LOS ANGELES – There wasn’t much fanfare surrounding Miguel Vargas receiving his World Series championship ring from the Dodgers prior to their 6-1 victory over the visiting White Sox Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Just Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes, manager Dave Roberts, Vargas and a handful of photographers a little ways away, capturing this special moment for the man who played 30 games for Los Angeles in 2024. In a way, this presentation put a final exclamation point on the first part of Vargas’ career, running from 2022 until he was traded to Chicago as part of a three-team, eight-player trade on July 29 last season.
“It feels good, you know? I feel a lot of players dream about something like this. I’m very happy to have one,” said Vargas after receiving his championship ring. “It’s always good to have that type of reward. Happy to see my old teammates and to be back here at Dodger Stadium.”
Moving to the White Sox was not an easy on-field transition for Vargas, who hit .104 with a .387 OPS over 157 plate appearances after the trade. Vargas understandably doesn’t talk much about that rough indoctrination, choosing instead to focus on better results in the present.
Although he is in a 1-for-25 slump following an 0-for-4 showing Tuesday, Vargas has been the strongest White Sox force with the bat since raising the hand placement on his swing earlier this season. He is hitting .257 with 15 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 28 RBIs and 34 runs scored over his last 60 games since April 23.
“Just the way he’s worked through that early part of the season where, the organization and myself and Vargy, have a vision about the kind of player that he can be,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “He’s had to work really hard to get there.
“To see that in the early part of this year where he’s worked through some adjustments, made those adjustments and stuck with them and gotten results is really cool to see. He’s a really good player and we’re watching him become that on a daily basis here.”
At 25, and with the ability to play third base or first base with smooth aptitude defensively, Vargas remains a central figure in this latest White Sox rebuild. The same can be said for Chase Meidroth, who played his first career game at Dodger Stadium in the series opener.
First career game, but certainly not his first Dodger Stadium experience. The 23-year-old infielder is a native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and is commuting from home for this three-game series. He even got on his surfboard for a bit Monday, just to get the feel back, before somewhere between 100 to 150 friends and family watched him hit second against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and play shortstop.
Meidroth smiled when mentioning an individual whom he hadn’t talked to since sixth grade having plans to come to Dodger Stadium for his hometown debut.
“I think it’s a dream come true for myself and my family,” said Meidroth, who finished 0-for-4 Tuesday. “They will be able to be here, too. It will be a fun week here.”
“Absolutely, great spot, great venue,” said Venable, who played 12 games for the Dodgers in 2016 as the last stop of his playing career. “They’ve continued to make it just a great experience. Great fans, great playing surface, great ballpark. Fun to play here.”
Not so much fun on this night for the White Sox (28-57) or starting pitcher Shane Smith (3-6) against the National League West leaders. Smith retired Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman without much issue to start the contest, only to walk Will Smith and Max Muncy to keep the inning going. Three batters and three hits later, and the Dodgers had jumped to a 4-0 lead.
Smith allowed six runs over 4 2/3 innings, including Ohtani’s 30th home run, striking out six and walking three. His ERA has jumped from 2.05 on May 16 to 3.86 with 23 earned runs allowed over his last 31 innings, with the Dodgers (54-32) scoring all six against him with two outs.
On a night beginning with a championship feel for one White Sox player, it ended with the reigning champs in control.
“It’s really trying to get back to getting a good start under my belt and go from there,” said Smith. “To have three in a row like this really stings. But I have to have confidence going out again and trying to get a good one.”