We get it. It’s been 31 (going on 32) years since the Dodgers last won a World Series. The margin for error each year shrinks as the frustration for fans grows.
However, this season, I contend that we put everything into perspective and cut these guys some slack. In particular, two players we need to ease up on are closer Kenley Jansen and outfielder AJ Pollock.
Both players have had their own battles with COVID-19, and despite the impact their illnesses had on their families, they’ve still decided to don the blue and fight to bring a championship back to Los Angeles.
In a 2019 season that saw Jansen blow a career-high eight saves in 41 opportunities, manager Dave Roberts didn’t fully trust his three-time All-Star reliever as his closer heading into the postseason. The last time Jansen pitched on a major league mound when the games counted was during the 2019 NLDS vs. The Washington Nationals.
Jansen’s first NLDS appearance was in Game 3, in a lopsided 10-4 Dodgers’ victory. His second and final appearance came in Game 5. Roberts didn’t have faith Jansen could hold a 3-3 tie in the 9th or 10th innings, so he opted to go with Joe Kelly for two innings (though he hasn’t yet proven he can pitch two clean innings with the team). It didn’t go well. By the time Roberts eventually brought Jansen in to close the barn door in the 10th, the horses were long gone.
Jansen’s recent struggles weren’t limited to the playing field. Not only has he had two heart surgeries in the last decade, he contracted COVID-19 this year from his four-year-old son.
“It is real,” he said of the pandemic last Sunday. “Everyone in the world, take it serious. Wear your mask at all times, if you can. Because, trust me, it happens so fast. Once my son got it, I’ve seen how fast it can spread. We tried to do everything, but we all got it in the house.”
#Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen arrives late to team summer camp after testing positive for coronavirus. https://t.co/g7HuHlBhlW pic.twitter.com/CuuPI98TZ4
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) July 13, 2020
Jansen has since recovered and said he never considered opting out of the 2020 season. Can we all just appreciate his perseverance and will to win at all costs? If you can’t get behind that, I don’t think you deserve to be a Dodgers fan…or a baseball fan in general, for that matter. The Dodgers need the big fella to anchor the bullpen, and he needs to know we’re going to stand behind him.
Pollock had his own 2019 to forget. Coming off two seasons in Arizona where he played over 100 games, injuries limited his playing time to 86 games in his first season with the Dodgers. He slashed .266/.327/.468 with 15 homers and 47 RBI. Overall, not spectacular, but he did, however, vastly improve during the second half. Nothing could have prepared us, though, for what happened in the postseason. Pollock went 0-13 at the plate, striking out 11 times in the NLDS vs. The Nats. (That’s a stat I didn’t have to look up to remember.)
Unlike Jansen, Pollock wrestled with the decision of whether to play in 2020. On March 19 of this year, his daughter, Maddi, was born. Unfortunately, she was born three months premature, weighing only 1.6 pounds. Since Maddi was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit, Pollock and his wife, Kate, spent the majority of the next two months at the hospital. Maddi is doing a lot better and now weighs eight pounds, according to the LA Times.
On top of all of that, Pollock said he tested positive for COVID-19 a month ago. He has also recovered, but reported to Dodgers Summer Camp a week late. Pollock said he believes he may have caught the virus from the hospital visits.
We wish the best to A.J. Pollock and his family. Pollock confirms he was late to #Dodgers Summer Camp because he had contracted COVID-19. Fortunately his new born daughter did not contract the virus. pic.twitter.com/8l9N2oZ8xY
— Dodgers-LowDown (@DodgersLowDown) July 17, 2020
We all would have understood if Pollock decided not to play this year, but he said it was Kate, a former lacrosse player at Notre Dame, who nudged him to join his teammates.
“Kate’s an athlete,” Pollock said. “So when I brought it up to her, she said, ‘Could you really look at the guys win the World Series from our couch?’”
As far as I’m concerned, the Dodgers need Pollock to be good to win a championship. Even though the starting lineup is absolutely stacked, it’s very left-handed heavy (and so is the bench). Pollock will presumably be slotted into the middle of the lineup vs. LHPs to break up the monotony of left-handed sluggers. That means he will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.
I think all Dodgers fans want their players to succeed, but it’ll be a true testament of loyalty to see if those same fans still root for players who may struggle or falter out of the gate. Given what Jansen and Pollock have been through to be able to play in 2020, they deserve our unconditional support.
Jake Reiner covers the Dodgers for Dodgers-LowDown and is a reporter for KCBS/KCAL. Follow him on twitter @Reiner_Jake