Dodgers star reveals secret team meeting that changed L.A. season

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández revealed that the Dodgers held a team meeting back in September that helped them improve the season. The meeting came after two losses to the Atlanta Braves, but especially after the team found out that it had lost starter Tyler Glasnow for the remainder of the season and the postseason.

Glasnow was already on the injured list with an elbow injury, but the team initially expected him to return in the postseason. Before that meeting, the team officially learned that Glasnow would no longer be playing in the playoffs. The Dodgers named Glasnow their top pitcher for the 2024 season, making him a starter on both Opening Day and the Dodgers' first series in Seoul, South Korea. Glasnow returned the favor, recording career highs in starts and strikeouts before his kryptonite injuries struck him again.

Hernández recalled that before that meeting, the Dodgers were feeling down about Glasnow, but this meeting gave them the boost they needed.

“One time we saw a lot of fans who we saw not from the team but from outside. Everyone was panicking because we had suffered a lot of injuries. We’re losing a lot of pitchers,” Hernández said.

“At one point we felt like we were down as a team,” Hernández said. “And one meeting changed everything. And then we realized that we have the potential, that we have the players, that we are still the Dodgers. And we can do special things with the people we've had healthy all year and just the opportunity to keep the team at the top until those guys could come back and continue to help the team win.

Since that meeting, the Dodgers have advanced to the National League Championship Series, winning an NLDS series for the first time since 2021. They are just one game away from advancing to the World Series and need another win over the New York Mets in either game 6 or Game 7 of the NLCS.

Even with a trip to the NLCS, the Dodgers certainly weren't perfect. The loss of Glasnow and several other starting players has hurt them at times this postseason. The team's pitching has given up five or more runs five times this postseason. They also came through with four separate shutouts on other occasions. If the team can rely on the potential they saw in this matchup and perform well in a few more games, they could very well be flying the World Series banner at the end of the season.