.png)
While the Red Sox celebrated their fourth World Series championship in 15 years Wednesday with a parade, Dodgers players can only dream of what it be like to take part in one.
It has been 30 years since Los Angeles had a taste of a title as the pursuit continues after falling short this season, marking the second straight year they were on the doorstep only to see their hopes fall short.
As good as the Dodgers were in going to back-to-back World Series, manager Dave Roberts and his players tipped their hats to Boston after the Red Sox won it all four games to one.
“I think we can always go back and look at certain moments,” he said. “That’s what we do. That’s what people do. But ultimately, that was a very good ball club over there. A lot of times you make your own breaks and you still have to go out there and perform. To their credit, when we gave them opportunities, they got big hits and we didn’t. That’s baseball. When you play a seven games series, there are certainly moments that can go either way. It’s tough to say but the better team won.”
Dodger Pitcher Clayton Kershaw has to make an important contract decision, specifically, whether he will opt out of the remaining two years and $65 million on his contract.
“There’s only one team that can win and we know that,” he said following the 5-1 Game 5 loss at home. “It just hurts worse when you make it all the way and get second place. Having done that two years in a row now doesn’t make it any easier, I’m proud to be part of a group that did make it to the World Series two years and a row. Proud of what we were able to accomplish this year as a team.”
Dodger outfielder Yasiel Puig added: “Everybody in the clubhouse feels bad. We’re sad. We didn’t do what it takes to win a championship.”
Manny Machado, the Dodger’s shortstop, said his club simply didn’t have enough to beat the Red Sox, the team with the most wins in Major League Baseball this season. “They played well,” he said. “I think they had the momentum going for them. We weren’t able to get past the hump.”
Max Muncy, who led the Dodgers in homers this season during the regular season with 35, said, “there’s only one team every year that goes home with a win and they were that team this year,” he said. “They played very well. Hats off to them. They definitely played the best and it showed. It’s a terrible feeling and it’s not fun.”
Falling short wasn’t what Dodger third baseman Justin Turner envisioned, but soon he says his team will “bounce back, regroup, get into the off season workouts and put our eye on the target for next year.”
Dodger pitcher Rich Hill, noting it was a good fight, said: “We had opportunities to win ball games but fell short.”
