Letters to the Editor: ‘I don’t sleep in October’ — on being a Dodger fan right now
The Daily News welcomes letters from readers on this issue.
Why are the Dodgers so good?
• I watch the team weekly on TV. I watch their games on tape delay. I read them in the newspaper. So I watch the games. I am interested, because I’m passionate about sports. I’m not too excited or too pessimistic or anything. I just have this interest in seeing the Dodgers play, every week, every year. So I watch.
• I live in Southern California. So I don’t go to games.
• I don’t go out of my way to see the Dodgers play. I used to, but I’ve gotten more and more interested recently.
I also like this team, but I don’t have to watch them. I’m not trying to force myself on anybody. I don’t think I’m trying to get in anybody’s way. I have a passion for this team and I feel like when I watch them play, it’s a privilege to be at a Dodger game. I never ask why Dodger fans are so passionate. I respect them more than I respect some other fans.
What is it about the Dodgers that makes you so interested?
And more importantly, why are they so good?
They won the National League championship in 2007 and the World Series in 2008, when the Oakland A’s won both. They are the defending World Series champions, and have been the only team to sweep all three major league pennant races since 1969 — the exception being the last two seasons of the 2004-05 and 2005-06 titles.
Why have they never lost a series? I would say that’s not entirely on their records. They are in the game because of what they have done.
They played in the N.L. West last season, and the N.L. West is one of the toughest divisions. Not only do you play the toughest competition, but you play the best competition. Their record last year in the N.L. West was an unblemished 31-14, with 17 wins against only five losses.
In the postseason, they beat the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals, and have done it six consecutive times, dating back to the 1999 World Series.