World Series Bliss: Dave Roberts Recalls Pure Joy and Elation of…
The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship in franchise history by defeating the New York Yankees in five games.
It was the Dodgers’ second World Series title since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in six games.
The 2020 win ended a drought that spanned more than three decades. However, the team wasn’t able to have a traditional celebration due to the restrictions that were in place.
Manager Dave Roberts compared the emotions he felt after each World Series-clinching victory during a recent appearance on the “On Base with Mookie Betts” podcast.
“When we won it in ‘20, it was like relief and I couldn’t even enjoy it. But this one, when Walker punched out Verdugo, it was pure joy and elation. And I’m still enjoying it, Mook. We’ve had all these haters tell us this or that and the other, all this noise that I always try to get you guys to block out. So once he made that last pitch, I just looked to the sky, looked to my father who is resting peacefully up there in heaven, and I couldn’t be happier.”
The Dodgers’ decisive win over the Yankees was poetic in many ways as the team had to overcome a five-run deficit in Game 5. Just like the other instances of adversity they encountered during the 2024 season, L.A. was able to move past it.
Game 5 of the World Series also saw Walker Buehler record the final three outs, which was a rewarding end to an otherwise challenging year for the right-hander.
Roberts previously said one of the motivating factors for the team to win the 2024 World Series was getting to hold a parade in Los Angeles.
That ended up coming to fruition, which reportedly saw hundreds of thousands of fans show up to celebrate the championship with the Dodgers.
Dave Roberts ‘feared’ potential Game 6 of World Series
Had the Yankees held on to win Game 5, Roberts admitted that he was nervous with how the rest of the World Series could have played out.
No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in World Series history, but Roberts was part of the 2004 Boston Red Sox that successfully did so against the Yankees to reach that year’s Fall Classic.
