The Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in on their ninth National League West title in 10 seasons thanks to their MLB-best 94-42 record that gives them a magic number of six entering play Friday.
They also have a .691 winning percentage, which puts the Dodgers on pace to finish with 112 wins. That would not only establish a new franchise record, surpassing the 106-win season they’ve had twice (2019, 2021), but L.A. is within striking distance of breaking the all-time MLB wins record.
That is currently held by the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won 116 games while losing only 46 games (.716). They eventually lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series and have not returned to the postseason since.
The Dodgers need to pick up the pace if they want to set or tie the MLB wins record, but manager Dave Roberts said that is not something he or the team is spending much time thinking about.
“The priority, honestly, is just going out there and playing the way we’ve been playing baseball every single night,” Roberts said. “That’s the priority. I don’t think most guys know the win record for a team, modern day or whatever it is. Our goal is to win a championship. However that looks, that still remains the top priority.”
Entering September 2017, the Dodgers were also on a 112-win pace, but they ended up losing 11 consecutive games early in the month and 17 total to finish the season with a 104-58 record.
Roberts has previously called the 2022 Dodgers a “relentless team” with high expectations for how they play every game, and he thinks that will help them avoid a repeat of 2017.
“It’s a completely different ballclub,” Roberts said. “I thought we rebounded the last 10 days in September from that year, but you just don’t know what’s going to happen. So I think right now, I think the good thing about this ballclub is it’s a very focus-on-today group.”
To set the wins record, the Dodgers need to finish the season 23-3, or 22-4 to tie. While that won’t be an easy task, they went 21-5 in July and 22-6 in August, which gives some hope they could end up reaching the mark.
Justin Turner voted Dodgers’ nominee for 2022 Roberto Clemente Award
Justin Turner was voted the Dodgers’ nominee for the 2022 Roberto Clemente Award for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Kenley Jansen was the Dodgers’ nominee in 2019.
The Roberto Clemente Award is the annual recognition of a Major League player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.
Each team nominates one player to be considered for the league-wide winner of the award in tribute to Clemente’s achievements and character.
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