Andrew Noel, Editor

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the 2024 World Series. Depending on who you ask, some will say it was their first title since 1988, and others will say it was their second title in five years. The Los Angeles Dodgers also won the World Series in 2020. The legacy of that title, and of all COVID era sports championships, is complicated to say the least. How should these championships be remembered?

There were no crowds in the stands during the 2020 MLB season, and the season itself was just 60 games, a whopping 102 games shorter than in a normal year. The playoff format was also different than it would be in a normal year, with more teams added to the field. Some argue that because of these unique circumstances, the titles won during 2020 should come with an asterisk. However, some may argue that it depends on which sport is being discussed.

The NFL, for example, played a full season (albeit with no fans) and maintained the regular playoff format. Compare this to baseball with the reduced schedule and changed playoffs and it is easy to see why coming to a consensus on this issue is so difficult. 

It is not fair to look at each championship from the same view point, as they all had different circumstances surrounding them. Instead, the fairest way to evaluate championships from this era is to do it individually, not as a group.

Starting with the most straightforward championship, the Super Bowl. As discussed, it came after a full season with the same playoff format as always, no asterisk here.

The NBA and NHL both went into bubbles, where everyone got together in a single city and completed the season in that specific city. The vast majority of the regular season was done for both leagues when the lockdowns both occurred, and the playoff format for both leagues remained largely intact; as a result, both the Lakers and Lightning’ titles should count as full titles.

So far, pretty easy..The hard one, however, is baseball. One of the many things that makes baseball unique is the length of the season which is 162 games. Even with the expanded playoffs, the World Series winners, the LA Dodgers, only played 79 games which is less than half of a normal regular season. Granted, the timing of the lockdowns influenced scheduling decisions as the MLB had just begun its spring training. However, the fact that there could only be 60 games fit into the schedule when both the NBA and NHL stopped their seasons for three months and still completed them, demonstrates the sole controversy in regard to COVID championships. 

The argument will go on forever as to if the championships won during COVID should fully count, but one thing is certain: the Dodgers winning their first “real” title since 1988 certainly helped them get the COVID monkey off their back.