The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the National League West title for a 10th time over the past 11 seasons after defeating the Seattle Mariners in 11 innings at T-Mobile Park.
The only exception was 2021, when the Dodgers finished one game behind the San Francisco Giants despite setting a franchise record at the time with 106 wins.
L.A. also is in the postseason for an 11th consecutive season, which is the longest active streak in MLB. Prior to their current stretch, the Dodgers had not reached the playoffs more than two years in a row.
Manager Dave Roberts, who has been at the helm for all but three of the Dodgers’ NL West titles since 2013, said he’ll never take the achievement for granted, per Shane Lantz of the Southern California News Group:
“Winning the division is something (that is) always special,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But doing it by winning a baseball game and not by default makes it more special. So tonight we get a chance to celebrate with one another, celebrate with our fans, and I think there were probably about 20,000 Dodgers fans supporting us tonight. It felt like it was a home game. That’s a good club over there, but there is nothing better than popping champagne.”
While the Dodgers would have preferred to clinch the NL West at Dodger Stadium like in previous years, the team certainly enjoyed their accomplishment and that it came on a win rather than needing the Arizona Diamondbacks or San Francisco Giants to lose.
Roberts, who recently passed Leo Durocher to become the fourth-winningest manager in Dodgers history, set a managerial record by guiding the team to an NL West title in each of his first five seasons at the helm.
In 2019, Roberts became the first manager in MLB history to lead his team to a division title in each of his first four full seasons.
Clayton Kershaw: Dodgers winning NL West ‘so special’
Kershaw, who has been around for all 10 of the Dodgers’ NL West titles during their current stretch, echoed Roberts and doesn’t want to undermine the significance of the honor.
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