LOS ANGELES — The tears had mostly dried in the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse.
About 30 minutes had elapsed after the Dodgers got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. Their hopes for a third straight World Series title officially died with a 6-4 defeat Thursday, Oct. 15 at Dodger Stadium.
What had taken place before those clubhouse doors opened to the media?
Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers’ veteran second baseman, looked misty-eyed. He is retiring and expressed gratitude to the team because his years with the Dodgers organization changed his life – not just as a player, but as a husband and father.
He said he received emotional hugs from teammates, with Rojas headed into retirement.
Max Muncy, the Dodgers’ third baseman,
referred to unseen emotion.
“Right now we’re trying to soak in what we got in this clubhouse," he said. “We’re all trying to tell each other that we love each other and thank each other. There’s going to come a time where we’ll worry about next year, but it’s just right not now."
Actually, the worry can start now.
Ohtani told reporters he doesn’t know if he’ll need surgery for the knee and bicep issues that limited his pitching and led to a horrendous hitting slump.
"I haven't been able to come to grips with what I learned overall this season," Ohtani said after the game. "I will go back to the drawing board in terms of treatment, a training program and see what I can come up with for next season. … And looking forward to having a better season next year."
Age-old problem
The Brewers looked spry as they sped around the basepaths. Not the Dodgers.
Ohtani, 32, still has seven years left on his 10-year, $700 million deal. Mookie Betts is under contract through 2032. But Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, both among the older Dodgers, have only one year left on their contracts.
Freeman, the 37-year-old All-Star first baseman, is among the more grizzled Dodgers. He smiled as reporters clustered around his locker and referred to remarks that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made in the clubhouse before those doors opened.
“Obviously came in pretty hurt, down," Freeman said. “But (Roberts) said some encouraging things. Sport is rough sometimes when you go out there and give it your all. Sometimes you come up short, but that’s life."
But the philosophical will be competing with the numerical.
A hypothetical MLB salary cap could force the Dodgers to work under financial constraints for the first time since Mark Walter and his partners bought the team in 2012 for $2.15 million.
Pent-up emotion
The most striking emotion from the Dodgers came during the game. It was the shouting and gesticulating after Ohtani hit a three-run homer in the second inning.
It was his first home run since Aug. 18, and as the ball sailed over the right-field wall Ohtani turned toward the Dodgers’ dugout, raised his arms and yelled.
“I think it was a lot of pent-up anger, frustration. It was the best ball he hit in probably two, three months, and it was a big hit,” Roberts said. “For him to look at the dugout, show that emotion, it just shows how much he cares. He’s still human. He still cares and wants to help his team win a baseball game.”
Ohtani looked serene in the clubhouse as he appeared in front of his locker with his translator.
Maybe it's best to finish with the starter.
Dodgers righthander Tyler Glasnow retired the first nine Brewers hitters in a row and had six strikeouts. Los Angeles had jumped to a 4-0 lead.
But less than two innings later he'd been pulled from the game and the Brewers had tied the score 4-4.
“I just think they played a lot better than us," Glasnow said, looking despondent in front of his locker. "They were hitting on everything and I just think it wasn't our year."
Over that, there's still time for the Dodgers to shed a few more tears.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What happened in Dodgers clubhouse after season-ending loss to Brewers?
