The Los Angeles Dodgers captured their first World Series championship since 1988 after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.
They became the city’s second professional sports team to bring home the trophy in October, joining the L.A. Lakers, who defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals two weeks prior.
Both teams finished the year with the best record in their respective conference/league before winning it all. The Lakers cruised to their title, never being taken beyond six games in any of their playoff matchups and while the Dodgers faced a little more adversity, they too got the job done.
It marked the first time since 1988 both teams were crowned champions in the same calendar year. That year, the Dodgers defeated the Oakland Athletics in five games to win the World Series, while the Lakers prevailed to defeat the Detroit Pistons in seven games to win the NBA Finals.
Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won the sixth and final title of his Hall-of-Fame career in 1988, took to Twitter to congratulate the Dodgers on their World Series win:
A message from @kaj33.
Dodgers x @Lakers pic.twitter.com/qvdvtN3y8f
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 3, 2020
As Abdul-Jabbar notes, it is significant that both the Dodgers and Lakers were able to go all the way, considering the difficult circumstances brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The NBA went on hiatus in early March and did not resume the 2019-20 season until late July. Despite this, the Lakers never lost focus and were able to secure the 17th NBA championship in franchise history.
As for the Dodgers, they saw Cactus League play abruptly stop around the same time as the NBA. Having to endure a more-than-three-month layoff, the club reunited in early July for the start of Summer Camp.
An abbreviated 60-game regular season ensued, which the Dodgers dominated by winning a Major League-best 43 contests. They then went on to sweep the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres in the first two rounds of the postseason before battling back to defeat the Atlanta Braves in seven games in the National League Championship Series.
The Dodgers realized their goal and ended the franchise’s drought by besting the Rays.
Bellinger wanted Dodgers to win championship in the same year as Lakers
Cody Bellinger recognized how euphoric it would be for the Dodgers to bring a title to Los Angeles, which would make it the city of champions in professional sports. “It would obviously be unbelievable,” he said.
“The city of Los Angeles just got one with the Lakers, and to be a part of that would be extremely special. There’s a lot of Dodger fans out in Los Angeles and around the world. We want to bring it home to them.”
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