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Being a defending champion is never simple. A bullseye is put on your back each game by your opponent, like a trained sniper assassin at war ready to kill and dethrone its enemy. Repeating as a champion is a rare feat in professional sports. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it has not occurred in quite some time. The New York Yankees were the last baseball team to repeat, three-peating from 1998-2000.
The Los Angeles Dodgers hope to be the first team to do so in a quarter century after many others have tried but failed. The 2021 Dodgers came close to repeating their success but lost in the NLCS to the eventual World Series Champion Atlanta Braves, while the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies were defeated by the Yankees. As of July 20, the team has been dominant with a 58-42 record, leading the NL West Division and ranking third in the National League behind the Cubs and Brewers.
They have arguably the most stacked roster in the major league with five All-Stars this season: Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and NL MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani. As of July 20, they averaged 5.3 runs per game (1st), 15.12 bases per game (4th), and sixth in run differential. Despite those eye-popping stats, the Dodgers have struggled of late.
Is it time to worry about the Dodgers?
The Dodgers have a 2-8 record over the last ten games, ranking them 23rd in the league in that span. While their hitting has been consistently strong, they have struggled with their pitching and defense this season. Their 8.34 hits allowed per nine innings put them in the bottom half of the league (17th) in terms of pitching. They rank 21st in WHIP, 23rd in earned run average per game, 23rd in home runs per nine innings, and 24th in walks per nine innings.
A large part of that is due to a slew of injuries to starting pitchers in the bullpen, including Blake Snell (shoulder), who has been on the injured list since April 6, as well as the continued integration of Ohtani into the pitching lineup after Tommy John surgery limited him to designated hitting last season, when he had a mythical 50/50 season.
Once you go down a rabbit hole—not a rabbit hole like I’m chasing something—but once you get down so far, up is so high that you just don’t even care about it anymore,” Betts told The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. “Obviously, yes, I do want to play better. But where I was and where I am now, it’s so night and day different.”
Betts’ struggles can be traced back to a stomach illness that caused him to lose 20 pounds at the end of spring training, as well as adjusting to playing shortstop full-time instead of right field, where he has had the majority of his career success, including MVP and Golden Glove with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
Factor in Freeman going out with an apparent wrist injury against the Brewers on Sunday, causing many to wonder if the Dodgers can get everyone healthy. Despite their recent struggles, there’s still plenty of time left in the regular season for Betts to find his rhythm, for the Dodgers to clean up their defense and pitching, and to overall get healthy as a club before the postseason.
Don’t count them out yet.
