by Megan Garcia
At the beginning of the season, Tommy Edman was sitting on the injured list for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, in late October, he’ll be joining the Dodgers in the World Series as the National League Champion Series MVP.
Edman led the Dodgers with 11 hits in the NLCS to ultimately knock the Mets out of the postseason. He batted .440 in six games (11-for-27), while tying Corey Seager’s 2020 franchise record of 11 RBI in the NLCS.
Edman led the Dodgers with four RBI from the cleanup spot, paving the way for the 10–5 win in Game 6 on Sunday.
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“It’s a crazy trajectory. I can’t say enough about the front office being able to acquire him at the deadline,” manager Dave Roberts said. “What he can do for us on the field, in the clubhouse, it’s just amazing. I never imagined once we acquired him, he’d be hitting fourth in a postseason game. But I trust him. The guys trust him. He’s made huge defensive plays for us and had huge hits. Just very fortunate to have a player like Tommy.”
Edman’s two-run double in the first inning pushed the Dodgers ahead of the Mets 2–1. His two-run homer — his first of the series — provided the Dodgers a 4–1 lead in the third inning.
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The 29-year-old recorded a hit in each game of the NLCS. His RBI single in Game 1 extended the Dodgers’ lead, but he also showed his prowess for small ball. His sacrifice bunt in the second inning opened the door for Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single.
Edman had four multi-hit games throughout the NLCS, highlighted by his three-hit day in Game 2 with two RBI.
“A huge part of that is a testament to the guys on the team,” Edman said. “We had really good at-bats throughout the series. Our whole lineup was really good lineup. Any number of guys could have won MVP.”
There were many key pieces who helped the Dodgers win the National League pennant. Ten relievers stepped up to cover 23 2/3 innings, including all nine in Game 6’s bullpen game.
Max Muncy’s streak of reaching base in 12 consecutive at-bats also made him a standout in the series as he posted a .630 on-base percentage with two home runs and four RBI. Mookie Betts went 9-for-26 with two home runs and nine RBI. There was also Ohtani, who went 8-for-22 with six RBI.
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“He does things, not just this postseason but during the regular season, contributing in places where it doesn’t really reflect on the stat line,” Ohtani said about Edman’s NLCS MVP honors. “But I think the common theme for this season has been a lot of people, different guys have been stepping up over the course of the season.”
Edman was acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals. He hadn’t played in a Major League game to that point due to offseason wrist surgery and an ankle sprain. Edman continued his rehab in the subsequent weeks before he finally made his Dodger debut on Aug. 19.
The utilityman showed off his power in September when he clubbed two home runs in two consecutive games. He flew under the radar in the National League Division Series with four hits, but he didn’t shy away from the spotlight in the NLCS.
“He’s just a really good baseball player,” said Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. “He can go from center field to shortstop, he does it. There aren’t a lot of guys on planet earth who can do it at such a high level. He’s had his nose in the middle of everything we have going.”
NLCS Game 6: Tommy Edman lifts the Dodgers and lifts an MVP trophy was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.