Merced County native Dylan Floro reflects on winning World Series with Los Angeles Dodgers
“Incredible” is the only way Dylan Floro could explain what it was like to win a World Series championship as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Floro, 29, a Merced native who graduated from Buhach Colony High School in 2009, played a key role in the Dodgers defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday night to win the Dodgers first championship since 1988.
“It was an unreal moment,” Floro said. “You grow up playing baseball your whole life dreaming about winning a World Series. To be in that moment and to experience it is overwhelming. It’s incredible.”
The World Series championship was an exclamation mark on a stellar season for Floro during the shortened 60-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Floro compiled a 3-0 record with a 2.59 ERA in 25 games for Los Angeles this season.
The right-hander struck out 19 batters in 24 and 1/3 innings pitched this season, which was Floro’s fifth season since making his debut for the Rays in 2016.
Floro made three appearances for the Dodgers in the World Series, including a key matchup on Tuesday night.
The big strikeout
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called on Floro to get Los Angeles out of a jam with runners on first and second base with two outs in the second inning with Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena coming up to bat. The Rays were already leading 1-0 in the game.
The Rays rookie set a record with 10 home runs during the postseason and was already 7 for 19 at the plate during the World Series with three home runs, including one in Game 6 that came in the first inning against Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin.
“The situation was early in the game,” Floro said. “He’s the hottest hitter in the postseason, especially for the Rays. I knew my changeup would be good against him. I just had to execute it right.”
Floro threw a changeup that caught the inside corner of the plate — Strike one.
Floro came back with another changeup that caught the bottom part of the strike zone for a called strike —Strike two.
Floro threw a third consecutive changeup and this time Arozarena swung and missed — Strike three.
“I got strike one against him, which was big for me,” Floro said. “I just went lower and lower with the changeup.”
Three pitches, three changeups, three strikes and one monumental out. It was the only batter Floro faced on Tuesday night.
While Floro may have looked calm and focused on the mound, it was a tense moment for his family watching on television back at home.
Floro’s mother, Deann, caught the moment on video and posted it on Facebook. Floro’s dad, Kent, erupted with some yells after his son recorded the big strikeout.
“The video pretty much sums it up,” Deann said. “Kent has his set position on the couch and doesn’t move or say much until the inning is over. As for me, previous years I had always kept a scorebook with his every pitch, but this year I started off videoing his innings so that is what I kept doing this year.”
Dylan saw the video on Facebook.
“I saw that too,” he said. “It’s one of those things, it’s been a weird year. Hopefully we can do it again next year when we can have fun and everyone can enjoy it.”
Trusting the changeup
The fact that Floro recorded the biggest out of his career with three changeups brings back memories for Merced Volunteers coach Rollo Adams, who coached Floro during the summer while he played for his American Legion team.
Adams remembers having arguments in the dugout over throwing changeups with not only Dylan, but his older brother Brock, who went on to pitch at Cal State Fullerton.
“We had our disagreements,” Adams said. “I remember we were playing in South Dakota during a tournament and I got into an argument in the dugout with Dylan. He had a legitimate excuse for not throwing a changeup because he was blowing guys away, but it goes back to learning how to pitch.”
Adams always insisted that Dylan and his other pitchers learned to trust their changeup because they would need that pitch as they continued to progress in the sport.
Adams said he received a text from Brock on Tuesday night that read: “Changeup, Changeup, Changeup.”
Adams replied: “The best pitch in baseball.”
Watching from home
The toughest part for the Floro family was not being there in person. Even if the family made the trip to Texas for the World Series games, they wouldn’t have been able to see Dylan, his wife Amber or their two daughters because Major League Baseball had strict COVID-19 protocols.
“It was horrible not being there in person, but that goes for the whole season,” Deann said. “It was hard for us not to be able to go to the games. Here’s hoping we never have another season like this.
“We were about to go to Texas but the tickets to the games were so crazy and plus we wouldn’t be able to see the kids so we decided to just stay in our spots we’ve been in every game this whole season.”
It was Floro’s second appearance in a World Series in three years with the Dodgers. Los Angeles lost to the Red Sox in the World Series in 2018.
“There are no words to describe the feeling,” Deann said. “It’s a dream come true for all of us, his brothers, for us as parents and not to mention his own dreams... It’s so surreal to us but beyond blessed to be able to say, ‘Our son has won a World Series and even pitched in the winning game.’”
Winning a ring
Dylan says he’s happy for some of his teammates. Players like Clayton Kershaw who have played for the Dodgers for their entire career.
“A couple years before we lost to the Red Sox,” Floro said. “You work so hard all year long to get there so it’s disappointing. Now to win it, we have a lot of guys who have been wearing a Dodger uniform for a long time. To finally put a ring on their finger is amazing.”
Floro’s phone was flooded with messages of people congratulating him since last night.
“I sent out a lot of thank yous,” Floro said. “It’s overwhelming. A lot of people watched and it’s good for our hometown. It’s pretty surreal. It’s a good moment for me and my family.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s kind of weird with everything that is going on right now. We didn’t really get a chance to celebrate with our team. We’re all stuck in a bubble. We’re ready to go home.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
