Welcome to Glass Slipper! Oh, Florida State. What an absolute embarrassment; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Certain baseball teams are just special, and there comes a moment in the season where you can sense that a title is coming. That feeling is rare, and the squad that elicits it doesn’t even have to be a dominant one. The 2015 Royals were a perfect example. They lost the 2014 World Series in heartbreaking fashion, and climbed back into the playoffs the following year. Kansas City did not have the best record in the league, but that was a fun, tough group that always had a little magic in store. Those Royals were starving for revenge, and every baseball fan seemed to realize - at one point or another -  that they were going to get it.

The 2019 Nationals fall into the same category. They won 19 of their first 50 games, then scratched and clawed back into the mix. We talk about the it factor all the time in sports; a relatively unexplainable edge that specific players or teams seem to have. Washington had it that year. Max Scherzer’s psychotic competitiveness was at an all-time high. Neither Stephen Strasburg nor Patrick Corbin had many good pitches left in them, but they were emptying the tank anyway. Juan Soto was 20 years old, playing mind games with some of the best pitchers of this generation on baseball’s biggest stage. It didn’t matter that the Nats were inexperienced, or that the Astros were cheating in the other dugout. You just knew that Washington was going to find a way.

I had the feeling on Friday night, watching the Rays and Dodgers duel in Los Angeles. In case you didn’t see, Shohei Ohtani blasted a walk-off grand slam and joined the exclusive 40-40 club in the process. It was undoubtedly the most iconic moment of his MLB career. So far.

It was pretty funny to see how cautious his teammates were during the customary home plate mobbing. Ohtani is this league’s golden goose, and those LA guys were clearly terrified of going down in history as the clown who accidentally injured the best player in the world. As I watched Shohei bounce around happily and take a bath during his postgame interview, I realized that I could not picture any other squad lifting the World Series trophy this season. Like, I can’t seriously envision such a scenario; it just looks goofy and wrong in my head.

I know I’m not exactly going out on a limb by predicting that a superteam is going to win a championship. But in my defense, the Dodgers have been dominant for 12 straight years now, and flaunt just one title in that span. These guys are notorious for crumbling in the postseason. To me, the biggest problem has been that the roster often feels like a factory more than a family. The executives usually just collect as much talent as possible, before squeezing their eyes shut, crossing their fingers, and hoping that chemistry will appear out of thin air.

This team is different. There’s the Japanese connection between manager Dave Roberts and new superstars Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The city is rallying behind Freddie Freeman, who took time away to care for his ailing son. Tyler Glasnow and Jack Flaherty - both Los Angeles natives - were brought in to bolster the starting rotation. Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez get along with literally everyone. Even franchise legend Clayton Kershaw is back in the fold. The Dodgers exude nothing but positive vibes; this is not a bunch that is going to flame out in the NLDS. These guys legitimately love each other.

Of course, having three MVPs at the top of the lineup is nice. But it’s the smiles, the hugs, and the celebrations that have me fully convinced. LA is having fun, and everyone else is in deep, deep trouble.

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“Daisy Mae” by Leon Bridges. The prettiest song of all time.