Watching the Dodgers fumble and bumble their way through their back-to-back games against the lowly AL Central last place Kansas City Royals on Saturday and Sunday was tough to watch for fans who remember the days when the team was the benchmark for playing the game ‘The Dodgers Way.’ But those days are long gone, only distant memories of fans who once revered the way their beloved team played the game.

Unfortunately, those weekend games against the Royals were not the exception. The 2023 team has routinely demonstrated a lack of defensive fundamentals. Other than right fielder/second baseman/shortstop Mookie Betts, the Dodgers fielders should have no allusions of winning this season’s Rawlings Gold Glove Team Award.

“Those guys just outplayed us,” a visibly upset Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame. “It’s a different brand of baseball as far as putting the ball in play, hitting behind runners, stealing bases. They were excellent in situational hitting, too.”

Fangraphs ranks the Dodgers 24th of 32 MLB teams in defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) with an overall negative 12.5. Pitchers and second base defense are each ranked 22nd, third base 24th, and first base 19th. Collectively, only shortstop and outfield defenses are considered somewhat above average.

Come on Dodgers, you need to be better than this. Take pride in your craft and step up to the heritage of previous generations of The Dodgers’ Way to Play Baseball!

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