Underdog Dodgers are looking for their Kirk Gibson moment



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BOSTON – Matt Kemp laughs at the question being asked to him. Probably with good reason.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = ""How many times have you seen that Kirk Gibson homer from 1988?""data-reactid =" 17 ">"How many times have you seen that Kirk Gibson homer from 1988?"

"I've played for the dodgers for a loooong time, man," Kemp says. "That's something they always play."

"Thousands," says Justin Turner, the third baseman Dodgers.

"It's part of our pregame video editing," adds utilityman Kiké Hernández. "So a lot."

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "They're all right. In LA, finding a person who has not seen Kirk Gibson limping around the bases after taking Dennis Eckersley deep in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It's one of the most indelible moments in the history of the world, and it's probably in the brains of most fans of a certain age. "Data-reactid =" 21 "> They're all right. person who has not seen Kirk Gibson limping around the bases after taking Dennis Eckersley deep in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It's one of the most indelible moments in the world. It's probably most likely to be in the brains of most Dodgers fans of a certain age.

If you're looking for a World Series highlight to the Dodgers, that's still the one The Gibson Homer is both the most incredible moment in the past 30 years for the Dodgers and a harsh reminder of how many classic World Series moments they 've produced since.

None.

They've been a great team, winning six division titles in a row, but with no World Series trophy to show. They were close last year, making it to Game 7 of the World Series, but that next title still eludes them. It's something that the Dodgers and their fans know all too well – and the people who love the Dodgers keep their ammo belt.

Thirty years later, no one wearing Dodger blue at the World Series is itching to talk about the 1988 World Series. They're worried about the now. But they do want to talk about adding another highlight to the editing.

"I do not think it would be anything from the '88 team and what they've accomplished," Turner says. "THE. is ready for some new stories. There's a whole generation of Dodgers fans out there who were not even around for that '88 World Series. They only get the little blips of highlights from that. I think we're ready to give them their own memories. "

As fate would have it, these Dodgers would be taking a strikingly similar path to their 1988 brethren if they can pull off an upset of the Boston Red Sox. Consider the following:

• The Dodgers are the underdogs against a Red Sox team that won the most games in the regular season. Just like the Oakland Athletics did in 1988.

• The Dodgers needed seven games to finish off their NLCS opponents, the Milwaukee Brewers, just like the 1988 Dodgers did with the New York Mets.

• The Red Sox comes into the World Series after beating the Houston Astros handily in the ALCS. It took five games. The 1988 A's beat their ALCS opponent in four. Would you believe it was the Red Sox?

• The A's had the AL MVP, Jose Canseco, in their lineup, just like the 2018 Red Sox have the presumptive MVP in Mookie Betts.

After all these years of hearing about 1988, it turns out 1988 might actually be the roadmap to the long-awaited next Dodgers title.

"We've always talked about," Kemp says, "how did you go about what they did, but we're trying to get some new highlights up there. It's time we rewrite history. "

It's funny to even think of the Dodgers as underdogs. How could a $ 199 million team ever be an underdog? When the opposition has a $ 228 million payroll and won regular season games.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are a team that has not had a killer instinct that matches its talent. They needed 163 games to win the division after an up-and-down season. They needed seven games against the Brewers to get here after an up-and-down NLCS.

But that goes away with four wins in the World Series.

So does 30 years of waiting.

"It'd be awesome," Hernandez says. "I just hope it's not similar to Kirk, because I do not want to get hurt and come off the bench hurt."

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