The Los Angeles Dodgers looked nearly unbeatable from early June through late August. They boasted a winning percentage over .700, and they had won so much that they had the best record in baseball by far. And then the SI cover dropped.
Sports Illustrated put the Dodgers on the cover of their Aug. 24 edition, asking whether the Boys in Blue could become the best team ever.
Dodgers 4-13 since this SI cover. pic.twitter.com/1352hFTG1w
— Kris (@5kl) September 9, 2017
After that cover, the Dodgers went 4-13. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked Friday whether or not the team was cursed by the Sports Illustrated cover, and he joked that it did.
Dave Roberts: "The Sports Illustrated cover got us."
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) September 9, 2017
Keep in mind that Roberts was only joking with his response. Also note that back in August, the manager said the only jinx he believed in was the Madden cover curse.
Dave Roberts said the only jinx he believes in is the cover of Madden.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) August 23, 2017
The SI cover curse became enough of a thing that SportsNetLA, the channel that broadcasts Dodger games, tried to break the curse.
.@Nomar5 & @_JohnHartung take matters in their own hands to release the curse of the #SportsIllustrated cover. pic.twitter.com/5s0wTvtT6g
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 9, 2017
Before we get into the curse, let’s recall just how crazy the Dodgers’ winning became. The team was 35-25 after a June 6 loss, yet they went 26-4 over their next 30 to enter the All-Star break 61-29. It was more of the same in the second half as they continued to win and were 87-34 after an Aug. 19 win.
Even though they went 1-12 in their previous 13 entering Friday, the Dodgers still have the best record in MLB.
The reality is you need to win a ton to turn enough heads to earn a cover, and once you start getting recognition, it’s likely that you begin to regress to the mean. That could explain the Dodgers’ losing since the cover. Or you could just believe in jinxes.
