This October will mark 32 years since the Los Angeles Dodgers last won a World Series, and perhaps their best opportunity to do so during the ongoing drought came in 2017.
The Dodgers had one of the best rosters in baseball that season, cruising to a National League West division title and then breezing through the NL playoffs to set a matchup with the Houston Astros in the World Series.
Unfortunately, the Astros ended up besting the Dodgers in seven games to capture the organization’s first championship in what was one of the best World Series ever. But Houston’s championship has since been tainted as they were found guilty of electronic sign-stealing during the 2017 regular and postseason.
While the punishments handed down did not include stripping the Astros of their championship, baseball fans will never forget the cheating that took place for them to earn that trophy.
Considering how close the Dodgers were to winning it, their fans are among the angriest in baseball since it was revealed the Astros were cheating. That includes L.A. Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is Dodgers fan and expressed his anger about the 2017 World Series in an interview with David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports:
“I go to games and I follow it on TV. I’m still angry about the World Series in 2017. We don’t have to talk about that, because I’m going to maybe throw something through the window. They probably should’ve won the World Series; either them or the Yankees. Being cheated out of it really burns you.”
The Yankees also lost to the Astros in seven games in the American League Championship Series, so they have a solid claim as potential champions as well.
While the L.A. City Council made an attempt to get the Dodgers named champions of the 2017 season, it was unsurprisingly to no avail. They also tried the same for the 2018 season, when the Dodgers lost in the World Series to the Boston Red Sox, who were found guilty of electronic sign-stealing although not as egregiously as the Astros.
Dodger fans like Abdul-Jabbar can take solace in the fact that the team still has a very talented roster and will for years to come, so hopefully that World Series drought comes to an end within the next couple of years.
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