Los Angeles Dodgers: Corey Seager makes postseason history
With his first inning blast, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager helped make MLB postseason history.
With the Los Angeles Dodgers facing elimination on Saturday, they needed to have someone step up and put the team on their back. Enter Corey Seager, who has essentially done that throughout the entire National League Championship Series.
Seager set the tone early for the Dodgers, as his first inning home run provided Los Angeles with their first run of the game. It was also his sixth of the postseason, helping to set a record for the most players to belt six or more playoff homers in a single year.
At least one of Carlos Correa and Randy Arozarena will get a chance to add to their total in the World Series. And Giancarlo Stanton‘s performance is all the more impressive given that the Yankees were eliminated in the previous round.
Seager has been a force for the Dodgers throughout the NLCS. He had entered Game Six with a .400/.429/1.100 batting line, having driven in ten runs and scoring seven times. He has clearly been the Dodgers’ best hitter in the series, the runaway favorite for the series MVP should they advance.
One can certainly quibble with the validity of this statistic. Major League Baseball expanded the postseason due to the pandemic, with 16 teams reaching the playoffs. Under the old format, Correa would not have had the opportunity to hit those homers. And the Wild Card Round would have been just one game.
But that does not change how much these players have meant to their team’s chances. Stanton may have been eliminated, but his performance was made Yankees history. Correa may lead the sub-.500 Astros to the World Series, while Arozarena has provided the majority of the Rays offense. Seager has done the same for the Dodgers, doing his part to try to bring them to the World Series.
Corey Seager made history with his first inning blast for the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, they will need to wait to see if it will be enough to survive another day.