During the 2020 pandemic, baseball and the World Series still happened. The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 to win the World Series. Dodgers fans celebrated in quarantine due to COVID restrictions.
Fast forward to October 2024, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees went head to head during one of the most highly anticipated East Coast v. West Coast World Series. Fans watched in awe and excitement as the boys in blue tried to win their second title in four years. As Game 5 came to an end, the Dodgers won their eighth World Series title in franchise history. All of Los Angeles lit up with fireworks to celebrate their win.
The Dodgers got their celebratory victory parade. While riding double-decker buses on Nov. 1, the Dodgers drove around downtown LA to celebrate with their fans. I was able to attend the much-anticipated parade and join a sea of blue jerseys and happy faces made this experience one-of-a-kind for me. Aside from the parade, there was also an event at Dodger Stadium where the players gave heartfelt speeches and reflected on the incredible season. The Dodger roster looked in awe of the crowd as if they said, “We did it.”
The 2024 season brought several new and expensive additions to the team and some unexpected injuries along the way, including those of designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“(Ohtani) was our top priority,” Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said during an episode of MLB tonight following Ohtani’s introductory press conference.
According to the Major League Baseball Association, the Dodgers signed Ohtani for a 10-year $700 million contract to be their designated hitter and one of their many talented pitchers. The Dodgers also signed Yamamoto to be another pitcher under a 12-year $325 million contract.
The decision to sign these players proved to be favorable during the season. During the 2024 season with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. With this achievement, he is now known as one of only a handful of MLB players to reach this number.
Yamamoto was unable to play for about three months due to tricep tightness before returning on Sept. 10. This injury led fans into anticipation, waiting for their beloved pitcher to come back. A comeback is exactly what fans got. During Game 2 of the World Series, he only allowed one hit across six innings and the Dodgers ended the game with a 2-0 lead.
“That was one of the most important games today, and the way I performed I think is one of the best ones this year,” Yamamoto stated during an interview after Game 2.
Another injury that left fan’s hearts broken was first baseman Freddie Freeman’s. According to USA Today, Freeman injured his ankle during the Padres v. Dodger game on Sept. 26. Even with his injury, he still played but struggled while running bases. He also had a broken rib.
“Every day that I can get off my feet, like not running and just treat it (his ankle) is huge,” Freeman said during an interview with Dodgers Nation. “I can still hit and do all that kind of stuff. It’s more of when I take that first run step that’s when everything flares up in my ankle.”
Due to suffering a bone spur on his left big toe during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 30, Pitcher Clayton Kershaw was unable to play for the rest of the season, including the World Series. Even though he was on the sidelines, he still cheered and supported the rest of the team.
“I just couldn’t really push off,” Kershaw said in an interview with Spectrum Sportsnet LA. “It’s frustrating when you know, everything else seems to be feeling great but no matter what I did, I couldn’t find a comfortable way to push off on my toe.”
Despite all these injuries, the Dodgers managed to win 98 games out of 162 in the regular season and hold the National League champs title.
Game 1 of the World Series will go down in baseball history as one of the most exciting ones. During the bottom of the 10th inning, the Yankees were up 3-2. Bases were loaded for the Dodgers and Freeman ended up hitting a historical walk-off grand slam, which ended in a 6-3 Dodgers win.
The Dodgers then went on to win the next two games, while the Yankees won the fourth. The last game of the series also proved to be a memorable and incredible game. The Yankees were up 5-0 when during the top of the 5th inning, Dodger left fielder Teoscar Hernandez’s hit was able to tie the game 5-5. Top of the 8th inning, Dodger outfielder Mookie Betts was able to bring in the winning run that night, which ended with a Dodger World Series victory of 7-6.
“This memory will live forever,” said Roberts while delivering a speech to the Dodger team before the champagne celebration.
Along with the victory, came the Dodgers celebration parade. The city of Los Angeles was not able to have one in 2020 due to the restrictions of COVID-19 but this year was different. According to NBC 4 News, many fans took the day off of work or school and more than 200,000 people attended the parade.
“I’ve waited to celebrate for a long time,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said while giving a speech at the Dodger Stadium event following the victory parade. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now, and can’t imagine doing it with a better group of guys, than this group right here.”
