Corey Seager was named World Series MVP after a fantastic postseason

By chloe salveson, Staff Writer

The 2020 World Series came to a close on Oct. 27 after six games, crowning the Los Angeles Dodgers as the champions against the runner-up Tampa Bay Rays. 

The Dodgers, champions of the National League, beat the Rays, champions of the American League, 4-2 in the series.

In Game 6, the Dodgers won the Series with a 3-1 victory. 

This game proved to be quite controversial, as the Rays were up 1-0 when Rays manager Kevin Cash pulled Rays pitcher Blake Snell in the sixth inning. Many thought this removal was premature. The Rays lead quickly became a deficit within six pitches from Rays pitcher Nick Anderson. 

The win wasn’t without controversy however, as Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner was removed during the eighth inning after his COVID-19 test test came back as positive. He celebrated with the team masked and tweeted after the game that he was asymptomatic.

While Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager didn’t have a hit in Game 6, he was bestowed the 2020 World Series MVP Award for recording eight home runs and 20 RBIs in the entirety of the postseason. 

Game 1 was the leastwatched World Series game of all time. According to Fox Sports, the game received the lowest ratings ever, with only around 9.1 million viewers. Last year’s opener attracted 12.1 million viewers.

Nevertheless, Game 1 was full of exhilaration, as the Dodgers defeated the Rays in an 8-3 victory. 

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts walked, then stole two bases in an inning, a play that hasn’t been accomplished at the World Series since Babe Ruth played against the New York Giants in 1921. 

The Rays were triumphant with a 6-4 win in Game 2, leveling the World Series. 

Snell threw the first four hitless innings. In the middle of the fifth inning, the Rays were up 5-0 until Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor was up to bat, and knocked in two runs to make the score to 5-2. 

Tampa Bay was only able to scrounge up one run in the sixth inning, while L.A. matched them with Will Smith hitting a home run. Both teams held their ground until Seager hit a home run at the top of the eighth inning. 

In Game 3, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes executed a squeeze bunt toward Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi. At his next at-bat, Barnes hit a home run, becoming the second player in World Series history to do so. This resulted in a score of 6-1, with the Rays trailing by five in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who only pitched six innings, became the first pitcher in the history of the World Series to strike out 10 players. 

Rookie Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run, his eighth of the postseason, concluding Game 3 with a Dodgers win of 6-2. 

Game 4 ended in a devastating loss for Dodgers as the 8-7 Rays victory came with a more dramatic finish. 

In the ninth inning, the Rays were behind at a score of 7-6 with only three outs from losing the game. 

They held their ground until Brett Phillips,the Rays’ center fielder who didn’t have an at-bat for two weeks, had an unexpected game winning hit. 

During this hit, Arozarena tripped and fell just before running home and scoring the winning run. 

Arozarena also broke the MLB record for most home runs hits in a single postseason this game. 

In Game 5, the Dodgers saw a 4-2 defeat of the Rays, leading the Series 3-2.

Arozarena had his 27th base hit in the third inning, the most in a single postseason. The number is expected to increase. 

In the fourth inning, Rays outfielder Manuel Margot attempted to steal home, which hasn’t been done since 2002. 

Despite the skepticism surrounding Clayton Kershaw’s postseason performance, in 

Game 5 he set the MLB record for most career postseason strikeouts, passing Astros’ pitcher Justin Verlander’s previous mark of 205. Kershaw has 207 strikeouts and counting, though it should be noted that he has had more opportunity with the expanded playoffs. 

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen had previously struggled under pressure (he blew a save in Game 4 allowing the Rays to tie the series 2-2), so Blake Treinen closed out the ninth inning and got the save. 

The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was 32 years ago in 1988. Since forming as an expansion team  in 1998, while the Rays have never won the title.