A Cherished Dodgers Win

By: Knight Times Staff

For the first time in a generation, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays in six games in what can be described as the uncanniest of seasons in baseball’s 151 year history. For SOCES students, it is their first time witnessing a Los Angeles team winning the World Series title.

Sophomore Sean Hansen was thrilled to finally see a Dodgers championship. He said, “It felt amazing to see the Dodgers win the world series because my home team finally won.”

For 8th grader Victoria Cazares Hernandez, seeing the Dodgers win the Fall Classic meant more than just a championship for Los Angeles. The championship brought the fulfillment of a dream to the SOCES parents who were just children themselves the last time they experienced a World Series championship.

“I feel happy. It's so crazy to know that the Dodgers finally won. It's been 32 years and I've never seen my dad any happier,” said Victoria.

The last time Los Angeles residents saw a World Series title was in 2002 when the Anaheim Angels won their only championship, beating the San Francisco Giants in 7 games. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was in 1988 when they beat the Oakland A’s 4 games to 1. Besides the Dodgers winning, one of the most iconic moments in baseball history took place in the ‘88 series when an injured Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic game winning homerun in the 9th inning of game one. The series also featured Orel Hershiser capping off his brilliant Cy Young award winning season and 59 scoreless inning streak by going 2-0 in the World Series and winning the series MVP.

SOCES students came close to seeing a Dodger World Series several times. This year was the Dodgers’ third World Series appearance in the last four years. In 2017 the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in seven games; however, it was discovered that the Astros were caught cheating during many games including the playoffs and during the World Series by using cameras to steal pitching signs. In 2018 the Dodgers lost to the Boston Red Sox in five games.

Many Dodger fans were left wondering if this roster was capable of going all the way, and after one terrible postseason after another, many began to doubt Clayton Kershaw could really help the team. But others never gave up. Eighth grader Diego Meda was one such fan.

“I was very happy seeing them win, and when they went to the World Series before and didn't win, I was disappointed but didn't lose faith,” Diego said.

Students were not the only ones who were relieved to finally see their beloved Dodgers win that elusive championship. One of the biggest Dodger fans of the SOCES faculty is music director Mr. Johnsen.

“It felt amazing! I remember the last one - my youngest son was 4 months old and is such a big Dodgers fan. We went to the 2017 and 2018 World Series and it was great to live that together. Unfortunately with Covid we could only FaceTime this year,” said Mr. Johnsen.

The 32 year drought since the last World Series title was only compounded by the fact that the Dodgers and their fans have had their hearts broken so many times during the last twelve years. Besides their recent World Series appearances, since 2008, the Dodgers have also reached the National League Pennant series 4 other times and won the Western Division 6 times before finally reaching the fall classic in 2017. During this time, the Dodgers had two managerial changes and a change of team ownership. The team has also completely overhauled its roster twice that saw stars such as Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Yasiel Puig come and go.

While many franchises would have attempted an entire rebuild, the Dodgers front office trusted their young players and supplemented this with veterans like Justin Turner and brought in superstar Mookie Betts via a trade with the Red Sox.