From Opening Day until the final out of the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the best team in baseball in 2020, finishing with the best regular-season record at 43-17 and defeating the Tampa Bay Rays to win their first championship in more than three decades.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman set the table for what would be a historic season by acquiring a superstar in Mookie Betts and adding the best right fielder in baseball to an already potent lineup just before the start of Spring Training.
The trade proved to be a monumental one for L.A. as Betts finished second in National League MVP voting and was a driving force for the Dodgers all season and postseason long at the top of their lineup.
While the 2020 Dodgers led baseball in most offensive categories, they unfortunately won’t go down in the history books in a lot of those categories considering the season was shortened from 162 to 60 games because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In an interview with David Vassegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports, Max Muncy asserted that he believes the Dodgers would have broken those records if they were allowed to play a full season:
“It was a special team. Unfortunately there wasn’t really a time throughout the year where we all were clicking at the same time. That would’ve been pretty fun to see. We all came together in the end, and that was the important part. We were able to scrap out victories in the end. We didn’t have to rely on one person.
“We went out and got Mookie to try and lead us, and he didn’t have to do that. He just had to set the table a couple games and we had other guys do it so he didn’t have to feel like he had to do it all himself. Whether it was Seager, J.T., even Belli took a lot of pressure off him. We had a very good team. It’s unfortunate we didn’t have a full 162 games, because I feel like we could’ve broke records. That’s for sure.”
The good news for Muncy is that the Dodgers’ offense has a chance to be just as good, or even better, in 2021. The team has a few key free agents in Justin Turner, Joc Pederson and Kiké Hernandez, so it remains to be seen which, if any, of that trio will be returning.
Other than that, the Dodgers’ lineup will likely remain unchanged this upcoming season when they are expected to play a full 162-game schedule. L.A. has also been linked to Colorado Rockies star third baseman Nolan Arenado in trade rumors this offseason, so if they are able to pull that off and add him to their lineup, then there is no doubt the Dodgers will be in the discussion to break some records.
Muncy looking forward to celebrating with teammates
Because of the pandemic and Turner testing positive right as they won the World Series, the Dodgers really have not yet had the opportunity to celebrate their championship.
Muncy knows they will be able to soon though and is looking forward to getting together with his teammates to properly celebrate their accomplishments in 2020.
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