Los Angeles Dodgers: Examining the pressure LA faces based on the past

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been one of the best teams in baseball for the past decade, yet their failure to bring home the game’s biggest prize makes it seem like not enough. Going into the 2020 season, the Dodgers will face more pressure than ever to take that final step and win it all.

There is no doubt when looking at the best teams of the 2010s, that the Los Angeles Dodgers should be in that conversation. They’ve won their division each of the last seven years and won over 100 games twice in that stretch. However, continual playoff struggles have left fans impatient and all together frustrated.

Every team is under pressure to win and improve though, so just how much pressure could the team really be under? To answer that, just think about how many times you’ve heard about the Dodgers’ playoff struggles this decade versus their dominance in the NL this decade.

All of their successes seem to escape a lot of minds when things go south, and the dominating storyline becomes “why can’t the Dodgers win it all?”

Things like this aren’t exactly unheard of, as there have been a few teams in the past, in various sports that just couldn’t take that final step for whatever reason. Some of the teams that come to mind are the Buffalo Bills in the 1990s, the Boston Red Sox before 2004 and the Los Angeles Rams of the 1970s and ’80s.

When looking at how it all played out for those teams,  I thought that there were a few ways this could playout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the case of the Bills during the ’90s, four straight losses in the Super Bowl was too much for that team to overcome. Many NFL fans became sick of seeing them in the game every year and after the fourth loss, the team went into a quick decline.

Since that last Super Bowl loss, that organization has won just one playoff game in 26 years. Continual heartbreak in October could eventually take its toll on the Dodgers. You could see players move on to other teams and it could potentially send the organization into a bit of a tailspin.

The Boston Red Sox are a bit different, because they were not necessarily dominant over a period of time like the Dodgers. However, they were indeed famous for getting so close multiple times, and not getting it done.

In this case, fans became convinced that their team would somehow find a way to mess it all up, and remained in that state of mind, until they were eventually surprised in 2004.

This could happen to the Dodgers as fans have seen playoff mishaps multiple times now. The big problem here is that fan interest could lessen if other L.A. teams in any sport begin to be dominant and win championships, because L.A. fans aren’t known for being the most patient.

In the case of the Rams during the ’70s and ’80s you see an organization becoming frustrated and impatient, and making changes if championships aren’t delivered. During the ’70s and ’80s the Rams had three coaches all of whom had winning records.

Chuck Knox (1973-77) who made the playoffs every year he coached, Ray Malavasi (1978-82) who made the playoffs 3 out of his 5 years and went to a Super Bowl, and John Robinson (1983-91) who made six playoff appearances.

This seems like the most likely outcome for the Dodgers if they don’t win soon. Eventually fans and ownership get fed up and changes begin to be made.

Coaches will be let go if they can’t take the team to the peak, and player turnover will be high via trades and free-agent signings. If they can’t pull it together, players, coaches, and front office staff may be heading out the door very soon.

The pressure for the Los Angeles Dodgers is already reaching new heights as many fans are now upset because the lack of big offseason moves this year. Unfortunately nothing they do now or in the regular season will take that pressure off, because if they don’t win the big one, nothing else will matter.