5 days ago
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Happy New Year. Things we wish for in 2026:
Major League Baseball: A repeat of the glorious, wonderful and delicious World Series of 2025, filled with drama, heroics and memories.
Shohei Ohtani: More
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Miguel Rojas: A Thank You card from every Dodgers fan.
Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran: Enough votes to get in the Hall of Fame. The announcement will be made Jan. 20.
Freddie Freeman: One more year (at least) of Hall of Fame production. He turns 37 in September. By the way: Freddie’s high school teammate, Matthew Stafford, the same age, is the leading candidate to be the MVP In the NFL this year.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman speaks to the fans during the 2025 World Series championship celebration at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.
Mike Trout: Health
San Diego Padres: A September to put an exclamation point on a great summer.
Clayton Kershaw: A wonderful and enjoyable retirement for the greatest Dodger of them all (icons Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax had much shorter careers than Kershaw).
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Justin Turner: Also a fitting retirement for the 41-year-old former Cal State Fullerton Titan who was an integral part of the Dodger success for nine seasons.
Major League Baseball: An annual Bob Uecker Humor Award given to the person in the baseball world who brings as much joy and as many smiles as the late great “Mr. Baseball” did.
Dave Roberts: Recognition as one of the great managers in modern times.
Kurt Suzuki, new Angel manager: Good luck. You’ll need lots of it.
Arte Moreno, Angel owner: A receipt for the billions you’ll receive when you sell the team.
Paul Skenes: A better team (see Mike Trout). His Pittsburgh Pirates are 30 games under .500 in his first two seasons in the majors while his ERA is 1.96.
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John Smoltz: Less.
Dodgers fans: Humility. Remember it wasn’t always this way. From 1989 to 2003, a period of 13 seasons, the Dodgers made the playoffs only twice and were swept both times in the National League Division Series.
Baseball Hall of Fame: Find room for people who made significant contributions to the overall landscape of the game – Fernando Valenzuela, Jim Abbott, Tommy John. And Al Rosen!
Major League Baseball: More complete games, less strikeouts. And NO MORE in-game interviews with managers, coaches or especially players.
Baseball fans everywhere: Cast the distractions aside, the nasty little things that bother all of us, and just enjoy the game itself. The wonderful, special game we have so long loved.
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Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached atpwdonovan22@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: A wish list for Major League Baseball in 2026
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