Sometimes you can tell how a series is gonna go from the first at-bat. For Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, you knew how this was gonna go when Dodger 1B Freddie Freeman crushed a first pitch fastball into the right field bleachers of Dodger Stadium for a grand slam. The series could have and really should have ended up being a sweep for the Dodgers, but manager Dave Roberts’ questionable pitching decisions in Game 4 don’t matter anymore. They came back to win Game 5 in New York after being down 5-0 going into the 5th inning to win their 8th World Series title in franchise history.

Even with the Dodgers only having three capable starting pitchers for the entire Postseason, it worked for them and their bullpen played up to and beyond their potential in crucial games. It could have easily blown up in their face as Game 5 got under way with Jack Flaherty struggling and didn’t even get two full innings for them. The bullpen only gave up two more runs after Flaherty’s four, but they gave the Yankees lineup many chances by walking 9 total batters in that game, 8 coming from the pen.

Blake Treinen won two games (Game 5 included) in the series and pitched 2-1/3 innings in Game 5 striking out 3 batters and allowing only one hit. Walker Buehler pitched 5 innings in his Game 3 start allowing only 2 hits and striking out 5. On two days rest he came in to close out Game 5 for the Dodgers striking out two batters in the process.

I alluded to the fact that Freddie Freeman hitting that grand slam in the 10th inning of Game 1 set the tone for the series. It didn’t stop there for him as he hit three more home runs and drove in 8 more runs for a .300 batting average, 4 HR and 12 RBI World Series. There was no doubt that he was the MVP.

NLCS MVP Tommy Edman continued to have a solid Postseason batting .294 and scoring 6 runs for the series. Teoscar Hernandez had a big series batting .350 and hitting a game tying two-run double in the 5th inning of Game 5. Mookie Betts drove in 4 runs and Enrique (Kike) Hernandez for some reason shines in the Postseason throughout his career batting .278 in the series and grinding out at-bats against the pitchers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had the best player in baseball in Shohei Ohtani for this Postseason run. He was as good as advertised leading up to the World Series. He was 2 for 19 at the plate and didn’t have the kind of impact that was expected, but that just shows how good this Dodgers team is and how well it was constructed in spite of Ohtani’s struggles.

With the way ownership and the management structure is for the Dodgers, there is no doubt that they will remain contenders for many more seasons. They can go all-in once again in the offseason and be big spenders or be selective in their roster decisions. The other option that they always utilize lately is making mid-season acquisitions at or near the trade deadline. That is what puts the Dodgers ahead of everyone else in baseball. They have the assets to make a move on the fly and it doesn’t put a dent in their long-term plans.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers on winning their 8th title in franchise history. Let’s see if this continues with Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound next season.