What a wild year for former Stanford star Tommy Edman. He spent the first four months of the 2024 season on the IL and before he could even return to baseball, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now he is world champion.

It’s one thing to be a member of the team that wins it all, but not only was Edman 1-of-26, he was also named National League Championship Series MVP in the previous round, all without going 11-of-27 (.407) With one home run, three doubles and 11 RBI, the Dodgers might have had a harder time even getting into the World Series.

Adding Edman seemed to fix the Dodgers’ defense, with the 29-year-old serving as both LA’s shortstop and centerfielder when needed. You may recall that Gold Glove right fielder Mookie Betts actually began the season as a minor for the Dodgers, but after he landed on the IL, the team decided to make a move. Adding Edman to the mix has certainly helped the team defensively.

In his 37 games during the regular season, Edman hit .237 with an OBP of .294, six home runs, 20 runs, 20 RBI and six stolen bases. In 16 postseason games between the three rounds, he hit .328 overall, with two home runs, five stolen bases and an OPS of .862. It was certainly an impressive run that he put together and gave the Dodgers a huge boost in the postseason outside of their three big stars, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

He finished in the bottom third of the lineup in most games, with the exception of the crucial game against the New York Mets in the NLCS, when he hit cleanly, went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, and helped save the win in Game 6.

There’s no telling whether the Dodgers would have won the World Series that season if they hadn’t signed Edman in time, but it certainly made their path to the trophy much easier.