The Los Angeles Dodgers saw their 2017 season come to a heartbreaking end last November, as they were defeated by the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series on their home field.
While the loss was a tough one that many players on the team and manager Dave Roberts said they won’t soon get over, it does not take away from the successful season the Dodgers had. Their 104 regular-season wins were most in the Majors, and the berth in the Fall Classic was a first for the franchise since 1988.
Despite all the success they had, in an interview on the Petros and Money Show on AM 570 L.A. Sports Radio, Alex Wood said he has put the season completely behind him without re-watching any of the World Series, and he’s looking forward to pressing ahead this year:
“No, I haven’t watched a single thing. I don’t want to think about it too much anymore. It’s in the past and you try to put it behind you. It’s taken a minute for the sting to kind of leave, and now it’s all about looking forward. In this game, you have to have a short memory. That one hurts as much as anything could ever hurt. But at the same time, it’s about looking forward and getting prepared for this next season. Hopefully, we can finish it out this next year.”
Although his team lost the series, Wood was brilliant in his two World Series outings as he took the mound in Game 4 with the Dodgers trailing 2-1 in the series. He came through to the tune of 5.1 innings of one-run ball, yielding just one hit and two walks while striking out three in a 6-2 win.
Wood then appeared in relief in Game 7 and kept the Dodgers deficit from widening, tossing two perfect innings with three strikeouts.
The soon-to-be 27-year-old had a breakout campaign in 2017 and heads into this season essentially a lock to be in the starting rotation from the get-go. Being part of the Opening Day rotation should give Wood an opportunity to prove his All-Star season was hardly a fluke.