DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Last night, there were fireworks here in LA and a massive sigh of relief.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #1: Strike three.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #1: Dodgers have won it all in 2020.
GREENE: The LA Dodgers beat Tampa Bay in Game 6 of the World Series, ending the Dodgers' 32-year championship drought.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It's hard to describe how excruciating the last few years have been for Dodger fans. The team kept getting close. In 2017, they faced the Houston Astros in a series that went a full seven games.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #2: Three-two to Springer, shot into left-center field, back at the wall. It's gone. Springer stays hot. And it's 5-0, Houston, here in the second.
GREENE: The Dodgers lost Game 7. It was revealed later that the Astros had been cheating at home games that year. They were stealing signs illegally and relaying them to batters. The following year, the Dodgers lost in the World Series to the Boston Red Sox.
MARTIN: In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Dodgers came out with a vengeance. They won a league-best 47 games and punched their ticket to the October classic after defeating the Atlanta Braves in a Game 7.
GREENE: And there was plenty of drama in this World Series, including a play at the end of Game 4 that will be hard to forget.
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JOE BUCK: Jansen. That is into center field. Here comes Kiermaier.
(CHEERING)
BUCK: Phillips has tied the game. Arozarena coming around. Throw home, now he stumbles. But the ball gets away. Tampa Bay wins it.
(CHEERING)
GREENE: The Dodgers did take a 3-2 series lead into Game 6, where they faced a pitcher who was dominant.
MARTIN: Blake Snell struck out nine Dodgers through five innings. But after allowing one base-runner in the sixth, Rays skipper Kevin Cash made what may go down as one of the most questionable decisions in World Series history - he pulled Snell out of the game.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #3: Man, you talk about a short leash. Snell can't believe it. And we'll see how it works out.
MARTIN: Spoiler alert - it didn't work out.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #3: Here's a play at the plate. Throw home too late - Dodgers lead.
(CHEERING)
GREENE: The Dodgers took the lead on the way to their first championship since 1988 when legendary broadcaster Vin Scully spoke words that feel even more relevant now.
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VIN SCULLY: In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOPFUNK'S "LIVE AND DIE IN LA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
