The Los Angeles Dodgers' season didn't end the way anyone in the organization imagined. After they fell to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series on Saturday night, though, manager Dave Roberts made sure the Dodgers kept their standout 2021 season in proper perspective.
“It was a tremendous season. It was a heck of a year,” Roberts said. “Going through a lot of different things that we went through that no one talked about, no one needed to talk about, and didn't let it affect our performance. That's something I was proud of. To win 106 games, to go through a wild card game, to then be pushed in a five-game series against a division rival to come out of that, and to be two wins away from going to the World Series. I think for me, I wanted those guys to be proud of that…the entire organization. Not just the guys in the room.”
Los Angeles went 106-56 during the regular season, the greatest record in franchise history and one game behind the division-rival San Francisco Giants for best in MLB. The Dodgers dispatched of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card game, then took down the Giants in the NLDS despite initially falling behind 2-1. Their dreams of winning the World Series were finally dashed on Saturday, as the Braves took the NLCS in six games with a 4-2 victory.
Obviously, Los Angeles fell short of achieving its ultimate goal. But just because the season didn't end with a trophy hardly means 2021 was an overall disappointment for the Dodgers.
“To say that it was a lost season or a wasted season or anything, you've never been in a Major League clubhouse and understand the sacrifices that people make,” Roberts said. “It's still not lost on any of that we didn't accomplish our goal. But for me, I'm giving credit to the Braves because they outplayed us, plain and simple.”
With a stellar manager like Roberts and a core of stars returning next season, expect Los Angeles to be right back in the running for the World Series this time a year from now.
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