Armando Huerta
With the addition of Freeman, the Dodgers are clearly in a “league of their own.”
March 16th, 2022. It was a little past midnight and I kept refreshing my Twitter with each scroll, hoping to see a new update from Jeff Passan or Ken Rosenthal pertaining to any Dodger moves or acquisitions prior to the start of Spring Training and nothing materialized. Over the course of the previous 3-4 days, I was glued to my phone and kept up on all the big signings and trades that would impact the National League West and while signings like Pederson to the Giants and Bryant to the Rockies were jarring, nothing could’ve prepared me for the news that would cause me to jump out of my seat in excitement: Freddie Freeman signs with the Dodgers on a six-year deal.
The news came during a free agency season that, from my point of view was at stalling as the world waited to see where Freeman would call home for the 2022 season. The city of Los Angeles and my home in northeastern Georgia reveled in the fact that the team added yet another multi-time All-Star and MVP to a lineup that could possibly break a 100 overall on MLB The Show and make every pitching rotation in the league quiver at the idea of hurling meatballs at such a stacked lineup. The Dodgers dropped yet another bombshell of a signing coming off a year where the Dodgers traded for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner that ended in heartbreak, losing to the eventual champion Atlanta Braves in 6 games in the NLCS, but also showed how hurt the Dodgers were in terms of solid contact hitting in key situations.
Backlash was quick and vicious.
Freeman’s move to Los Angeles, while very joyous for the team’s ownership and the fans of the franchise was met with disdain from fans of other franchises across the league. Many were quick to call out how obscene the Dodger’s salary is going to be in 2022 and how such a super-team shouldn’t have been constructed in the first place.It isn’t the first time the Dodgers have been scrutinized, the fans of the organization and players alike had been calling for the 2017 championship of the Houston Astros to be stripped after their cheating scandal, yet nothing came of it. The Astros walked away with a mere slap on the wrist.
The sports world and internet sports enthusiasts claimed all the Dodgers franchise and its fans did was cry and moan about being cheated out of a championship and while the outrage coming from Dodger fans and players was more than justified, the world made it look like the organization was nothing but a club of whiners. The same can now be said pertaining to the Freeman acquisition, the Dodgers can’t seem to catch a break and please everyone in the sports world. People online were touting how Freeman is considered washed and nowhere as great as Matt Olson is, how the Dodgers buy their championship teams when much of the team’s talent comes from the deep farm system and homegrown talents compared to the small pool acquired from free agency.
Dodgers to the league: “Don’t be jealous; be better.”
The Dodgers, while known to not be afraid in emptying Brinks trucks to acquire talent has shown the league that to win, a franchise must be willing to pay for the talent rather than tank and hope the draft yields promising talent that is far from ready. The lockout was a prime example of how owners refuse to spend money on their teams and work solely on the trade market. The scrutiny the Dodgers face, whether it be good or bad for the sport only elevates the legacy the team has garnered over the last 60 years and will only continue to push the team to sign bigger talent and win many more championships.
