Los Angeles Dodgers' Cody Bellinger is congratulated after scoring against the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning during a spring training baseball game Monday, March 9, 2020, in Peoria, Ariz. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Dodgers forced to wait for redemption

Josh Demers March 17, 2020 MLB 540 Views

Just like the rest of the sports world, the Los Angeles Dodgers are stuck in limbo.

How long will their season remain on pause? Well, nobody really knows.

When Major League Baseball halted all operations for two weeks and delayed Opening Day on Thursday, the Dodgers, like everyone else, remained optimistic. So much so that Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts said that the players elected to remain close to the team’s facilities so they could continue to stay in shape.

New Precautions Being Taken

Since Thursday, the number of positive tests for COVID-19 has more than tripled in the United States. The number of deaths has more than doubled.

Surely with that in mind, Major League Baseball announced its decision to delay Opening Day even further.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Monday that they’d follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommended restriction on all events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks.

As COVID-19 continues to spread, the CDC and MLB were left without a choice. Dodgers’ Opening Day was originally slated for March 26. Now, the earliest and most optimistic start date is in mid-May.

Looking Forward

With nearly every professional league on hold, all anyone can do is look to the future. For the Dodgers, that is quite exciting. The 2020 season is one full of intrigue and excitement.

It’s also a season poised to show off shiny new additions.

The club’s off-season trade to land former American League MVP Mookie Betts and former Cy Young David Price shook the sports world and shifted World Series odds in the Dodgers’ favor. Betts and Price join a roster that already boasts a three-time Cy Young Award winner (Clayton Kershaw), two MVPs (Cody Bellinger and Kershaw) and a Rookie of the Year (Corey Seager).

With so much talent, this star-studded Dodgers team is fully expected to be the one that ends the club’s 32-year championship drought.

In fact, Dodgers’ legend Orel Hershiser believes that this team benefits from the season’s delay.

Hershiser, who helped lead the Dodgers to their last title in 1988, said that the Dodgers’ leadership and cohesiveness prepare the club well for the shortened season.

The MLB Hall of Famer has a point. The Dodgers have made the playoffs every season since 2013. During that seven-year stretch, they’ve also appeared in two World Series. Dave Roberts and Clayton Kershaw have been tormented by fans and media for their inability to win a title. The 2020 team may finally be the team to do it.

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