PHOENIX — The Dodgers have fielded stacked groups through the earlier 12 years, however none of them have been as stacked because the group they’ve now.
A $1.4-billion winter final 12 months was adopted by a $465-million winter this 12 months, the continued investments within the roster providing them an opportunity to do greater than develop into the primary group to defend its World Sequence title in 25 years.
The Dodgers have an opportunity to develop into the best group in baseball historical past.
They’ve an opportunity to win 120 video games.
Maintain on — 120 video games?
Is that actually attainable?
“Of course,” Dodgers veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas stated.
Rojas talked about how the document for wins in a season is 116, shared by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners.
“It’s just four more wins,” Rojas stated.
Have a look at the nameplates above the lockers on the group’s spring-training facility and Rojas’ declare turns into self-explanatory.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani walks to the clubhouse on the group’s spring coaching facility after figuring out Tuesday in Phoenix.
(Ross D. Franklin / Related Press)
Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki on one facet. Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández on an adjoining wall. Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw close to the doorway resulting in the load room.
“I think we have the talent on this team,” Rojas stated. “It’s a really special team. If we combine that with the character and we get everybody on the same boat, I think we can win a lot of games.”
Different gamers stated they weren’t fascinated by successful a particular variety of regular-season video games, which, mockingly, is why the Dodgers might take down the Cubs’ and Mariners’ joint document.
“I don’t care about that at all,” Betts stated. “We haven’t played game one, man. We have to take care of Game 1.”
The significance of specializing in the subsequent recreation moderately than the win complete or the championship was additionally emphasised by Muncy.
“We’re just trying to take care of business and put ourselves in a good position to make the postseason,” Muncy stated. “That’s the most important thing, making the postseason. It doesn’t matter if it’s 90 wins, 120 wins.”
Muncy stated the group has established a tradition of staying current.
“You can’t look at what we’ve already done,” he stated. “You can’t look at what we’re trying to do. We’re just focusing on what we can do at this moment.”
For Muncy and Betts and the group’s different infielders, the precedence through the group’s first exercise on Tuesday was to develop into higher acquainted with one another. Betts, who moved again to his pure place in proper discipline after a midseason damage final 12 months, has returned to shortstop. Their projected starter at second base, Hyeseong Kim, is a newcomer who performed final 12 months within the Korean Baseball Group.
Together with Rojas and Chris Taylor, Muncy stated, the group has “been out there for about a week and a half now, every single day for several hours, trying to get ground balls, just trying to get better on defense.”
Such consideration to element was vital in October. Within the World Sequence towards the New York Yankees, the Dodgers weren’t simply the extra gifted group. They have been additionally the extra basically sound group, benefiting from the Yankees’ rubbish protection to erase a five-run deficit of their series-clinching Recreation 5 victory.
“What I can tell you is the mentality of everybody in this room is to win every single day,” Rojas stated. “So if we can win 162, we’re gonna try to win 162. I know it’s impossible, and it’s really hard to win 120 games, but at the end of the day, that’s the expectation.”
The strategy has resulted in 11 division titles and two World Sequence championships in 12 years. Now, with the most costly assortment of expertise in baseball historical past, the identical mindset might produce a record-breaking season.
Half of their starters might go down with accidents and the Dodgers would nonetheless have the deepest rotation in baseball. They spent $85 million on Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to enhance what was already some of the reliable bullpens within the recreation. They nonetheless have a traditionally harmful lineup that features the likes of Ohtani, Betts and Freeman. They’ve a gentle and trusted chief in supervisor Dave Roberts.
Historical past is inevitable. One-hundred twenty wins feels inside attain.
