Dodgers Fans Are Spoiled

man, this fanbase should be grateful for what they have

I’ve been a Dodger fan for 13 years. I’ve spent the first 9 years of my fandom in my hometown of Los Angeles and the last 4 in Seattle. Over my time in Seattle, I realized how much non-Dodgers fans hate my team. I’ve also realized how lucky I am to root for a team that is consistently great instead of one that went 21 years without an appearance in the playoffs,

During my time as a fan, I’ve been blessed with seeing my team make the playoffs every single year, win 2 World Series titles, have an elite general manager in Andrew Friedman, a reliable on field manager in Dave Roberts, and an ownership that cares in Mark Walter/Guggenheim. They have Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Max Mundy and Mookie Betts in their lineup. while their pitching staff has Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell. Their bullpen is star-studded as well with Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in the back end.

However, you would never know how good this team is based on how the fanbase reacts. I know this because I joined twitter(now X) in 2019 to interact with fellow baseball fans. This was where I got to see how the true diehards reacted. There were plenty of optimists, but also plenty of people who overreacted.

Here are some of the overreactions I have seen during my time there:

FIRE ROBERTS!!!

MUNCY IS A FAT USELSES BUM!!!

FRIEDMAN IS A FRAUD(especially before Ohtani/Yamamoto).

MAKE MORE BIG MOVES AT THE DEADLINE?OFFSEASON

THIS(newly acquired player) SUCKS

WHY DON’T WE HAVE A CLOSER!!!(between Kenley Jansen and Tanner Scott)

OUR BULLPEN SUCKS!!!

VELOCITY IS RUINING OUR STARTING PITCHERS!!! WHY CAN’T THEY STAY HEALTHY???

THIS OFFENSE IS TOO HOME RUN DEPENDENT!!!

THIS TEAM SUCKS!!!(after a bad loss or a few)

ANALYTICS ARE RUINING THE GAME(certified non ball knowers)

DFA REDACTED PLAYER!!! HE SUCKS!!!

Of course, it’s okay to be critical of your team. Even I have been. What I don’t find okay is to make dumb blanket statements. I totally understand having passion. What I don’t get is being overly negative and knee-jerk 80% of the time. If you’re a fan, you’re supposed to LIKE the team. Especially when they’re consistently good year in and year out like the Dodgers. Be grateful for what you DO have.

One thing that I personally think would help fans understand moves is if they put actual effort into looking at stats and analytics themselves. I highly recommend using these 3 websites to do that:

https://www.fangraphs.com, https://baseballsavant.mlb.com, and https://prospectsavant.com/leaders

Let me use this deadline as an example. The Dodgers didn’t make any big moves but did a good job of improving the team’s weaknesses while keeping the farm system strong with their 4 moves. I’ll explain them to you down below.

Move 1: Hunter Feduccia(C) to Rays, Adam Serwinowski(P), Paul Gervase(RP), and Ben Rortvedt(C) to Dodgers

Motive: Hunter Feduccia has been doing a great job in AAA, but is 28 and hasn’t gotten much playing time. The Dodgers have Rushing above him as the backup catcher. Getting a high upside starting prospect in Adam Serwinowski and a high upside reliever in Paul Gervase. This type of move is why Friedman is so good as GM.

Verdict: Great move

Move 2: Brock Stewart(RP)(photo above) to Dodgers, James Outman(CF) to Twins

Motive: The Dodgers needed relief pitching badly. With the combination of injuries and guys like Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates underperforming, it was time to look for someone. Brock Stewart is a risk add, as he has elite stuff for a high leverage role(plus team control), but struggles to stay healthy. James Outman is a strikeout-prone Quad A outfielder whose only good year was based on inflated BABIP. It was time for the Dodgers to move on.

Verdict: Good move

Move 3: Alex Call(OF) to Dodgers, Eriq Swan(P) and Sean Paul Linan(P) to Nationals

Motive: The Dodgers needed an outfielder. Call is someone who can hit for average, draw walks, limit strikeouts, dominate lefties, and play strong defense at all 3 outfield positions. He even has 4.5 years of team control left. Seems like a great fit, even ifBoth pitchers they gave up are currently in High A, far from any impact. They also had flaws, as Swan’s results have been poor despite high octane stuff and Linan’s limited durability and one elite pitch(changeup) gives him a relief profile long term.

Verdict: Good move

Move 4: Dustin May(SP) to Red Sox, James Tibbs III(OF) and Zach Ehrhard(OF) to Dodgers

Motive: With Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki coming back, Dustin May was likely to go to the bullpen. May wanted to stay a starter. He was a free agent at year’s end and the Dodgers didn’t want to lose him for nothing. They got a solid prospect prospect back in James TIbbs III, who’s known for an all-around dangerous bat but has struggled in AA. Same with Zach Ehrhard to a lesser degree. This is another example of Andrew Friedman winning through the margins.

On a more emotional note, I will miss May a lot. I shared a birthday with him, so I became a huge fan of his because of that. It’s been tough to see him get hit by injury after injury. Best of luck to him in Boston. Hoping for the best.

Verdict: Great move

As you could see, the Dodgers did what they needed to this deadline. Despite some recent slumps, and injuries, they’re 64-46 and still lead the NL West by 3 games. They have the 5th best record in all of baseball. Our record is better than the Mets, Phillies, Tigers, and Astros. We’re a shoo in for the playoffs and still have a shot at making the World Series. You would think they were having a similar season to the Braves if you looked at twitter and reddit.

On top of that, I think that it reeks of being spoiled to expect your team to be World Series favorites every year. Even if you have the top star players, baseball is a game full of unpredictability and surprises. What might look like a good team could be bad if the wrong management leads the group.

I must also talk about how Dodgers fans keep hating on a salary cap. I get(and agree) that owners need to spend(salary floor will help) but the pay disparity between the best and worst teams are ridiculous. The Mets(highest payroll) have $298 million payroll while the Twins(lowest payroll) have only $29 million! That’s a RIDICULOUS difference!!! Not every owner can spend like the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees. The difference in spending be

I must also say that I don’t get why people stress out so much over something they can’t control. Most sports games seem fixed/rigged to some degree. Gambling has caused this issue to become even worse while ruining many people’s lives. Why spend 3 hours a day watching something on TV when you can spend time with family? Go out in nature? Create something? I’ve only watched one game this year and it feels freeing to not be obligated to watch and tweet about every single game in existence.

Finally, I have to talk about how the Dodgers WON the WORLD SERIES last year? That’s something that most fans dream of seeing ONCE in their lifetimes. Be grateful for the good times and enjoy all of the winning before it goes.

Now, I want to look at some teams who ACTUALLY have it bad:

Angels: I’ve lived with an Angels fan for 3 years, so I know everything that’s wrong with this team. The main culprit is Arte Moreno(photo above). His knee jerk style of ownership has led to tons of bad decisions and desperate moves. A 10 year playoff drought doesn’t help either. If you want to learn more about the incompetence of my team, you can read my articles down below:

Pirates: Ben Cherington looks over his head as GM. Bob Nutting is still a cheapskate owner. They’re finding a ways to ruin Paul Skenes career, just like they did with Andrew McCutchen. What an embarrassment to baseball they are.

Rockies: The good news is that Dick Montfort actually opens up his wallet. The bad news is that Montfort keeps hiring crappy GM’s and doesn’t invest in scouting or analytics. This team sucks and it seems like there’s no way out.

Athletics: John Fisher is doing whatever possible to piss off the fanbase. Limited spending, moving the team to Vegas, selling good players. He’s the worst owner in baseball and I’m worried he’s going to ruin the new core.

Twins: The Pohlads just orchestrated a gigantic fire sale to save face from how cheap they are. They need to sell ASAP. Very very sad to see.

White Sox: You had the worst season in MLB history last year. Reinsdorf still owns the team until 2029. The good news is that you’re trending upward, but very slowly.

Marlins: Their stadium is awful, Bruce Sherman is beyond cheap, and their fanbase is nonexistent. I sometimes forget this team even exists lmao.

Besides those obvious embarrassments, there are plenty of teams in purgatory due to money(Guardians, Rays, Brewers, Mariners) or incompetent decision making(Red Sox, Cardinals). It’s important to remind that many teams are just trying to hit the playoffs, not win the World Series every single year.

I hope that everyone who read got something out of this. It’s a pleasure to be back writing again. Wishing the best of luck to your baseball team this year.