Los Angeles Dodgers, surprising the baseball world thus far

Going into spring training few people picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to do much this season, especially with the team’s ownership under uncertainty. Well, many people are wrong thus far.

The Dodgers come into play today at 17-8, the best record in the National League and only one half of a game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the top record in all of Major League Baseball.

It seems as if the sale of the team at the beginning of the regular season has sparked this team. And this was no ordinary sale of a sports franchise, this was a $2.15 billion sale to an ownership group headed by basketball Hall Of Famer and Los Angles icon Magic Johnson (who played the entirety of his professional career with the Lakers).

The Dodgers appear to be playing inspired with energy, intensity, and enthusiasm that it seems they may have lacked at times the past few seasons. Their also playing with the best player in baseball on their side, that being outfielder Matt Kemp, who is off to an unprecedented start this season. 

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp has been the best player in
baseball this season, helping spark the Dodgers to the best
record in the National League thus far.

Kemp boasts a .411 batting average with a .500 on-base percentage, he has hit 12 home runs, and produced 25 RBI, 27 runs, along with a gaudy 1.356 OPS (on-base plus slugging) through just 25 games. 

It is early in the season but the Dodgers appear to have the make-up of a team destined to compete deep into the season. Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw fronts their pitching staff that has been surprisingly good thus far with starters Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, and Chris Capuano all off to hot starts as well. Reliever Kenley Jansen has been impressive out of the bullpen. 

Things will not be easy for the Dodgers in the National League West as they’ll have to beat out both the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants to capture the division crown, but they appear to have the personnel to make a serious run at doing so.

The baseball season, as people who follow the game know is a marathon rather than a sprint, but it never hurts to have a hot start, especially when you’re catching others by surprise like the Dodgers are.