Dodgers Dugout: It’s official — Dodgers won’t win the World Series this year

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. In this grim, brutal, bear of a season for the Dodgers, where nothing seemed to go right and it seemed every player was injured, they won 100 games.

No chance

Well, it’s official: The Dodgers won’t win the World Series this season. Why? Because they made a classic blunder on Sunday. Everyone knows the two most classic blunders: 1. (the most famous) Never get involved in a land war in Asia. 2. (only slightly less well-known): Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

But third on that list: The Dodgers should never win 100 games in a season, because no Dodger team that has won 100 or more games has ever won the World Series. A look:

2022 Dodgers, 111-51, lost in NLDS to San Diego
2021 Dodgers, 106-56, lost in NLCS to Atlanta
2019 Dodgers, 106-56, lost in NLDS to Washington
1953 Dodgers, 105-49, lost in World Series to NY Yankees
2017 Dodgers, 104-58, lost in World Series to Houston*
1942 Dodgers, 104-50, did not make postseason
1974 Dodgers, 102-60, lost in World Series to Oakland
1962 Dodgers, 102-64, did not make postseason
1899 Brooklyn Superbas, 101-47, no postseason back then
2023 Dodgers, 100-62, lost in NLDS to Arizona
1941 Brooklyn, 100-54, lost in World Series to NY Yankees

*-Astros cheated.

Eleven times the Dodgers have won 100 games and failed to win the title. In 1942, they finished two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and did not make the postseason. That was back in the olden times, when there was just a World Series. No wild-card round, no National League Division Series, no NLCS. Just win your league or go home.

The first World Series was played in 1903, so the 1899 Brooklyn Superbas didn’t have a chance to win it. They were led by Jay Hughes, who went 28-6 with a 2.68 ERA. He had 30 complete games in 35 starts as the Superbas used only 11 pitchers the whole season and all four of their starters pitched more than 275 innings. The 2026 Dodgers used 12 different pitchers over the weekend against the Giants.

Their best position player on the 1899 team was Willie Keeler, who hit .379 and scored 140 runs. Their home run leader was Joe Kelley, with six.

So, with the season over and no chance of winning the World Series, let’s look toward next season and.....

I’m kidding. Of course they can still win the World Series.

It’s not going to be easy, though. They will open the postseason Saturday against Atlanta or Philadelphia. The Phillies would seem to be the easier matchup, but at this point of the year, there are no easy matchups.

Let’s take a look at some of the main position players:

Shohei Ohtani — Only Ohtani can hit 30 homers, hit .275/.377/.513, and go 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA on the mound and have it considered a mediocre season. Did the time on the injured list help him? Since coming back, he is five for 21 with a double, a walk and eight strikeouts. Will I bet against him in the playoffs? No.

Freddie Freeman — He still produces, but Freeman moves around like he is 90 years old. I predicted he would hit .300 this season. He hit .288, which is nothing to sneeze at (gesundheit).

Mookie Betts — Let’s take a look at Betts by month. Remember, the three stats you see are batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage.

April: .179/.281/.429
May: .200/.250/.400
June: .290/.339/.477
July: .205/.267/.313
August: .257/.318/.396
September: .337/.438/.674

Let’s hope he keeps hitting like it’s September in October.

Max Muncy — A quiet but effective season for Muncy, who played in 149 games, the most he has played in a season. Never had any of those terrible streaks he had before, but also never had any streaks where he hit like Babe Ruth. Instead, the Dodgers put him in the lineup almost every game and knew what they were getting: a solid player. You need guys like Muncy in order to win 100 games.

Teoscar Hernández — The old Teoscar is finally back. Let’s hope he sticks around.

Kyle Tucker — If Tucker was being paid $10 million, people would look at his numbers (.233/.330/.385, 23 doubles, 17 homers) and say “That’s OK.” But he’s getting paid $60 million and is the eighth-best hitter in the lineup each night. However, get a couple of key hits on the way to a World Series title, and all will be forgiven.

Will Smith — Stabilizes the lineup and the pitching staff. Hit .290/.400/.548 in 21 games after coming off the IL.

Andy Pages — The team’s MVP the first few weeks of the season. Cooled down after that a bit, but led the team in RBIs with 85 and plays an excellent center field. Let’s hope for a better postseason for him this year.

Tommy Edman — His numbers are never outstanding, but he always seems to be in the middle of the action and gets clutch hits.

Kiké Hernández — A poor season for Hernández, who couldn’t catch a break. After starting the season on the IL, went four for four in his first two games. Went back on the IL again. Came back and finished the season hitting just .222. Is October Kiké still in there? We will find out.

Miguel Rojas — He’s now thinking of coming back for one more season if the Dodgers want him. Hit .267 and played his usual great defense. One of those people who apparently never age.

Alex Call — The perfect backup outfielder.

Dalton Rushing — Seems unlikely he makes the postseason roster if he can’t play anywhere defensively, but he certainly had his moments, good and bad, during the season.

Josue De Paula—Proved he can hit in the majors. Do they add him to the postseason roster? And, how do they make room for him next season?

We will look at pitchers later this week.

Remember them?

Speaking of pitchers, the Dodgers used 33 of them this season. Two of them were Rojas and Kiké Hernández. Here are the other 31, in order of innings pitched. How many do you remember?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Justin Wrobleski
Roki Sasaki
Emmet Sheehan
Shohei Ohtani
Tyler Glasnow
Eric Lauer
Tanner Scott
Jack Dreyer
Tarik Skubal
Edgardo Henriquez
Alex Vesia
Kyle Hurt
Blake Snell
Will Klein
Blake Treinen
Brock Stewart
Jonathan Hernández
Evan Phillips
Edwin Diaz
Landon Knack
Seth Halvorsen
Charlie Barnes
Paul Gervase
Wyatt Mills
Cole Irvin
Bobby Miller
Ben Casparius
Kris Bubic
Jake Eder
Chayce McDermott

Let’s go back every 10 years and see how many pitchers the Dodgers used. We will also list the pitcher with the most innings and how many innings he pitched.

2026: 33, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (185)
2016: 31, Kenta Maeda (175.2)
2006: 22, Derek Lowe (218)
1996: 15, Hideo Nomo (228.1)
1986: 14, Fernando Valenzuela (269.1)
1976: 12, Don Sutton (267.2)
1966: 13, Sandy Koufax (323)
1956: 15, Don Newcombe (268)
1946: 18, Joe Hatten (222)
1936: 12, Van Lingle Mungo (311.2)
1926: 11, Jesse Petty (275.2)
1916: 10, Jeff Pfeffer (328.2)
1906: 9, Elmer Stricklett (291.2)

The rest of the week

We’ll be back a couple of times the rest of the week to cover some topics leading up to the NLDS, and there will be a newsletter Saturday morning comparing the Dodgers with their opponent. In the meantime, remember, this is the exciting time of the year!

Up next

Saturday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday, Oct. 6: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Wed., Oct. 7: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Friday, Oct. 9: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

Shaikin: Dodgers don’t have a designated playoff closer. That isn’t as bad as it sounds

Plaschke: The Dodgers cannot three-peat without ‘That Guy’... but who is he?

Dodgers’ Blake Treinen likely to miss playoffs after sustaining injury in bullpen

Shaikin: Dodgers’ three-peat hopes rest on their four aces — and bottom-of-order production

Swanson: Is he truly back? Shohei Ohtani showing signs he’s regaining MVP form

And finally

Vin Scully shares his four most memorable home runs. Watch and listen here.

Until next time ...

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.