Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman both played like MVP candidates during the regular season.
They carried the Los Angeles Dodgers to a first-place finish in the NL West and a 100-62 season.
Betts hit .307/.408/.579 with a .987 OPS, 39 home runs, 126 runs scored, and 107 RBI.
Freeman, meanwhile, hit .331/.410/.567 with a .976 OPS, 29 home runs, 102 RBI, 131 runs scored, and a whopping 59 doubles.
Most people thought they would quickly dispatch the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series.
However, that was far from the case: the Snakes swept the series and are now going to their first NL Championship Series since 2007.
What went wrong for LA that they couldn’t even win one game?
Lots of things, but the (under)performance of Betts and Freeman was the most notable shortcoming.
Talkin’ Baseball tweeted a graphic with the two stars and their numbers, with a powerful caption: “A postseason to forget for both Dodgers stars.”
A postseason to forget for the Dodgers stars pic.twitter.com/xpK07r9hYi
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 12, 2023
In three October games (all losses), Freeman and Betts combined to go 1-for-21.
The one hit was an infield single, too.
It’s like they met their kryptonite and lost all their superpowers once the playoffs started.
They will likely finish second and third in the NL MVP voting, and deservedly so.
Each star has won a World Series before: Betts with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 and then with the Dodgers in 2020, and Freeman with the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
Yet, it became clear from the go that 2023 wasn’t going to be the year in which they added another ring to their resumes.
Lots of other things happened to affect the Dodgers’ performance and chances: starting pitching was not up to the task, the rest of the offense also struggled, and they didn’t look fresh.
However, it’s hard to win games when your two best players are struggling so badly.
The post The Dodgers Were Let Down By 2 Top Stars appeared first on The Cold Wire.