The first two months of the season are complete, and the dog days of summer are ahead. Let’s take a look at where the Dodgers stood at this time in years past.
It is finally June and the 2021 MLB season is in full swing; and the Dodgers currently are shocking many in the baseball world by sitting in third place in the National League West behind the second-place Padres and equally surprising first-place Giants. At the start of spring, the Dodgers were the clear-cut favorites not just for the division but to repeat as world champions, a feat that has not happened in the MLB since the Yankees in the early 2000s.
However, there has been some doubt on these odds as the Dodgers seem to not be playing at 100 percent. There are numerous factors contributing to this, such as the health of major players such as Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, and it forcing them to miss a good chunk of the season, and also watching players, such as Mookie Betts, slump badly, and not playing to the best of their ability.
One such difference compared to last year is that the season is not a 60-game sprint, but instead a 162-game marathon, where there is some room for error. In 2020, the Dodgers knew what was at stake; they needed to play at 110 percent all year to finally accomplish their goal, and they did just that. However, adjusting back to the regular schedule, we fans would also have to change back to reality and realize these recent hot and cold stretches are bound to happen.
So let’s take a trip back in time to the 2019 and 2018 seasons and see where the Dodgers were at by the start of June.
June 1, 2019: the Dodgers, who were off to a strong start led by the soon-to-be NL MVP Cody Bellinger, sat alone in first place with a 40-19 record, nine games above the second-place Rockies.
When it comes to 2019, compared to other years, there are two significant differences. The first difference is players playing out of their minds, such as Bellinger leading the charge and keeping them in the fight every single game. Second is the overall lack of competition in the National League, specifically the West. At this point, the Padres, Giants, D-backs and even the Rockies were not playing their best baseball, with two-thirds of those teams still in their rebuild. Thus, the Dodgers’ path to their franchise-record 106 wins was due to a very lackluster NL West.
Things get interesting as we go back to June 1, 2018: the Dodgers were in third place with a 27-30 record behind the second place D-backs and the first place Rockies.
For the Dodgers, 2018 was simply a year of inconsistency, and hot and cold stretches that led to them going up and down throughout the standings all season. Nevertheless, 2018 still ended up with the Dodgers forcing a Game 163 with the Rockies, and winning it to capture the NL West. I vividly remember the stress this season had on the fanbase as the pressure to bring back a championship to LA was getting higher. Through the ups and downs, the Dodgers ended up back in the World Series for the second straight year, but ultimately lost to the Red Sox.
Here we are in 2021, where the Dodgers seem like they are on the same path in the 2018 season, where injuries and inconsistencies lead the Dodgers to be behind in the standings. While this year there seems to be more competition in the NL West with the Padres and Giants playing well and not looking to slow down, the Dodgers will need to get things right before it’s too late. History tends to repeat itself one way or another and I firmly believe that no matter what is thrown at the Dodgers by season’s end, they’ll be back on top in the NL West.
However, like in years past, I believe the Dodgers will get on track, and it is important for fans not to overreact to the standings now when there is still so much season left to be played.
