“The Dodgers a strike away. From a championship. From a proper celebration. Start the party, Los Angeles! Your Dodgers have won the World Series.”
The now famous words said by broadcaster Joe Davis rang through virtually every household in Los Angeles County as Walker Buehler flung a curveball through Alex Verdugo, sealing the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series victory.
A moment that could only be described as pure joy and validation, one that, for many fans, felt overdue.
Even though the Dodgers hoisted the commissioner’s trophy in 2020, their championship was often met in discussion with an asterisk, dismissed by some as a product of the shortened COVID 60-game season. But this time, there would be no debates, no qualifiers, just a title that belonged entirely to Los Angeles and those who have stood by their boys in blue.
The world came to a halt when COVID-19 shut down MLB just weeks before Opening Day as spring training came to a wrap. The anticipation surrounding the Dodgers was momentous as the team had just acquired star outfielder Mookie Betts in a trade with the Boston Red Sox.
Adding to the anticipation, the 2017 Astros’ cheating scandal had been exposed, fueling the Dodgers’ determination to prove themselves to not only MLB but to the fans across the nation as well.
“Remember the cheating scandal with the Astros came out that winter and a lot of the Dodger players had a lot of strong feelings to say, especially Cody Bellinger about that Astros team, so there was like an edge into that Dodger clubhouse going into 2020 and then boom COVID happened,” said Around the Diamond Media founder and lifelong Angelino, Roemello Villalobos.
However, when baseball resumed, it was under typically different circumstances. A shortened 60-game regular season, neutral-site playoffs and no fan attendance until the late playoff rounds diminished the traditional baseball postseason experience. While Dodgers fans and Angelinos celebrated the long-awaited victory, the outside baseball world downplayed it.
“Listen, man, I know everybody wants to downplay 2020 outside of LA, but that was legitimate,” Roemello recalled. “Everybody had the same opportunity. Everybody had to go through the same circumstances. And for me personally, that win meant so much. This city was broken. LA needed to heal,” Roemello said.
The fact there was even a discussion of an asterisk being placed on the Dodgers’ world series win in 2020 left a sour taste in many fans’ mouths as the years followed, especially as the team continued to disappoint the three years in between 2020 and 2024 even while performing spectacularly in the regular season.
For an entire generation of Dodgers fans who had never witnessed a championship, the 2020 win was deeply personal. The memories of heartbreak that stretched back to postseason disappointments in 2013, 2017, 2018 and beyond made the moment all the more emotional.
Yet, something was missing. The connection between the team and the city wasn’t fully realized. Fans weren’t in the stands to experience the highs and lows together. The victory was real, but it lacked the communal joy that defines championship moments.
Four years later, the Dodgers delivered another championship but this time, it felt different. The team played a full 162-game season, and more importantly, they were able to hoist the commissioner’s trophy through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles in front of their home fans.
The streets of L.A. exploded with joy. All across Southern California. There was no asterisk and no what-ifs. Just pure baseball magic.
The Dodgers’ comeback in Game 5 of the World Series, once thought to be a sure loss, flipped the script. “My cousin was panicking … I actually kind of gave up on that game,” MLB writer Andres Soto admitted. “But that fifth inning happened, that error happened, we tied it. And it was like, oh, shit. It was surreal almost.”
It wasn’t just about what happened on the field, though. The win felt symbolic, for the culture of the city. “[After the win] I feel like L.A.’s back,” he said. “Kendrick [Lamar] had a great year in general. That, coupled with the Dodgers in the World Series … It’s been a very, very good year for us,” Soto said.
And to those who still downplay 2020?
“Short season or not, it’s like you play the hand that’s dealt … Everybody had that exact same opportunity. If their team had won, they wouldn’t be saying this.” Soto said.
2024 and the celebrations that followed could only be described as a metaphorical mic drop. “It feels like, alright, now what are they going to say? We were able to shut everybody up for a second,” Soto added.
The 2024 title wasn’t just a win, it was a release. A release of frustration, of doubt, of years of postseason heartbreak and outside noise. This time, there were no caveats or asterisks, just a team, a city, and a championship that felt earned in every sense of the word.
For Dodgers fans, this was more than baseball. It was a reminder of resilience. Of loyalty paying off. Of what it means to finally have a moment that no one can take away. The Los Angeles Dodgers are champions again. Undisputed, undeniable, and inevitable.
