The Los Angeles Dodgers started the regular season away from the United States for a second consecutive year, this time taking a much-anticipated trip Japan for a matchup against the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series.
While it was still a business trip for the Dodgers, it also offered an opportunity for the team to work on growing relationships away from the field amid new experiences.
The situation was similar to last year during the Seoul Series, which turned out to be an important catalyst for the Dodgers success en route to a World Series title.
The circumstances are not one-to-one this time around, but manager Dave Roberts hopes the Dodgers’ visit to Japan can have a similar effect for the clubhouse.
“That was the start of it with the Seoul trip,” Roberts said of the Dodgers clubhouse coming together.
“One part of it was we got to play five extra players to assimilate with our group, and also when you’re talking about bringing families to spend time away from the field and go on trips, that started the bond for last year that really strengthened as time went on. Hopefully we build on that.”
Now that the Dodgers are back on home soil, they have three final tuneup games on their Spring Training schedule before resuming the regular season with the Dodger Stadium opener on March 27.
Dodgers anticipate Freddie Freeman returning
While the Dodgers were able to sweep the Cubs in the Tokyo Series without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, having either remain unavailable for an extended period of time to open the season would not be ideal.
Betts will likely be fine as he continues to recover from the illness that kept him out of the Tokyo Series, but Freeman is more of a question mark after he was a late scratch on Opening Day with left rib discomfort.
Freeman did not play in either of the games in Tokyo, but the Dodgers anticipate that he will be active for the exhibition Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Angels.
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