Dodgers’ World Series Hero Breaks Silence On Leaving For NL Rival

The Los Angeles Dodgers enjoyed plenty of heroic contributions from their biggest stars last year as they secured their second straight World Series title.

Shohei Ohtani hit three home runs and struck out 10 batters in a National League Championship Series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Clayton Kershaw escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 12th inning of World Series Game 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. And Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned three Fall Classic wins in eight days.

But some lesser-known players stepped up in big moments as well. And none was more impressive than outfielder Justin Dean, who served as a defensive replacement in the World Series and recorded a truly heroic heads-up play in Game 6.

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“Dean entered baseball lore … when he chased down a long fly ball from Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger that got wedged under the padding of the Rogers Centre outfield wall,” Jack Baer wrote for Yahoo! Sports. “At the time, Toronto was up 3-2 in the series and trailing by two runs in Game 6. With a runner already on base, Barger ran all the way around the bases for what many at Rogers Centre believed to be a game-tying, inside-the-park homer. However, he was free to run only because Dean had decided not to field the ball. Instead, he raised his arms to signal a lodged ball, which caused the umpires to call the play a ground-rule double.”

Dean will be remembered by plenty of Dodgers fans for life after that savvy decision. But the team let him go quickly after, placing him on waivers in early November. Dean was then claimed by the San Francisco Giants who quickly designated him for assignment, and now he has been claimed by the Chicago Cubs as they look to square off with the Dodgers for a National League pennant of their own next season.

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Now, the Dodgers hero has spoken out about joining his latest home.

“I’m super excited, that’s all you can ask for, an opportunity and a chance to play,” Dean said in an interview shared by Dodgers Nation on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m super excited to be with another good organization and excited to get going on this season.”

Dean also made it clear that his goal is to earn a long-standing big-league spot after getting a taste of the majors with the Dodgers and then bouncing around waivers this winter.

“Just (to) be in the big leagues the majority of the year, all year, would be a blessing,” Dean added in the interview. “And to just help a team win baseball games. That’s all I want to do is help a big-league club, be (on) a winning club.”