This week saw a lot of news in the NFL, whether it was the beginning of the season or Antonio Brown. A piece of sports news that was not covered almost at all was in the MLB.

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the NL West division for the seventh straight year. The Dodgers have also won the last two NL pennants and went to the last two World Series.

As a Cardinals fan, I have not seen my team win the division in the last four years. A close friend of mine back home is a Dodgers fan, and in the years my team has not been able to make the playoffs, I have rallied with him for the Dodgers.

Now you might ask why that is, and I intend to answer that in this column. The Dodgers have probably the best mix of hard work and talent in the entire MLB in the last seven years.

Clayton Kershaw will go down as one of the best pitchers in history, as well as the best of his generation. Kershaw has a career ERA of 2.24 and a total of 2,446 strikeouts. Along with that, Kershaw has also won three Cy Young awards.

Now you can argue that Kershaw not being able to win a World Series is his fault, but that is an argument for another day.

Another big talent for the Dodgers is third-year right field and first baseman Cody Bellinger. Bellinger hit 44 home-runs this year, and the season is still going.

He also won the Rookie of the Year award in 2017 and was an all-star in two of his first three seasons. In 2018, Bellinger propelled the Dodgers over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Championship Series and won the NLCS MVP.

Now to get to the hard work part. I remember while I was home on break once, I told my friend there is one player on the LA Dodgers that I just cannot hate. That player is Justin Turner.

Turner does the things in baseball that pure fans ought to appreciate. Those things are his defense and his ability to get on base.

Turner is able to make plays happen on defense at third base that help the Dodgers execute on the field. On offense, Turner has a knack for battling at the plate and producing contact for his team.

During the last three years, Turner has finished within the top 25 in the NL in doubles. In 2017, he was named the NCLS MVP for his performance against the Chicago Cubs. In last year’s World Series, Turner held an on-base percentage of .351.

So no matter who you are a fan of in the MLB, you have to respect what the Dodgers have been able to accomplish these last seven years. This is a statistic that most teams can hardly achieve, and this team has done it all and will be competing in October baseball once more.

They have my respect, and even though the Cardinals may or may not make the playoffs, I believe the Dodgers are once again the clear NL favorites.

Blake Faith is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at bmfaith@eiu.edu.