By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -The Los Angeles Dodgers can cement a special place in baseball history if they clinch a third World Series title in six years and become MLB’s first repeat champions since 2000, but manager Dave Roberts says the team is taking it one game at a time.
Roberts said he laid out the opportunity on the first day of Spring Training but has not raised it since, wary of adding pressure on himself or his players.
“For us it’s about being in the moment, taking care of business and at the end of the season, you can look back,” he told reporters this week.
“Right now the only focus is winning Game One.”
A World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays would put the Dodgers on the “Mount Rushmore” of sports organizations, Roberts said, while adding that debates about legacy are for others.
“Right now we’re just focused on the Blue Jays. We need to play good baseball and hopefully we put that topic of legacy on the table for people to debate,” he said.
First baseman Freddie Freeman said another title would put the Dodgers alongside the New York Yankees team that won three straight 25 years ago and the San Francisco Giants clubs that triumphed in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
“Just winning one is hard,” he said. “So yeah I guess you can call this, if we do do it, a modern-day dynasty.”
OHTANI’S IMPACT
The Dodgers are led by two-way standout Shohei Ohtani, who delivered a historic Game Four against the Brewers in the National League Championship Series to send the club back to the Fall Classic. Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 over six scoreless innings in a 5-1 win to earn NLCS MVP honors.
Despite the heroics, the Japanese superstar placed a sign reading “Team Effort” on the trophy and moved it to the center of the clubhouse.
“For me it’s not a surprise because Shohei is such a great teammate and that award was a team effort,” Roberts said.
Toronto finished with a better regular-season record and holds home-field advantage, but Los Angeles remains the favorite in part due to dominant starting pitching.
The quartet of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani has been nearly unhittable in October, and the club has settled on 23-year-old Roki Sasaki as closer.
The lineup also packs power, with a trio of MVPs – Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman – at the top of the order.
Despite the star power and Hollywood spotlight, the clubhouse is a tight-knit group that has avoided ego clashes, with Betts likening the team to the Chicago Bulls NBA dynasty and calling Ohtani the Dodgers’ Michael Jordan.
“It would mean everything to me,” Betts said of another title.
“Obviously we play the game to win a World Series and you’re doing pretty well if you can win three titles in six years. And my end goal and the goal of everyone is to be in the Hall of Fame one day and so that definitely helps the case.”
Game One of the World Series is Friday in Toronto.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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