“We had our reign, nobody’s ever going to take that away from us. We had a special team with magical stuff that happened that year with Orel and Gibby and a lot of other things. Those will always be there; Orel and Gibby are going to keep us on the map for a long time, just with what they did in our World Series. But it’s time.”
World Series: Game 6
The 1988 Dodgers were not far removed from the franchise’s previous title, which had come against the Yankees seven years earlier. This victory is no sweeter than it would have been any other year, Kershaw said, but reliever Kenley Jansen acknowledged the frustration that preceded it.
Jansen, a three-time All-Star closer, signed with the Dodgers from Curaçao in 2004, when he was 17. He has twice walked off the mound after World Series heartbreak — a wild (and, in retrospect, suspicious) 13-12 defeat in Houston three years ago and the Rays’ improbable 8-7 comeback on Saturday. Roberts passed him over for the clincher on Tuesday, but Jansen understood.
“It’s a team, man,” Jansen said. “We all want that moment, but Julio was throwing the ball really well. It’s awesome. I feel like I’m a true Dodger now. After 32 years, the trophy’s going back to L.A. I will cherish this moment my whole life.”
Urias draped the Mexican flag over his shoulders for his postgame interview Tuesday, honoring the home country he shares with Fernando Valenzuela, the ace of the 1981 champions. As the final pitcher in the World Series, Urias, 24, also conjured memories of another young lefty, Johnny Podres, who closed out the franchise’s first title for Brooklyn in 1955.
“It was the most important out, and everyone was waiting for that,” Urias said through an interpreter. “All of L.A. was expecting that, and I’m thankful to God that we were able to achieve it.”