MLB Commissioner Rebuffs Call for Dodgers to Be Given World Series Titles
"We haven't concluded our investigation with the Red Sox, so it's a little hard to take the trophy away from somebody who hasn't yet been found to do something wrong,'' Mandred said.
By City News Service •
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred Wednesday rebuffed the Los Angeles City Council's call for the Dodgers to be awarded the 2017 and 2018 World Series titles due to revelations the Houston Astros illegally stole signs in their championship year.
The Astros defeated the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, while the Boston Red Sox -- managed by the Astros' 2017 bench coach, Alex Cora -- defeated the Dodgers the following year.
Speaking to Fox Business, Manfred said a resolution approved by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday calling for those titles to be awarded to the Dodgers is problematic at best.
"We haven't concluded our investigation with the Red Sox, so it's a little hard to take the trophy away from somebody who hasn't yet been found to do something wrong,'' Mandred said. "We don't know what the outcome of that is going to be.''
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The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2019 season with a Boeing C-17 flyover and fireworks. Then they added some offensive fireworks with a record eight homers during a 12-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 28, 2019.
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Joc Pederson hit two home runs and had four RBI on Opening Day against former Dodger Zack Greinke. Los Angeles went on to their first of 106 games, 12-5, against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Fan favorite Yasiel Puig was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds in the offseason. The mercurial player retuned to Dodger Stadium for the first time on April 15, 2019 also known as "Jackie Robinson Day." In his first at-bat against former teammate Clayton Kershaw, he hit a two-run home run and received a thunderous applause from the L.A. fans.
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Justin Turner went homerless in April, but caught fire on May 7 when he crushed a career-high three home runs and knocked in six RBI in a 9-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
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Max Muncy quickly became a fan favorite when he got under the skin of San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner on June 9, 2019. Muncy hit a homer into McCovey Cove at Oracle Park and Bumgarner took offense to Muncy taking too long to admire his homer and run around the bases. As he barked at Muncy, the slugger responded by telling MadBum to go get the ball out of the ocean.
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Cody Bellinger stated his case for MVP with a go-ahead home run against the Colorado Rockies on June 21, 2019 at Dodger Stadium.
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Walker Buehler made history on June 21, 2019 against the Colorado Rockies when he struck out a career-high 16 batters without issuing a walk, recording his first career complete game in the process.
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Rookie Matt Beaty began the unprecedented weekend that saw three consecutive walk-off home runs hit by rookies when he hit a game-winning two-run homer over the Colorado Rockies on June 21, 2019.
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Alex Verdugo got in on the rookie walk-off homer weekend when he followed Matt Beaty's walk-off blast with a solo shot in the bottom of the 11th inning the following night to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on June 22, 2019.
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Will Smith capped off an unprecedented walk-off weekend on June 23, following game-winning homers by Matt Beaty and Alex Verdugo with one of his own. Recalled before the game, Smith came off the bench and delivered a three-run walk-off homer to give the Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the Rockies.
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During an odd four-game stretch at the end of June, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger was rushed by four different fans who jumped onto the field of play at Dodger Stadium and Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. This fan just wanted a hug before being tackled by security.
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Cody Bellinger capped off a streak of five consecutive walk-off victories at home when he hit a walk-off homer against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 3, 2019.
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Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson put on a show during the T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Progressive Field on Monday, July 8, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Pederson went toe-to-toe with Blue Jays young slugger Vlad Guerrero Jr. Both players hit a derby best 29-homers in the second round, and needed three separate tie breakers before Vladito advanced to the finals.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers sent an NL-best five All-Stars to the 2019 MLB All-Star Game in Cleveland, Ohio on July 9. The NL team was managed by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and included players Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy, and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
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Cody Bellinger was thrown out at the plate by Kole Calhoun on July 23, 2019. The decision to send Bellinger by third base coach Dino Ebel was questioned after the game, and gave the Angels a walk-off victory with a play at the plate. The Angels swept the four-game Freeway Series in 2019 for the first time in their franchise history.
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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin recorded his first walk-off hit in a Dodger uniform since April 21, 2007 when he hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals on August 7, 2019.
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Enrique Hernandez celebrated his first career-walk off hit to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on August 22, 2019. The moment was even more memorable as It came on his bobblehead night in front of his family and friends.
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Celebrities came out to Dodger Stadium in droves in 2019 to catch a glimpse of the best team in baseball for a majority of the season. on August 23, 2019, comedian and co-creator of Seinfeld Larry David sat behind two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant.
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Rookie flame thrower Dustin May made an impact in 2019, but he gave Dodgers fans a scare when he was hit by a line drive against the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 1, 2019. May left the game with a concussion, but returned to the team and pitched well out of the bullpen down the stretch.
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The Dodgers clinched their seventh consecutive National League West Division title after defeating the Baltimore Orioles on September 20, 2019, becoming the fastest team in franchise history to clinch the division. They were also the first team in MLB to clinch a postseason berth, and finished a record 21 games ahead of the second place Arizona Diamondbacks.
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It took over six years, but Hyun-Jin Ryu finally hit his first career home run during the final regular season game at Dodger Stadium on September 22, 2019. Players, coaches, fans and everyone in attendance was excited as Ryu was given the nickname "Babe Ryu" in honor of Babe Ruth.
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Corey Seager quietly had a comeback season as he finished tied for the National League lead in doubles with 44 this season.
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Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen had one of the worst statistical season in his career in 2019. Jansen posted a career-worst 3.71 ERA with eight blown saves.
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Hyun-Jin Ryu had the best season of his career in 2019. He made history by becoming the first Korean player to start an All-Star Game, flirted with a no-hitter in May, and finished with the lowest ERA in Major League Baseball at 2.32.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers ended the 2019 regular season on a seven-game winning streak and back-to-back sweeps over the rival San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. They ended the season with a franchise record 106 wins.
Manfred also said that despite the sign-stealing, there's no guarantee the Dodgers would have won the 2017 World Series.
"It's absolutely unclear that the Dodgers would have been World Series champion,'' he said. "I think there's a long tradition in baseball of not trying to change what happened. I think the answer from our perspective is to be transparent about what the investigation showed and let our fans make their own decision about what happened.''
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The Astros have already fired general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch, and Cora has parted ways with the Red Sox, although Cora has not been formally punished by Major League Baseball for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. The New York Mets also parted ways with manager Carlos Beltran, who was alleged to have helped devise the sign-stealing system while in Houston.
The Los Angeles City Council resolution was introduced by Councilmen Paul Koretz and Gilbert Cedillo. While generally acknowledging there is little chance of the Dodgers being awarded the World Series titles, Cedillo said the resolution made a statement against cheating in general.
"Athletes that don't cheat want to compete fairly and want to earn their title,'' said Cedillo, who represents the district in which Dodger Stadium is located. "What we're looking at is what the record will reflect, and clearly cheaters should not be rewarded. We don't want this to become to the new normal. I can't fathom ... winning a title by cheating and then putting it up on the mantle as if it was legitimate.''
Koretz added: "This country needs to receive a message that cheating is not OK. We need that message now more than ever.''
