The Los Angeles Dodgers put together a tremendous regular season but couldn’t sustain that momentum as injuries mounted and they fell two wins short of reaching the World Series a fourth time in the past five years.
“I think for my message to our guys, basically it was a tremendous season. It was a heck of a year,” manager Dave Roberts said after his team was eliminated in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.
“Going through a lot of different things that we went through that no one talked about, no one needed to talk about, and didn’t let it affect our performance, that’s something I was proud of. To win 106 games, to go through a Wild Card Game, to then be pushed in a five-game series against a division rival, to come out of that, and to be two wins away from going to the World Series.
“I think for me I wanted those guys to be proud of that because the entire organization — not just the guys in the room — there’s people that all across our organization that worked really hard for this season and to say that it was a lost season or a wasted season or anything, you’ve never been in Major League clubhouse and understand the sacrifices that people make.
“So it’s still not lost on any of us that we didn’t accomplish our goal. But for me I’m giving credit to the Braves because they outplayed us, plain and simple.”
In the time since their season came to an end, the likes of Walker Buehler, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, Brusdar Graterol, Clayton Kershaw and Justin Turner shared messages for Dodgers fans.
Did what we could. I love this city and I love this team.
— Walker Buehler (@buehlersdayoff) October 24, 2021
Thank you Dodger Nation for all of your support this season. I wish we could've gone all the way, but having you all in the stands cheering us on night after night meant everything to us! See you next season!
— Mookie Betts (@mookiebetts) October 25, 2021
Dodgers fans thank you for your support, we love you very much!
We fought as far as we could, it’s time to prepare for the new year, which will bring many more blessings.
— brusdar graterol (@BrusdarGraterol) October 25, 2021
Crazy year I’m forever grateful for!! Big thank you to the fans! GoDodgers pic.twitter.com/77B5MRzSAT
— Trea Turner (@treavturner) October 25, 2021
Buehler started the Game 6 loss and placed a lot of the blame on himself. He also dismissed the notion that taking the mound on three days’ rest lent to any fatigue in the outing.
Betts not disappointed in Dodgers
Although the Dodgers failed to give MLB their first repeat champion since the New York Yankees (1998-2000), Betts chose to keep a positive outlook.
“I am not disappointed at all. It is what it is,” Betts said after the elimination loss. “You win some, you lose some. We didn’t score more runs than they did and they played well. … We know what it takes to get to this point.
“The injuries, being on the road so much, people don’t think about you dedicate your life to this. So I’m not going to hang my head. I’m going to be excited and be happy about what we did, what we accomplished and tip my cap to the Braves.”
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