L.A. council asks MLB to name Dodgers the 2017, '18 champs

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday that asks commissioner Rob Manfred to strip the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox of their recent World Series titles and instead crown the Dodgers as the champions of the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, four games to three, and the 2018 series to the Red Sox, four games to one.

The resolution cited the MLB investigation that showed the Astros used technology to steal signs in 2017 that led to the suspensions -- and subsequent firings -- of Astros manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow. The team also was fined $5 million and lost future draft picks. The Astros' bench coach in 2017, Alex Cora, was linked to the scheme in a nine-page report released last week by MLB. He was hired to manage the Red Sox and led them to a world championship in 2018 before he and the team parted ways last week. An investigation into allegations the Red Sox cheated in 2018 is continuing.

"This isn't being done for publicity," said Councilman Paul Koretz, co-sponsor of the resolution, per the Los Angeles Times. "This is being done in outrage for how our team was created." He continued: "We have to send a message. If we don't stand up for baseball, then the tradition of the national pastime may become flawed."

Co-sponsor Gil Cedillo said even if the World Series trophies don't move to Dodger Stadium, both the Astros and Red Sox should be stripped of their championships. "This crisis goes beyond the sport and the game," Cedillo said, according to the Times. "It goes to the very core of being American. This could send an important message to little boys and girls that you need to play hard by the rules, or you can learn that cheating is the new normal.

"We want it to be clear that this city spoke up for its team." --Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)