Hot Take: The Dodgers are ¡®scrappy underdogs,¡¯ says one celeb super fan
Michael Clair
@michaelsclairRob Lowe has seen a lot of good baseball in his life. Growing up in Cincinnati in the 1970s, Lowe fell in love with baseball during the time of the Big Red Machine, regularly wearing a homemade Joe Morgan No. 8 shirt. He then was in attendance at the 1978 World Series that saw Reggie Jackson and the Yankees defeat the Dodgers -- the team he's fallen in love with since calling Los Angeles home.
Lowe is so devoted to baseball, in fact, that he's angered studio executives at times for squeezing in a few innings of a World Series game -- something that wasn't a problem on the "Parks and Rec" set where showrunner Michael Schur is also a huge baseball fan.
"That was definitely not a problem," Lowe joked during a recent phone call with MLB.com. "You know, he and I beefed about Fire Joe Morgan [the baseball website where Schur wrote under the pen name "Ken Tremendous"]. I made a Joe Morgan T-shirt. He wanted to fire him. And, of course, he's a noted Red Sox fan. So we would go back and forth about that. That was a great baseball friendly set."
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When not watching baseball -- and, I suppose, memorizing lines -- Lowe is also thinking about the sport. So, when he suggests that this Dodgers lineup might match up well with the greatest teams in history, he could be on to something.
Here is our conversation about the Dodgers' strengths, what they'll need this October, and why Shohei Ohtani is unlike any other superstar.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
MLB: So, you grew up with the Big Red Machine -- one of the best teams in history. Then there's the 1927 Yankees. Where does the Dodgers' 1-2-3 of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman rank in your opinion?
RL: I think you have to put it as if not the best, then certainly equal to the best. People talk about the '27 Yankees all the time, but when you look at a lineup, there are one or two stars and the rest were just great players. These three are not only great, Hall of Fame types -- I don't even know how to describe Shohei Ohtani, and we'll get to that, but there are stars, and there are stars. Does that make sense? We're so spoiled to see players like this in the flesh, one, two and three here. And in LA, it's just an unbelievable Christmas morning for baseball fans.
MLB: Do they need to win a World Series together to cement that legacy?
RL: 100 percent. I think Andrew Friedman and ownership would would agree. You look at what's happened to us with injuries with the pitching. And as you know, the postseason is almost only about pitching. What Dave Roberts has been able to do to keep us, I think -- what are we five games up today? -- with the amount of starting pitching injuries we've had is, I think, really, really, really extraordinary.
So, do they have to win a little bit? Yes. Does it have to be this year? Going to be tough unless [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto comes back strong this week, Walker [Buehler] continues to do something, and then we need two other guys, but I don't know who they are.
MLB: So you're worried about the pitching come the postseason?
RL: I mean, look at it. Big Red, you know, [Dustin May], who blew his arm out. He was gone for a year and a half. Yamamoto, we'll see what happens with that. The Cat Man, [Tony Gonsolin]. Any two of those people, and that's a devastating season ending for most teams. I'm not looking for a handicap going into the postseason, but the notion that the Dodgers are the best team that money can buy, a super team? We're going in as scrappy underdogs.
MLB: I have a feeling that every other team might be upset at calling the Dodgers scrappy underdogs.
RL: That's my clickbait headline!
MLB: To change gears, you met Shohei Ohtani this year. You're a star, you've been in Hollywood for a long time. Were you starstruck meeting him?
RL: 100 percent. I walked into the locker room. There was no one there. It was just him. I was like, 'Holy [crap]. That's Shohei by himself. I gotta say hi.' I tap him on the shoulder, introduce myself, tell him I'm a big fan, ask him if I could take a selfie. And he was so nice and so polite and so happy to do it.
But here's what's interesting, and I think it says something about him. I'm not sure what it says, but I know it's good. He's sitting there half dressed. He's got the whole top of his uniform on, and then cut-off sweatpant shorts, so I think he's just gonna stand up and we're gonna frame the top half and take the selfie. No, no. He gets completely dressed in the full uniform: socks, pants, belt. Has to walk across the locker room to get a fresh cap.
I think it's a couple things: I think it's attention to detail, I think it's respect, I think it's commitment, and I think it's buying in to being a Dodger. This is from a guy who just broke the bank! He can take his money and just do whatever he wants to do. And then the other thing that I thought was amazing was, after I took the photo, the Dodgers came to me and said, 'Shohei wants to know if it's OK with you if he posts it.' Honestly, name another superstar who would do that. Name one.
MLB: Shohei is now going for a remarkable 50/50 season. In your opinion, how big of an accomplishment is that?
RL: I think it's huge, but it also scares me every time he slides in. I don't want to say that because I've been [complaining] and moaning about the lack of stolen bases for decades. Go back to what Joe Morgan was doing and baseball is so much better when the stolen base threat is a real thing. It's just not even close. And whether it's making the bag slightly bigger or analytics, maybe changing or whatever has happened. I'm here for it.
MLB: I'd love for you to help Build-A-Ballplayer. Basically, let's Frankenstein one together from your favorite players for a variety of skills. So, who had the best arm?
RL: Nolan Ryan
MLB: Best glove?
RL: Ozzie Smith
MLB: Best hit tool -- power will come next.
RL: Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew
MLB: Power?
RL: The only reason I'm not saying Shohei is because he hits to the opposite field and also hits line drive singles and doubles as well. When I think of power, I think of somebody who's literally just going to park it in the upper deck. So, if that's what we're going for ... I've been talking about old school players, let's throw somebody new in. Let's go with Aaron Judge.
MLB: Speed?
RL: Let's keep going new school. It's too early to say, but I would say, Elly De La Cruz.
MLB: Thank you again for taking the time talking baseball. This is a ton of fun. So, last question for you: What's your dream World Series look like?
RL: Oh, come on. It's the happiest, most cliched answer that you can see coming: Dodgers-Yankees. I was at the 1978 World Series got to see Reggie Jackson park one into the bullpen off of Bob Welch. I'll never forget it.