What a time it is to be a Los Angeles sports fan. The LA Dodgers have won their first World Series since 1988! The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 to obtain their seventh World Series title. LA won in a fashion that has never seen before, facing off with the Rays in the midst of a pandemic. This was the first time in MLB history that the World Series was played at a neutral site, with all of the games being held in Texas. This was LA’s 20th World Series appearance, making it three of the last four. It was a very sweet moment for Dodger fans to finally be able to see their team hold up the gold.

Mariah Castellanos, senior, has been waiting for this moment for quite some time now. “I have this weird feeling inside, it’s like, a lot of joy, but it is different because it has just been sitting and waiting for four years now. Each time we made it to the World Series there was a point in the series where I was like “okay, we got this” and I could feel the happiness and pride of having my favorite team come out on top, but we lost, and then lost the year after that. Last year was disappointing because we had our best regular season, I believe, and came up short in the playoffs against the Nationals.”

The Dodgers have had quite the slate of disappointing seasons over the years. Losing to the Houston Astros, then to the Boston Red Sox the following year. Last year the Dodgers were heavily favored to win the World Series heading into the playoffs, having a franchise-high 12 walk-off wins in the regular season, but they fell short prior to the World Series, being upset by the Washington Nationals who went on to win the title that same year. The Dodgers were not happy with their roster, looking for an upgrade even though they had the reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger. LA went out and got themselves another MVP, in the name of Mookie Betts. The trade came with the Boston Red Sox, and it was all but worth it. Mookie made key plays throughout the entirety of the playoffs, from hitting home runs to stealing them from the opposing team. Betts signed a 12 year $365 million contract extension with the Dodgers, so LA fans, he is here to stay!

Castellanos went on to state “You know, it’s funny because I thought we were good in the years that we came up short, but just didn’t have the best luck, but now, I am sure that we are really really good and do not need luck on our side to come out on top. Bringing Betts in was the best thing that could have happened for us, pairing him with Cody [Bellinger]. I am excited for what the future holds, hopefully, a few more championships!”