LOS ANGELES — In the retelling of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series championship , their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres is cast as their biggest hurdle, made even more dramatic after the Dodgers fell behind two games to one in that best-of-five series.

Getting past the Padres , Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would say later on Mookie Betts’ podcast, “I felt, from my perspective, that was the World Series.” He wasn’t alone in believing the Padres were the best team the Dodgers would face during their postseason run.

“I’ll just pick one player but it was more than one,” Dodgers owner Mark Walter said during one of the beer-and-champagne drenched celebrations on the way to the World Series. “San Diego is a very good team. … After we beat them, (Clayton) Kershaw c

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