Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, far right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run, walk-off home run in the 10th inning of an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Tommy Lasorda had a lot of things to say, many of which still stick in our heads after all these decades.
He exulted in the fruits of victory. He dubbed Dodger Stadium “Blue Heaven on Earth.” He warned you might not get into the real heaven if you did not root for the Dodgers.
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He also had a simple formula for success.
“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games,” Lasorda liked to say. “No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”
If you believe the hype, these Dodgers are out to make a liar out of Lasorda.
Under Lasorda’s axiom, no team wins more than two-thirds of its games. For the Dodgers, that would be 108 games.
“117 would be a nice number,” former Dodgers pitcher and current broadcaster Orel Hershiser said. “Set the record.”
The record indeed is 116, set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906 and tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001.
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“There’s just a lot of excitement,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base.”
Nine teams in history have won 109 or more games. One of those teams: the 2022 Dodgers, winners of 111 games during the regular season, eliminated by the San Diego Padres in four games in October.
Two Brooklyn Dodgers teams won more than two-thirds of their games: the 1953 team, which lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series; and the 1942 team, which lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League, at a time there were no divisions and the league champion advanced directly to the World Series.
These Dodgers enjoyed a ring ceremony Friday. They plan to enjoy another one this time next year.
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“That’s our only focus right now, to go back to back,” Roberts said. “We have the best team.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts show off his 2024 World Series championship ring before a win over the Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Hershiser pitched under Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to two World Series championships in 20 years. In 1977, Lasorda’s first year, the Dodgers won 98 games. In 1978 they won 95. Never again under Lasorda did the…