It is safe to say that the 2020 MLB season was unlike anything the league has ever seen. This crazy season saw a lengthy delay in the middle of Spring Training, a shortened schedule of only 60 games and multiple virus outbreaks. Despite all of this, the MLB still managed to crown a new champion before the end of October. After dominating the league for the last decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their first World Series title since 1988 after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.
The season may have been unlike anything we have ever seen before, but the Dodgers deserve to be celebrated as champions. They were hands down the best team in the MLB all season. They finished the year leading the entire league in runs scored, home runs and runs allowed. This helped them secure the seventh best winning percent in regular season history. The shortened season may have helped some teams, but the 2020 Los Angeles Dodgers were always going to dominate.
The club’s superior talent was on display throughout the playoffs. They advanced past the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres without dropping a game. The first real test came against the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. After losing three of the first four games, the Dodgers relied on their immense depth to pull off three straight wins. Los Angeles had another tough challenge from the Rays in the World Series, but their superior talent and coaching won out in the end.
The Dodgers seemingly dominated the early portions of the World Series, but Tampa Bay still had a chance to force a Game 7. The fortunes for both teams changed when Kevin Cash decided to remove starting pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning of Game 6 after throwing only 73 pitches. The former Cy Young Award winner had only given up two hits at the time of his removal.
The pitching change immediately sparked a rally for the Dodgers. It only took two batters after the pitching change for Los Angeles to take the lead. They would not look back. A season filled with sacrifices concluded with the champions celebrating their title more than 1,400 miles away from home, but the Dodgers likely would not change anything about their amazing season.