The Dodgers swept the Brewers in the NLCS to punch their ticket to their second straight World Series in a purely dominant stretch of four games.
They outscored the gritty and young No. 1 seeded Brew Crew by a score of 15-4, and now wait until the Blue Jays-Mariners bloodbath comes to a conclusion.
Of course, Shohei Ohtani awoke from his postseason slumber at the best possible time, and put together what some are calling the best single-game performance in baseball history, tossing six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, along with three home runs at the plate.
The Dodgers appear to have outsmarted the rest of the league, and their strategy is far greater than simply outspending the league.
The Dodgers spent over $1 billion to sign Ohtani as well as Japanese standout pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. Before Ohtani showed why he is the best player on the planet, it was Sasaki that was arguably the Dodgers’ postseason MVP.
The Unsung Hero
In his first month in the big leagues, Sasaki pitched to a 4.72 ERA and looked outmatched as a starter. After being demoted on May 9, Sasaki would not pitch until September 24th, but from then on, pitched to a 0.90 ERA along with three saves in the postseason.
The 23-year-old Japanese phenom played a major role in closing out all three of the Dodgers’ NLDS wins over the Phillies, and helped patch up a major weakness for the Dodgers heading into the postseason.
It was only general manager Andrew Friedman’s valuation of guys like Sasaki, and the formation of a favorable culture for Japanese standouts including Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, along with Hyeseong Kim, that made Sasaki’s late season success possible.
Of course, Yamamoto has been as advertised in his second year, and would have made a legitimate push for Cy Young if Paul Skenes didn’t exist.
The Easy Scapegoat
As the Dodgers return to the Fall Classic as a team so representative of baseball’s parity problem, there’s much more to consider than just the team’s loose wallet.
