Well before the focus of the 2020 Major League Baseball season centered around what type of year would be had due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the talk was squarely on the Houston Astros and their cheating scandal en route to winning the 2017 World Series.
That of course came at the expense of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who returned to the Fall Classic the following year, only to be defeated by a Boston Red Sox team that also was the subject of an MLB investigation over alleged impropriety.
Much of that is due to a tie the Astros and Red Sox shared in Alex Cora. He was Houston’s bench coach from 2016-2017 prior to being hired by Boston as manager. The Red Sox parted with Cora shortly after MLB’s findings were released, as he was highlighted as a central figure in the Astros’ cheating.
Reaction to MLB’s handling of the Astros’ case and the organization’s and players’ responses has largely subsided after an initial flurry of vitriol. But Dodgers broadcaster Orel Hershiser had yet to share his opinion, which came on second episode of the “Off Air with Joe and Orel” podcast he co-hosts with Joe Davis.
An emotional Hershiser detailed why he is upset, frustrated and saddened by the outcome the 2017 Dodgers ultimately faced:
“When I think about everything that the fans have given me because of the win in ’88, with the Gibson home run, the team, Mickey Hatcher’s unbelievable performance and the whole team, Tommy running on the field. The whole win and ‘I’m going to Disneyland.’
“If I think about all of those things the fans remember, how much smile equity and laugh equity I have in my life, how many great stories that I get every time I see someone or talk to someone about where they were or what it meant to them in their life, I think about J.T., Clayton, Kenley, Brandon Morrow, that don’t have those conversations because they got cheated.
“If Parker and Canseco and McGwire knew what was coming, I would be a chihuahua, not a bulldog. It’s just emotional to me because ’88 changed my life, and this should’ve changed those guys’ lives. They’re champions in my mind. They’re champions in my heart. They’re not champions in the books of baseball, and we can get into the punishment.
“We can get into cheating and what it does to the pitcher and what it does for a hitter. But for me, the emotional side of this equation of them getting ripped off, killed me. Absolutely killed me, because of what I have gained from winning a championship in 1988 with my Los Angeles Dodgers.”
Hershiser’s impassioned message aligns with sentiments previously shared by Cody Bellinger, Ross Stripling and Justin Turner, among others in the Dodgers clubhouse.
Bellinger openly said the Astros stole a World Series from the Dodgers, Stripling explained the seemingly insurmountable hurdle a pitcher faces when a batter is aware of what’s coming, and Turner shared why he doesn’t believe Houston players should be considered champions.
Though frustrated, the Dodgers to a main stressed they did not want to be retroactively named World Series champions. Their messages at FanFest and throughout Spring Training included an element of looking ahead to the 2020 season and working toward accomplishing their goal.
Unfortunately, that now hangs in the balance as MLB grapples with how and when to begin the regular season.
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