Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the 2020 MLB regular season was completely different than years past as it was reduced to only 60 games, only for the postseason to then be expanded to include a Wild Card Series for all teams that reached October.
Additionally, from the Division Series on, the postseason was played in bubbles in Southern California and Texas in effort to better ensure safety for players. It amounted to usual off days in the middle of series being taken away until the World Series.
The result of the strange 2020 season was the Los Angeles Dodgers winning their first World Series since 1988, ending a long drought by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win it all.
While the Dodgers were the best team in baseball all season, they came close to being eliminated after falling down 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series.
They overcame all obstacles by winning three straight, advancing to the Fall Classic for the third time in the last four years. When discussing the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series run, Kiké Hernandez explained his belief that the lack of days off actually helped the Dodgers in the long run, via Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
“Falling behind 3-1 against Atlanta was like a reality check. I would say that one of the things that helped us was not having to fly across the country for the games, and there weren’t any off days. Once the momentum shifted, we could keep it there. That series was difficult, but we went to the World Series thinking, ‘There’s no chance that we came back from 3-1 to lose in the World Series.’ There was an internal peace, but we also had that urgency.”
In addition to the momentum aspect of it, the Dodgers also benefitted from no days off by having the deepest pitching staff in the league. It was clear that after playing seven games in seven days, the Braves essentially ran out of pitching while the Dodgers were able to better navigate that challenge.
Hernandez reveals most challenging aspect of 2020 season
When discussing the 2020 season overall, Hernandez actually said that the Dodgers’ biggest challenge came off the field dealing with the virus and all of the other aspects of a unique season.
A lot of players across the league have echoed that statement, making it clear just how difficult it was for the Dodgers to overcome those obstacles and be the last team standing.
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