The Dodgers beat the Yankees four games to one. I’m guessing the vote for MVP was unanimous. Freddie Freeman.
The details will be in the game-by-game summary below, but the story goes way beyond the stats.
Freddie Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves from 2010 to 2021. He was a perennial all-star for the Braves and was the NL MVP in 2020. The next year, he helped lead the team to a World Series win. His intent was to sign a new contract with Atlanta and spend his career with the team. But negotiations broke down, and he signed with the Dodgers. The fans in Atlanta were stunned.
In Los Angeles, his success continued. He was 4th on the MVP ballot in 2022 and 3rd in 2023. The 2024 season was also good, but he missed several games in mid-season when he was called home because his 3-year-old son Maximus had suddenly become ill. Max’s condition became more serious with paralysis below the neck and the need for a ventilator.
Max was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome and began a round of immunotherapy. Improvement followed, but the road to full recovery will be long. Freeman: “Max’s personality is back, but he’s got to learn to do pretty much everything.”
When Freeman returned to the club, his teammates wore new T-shirts during the pregame warmup. They were Dodger blue with Freeman’s name and number on the back and #MaxStrong on the front. “That’s the first time I cried today,” Freeman said, “It means a lot.” In the first game after his return, Dodger fans greeted Freeman with a standing ovation, and the visiting Phillies joined in from the dugout. Freeman: “I’m just very thankful for the baseball community, lifting up Max in prayer and love and support. It’s going to be a long journey for him, but it’s a beautiful thing that he’s on the path to being recovered.”
As the regular season was winding down, Freeman severely sprained his ankle. He wore a walking boot and had six hours of treatment each day in late September. He was obviously still hurt during the NLDS and NLCS and missed three games.
But it was more than the ankle. In an article posted yesterday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote that Freeman was also working through a serious rib injury. In a batting session just before the NLDS, he felt a twinge in his rib cage. The next day, he tested himself with some practice swings. The twinge was still there, and on the thirteenth swing, a jolt went through his body and he crumpled to the ground. An MRI revealed that he had broken the costal cartilage of his sixth rib, an injury that typically sidelines a player for months.
Freeman insisted on playing. The ribs were taped. He said it only hurt when he swung and missed, so he would try and not miss. The batting coach each day asked, “How’s your ankle? How’s your rib? How’s your finger? How’s your brain.” Freeman also had a sore finger that had been broken in August. His power stroke was limited, and Freeman hit only singles during the NLDS and NLCS.
He got four days rest after the NLCS and felt better as the World Series started. When it was over he was the MVP.
Game 1 – Dodger Stadium (10/25): Game 1 of 2024 cannot be fully appreciated without a little history.
On October 15, 1988, Rita and I were in New Mexico with our friends Anne Devaney and Talis Bergmanis. After dinner, we returned to the hotel in time to catch the late innings of Game 1 of the World Series. The A’s were leading the Dodgers 4-3 when the Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Closer Dennis Eckersley got two quick outs, but then walked pinch hitter Mike Davis.
Up came another pinch hitter, Kirk Gibson. Although he was on the postseason roster, Gibson was not expected to play because of painful injuries to both legs. I’ll defer to radio broadcaster Don Drysdale for what happened:
[Gibson enters the game as a pinch hitter] “Well, the crowd is on its feet and if there was ever a preface to ‘Casey at the Bat’ it would have to be the ninth inning. Two out. The tying run aboard, the winning run at the plate, and Kirk Gibson, standing at the plate. [play-by-play as Gibson works to a 3-2 count] Gibson, a deep sigh…re-gripping the bat…shoulders just shrugged…now goes to the top of the helmet, as he always does…steps in with that left foot. Eckersley working out of the stretch…here’s the three-two pitch…and a drive hit to right field…WAY BACK! THIS BALL…IS GONE! [followed by delay for crowd noise] This crowd will not stop! And this time, Mighty Casey did NOT strike out!”
You have all likely seen the TV clip many times with Gibson pumping his arm while rounding the bases after the walk-off homer. Vin Scully on the call, “She is gone…In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened” (video here).
The Dodgers went on to win the 1988 Series, four games to one.
Fast forward 36 years to Game 1 of the 2024 World Series.
Pitching dominated the first nine innings, and the game went into extra innings with the score tied 2-2. The Yankees scored a run in the top of the 10th. The Dodgers came back in the 10th to load the bases with two out. Freddie Freeman came to the plate and on the first pitch hit a grand slam homer for a 6-3 Dodger victory.
The comparisons to Kirk Gibson’s were impossible to avoid. The home team was behind. Two outs. A walk-off homer to right field at about 8:37 PM on the Pacific Coast. Both players with leg injuries. TV broadcaster Joe Davis echoed Vin Scully’s call from 1988 to describe Freeman’s 2024 homer, “She is gone…” and “Gibby, meet Freddie.” Video clip here.
Because of his injuries, Gibson’s home run was his only at bat in the 1988 Series. Not so with Freddie Freeman. He was just getting started.
Game 2 – Dodger Stadium (10/26/24): After three innings, the Dodgers led 4-1 with homers from Tommy Edman, Teoscar Hernandez and…Freddie Freeman. The Yankees loaded the bases in the 9th but scored only one run for a final score of 4-2.
The scary news for the Dodgers was that superstar Shohei Ohtani suffered a partially dislocated shoulder when he was thrown out stealing second base. This was lamented in the U.S. (13.8 million viewers in prime time) and Japan (15.9 million viewers in the morning).
Game 3 – Yankee Stadium (10/28): The good news for the Dodgers was that Ohtani was in the lineup, and he led off the game with a 4-pitch walk. After Mookie Betts flied out, Freddie Freeman came up and did it again. A 2-run homer. The Dodgers scored two more runs in the game, while the Yankees did little until Alex Verdugo hit a 2-out 2-run 2-late homer in the 9th. Final score, 4-2.
Game 4 – Yankee Stadium (10/29): In the top of the first with one man on, Freddy Freeman (yes, again) hit a 2-run homer. His fourth homer in consecutive games (a streak of six going back to his World Series with the Braves in 2021 – tying a record). Déjà vu. Karma for another Dodger victory and a World Series sweep?
Not. The Yankees finally woke up, aided by the Dodgers running out of starting pitchers and being forced to use a series of relievers. It was a rout, and the Yankees won 11-4.
The most-watched replay from the game is a catch by Mookie Betts in foul territory. As he reached over the fence and caught the ball, two fans wrestled with him to dislodge the ball. One of most egregious acts of fan interference ever. Video here.
Game 5 – Yankee Stadium (10/31): The Yankees started Game 5 like they finished Game 4. They took a quick 5-0 lead on homers from Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and Giancarlo Stanton. Yankee ace Gerritt Cole held the Dodgers hitless through four innings. Then came what may have been the worst inning in Yankee history.
In the top of the 5th, the Dodgers finally got their first hit, a single by Kike Hernandez. Next up was Tommy Edman who lifted a lazy fly ball to center (a “can of corn” in vintage baseball talk). Aaron Judge settled in to make the catch. He dropped it! The next batter, Will Smith, grounded to shortstop Anthony Volpe who made a bad throw to third on what should have been a force out. Bases loaded. Nobody out.
Yankee pitcher Gerritt Cole then did two good things, followed by one very bad thing. The too good things were striking out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani. Bases still loaded, but with two outs. Mookie Betts was next and hit an easy grounder to first where Anthony Rizzo fielded the ball. Rizzo expected to toss it to Cole covering first, but Cole slowed down, apparently thinking Rizzo would run over and touch first. They were both wrong, and Mookie was safe at first. Hard to believe when you see this photo of Rizzo fielding the ball. Video here.
After three Yankee misplays, the Dodgers were ready for some hitting. Freddie Freeman knocked in two runs. So did Teoscar Hernandez. Suddenly it was 5-5. All Dodger runs were unearned.
The Yankees got a run in the 6th to regain the lead, 6-5. In the top of the 8th, the Dodgers loaded the bases with nobody out. Gavin Lux hit a sacrifice fly to score the man on third to tie the game. Shohei Ohtani came to the plate, which under normal circumstances would seem positive. But the shoulder injury from Game 2 was still bothering Ohtani, and he had been ineffective. When he swung at the first pitch, his bat caught a piece of catcher Austin Wells’ glove. Catcher interference! This meant Ohtani was awarded first base. Yet another misplay by the Yankees. This brought to the plate Mookie Betts who hit the first pitch for a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run (7-6).
The Yankees had two more chances in the 8th and 9th but failed to score.
The Dodgers won the World Series, four games to one. The New York press had some sad headlines for their team (sample below). One pundit still gave them hope: “The Yankees still have a chance to win if Mike Pence does the right thing.”
My sympathy to the Damn Yankees. Not.
As for MVP Freddie Freeman, he knocked out six hits: one single, one triple and four home runs (an OPS of 1.364). He finished the 5-game Series with 12 RBIs, tying the Series record set by Bobby Richardson in 1960 (a 7-game series).
Los Angeles will now get to have its first World Series parade in 36 years. The last one was in 1988 when Kirk Gibson hit his homer. Although they also won in 2020, there was no parade. That was the 60-game Covid year. Vive la difference.
The Chiefs, Dodgers and Presidential Politics: Some campaign trivia as we await next Tuesday’s results.
In 2020, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. The Dodgers won the World Series. A week after the World Series, Donald Trump lost his bid for the presidency.
In 2024, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. The Dodgers won the World Series. A week after the World Series, I’m looking for déjà vu.
Royals Trivia/2024 World Series: When we do a lookback for ten years of World Series winners, the Royals still make the cut.
And since the Yankees lost this year, we still have some bragging rights. Since 2010, the Yankees have won one pennant (2024) and no World Series. The Royals have won two pennants (2014 and 2015) and one World Series (2015).
Buehler/Bumgarner: In the 2024 World Series, Walker Buehler started and got the win in Game 3. He also pitched in relief in Game 5 and got the save for the clinching game.
In the 2014 World Series, as Royal fans will sadly remember, Madison Bumgarner of the Giants started Games 1 and 5 and won them. He also pitched in relief in Game 7 and got the save for the clinching game.
These are the only two pitchers who have won a game and saved a clinching World Series game since saves became an official stat in 1969.
Roberto Clemente Award: As the World Series kicked off, MLB announced the 2024 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award. It’s recognized as one of the most prestigious of MLB honors and is given to a player representing the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, on and off the field. Each team nominates a candidate, and among those 30 candidates, a winner is chosen. This year the winner is our own Salvador Perez. MLB announcement here.
In discussing the award, Salvy said, “If you take one day a month to try and make a kid happy, you’re going to make a difference for the rest of their life.”
Sounds a lot like the great and proud Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente…
Lonnie’s Jukebox – Buehler/Bueller Edition: Dodger pitcher Walker Buehler had a great World Series. He started Game 3 and pitched five scoreless innings. On social media, there were several references to “Walker Buehler’s Day On,” a play on the movie title “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
Since Buehler started Game 3, he was not expected to pitch again until Game 6 or 7. So, he would have some days off. But when the Dodgers took a 7-6 lead into the 9th inning of Game 5, manager Dave Roberts called on Buehler to close out the Series. Buehler did so with a 1-2-3 inning. Another Walker Buehler’s Day On.
I don’t have any music trivia for Walker Buehler, so I’ll move on to scenes and music from the movie.
The first clip will be the teacher calling roll and repeating the name of the missing student. “Bueller, Bueller…” Clip here. Dave Roberts got a better answer from Walker Buehler.
The Trailer: Click here.
Wrigley Field Scene: Click here.
The Museum Scene: Orchestral cover of “Please, Please, Please” by the Smiths. Click here.
Ferrari/Chicago Scene: “Beat City” by the Flowerpot Men. Click here.
Theme Song: “Oh Yeah” by Yello. Clips here.
Parade Scene: “Danke Schoen” by Wayne Newton and “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles. Click here.
Buehler? Bueller?
Walk-Off Photo: The photo below was taken by Kansas City Star photographer Talis Bergmanis (now retired). As noted above, Talis and his wife Anne were with Rita and me when we watched Kirk Gibson hit his iconic homer in 1988. Two weeks ago, Talis was inducted into the Missouri Photojournalism Hall of Fame. Congratulations Talis.
This photo was taken back in the days when the photographer had to hustle to the darkroom to process, print and transmit to the paper to make deadline. Talis captured this moment on a hot night at the K when Dan Quisenberry picked up a hose in the bullpen to playfully cool off the fans.
