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2017 is not another disappointing sequel for the Dodgers
Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his three-run home run to take a 4-0 lead over the New York Mets during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on June 19, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.  Harry How/Getty Images

Although you have seen this start before, this season is no sequel for the Dodgers

Perhaps this is finally the year for the Dodgers. I mean, what else could one possibly ask for out of a contender than what the Dodgers have produced over the first half of the season? They have the world’s greatest pitcher, a rookie sensation that regularly drops jaws and one of the most sterling records in all of baseball to show for it.

However it is also a scenario that, based on how their story has ended of late, sounds eerily familiar for a team that has won more regular season games than any other National League franchise in the game over the last four years too.

But that is just it: For the last five years, all that the Dodgers have been is a contender. They have won four consecutive National League West titles, but have failed to reach World Series pay dirt in any of those campaigns. Since 2008, no team has reached more National League Championship Series than LA, but they have failed to win as many as three games in any of those campaigns. Such as been the frustration in pushing through to the next level, that even three consecutive trips to the postseason was not enough to keep former manager Don Mattingly aboard. The expectations are sky high at Dodger Stadium, because the investment in the team’s success is atmospheric.

Ever since the club was purchased carrying a record price tag of $2 billion by the Guggenheim Group in 2012, the goal has been to make Dodger baseball be the epicenter of baseball. And to club management’s credit, the investment has matched that goal. 2017 marks the fourth consecutive year the Dodgers have led the majors in Opening Day salary, seeing a high-water mark in 2015 at $272 million, making it one of most expensive rosters in major sports history.


Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw's health remains important for the club's postseason dreams.  AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Yet a high sticker price alone has not been enough to pull LA into the driver’s seat in the NL. After some crushing postseason defeats at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals and seeing the previous two seasons elude their grip at the hands of the eventual NL World Series delegates in the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers entered 2017 seemingly in a competitive purgatory; a team with waves of talent, but seemingly no answers on how to get it over the hump.

A year ago underneath first-year manager Dave Roberts, the Dodgers had to scrape by with a shadow of a roster, winning the NL West while sending an MLB-record 28 different players to the disabled list. At one point, the club had seven different starting pitchers alone reach the DL, including the ace of all aces, Clayton Kershaw. Despite this, the 2016 Dodgers fought their way back up the standings, fueled by the breakout performance of eventual Rookie of the Year Corey Seager and a triumphant return from Kershaw. A resilient LA club rallied from early struggles that saw them dip beneath .500 in April to finishing 20 games over sea level to win the West yet again.

Something is different this year.

Perhaps it is best to say that this year’s club has been more decisive in the way it has gone about business. Coming off a 10-game winning streak, they find themselves in their customary spot atop the NL West, but in a much more dominant fashion than in years. They are second in the NL in runs scored, while also carrying the lowest team ERA in the National League. While the Dodger clubs of the past have been unable to get acclimated enough to make a run together, this year’s team has had no issues of the type. Everything making waves throughout the game have this club positioned to be the best collective to suit up in Dodger blue in a generation.

But the specter of unmet expectations of yesteryear loom a bit higher than over Chavez Ravine than elsewhere. Why should it be different this time around? What says that this is the ever-elusive year for them to breakthrough to October bliss that have not been seen in Dodger baseball since the days of Tommy Lasorda?


Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager hits a two run home run in the first inning against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 20, 2017. Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

An easy line to draw heads in one direction: Cody Bellinger. Few players have ever had the start to a career that Bellinger has, as he has already set a handful of eye-popping records in less than two months’ time. The 21-year-old’s ascent has been impossible to avoid this summer, has he has joined Albert Pujols as the only rookie in MLB history to reach 20 home runs in 21 games over fewer. This was accomplished by often providing his pop in pairs, as he has six such games to his credit.

Such youthful exuberance is nothing new for the Dodgers. If anything, it could be argued that no franchise in baseball has produced more instant impact rookies than the Dodgers, ever. In the 70 years of the Rookie of the Year Award’s existence, 17 times it has been won by a Dodger, more than any other National League club.

And while Bellinger could bring the number of ROY winners to 18 for the Dodgers, the continued development of incumbent ROY, Seager, has continued to round into an even better performer in his sophomore year. A season after finishing as an MVP finalist, Seager has improved his on-base %, improved his fielding % and gathered his second career three homer game. ROYs 17 and (potentially) 18 could be preparing to form the NL’s most dangerous tandem for years to come.

The real secret to the success for this year’s Dodgers has been the realization of questionable potential entering the year. The club’s phenom before last year has begun to fully display his bevy of talents yet again, and that man is Yaisel Puig. While still controversial and brash at times, Puig has already surpassed his home run total in each of his previous two seasons. Likewise, his outfield mate has a career-best on-base % and is playing highlight-worthy defense in center field.

Yet perhaps the biggest difference of all is that the bottom line is that finally, the big price tag is garnering some substantial results in return. Although he has missed nearly three weeks, Justin Turner has hit in the neighborhood of .400 in two separate months this year, more than justifying the $60 million pact he landed last winter.


Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning of the game against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 7, 2017. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Likewise, Kenley Jansen’s return to LA has garnered fantastic returns, as he is approaching the 20 save mark already and is the owner of an ERA underneath 1.00.

What do those two players have in common? They are retained portions of the team that have continued to yield a high payout as incumbents. As a matter of fact, despite their reputation for constantly being movers and shakers on the acquisition front, the current Dodger roster has 21 players who suited up for the team a year ago, with another five regulars, led by Adrian Gonzalez, on the disabled list. Digging down deeper, four of their everyday starters have been developed from within, with another two draftees joining on the pitching staff in Kershaw and reliever Brock Stewart.

And the biggest underlying theme in why things have turned out so well for LA this year is that the club has stuck to its plan. An organization that has long since been able to grow its own talent, but also is more recently able to afford any more established help it needs as well, as blended the two tactics together, while seasoning it with both patience and trust its core.

Overnight success stories simply do not happen in baseball. It is a sport planned around a deliberate pace, both in style of play and in routes to the top. It is more than simply riding Kershaw’s coattails or pursuing each and every premier player that could be had. And the Dodgers are finally learning to respect the process and let a core come together naturally.

The Dodgers have been on the right path for years, and sure, saying this year is more of the same based on what has happened before is fair, it is also easy. There is something different in this club, and could simply be boiled down to chemistry, via patience.

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