The Los Angeles Dodgers, who were 12 games under .500 and 9 ½ games out of first place in the National League West division prior to June 21, have been on a tear, winning 45 of their last 55 games, now sitting at the top of their division.
"We're playing incredible baseball," said Dodger shortstop Hanley Ramirez. "I think we have guys that step up when other guys are out. It's what the good teams do. They help each other out."
Part of the Dodgers' successful turnaround can be attributed to the pitching staff. The rotation has an ERA of 2.54 over a 50-game stretch, with season-long ERA of 3.16, the lowest throughout Major League Baseball (MLB).
Clayton Kershaw, the 2011 Cy Young award winner, is leading the way, with a 13-7 record and a 1.72 ERA. During this Dodger hot streak, Kershaw has gone 4-1 with a 1.34 ERA in six starts in the month of July.
"He's just one of those rare guys who can not only put a pitching staff on his shoulders, but an entire team," said Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis.
Another key part of the Dodgers' current success has been 26-year-old rookie pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu. Los Angeles paid a $25.7 million posting-fee in order to negotiate with Ryu, on top of the $36 million for six years deal the team worked out for the South Korean pitcher.
"The Korean Monster," as his teammates playfully call him, is 12-4 with an ERA of 2.85; 1.78 ERA when pitching at Dodger Stadium. Ryi has impressed the Dodgers' veterans and coaching staff with how well he has transitioned.
"He's built similar to David Wells," said Dodger vice president of international scouting Bob Engle at the time Ryu was signed. "He can reach back for just a little bit extra. He has real good mound presence. He has command of his pitches and of himself. He's an accomplished, polished pitcher."
Ryu's transition has gone so smoothly that Dodger manager Don Mattingly feels that he should be considered for the Rookie of the Year award. Among rookie pitchers, Ryu is second in ERA, only behind Cuban phenom Jose Hernandez.
"I think he should be considered," said Mattingly. "He's throwing the ball really well, he's been consistent pretty much every time out. I'm sure he'll be part of it if he continues to pitch the way he's continued to pitch."
Ryu is not the only rookie on the Dodger roster making waves. Yasiel Puig has taken the league by storm. A star on the Cuban national team, Puig was punished after attempting to defect during the 2011 World Cup in Rotterdam, along with teammate Gerardo Concepcion. Puig, 22, eventually escaped from Cuba, taking up residence in Mexico in 2011 in order to become a MLB free agent.
Puig ended up signing with the Dodgers and made an instant impact when he got to the majors. Puig won the "Player of The Week" award for the week of June 3-9, hitting .464 with an on-base percentage of .483, four home runs, two doubles and 10 RBIs.
Puig went on to win the "National League Rookie of the Month" award and "National League Player of the Month" award - a first for any major league player - making 27 hits in 15 games, tying with Joe DiMaggio (1936) and Terry Pendleton (1984) for second most all-time behind Irv Waldron (1901) and Bo Hart (2003) with 28. In his first 26 games in June, Puig hit .436 with a .467 on base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage.
Between Kershaw maintaining stability in the pitching staff during turbulent times, Ryu adjusting smoothly to a new league, and the emergence of Puig, the Dodgers have the best winning percentage in MLB (.723), going from last to first in their division, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks by 9 ½ games.
"Once the team started to get healthy, we felt that it would be successful," said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti. "We could get back in it and compete. The blessing and the curse of baseball is that you're playing it pretty much every day, and so you don't have a week to recover. You don't have a week for players to get physically healthier to play. It's a constant turnaround from one night to the next. We went through a tough period. But we did stay together."
Kershaw, Ryu, and Puig have re-energized Los Angeles sports fans, regaining their love for Dodger baseball, especially after the dark days of Frank McCourt's ownership of the franchise. Puig's jersey is the 10th best selling, according to MLB, with Ryu and Kershaw merchandise also being quickly scooped up by fans. Average attendance is up by up 10 percent with a team-record 31,000 buying season tickets.
"It's certainly reinvigorated the L.A. sports scene," said UCLA economics professor Lee Ohanian to the Los Angeles Times. "I don't remember this sort of excitement since Fernando Valenzuela."
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