[Sport] Dodgers broke spell in GL's most atypical campaign

[EvKirito]

                                                                                   

 

Pedro G. Briceño

Santo Domingo, RD

 

 

2020 was atypical and the Major League Baseball season did not escape so that everything was different from how its steady and progressive trajectory has been in much more than a century.

 

A season that began on July 23, about four months later than planned, a fact that saw the number of games reduced from 162 as is customary since 1961, the American and the following year the National to just 60 this year.

 

For the first time in history, it was played with empty parks, the All-Star Game scheduled to take place at Dodger Stadium was closed for the first time since 1945 and even Cooperstown could not invest in its new members this year, Derek Jeter, Larry Walker, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller in the most premium ceremonial that any sport can record.

 

Although Covid 19 has attacked and attacks the world po[CENSORED]tion with great strength, with the United States leading the list of countries with 326,954 deaths, well above Brazil, which until yesterday had 187,322 deaths, even so and defying the adversity there was baseball, with all the restrictions and teams affected by the virus and that for a short time had to leave the stages, but the 2020 campaign at least had a happy ending, in fact with a few thousand fans in the stands.

 

And the monarchs were a team that had threatened to win the crown in the past five years, one of the most iconic franchises in the game, which each year is among the five highest payrolls, but had a string of 32 campaigns without lifting the trophy: Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

The same Dodgers, who even in the midst of the serious crisis produced by the pandemic awarded a contract to Mookie Betts, for 365 million for a dozen campaigns, whose candidate for Cooperstown Clayton Kershaw was strongly criticized because he had not been able to carry the ninth Angelina to the scepter, but this time it was possible for the team that with his crown completed the pair of monarchs for the great Hollywood, because a few weeks before the Lakers of LeBron James and Anthony Davis had been crowned in the NBA.

 

With Kershaw, Betts and a group that complemented Corey Seager, the MVP of the Series, Walker Buehrle, Cody Bellinger, Matt Muncy, Justin Turner, among others, the Dodgers beat the Tampa Rays 4-2 in a final that had Globe Life Field in Arlington is the setting for the first time that a team celebrates in a neutral park.

The playoffs had been raised to 16 teams and although the presence of the fans was absent, but from their homes baseball lovers enjoyed their respective series, in a campaign in which previously the Players Association and the Commissioner were involved in disputes.

 

Dominicans and their brands

Albert Pujols continued to reach historical records and this year he surpassed Willie Mays in the list of the best home runners, now with 662 and is in fifth place, he also reached 2,100 RBIs, third, 3,236 hits, occupying 15th place; he has 1,347 extra-base hits and is in fifth place.

 

While a handful of Dominicans recorded brilliant performances such as Marcel Ozuna (.338-18 homers and 56 produced), leader in these last lines with the Braves, Juan Soto, who at age 21 became the youngest batting champion, with its .351 this year; Manny Machado (.304-16-47), Fernando Tatis Jr. (.277-17-45), José Ramírez (.296-17-41), third in the race for the AL MVP, Nelson Cruz ( .303-16-33), Eloy Jiménez (.296-14-41), Teoscar Hernández had his best record with (.289-16-34), while Dinelson Lamet excelled in pitching (3-1 with 2.09 of ERA), Sixto Sánchez (3-2), while Alex Colomé had a great year in relief with a 0.81 ERA and a dozen saves.

 

No hitters and other records

This year, two no-hitters were launched, one by Lucas Giolito of the White Sox on August 25 against the Pirates, who went 4-0 and the other by Alec Mills, who beat 16-0 at the Brewers. This became the first time in history that pitchers from both Chicago teams have thrown no-hitters in the same season.

 

Deaths of immortals mourn GL

This year that ends in a few days will be remembered as mourning for baseball, in which at least six members of Cooperstown ceased to exist. These are the cases of Al Kaline (April 6), Tom Seaver (August 31), Whitey Ford (October 8), Bob Gibson (October 2), Lou Brock (September 6), Joe Morgan (September 11). October).