3 Biggest Takeaways From the Epic Dodgers vs. Giants 2021 NLDS

3 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EPIC DODGERS VS. GIANTS 2021 NLDS

COLORS KEY | FULL DODGERS OUTLOOK 

1. DODGERS PAID A LOT FOR TOP-TIER TALENT AND IT’S PAYING OFF

The Dodgers payroll this season sat at $267 million, over 30% higher than the second highest Yankees. This, combined with the midseason trades for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner was finally enough for them to sneak past the Giants, who held them off all year despite the doubts of every expert. Not to mention the monster contract they handed Mookie Betts after giving up Alex Verdugo and other top prospects. They’ve paid a high price for premium talent and it’s why they’re back in the NLCS once again. 

2. 2021 DODGERS VS. 2021 GIANTS WERE AS EVEN AS ANY 2 TEAMS EVER

Including the regular season, the Dodgers and Giants end their season series 12-12, solidifying their age-old rivalry as one of the best in all of sports. The two teams went back and forth all year, and the Dodgers were just lucky enough to win the final game. They were as evenly matched as any two teams ever and it culminated in a very intense winner-take-all game that came down to the final inning and the final pitch for one team to go home, and the other to advance as the Championship favorites.

3. BALLS & STRIKES OR AT LEAST CHECKED SWINGS SHOULD BE REVIEWABLE

As is unfortunately sometimes common in major sports, the umpires made headlines throughout the series, and not for the right reasons. Questionable strike zones plagued the series, and the final out of Game 5 came on a checked swing by Wilmer Flores that was incorrectly called a swing by first base umpire Gabe Morales that ended the game, series, and season for San Francisco.

Replay reviews showed that Flores did not actually go around, begging the question of whether check swings should be replay reviewable. While some are against making more plays reviewable considering it slows down the sport, a solid compromise could be allowing Managers to have one or two challenges a game on balls/strikes so it rarely interferes with the speed of the game while also preventing critical situations in games to be improperly decided by a bad call because of one person’s judgement in that moment.