In a perfect world, the LA Dodgers should be gearing up to play the Atlanta Braves for the National League Pennant right now. But we don’t live in a perfect world, we live in a sinful world.
Eliminated!
As Baseball fans know, both the Dodgers and the Braves were eliminated from the National League Championship Series. Yet the Braves and the Dodgers had the first and third best records during the regular season this year.
But in the east, the Phillies trounced the Braves in four games. Out west, the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers, taking three straight. Phillies fans and Diamondback fans are ecstatic. Congrats to both teams and their fans!
Many would say “Hey that’s baseball!” It’s the old adage, ‘on any given day any team can beat any other team.’ Except, unlike the Braves, the Dodgers were not just beaten by the Diamondbacks, they were humiliated.
Divine Retribution?
I asked a good Catholic friend of mine, who is now “a suffering” Dodgers fan, if he thought there was some Divine Retribution taking place in the case of the Dodgers. Recall that the Dodgers, this past June, hosted a ‘Pride Night.’ They even saw fit to ‘honor’ the disgusting Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI).
My friend’s allegiance to the Dodgers took a big hit that day. He said he put all his “Dodgers gear away in the closet and I haven’t touched it since. I still haven’t touched my Dodgers shirts or hats, and I don’t know if I will.”
My friend reminded me that the ceremony ‘honoring’ the SPI took place on the pitcher’s mound at Dodger’s stadium. Perhaps this was significant because the Dodger’s starting pitching was really poor during the series with the D-backs.
Dodger’s veteran and likely future hall of famer Clayton Kershaw didn’t even make it through the first inning of game one. He got tagged for six runs. The D-backs won game one by a score of 11-2.
Rookie Bobby Miller started game two for the Dodgers and gave up three runs in the first inning. The D-backs won game two by a score of 4-2.
Veteran pitcher Lance Lynn started game three for the Dodgers. He was 7-2 during the regular season (acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline this summer). But he lasted just 2.2 innings. The D-backs hit four solo homeruns off of him in the second inning – an all-time MLB postseason record. The D-backs won the game by a score of 4-2.
It’s all kind of surreal considering the Diamondbacks were given, at best, a slim chance at beating the Dodgers. But they not only beat them, they swept them – they humiliated them in three straight games.
Punishment?
So the question is, does God get involved in sporting events? Did God punish the Los Angeles Dodgers for hosting Pride Night and honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence?
I tend to think the Dodger’s humiliating defeat was indeed a case of Divine Retribution. But I’m sure many will disagree. They will point to the Dodger’s less than sterling post season record and say ‘ya, more of the same.’
As Michael Duarte wrote for nbclosangeles.com:
“They [the Dodgers] closed their 2023 campaign the same way they concluded the 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2022 seasons: wondering why they can be so damn good during the grueling 162-game regular season, but a shell of themselves once the calendar turns to October.”
Who gets the Blame?
Dodger’s manager Dave Roberts took the blame for the sweep. But I think the entire Dodger’s organization deserves the blame. It starts with a Dodger’s front office that thought hosting a Pride Night and honoring the SPI was a good idea. And it trickles down to Dodger’s players who perhaps should have spoken out against the idea or perhaps could have refused to play in the game that night.
The Dodgers won five straight games from the D-backs in August. They also finished 16 games ahead of Arizona in the regular season. The Dodgers also had four different players with 100 RBI‘s or more (for the first time in franchise history), including a second-best 906 total runs. But the Dodger bats, like their starting pitching, were pretty dismal during the series.
And consider, too, that the Dodgers had home field advantage during the series with the D-backs. Yet they lost the first two games at Dodger Stadium.
Maybe the stadium needs an exorcism. And maybe the Dodger’s owners should think about doing penance for honoring immoral behavior. And maybe the players who could have spoken up but did not might want to think about doing penance as well.
7 thoughts on “Divine Retribution and the Los Angeles Dodgers?”
The bullpens at Dodger Stadium, at least in the
early 1960’s were out by the bleachers – the cheap seats. Why Sandy Koufax was in the bullpen, I can’t explain but I remember how gracious he always was in signing autographs for us kids at the bullpen.
I also remember his decision not to pitch on Yom Kippur, during the World Series. In more than just pitching, he was and still is – the greatest.
I remember “Nuns Day” at the park, long long ago, when there were “real” nuns and the stands were filled with the black and white of their religious habits.
Things have certainly changed with the passage of time. Thanks for a great article.
Lou Holtz is on record as saying that Our Lady cares whether or not the University of Notre Dame football team wins or loses. Considering that they have not “played like a champion,” nor have won a national championship for almost four decades now – and that going on 2.5 generations of Americans have no clue that, before actual playoffs, ND was a football power – maybe Lou was right; and it appears that some heavenly power has determined that the Irish are no longer worthy of the name of Our Lady and that they are no longer”Fighting”. For a lengthier discussion of this: https://catholicstand.com/mary-notre-dame-and-the-fighting-irish/. I think you are absolutely correct Gene! Great article. Guy, Texas
The Diamondbacks, Phillies, and Astros (all still left in the playoffs) also hosted a Pride Night. The Texas Rangers are the only MLB team not to have one. How does this add up? They are all in contention. Maybe God is actually punishing LA for the fake tans and bad traffic.
The Dodgers’ pride night stood out and was singularly offensive due to the decision to ‘honor’ the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
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“Instant Karma’s going to get you Going to knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together Pretty soon you’re going to be dead”
John Lennon
WoW! It’s about time someone said something truthful about that terrible event that has disgraced the L.A. Dodgers. I pray that every Dodger team member and every Dodger fan can read this well-written article.