Dodgers’ gamble led to co-MVP payoff

CHICAGO Justin Turner and Chris Taylor shared MVP honours in the NL Championship Series, repaying a Dodgers organization willing to roll the dice on players whose bigleague careers were stalled.

In Turner’s case, it was thenbench coach Tim Wallach who rediscovered him playing in a Cal State-Fullerton alumni baseball game four years ago after his career appeared all but over.

In Taylor’s case, it was Los Angeles’ willingness to gamble that an off-season of gruelling workouts would enable the young utility man to rebuild his swing in a matter of months.

The co-MVPs turned up in the interview room together after the Dodgers eliminated the reigning World Series champion Chicago Cubs 11-1 in Game 5. They were Champagne-soaked, a pair of goggles still perched on Turner’s head. Fittingly, they doused each other with praise.

“He’s a dynamic player and a table setter,” said Turner, who hit .333 for the series with two home runs and seven RBIs. “When he goes, we usually go as a team.”

“I talk to him as much as I can. He’s one of the reasons I decided to make the changes I did,” said Taylor, who finished at .316 with two homers and three RBIs.

“Guys that have gone out on a ledge and made big changes and had success with it, I saw those guys and the success they had and that’s kind of what encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone.”

Before Los Angeles punched its first World Series ticket since 1988, manager Dave Roberts said Taylor had been a “fringy, four-A player” with his old swing — good enough to play comfortably in triple-A, but too often overmatched in the major leagues. With a new look at the plate, the 27-year-old was part of the most valuable duo on the field throughout this series.