The Dodgers needed to win that World Series last year.

Not just for the legacy of an all-time great -- and previously ringless -- player in Shohei Ohtani.

Not just for a front office and ownership group that had invested gobs of money into the roster.

Not just for the fans. And not just for the bragging rights against the Yankees.

But also to quiet the critics who had called the Dodgers’ 2020 triumph in the COVID bubble a “Mickey Mouse title,” or whatever other pejoratives were plastered on the internet.

See, when October arrives, it means different things to different teams. While every playoff entrant obviously wants/needs/craves that precious Commissioner’s Trophy, there are factors like aging curves, pending free agents and franchise history that can increase the urgency for some

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