Without question, the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers were the greatest team I’ve ever seen. Moreover, I will always feel like that trophy the Houston Astros hold belongs at Dodger Stadium. Especially this time of year, I find myself thinking of those lovable 2017 Dodgers that fell tragically one game short.
exactly 2 years ago. game 2 of the 2017 world series. from that day on, i was dead inside. pic.twitter.com/DH1GNSNQ9E
— 31 years and counting (@PDXDodgerFan) October 25, 2019
Now, Will Leitch of MLB.com writes on the best teams to not win a World Series Championship. Notably, Leitch agrees with me on the 2017 Dodgers’ greatness. Here’s what he had to say about them in ranking them the number one team of all-time not to bring home the gold.
Which disappointing Dodgers team of this era do you choose? They’ve made the playoffs seven consecutive years but never won the big prize. The year they won the most games was 2019, but they lost in the National League Division Series, which is probably too early for our purposes, so we’ll go with 2017. They won 104 games that year and breezed through the first two rounds before running into the just-as-hot Astros in the Series.
The first five games of the Series were incredibly intense, culminating in a wild 10-inning 13-12 Astros win in Game 5. The Dodgers won Game 6, setting them up for an elimination game at home. But Yu Darvish gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings of work, and they were ushered, drama-free, out of the series. They lost in the World Series again the next season, though it wasn’t as close that time.
Truly, that doesn’t make things any easier when considering that the Dodgers didn’t get it done that year. Currently when I see George Springer, I think about the home run he hit in game two of that series. When I watch a game at Minute Maid Park in Houston, my first thought will always be gave five of the 2017 World Series. Easily the greatest game that I ever saw, and a coin-flip ending that swung the series forever.
The loss in 2017 will always hurt more than any other, at least to me. Do you agree with Leitch and I that the 2017 Dodgers were the best team of your lifetime not to win it all? Let us know in the comments below.
