Joey Gallo was a strikeout machine so consistent in The Bronx he was figuratively booed out of The Bronx. Then he rediscovered his game soon after joining the Dodgers and is back to playing an All-Star caliber outfield. He also isn’t striking out every other at-bat. 

Andrew Heaney wasn’t a Yankee long last year, but long enough, it seemed, to wear out his welcome — and to log a 7.32 ERA. But he, too, came to the Dodgers and quickly transformed into a better version of himself. He is striking out batters at a rate he never has before, and after five solid innings in a 4-3 victory over the Mets on Tuesday night, his ERA rose to 2.12. 

Trayce Thompson bounced around, logging big-league time in six different stops, and seemed destined to be known as Warriors star Klay Thompson’s kid brother, the one who didn’t make it. Then the Dodgers bought him from the Tigers, one of the worst teams in baseball, and easily the worst hitting team. He has an OPS plus in L.A. of 159, higher than everyone on the Dodgers except superstars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and of course the new and improved Gallo. 

Everyone who dons Dodgers blue seems to get better, and almost immediately, too. The best team in baseball was on a 45-10 run heading into the middle game of their three-game series with the Mets, who are on a 102-win pace yet way behind LA. 

When it was noted to Mets manager Buck Showalter how well the Dodgers are doing and also how well his team is doing, reflexively, he responded, “Not as well as them.” 

Few ever have played this well. The 90-38 Dodgers, despite so many pitching injuries and an ongoing closing question, are on a 114-win pace. They lead the majors in the key hitting and pitching categories, and are only second in fielding, to the Yankees. They are having the season the Yankees were supposed to have. 

“Kudos to them,” said Max Scherzer, briefly a Dodger. “You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They have a great ballclub. We have a good ballclub, too. It’s going to be fun to compete against them.” 

Steve Cohen identified the Dodgers as the model franchise upon taking ownership of the Mets. They looked like the standard two years ago when they won the World Series for the first time in 32 years, and they are way better now. 

They are so good, it’s hard to believe. And even harder to comprehend. 

Some say the Dodgers draft better than anyone, especially considering they always pick low. Some say they develop better than anyone. It’s the drafting and developing that enabled them to make great trades for Betts, Freeman and Trea Turner, the most deadly top three in any batting order. 

It might be 50 percent drafting and 50 percent developing, then to borrow percentages from Yogi Berra, throw in another 50 percent for some magic sauce no one else knows about. 

Scherzer has a couple other theories. He credits good analytics and good catching. He says their catchers are adept at framing, turning borderline balls into strikes. He also says their analytics people make things “very relatable.” 

Showalter says it’s their depth, which is so deep they have time to work on things in what he termed a “lab” when other teams may need those players in the majors immediately. They are able to slow things down, he said. He may mean not rush guys into playing before their time. But he may mean on the field, too. Either way works. 

The Dodgers have the same problems everyone else has, except for one. They never lose. 

They’ve missed a majority of their rotation at one time or other, most due to injury and one to suspension. The Dodgers lost ace Walker Buehler for the year, and multiple other starters have missed time. Future ace Dustin May just got back. New ace Tony Gonsolin is on the injured list now but expected back soon. Clayton Kershaw, the ace of the past couple decades, is back Thursday to face the Mets. It isn’t clear how they keep it all straight while continuing to win night after night. 

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ baseball president, gave credit to their “really talented team,” which is undeniable; to Roberts, who may give Showalter a run for Manager of the Year; and to their coaching staff. There’s plenty of credit to go around. The front office obviously deserves its share too — though Friedman said “the ultimate credit” goes to the players. 

“You have to understand a player’s talent level and bet on that,” Friedman said. “Player performance obviously isn’t a perfectly straight line. There are dips at points, and there are peaks at times.” 

That’s all true, it’s just that the dips seem to happen when the players are playing elsewhere.