Dodgers Interview: Banda reflects on what it takes to be a World Series champ
LOS ANGELES — Anthony Banda looked pretty relaxed for a guy who has spent the past two Octobers pitching in the postseason. At a recent Montebello meet-and-greet, the two-time World Series champion settled in, laughed about returning to social media, and then got serious for a minute about what it actually takes to win. It was the kind of conversation you only get when a reliever knows he’s talking to Dodger fans who watched every inning. And for both our sakes, we didn’t bring up that creepy clown mask.
We started asking him about the breaking news of the day: Banda finally joined Instagram. He said it happened because he kept telling Dodgers social media boss Sue Jo that if the team won another one, he would have to get back on. “I was talking to Sue Jo, she runs the Dodgers Instagram,” Banda said. “I was like, ‘Man, if we win another one, I think I have to do it. I have to get back on Instagram.’” He said he had been off for a while and wanted to be “guided” back so he did it right. “She’s given us really good advice about what to do and how to go about it,” he said. “We were excited about sharing with fans, appreciating the love and support, and just giving fans the inside look of what it is to be a Dodger player.”
He laughed when we asked if the DMs had already exploded. “I just try to stay off it as much as I can,” he said. “Do what I need to do and then get off it. We just try to post content and then get off of it.” That sounded like a pitcher who knows how to block out noise.
Then we got to the stuff every Dodger fan has been talking about since the trophy went back to Los Angeles. Why does it seem like every time the Dodgers win, someone says they didn’t really earn it? Banda didn’t bite on the negativity. He just explained what it looked like from inside the clubhouse. “For me, personally, I know what it takes to get to that point and win it,” he said. “Everybody is sacrificing everything they do. We’re in that clubhouse, we’re a tight-knit group. We typically just let the people talk. At the end of the day, we won it.” He made sure to credit Toronto too. “It was a great series. Toronto was a great team. And ultimately we came out with it.”
What he really wanted people to understand was how many hands lift a championship. “It doesn’t take away from all the hard work and dedication that everybody in that clubhouse, everybody involved in that championship, from the stadium workers all the way up to Sho and Doc,” Banda said. “It takes everybody. People don’t realize that. They can say what they want, but there’s a reason why we came out on top. There’s a reason why we won it. It’s not just given. It’s all earned. It’s all hard work and dedicated to L.A. and the city and everybody around.”
Because this is the Dodgers, the conversation eventually got around to the now-legendary championship tattoos. Banda confirmed the tattoo party was real and that it happened at a party. “There were three guys,” he said, smiling. “I don’t know whose idea it was. I know Kirby always told us it wasn’t his idea, but he always had the idea that if he ever won it, he was going to get that tattoo. He started in the minor leagues with that idea, and finally he got one, so he got the tattoo.” Banda loved it. “It was all celebration. It was all fun. It was all memories. For them to do it at a party, that was crazy. But it was fun.”
Speaking of parties, Banda lit up when we asked about the now-famous Mookie Betts gatherings that turn into his podcast. You could tell the players enjoy those as much as the fans enjoy hearing about them. “They’re a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s just a celebration to the season, congratulating everybody that put all the hard work in. Just to be able to win it and bring it back to L.A. And I think Mookie throws a hell of a party. That’s for sure.”
And yes, Freddie Freeman really did that. He really did perform the worm for all to see. At the age of 35. “I knew Freddie could dance,” Banda said, laughing. “I just didn’t know if he was going to get back. He’s fun. He does some ordinary things where it’s like, that’s Freddie. People that know him, he’s a fun dude. Love that guy.”
That was the best part of talking to Banda. You heard how close this group still was after going through another long season. You heard how much pride there was in the way they finished off Toronto. And you heard a pitcher who wasn’t going to let outside voices tell him what a championship was worth. “At the end of the day, we won it,” he said again, like someone who had stood on the mound and felt it. “We worked really hard, just like any other team.”
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