Once again the Dodgers win the NL West and once again the Dodgers are in the playoffs. They continue their dominance of the NL West by capturing the Division Title for the 10th time in 11 seasons. They've won the NL pennant three times in recent years and won the World Series in 2020. The name the Big Blue Wrecking Crew goes back to 1977 Dodgers when Garvey, Smith, Cey, and Baker all hit 30 home runs or more. It was a name that went down in Dodgers history and stayed with us all through the 80's. Now the Dodgers are on track to relive that name by having four players known as the new Big Blue Wrecking Crew. Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, JD Martinez all have more than 30 homers and Freddy Freeman is on track to hit 30 (currently at 28) as well. Baseball has become a game that relies on the long ball to produce runs. The Dodgers are 2nd in runs scored in baseball with 881 and have 8 players with double digit home runs so far this year. It's time to revitalize the name for the Big Blue Wrecking Crew is here!
The only question left for the Big Blue Wrecking Crew is can they turn this into a championship run. Last year they were the heavy favorites to win it all because they won 111 games in the regular season which was a modern day NL Record. Unfortunately they came up short in the playoffs as the Padres knocked them out in the second round. . This year could be different because the Atlanta Braves will be the heavy favorite and this will relieve expectations for the men in Blue. However to make a good run and compete with the Braves they're gonna have to rely on the long ball for the Braves are the only other team that have more runs then the Dodgers this year. The Big Blue Wrecking Crew is gonna have to come up big when the heat is on.
The playoffs are known as the second season for its a fresh start for all 12 teams who qualify. You never know who comes out of the gate hot and rises to the top, The Dodgers will have a first round bye which will give the team time to rest the bats and prepare for a post season filled with long ball expectations and stellar pitching, Coach Roberts will undoubtably be busy with juggling the pitching lineup as he has been doing all season long. Another reason why the offense will have to produce big runs as the Dodgers pitching has been good but not great this year. They're 13th in the league with 4.03 ERA and 4th with a 1.20 WHIP. If the Dodgers are going to make a championship run its clear they're gonna have to rely on the long ball from the entire line up and especially from Betts, Muncy, Martinez, and Freeman the new Big Blue Wrecking Crew
The original Big Blue Wrecking Crew Steve Garvey, Reggie Smith, Ron Cey, Dusty Baker
photo credit ladodgertalk.com