks after the last out and the Dodgers secured the series.

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Freddie Freeman, who fueled the Dodgers’ momentum with home runs game after game, was named MVP of the series.

Key inning of Game 5

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman celebrates their World Series victory against the New York Yankees.

The decisive inning came in the fifth, when the Dodgers took advantage of two errors by the Yankees and scored five runs behind a single by Mookie Betts, a single by Freddie Freeman and a double by Teoscar Hernandez to tie everything.

How we got here

After 162 games and hard-fought victories over the Padres and Mets in the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series, respectively, the Dodgers left no doubt that they are the best team in baseball.

One of the main reasons, if not the main reason, why the Dodgers made the playoffs and ultimately won the World Series: Shohei Ohtani. Let’s be honest. When you have the best baseball player in the world and perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time, you will definitely be in the conversation. His magical season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases ignited the Dodgers’ offense and led to numerous victories.

If you have Shohei in your lineup, you’re already one step ahead of everyone else.

And oh yeah – this team also includes Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman (aka Mr. October), Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Kike Hernandez. All of these players achieved great success in the regular season and playoffs.

But the path to the playoffs was by no means easy. The injury bug has plagued the Dodgers all season, decimating the starting pitching rotation. Can you imagine if Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone were healthy and part of the playoff rotation? During the season, Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone were solid. Together they combined for 20 wins on the mound. Kershaw didn’t play much as he spent the first half of the season on the injured list recovering from shoulder surgery. He finished the race with a 2-2 record and ended up on the injured list again after a toe injury.

The start of pitching was the difference

But the Dodgers turned what they perceived as a weakness into a strength. Their pitching in the playoffs was outstanding. Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler were dominant and shut down the Yankees’ offense. Aaron Judge simply struggled for the Yankees. Strong pitching in the playoffs and especially in the World Series is key. Without them you simply can’t win.

The Dodger Legacy

This is the Dodgers’ eighth World Championship, having won titles in 2024, 2020, 1988, 1981, 1965, 1963, 1959 and 1955. They are now tied with the San Francisco Giants for fifth place on the all-time World Series title list. The Dodgers have appeared in 21 World Series, including 12 since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

While some non-Dodgers fans have claimed that the 2020 title was not legitimate because it took place during a COVID-19 shortened season, there is no doubt that the Dodgers cleared all the necessary hurdles to win this season’s title win. No asterisks required here.

The Dodgers have won 25 National League pennants – 13 in Los Angeles and 12 in Brooklyn. Do you want an inheritance? Try this: The Dodgers are currently in a stretch that dates back to 2013, when the Boys in Blue won two World Series titles, four National League pennants, played 12 postseason games and won 11 titles won in the National League West.

Do you want more inheritance? How about multiple premieres? The most significant first: Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947 by becoming the first black player in the modern era of Major League Baseball. The Dodgers were the first team on the West Coast to win the World Series in 1959. And a cool first – the first team to have numbers on the front of their jerseys in 1952.

That’s a legacy, my friends.