--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The Dodgers won the World Series last night. Swing and a miss! And the Dodgers are World Series champions! Los Angeles noticed. Japan noticed. New York certainly noticed. Atrocious defense from the Yankees. But did the rest of the world notice?
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: America's pastime has been in a bit of a slump for the last several years. On Today Explained, we're going to ask if the Los Angeles Dodgers' absolutely bonkers season was enough to draw people back in.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The Sultan of Swat! The King of Crash! The Colossus of Clout! The Colossus of Clout! Today explained! The Gray Bambino!
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Richard Parks III is the host of the Dodger Blue Dream Podcast. It's an entire show dedicated to just this one season of Dodger baseball.
--:-- Richard Parks III: There's something so delicious about following a baseball season from start to finish. It's better than a good book. It's better than the best movie that's coming out this weekend. And as a lifelong baseball fan, I just wanted to bottle that narratively and share that with other people who maybe otherwise would just have to listen to me talk too long at a cocktail party about it.
--:-- Richard Parks III: Lucky for Richard, his team ended up winning the World Series. But even before that, the Dodgers had a once-in-a-lifetime cinematic season. Richard looked back on it for KCRW Public Radio in Los Angeles, and now he's going to do it right here for you.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Most baseball seasons start in the springtime. This season started way back in December. At least it felt that way for us Dodger fans.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Breaking news from Major League Baseball, where Shohei Ohtani is signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. $700 million. $700 million. The largest contract in sports history. And you might be thinking, what's worth $700 million? Well... He hits towering home runs. Oh, that is gone! And way gone! Shohei Ohtani on top of the batter's eye. Ohtani's ready. And as a pitcher, he's an ace. 3-2. He struck him out! He's the first player since Babe Ruth to both hit and pitch simultaneously at the major league level.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Within hours of his signing, Ohtani had broken the record for jerseys sold by a sports star. The reason why I chose the team. And he and the Dodgers had a shared goal. I knew that they were all about winning, and that's exactly how I feel, so that's one of the things that stood out.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The World Series. The Dodgers are a perennial first-place team. They've made the playoffs every year for more than a decade. But they've won the World Series only once in that span in 2020, and LA didn't get a parade this offseason.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The Dodgers spent $1.4 billion, with a B, dollars, bolstering an already stellar roster of MVPs like Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. The new Death Star Dodgers team made 2024 the most highly anticipated season in Dodgers history.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: But as soon as the season got underway in March, a bombshell. You following that baseball player, Shohei Otani? $700 million contract with the L.A. Dodgers, and now there's some weird stuff going on with gambling. $4.5 million betting scandal. A news story broke linking Otani to a gambling operation under federal investigation.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Wire transfers sent to an illegal bookmaker had surfaced, totaling millions of dollars with Otani's name on them. Otani's then translator, Ipe Mizuhara, confessed the truth. He had been draining Otani's bank account for years to pay for a massive gambling addiction.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's how the Dodgers kicked off the 2024 baseball season with a PR nightmare. The season has not begun the way Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers or Major League Baseball, anticipated.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, Richard, I hate to interrupt you. And I even hate to ask this question because I know how much you love Shohei Ohtani. But we must acknowledge people out there believe that there was a cover up and that it was actually Otani who was doing the betting on ballgames.
--:-- Richard Parks III: Yeah, it sounds like people who haven't read a 37-page federally investigated criminal complaint the way I have based on text messages on both Ipe's phone and Shohei's phone that completely exonerates Shohei of any wrongdoing whatsoever.
--:-- Richard Parks III: Say more. It's something like 9 pages of text message exchanges between these two men over the course of the previous several years. And there was no mention of gambling sports betting wire transfers anything like that. There's overwhelming evidence Ipe dealt with the bank impersonating Shohei and giving the personal information that he needed to change the permissions and the passwords for this bank account that he had helped Shohei set up when he first came to the States.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Okay, thank you for clearing that up. Let's get back to the season. Okay, cool. As March turned to April, Otani had yet to hit his first home run as a Dodger. In May, third baseman Max Muncy was placed on the injured list indefinitely. And then, on Father's Day at Dodger Stadium... Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. Dodgers MVP Mookie Betts was hit by a pitch and fell to the ground. He's having trouble moving. He'd fractured a bone in his left hand. Now he was out too.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The injury bug had arrived in the Dodgers clubhouse. By the All-Star break in mid-July, the Dodgers had an entire starting rotation's worth of ace pitchers all on the injured list. Then, in late July, Freddie Freeman, another MVP, was scratched from the lineup indefinitely. Freeman's three-year-old son was hospitalized with a rare neurological disorder. He woke up Monday morning with a limp. And by Monday night he couldn't walk anymore.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Another key player and another team leader was out indefinitely. And yet, throughout it all, the team was finding ways to win. Veterans and backup players stepped up to fill in the gaps left by injuries and personal crises. The bullpen became the team's strength, picking up the slack for a banged-up starting rotation. And a handful of trade deadline pickups joined the ranks, ready to fight for a title.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: One night in early August, Freddie Freeman was announced as a batter in the first inning. His son was going to be okay, and he was back. And a couple weeks after that, Mookie Betts returned from his injury, and Shohei Otani was on fire. By mid-August, he was nearing a historic achievement. Only five players in the history of baseball had ever done it. 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And one magical night in late August at Dodger Stadium. From the right center field. Series going back. He's at the track. He's at the wall. 40-40. Rockoff grand slam. No way. What a moment. History.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: On September 19th, Shohei went 50-50. 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. Nobody had ever done that. The 0-2 pitch. A pop-up. A week later, the Dodgers clinched the division. Tested and bruised, but still unbroken. And division champs again. They finished the regular season with the best record in baseball.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: They beat the heavily favored Padres in the National League Division Series. They beat the red-hot New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. The stage was set for a Hollywood ending. Dodgers versus Yankees in the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers have just about done the impossible. Start the party, Los Angeles! Your Dodgers have won the World Series. They've done it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm talking to you at 1248 a.m. East Coast time. Yes. Which is 9.48 p.m. for you in California, Los Angeles. Very specifically Pacific time. The Dodgers won the World Series an hour-ish ago.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: How does it feel to have followed this team in great detail in a podcast in a winning season? It feels complete and fulfilling and transcendent. Beyond words, obviously.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: The World Series ended up being kind of lopsided. Did you care? You know, I had dreamed of this matchup my entire life. The pinstripes, you know, versus my Dodgers, Dem Bums. I had always wanted these two teams to meet because it's basically like East Coast versus West Coast, Biggie versus Tupac. You know, it's good versus evil.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And so I dreamed of this. And of course, I wanted it to be a hard-fought series with all of the delicious tension of October baseball in every inning. And it didn't end up being that way. But there's nothing better than winning. I'll take it any way that I can get it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Yeah. A friend of mine texted from Los Angeles like 20 minutes ago and said, I just wish I cared about baseball. Do you think this World Series between these two titans was enough to get people who don't care about baseball excited?
--:-- Richard Parks III: Yeah, I think so. Because you had all the greatest superstars in the game on the same stage. Doing this project, I've been getting feedback from those who are listening. And I think that this is a season where baseball is pushing outside of its typical parameters because you have these larger-than-life figures like Shohei Otani and Aaron Judge.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And, you know, baseball is sexy again. Like, get with it. Richard Parks III, his show is Dodger Blue Dream. It's the definitive account of this historic season the Dodgers just had. Shoutouts to KCRW Public Radio in Los Angeles for asking Richard to summarize his show in seven minutes.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: You can hear Today Explained on their air Monday to Friday.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Now, let's get to our next guest. Jared Diamond is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. He's been covering baseball for The Journal since 2013. So, Jared, welcome to the show.
--:-- Jared Diamond: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: So, Jared, I have to ask, what's the deal with your name? Is it an aptonym?
--:-- Jared Diamond: Ah, yeah. I've been covering baseball for so long, and I've learned recently there's a word for this. It's called an aptonym. It's a word that refers to someone's name that is indicative of their job.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Ah, that's cool. I didn't know that.
--:-- Jared Diamond: Yeah, it's a thing. And I've been told that my name is a perfect example of it.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's awesome. So, Jared, let's talk about baseball. You've been covering it for a long time. What's your take on the current state of the sport?
--:-- Jared Diamond: Well, baseball has been in a bit of a slump for the last several years. It's been struggling to attract new fans and retain existing ones. But, you know, it's not all doom and gloom. There are some positive signs.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: What do you mean?
--:-- Jared Diamond: Well, attendance is up. TV ratings are up. And the game itself is becoming more exciting. The pitch clock, for example, has been a game-changer. It's sped up the game and made it more fast-paced.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's true. I've noticed that the games are definitely shorter now.
--:-- Jared Diamond: Yeah, it's been a big improvement. And, you know, it's not just the pitch clock. The game itself is becoming more exciting. The players are more athletic, the strategies are more complex...
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's great to hear. But, Jared, I have to ask, was this World Series the ultimate test of baseball's appeal? And if so, was it a failure?
--:-- Jared Diamond: Ah, yeah. I think it was a test, and it was a failure. The Dodgers just steamrolled the Yankees. It was a lopsided series, and it didn't really capture the nation's attention.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's a shame. But, Jared, you're an optimist. You think baseball is going to be okay, right?
--:-- Jared Diamond: Yeah, I do. I think baseball is going to be just fine. It's a timeless sport, and it's got a lot of heart. And, you know, it's not just about the game itself. It's about the community, the tradition...
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's true. Baseball is a big part of American culture.
--:-- Jared Diamond: Yeah, it is. And I think it's going to be around for a long time.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: Well, Jared, thanks for joining us on the show.
--:-- Jared Diamond: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for listening, everyone.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And, you know, it's not just about the game itself. It's about the community, the tradition...
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: That's true. Baseball is a big part of American culture.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for listening, everyone.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for listening, everyone.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for listening, everyone.
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--:-- Sean Rameswaram: And that's a wrap for today's show. Thanks for listening, everyone.
--:-- Sean Rameswaram: I'm Sean Rameswaram, and I'm a fan. Here at Today Explained.
