illustration by Gabrielle Rodriguez
Los Angeles is known to be a city inundated with trophies. Grammys, Oscars and Emmys usually rule Hollywood, but on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers brought back a long-awaited World Series trophy to the City of Angels when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Six of the Fall Classic, clinching their first title in 32 years.
Even though Trinity students are spread across the country this semester, many students still tuned in to the World Series and shared their thoughts on the Dodgers’ win as well as Major League Baseball’s (MLB) historic season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a neutral viewer, I mainly wanted to see exciting gameplay between the two top seeded teams from either league. The Rays came into the series with an impenetrable bullpen and hot bats from Randy Arozarena, while the Dodgers came in with a superstar roster and a ludicrous regular season [win/loss] record,” said senior Dylan Stansbury
Jacob Stubbs, a junior, was also not rooting for any particular team, but he noted the feats accomplished by more than one Los Angeles sports team this year.
“I had thought that the Dodgers were definitely the team to beat this season, so I wasn’t surprised to see them win. It was cool to see the Dodgers and Lakers win in the same year for the first time in a while,” Stubbs said.
The last time the Dodgers and Lakers won a championship in the same year was 1988, which also happens to be the last time the Dodgers won the World Series at all. Sophomore Maddie Ellis shared the excitement she felt in seeing the Dodgers break their championship drought.
“It’s pretty great for the Dodgers since they haven’t won in such a long time! I wouldn’t say I was surprised though because they played a really good season this year,” Ellis said.
Senior Kelli Steward was also rooting for the Dodgers to win throughout the postseason and then into the World Series.
“I was happy that the Dodgers won because I’ve been to several of their games and always enjoy them. I honestly was surprised that teams like Tampa Rays & Oakland A’s advanced,” Steward said.
Rei Esaka, a junior, was also rooting for the Dodgers. More specifically, he was thrilled to see long time starting pitcher Clyaton Kershaw finally win it all.
“Kershaw finally got his ring because he deserves it,” Esaka said.
Stansbury echoed that same sentiment, making it clear Kershaw earned a lot of respect among Trinity students and fans across the board.
“I’m happy Kershaw finally got a ring, he definitely deserves it. Even as an Astros fan, watching him surpass Verlander’s strikeout record was awesome,” Stansbury said.
Junior Omar Hinedi couldn’t believe MLB made it through the regular season at all, and although he enjoyed it, Hinedi isn’t pleased with Commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the season.
“I was shook there even was a World Series.The season started off terribly with various teams having COVID breakouts, but it was honestly one of the best world series I’ve ever watched. That being said, Rob Manfred is terrible for baseball and I’m hoping he isn’t commissioner for long,” Hinedi said.
Hosting the World Series during a pandemic does come with concerns for many people. The public learned shortly after the game on Tuesday that Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner contracted the coronavirus and tested positive during Game Six. Despite being told to isolate, he celebrated the win on the field with his teammates, took off his mask for pictures and kissed his wife.
Sarah Gorham, a sophomore, worried there will be more cases announced in the coming days from people who were close to Turner.
“I’m intrigued that only one person got COVID despite being inside the bubble and they let him play until he was removed from the game after testing positive. Then they let him back onto the field to celebrate even though he has COVID. I’m sure there will be way more cases in the next coming days,” Gorham said.
One thing that is for sure is that the 2020 MLB season and World Series will go down in history as one of the most memorable, and certainly one of the most unique, of all time. Just over 11,000 fans were let into games creating a socially distanced stadium, COVID-19 became a huge storyline and a powerhouse team that had not won in over 30 years finally claimed the title. After all that excitement, Spring Training can’t come soon enough.
