It has been a few weeks since the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Let’s examine why the Dodgers have been the best baseball club for the past 13 years.
The last team to win back-to-back titles was the New York Yankees in 2000. Since that time, Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2020 added a Wild Card Series replacing the single-game round with a best two out of three series, meaning that some teams would need 13 instead of 11 victories to become champions, thus raising the difficulty of winning a title. The Dodgers did this twice in 2020 and 2025.
Additionally, except for the first Wild Card round, the Dodgers did not have home field advantage against the Phillies, Brewers or the Blue Jays. Still, the Dodgers had a better road record, 7-1, than home record, 6-3. The Blue Jays were 5-5 at home throughout the playoffs so when they were up three games to two against the Dodgers, with Games 6 and 7 in Toronto, they statistically had a disadvantage based on how well the Dodgers were playing on the road. Also, in past World Series that have gone seven games with the home team having a three to two advantage, the road team has won the final two games 14 of the 22 times.
While Toronto had more hits and runs and home field advantage, when it came to crunch time, the Dodgers made the plays when it counted the most.
Just look at what happened in the final two games.
Game 6
In the bottom of the 9th inning with the Dodgers leading 3-1and no outs, starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow entered the game. His first pitch to Ernie Clement was a popout to Freddie Freeman. Andres Jimenez on the second pitch drove a ball to left field. The Blue Jays’ runners thought it might fall in for a hit so once the ball was caught, Addison Barger had to dive back to 2nd base. Kike Hernandez sprinted up, caught the ball and without stopping threw it to Miguel Rojas for a game-ending double play.
Game 7
After Miguel Rojas homered in the top of the 9th inning, the Blue Jays threatened in the bottom of the frame. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw 96 pitches the night before, came in to relive Blake Snell. With the bases loaded and one out, Dalton Varsho grounded to Rojas who threw to home getting the runner out at the plate. The next batter drove the ball to the warning track with centerfielder Andy Pages leaping on top of left fielder Hernandez to make the catch and send the game into extra innings.
After Will Smith homered in the top of the 11th, the Blue Jays had men on 1st and 3rd with one out, but Alejandro Kirk hit into a game-ending, series-ending double play.
Incredibly, both Games 6 and 7 ended abruptly via double plays. Bottom line: the best team won.
Yamamoto was awarded the World Series MVP. What did he do? Pitched a complete game, then threw 130 pitches in two consecutive days.
As Joe Davis aptly worded it after the final out, “To beat the champ, you gotta knock him out!” And the Jays failed at doing just that.
That’s why this year’s championship is more impressive than last year’s.
No doubt about it: the Dodgers are a dynasty.
Also, no doubt about it, Dave Roberts is the winningest manager in Dodger history.
Since taking over managerial duties in 2016, Roberts has a .621 winning percentage meaning that the Dodgers have won at least 6 out of every 10 games over the past 10 years. That’s the highest all-time for managers with a minimum of 1,000 games.
The two most revered managers before Roberts, Walter Alston (23 years) and Tommy Lasorda (21 years) had winning percentages of .558 and .526, respectively.
Alston had four championships, Lasorda two and Roberts now has three.
This is also the first time in its 142-year history that the Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series championships. They now have nine total: 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020, 2024, 2025. Of course, they should have won another in 2017 when the Houston Astros were cheating.
Once the Guggenheim financial company bought the team in the middle of the 2012 season, they immediately laid the groundwork that has led to the Dodgers making the playoffs every year since 2013.
From 2013 to 2025:
- They have won the National League Division title 12 out of 13 years.
- They have won the pennant five times: 2017, 2018, 2020, 2024, 2025.
- They have played in five World Series, winning three: 2020, 2024, 2025.
This is the most fertile period the Dodgers have ever had. The Dodgers had an earlier golden period, playing in 10 World Series in 20 years from 1947 to 1966, winning 4 championships in 1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965. This current team has an opportunity to surpass this achievement in a shorter time span.
They not only have the best player in baseball on their team, Shohei Ohtani, but may be the best player ever to play the game.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus called themselves “The Greatest Show on Earth.” But after watching Los Angeles Dodger Shohei Ohtani’s performance in Game Four of the National League Championship series, he is truly the Greatest Sho.
On the mound, Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10 Brewers. At the plate, he hit three homers, one that sailed 469 feet out of the stadium, a feat done only by a few other players at Dodger Stadium (built in 1962).
Not even Babe Ruth, the only other two-way player, did what he did.
That he did all of this in a pennant-clinching game was even more remarkable. And he did it on Oct. 17, the number that’s on his jersey.
When asked after the game about his historic performance, he expressed frustration that he was unable to finish pitching the seventh inning. In other words, the greatest performance in the playoffs of all time by a baseball player was still not satisfying for Ohtani. He expected better.
After he won the MVP for Championship series, the very next day he had an engraved sign attached to his award placed in the middle of the locker room for all teammates to see: it read “Team Effort.”
Match that modesty with his polite demeanor and you truly have a one-of-a-kind athlete. Notice the way he greets the opposing dugout, catcher and umpire before his first at-bat. And how he yells out if his foul ball came close to hitting anyone.
When Shohei Ohtani became a free agent after the 2023 season to sign what was then a record-breaking $700 million contract for 10 years, he told the Dodgers to defer all but $2 million in annual salary, freeing up funds for the management to pursue other quality players, ensuring that the Dodgers would remain competitive in the future. Very few athletes would have offered such a financial sacrifice, showing that Ohtani puts “team” over himself.
Ohtani won his fourth MVP award (2021, 2023, 2024, 2025), reaching a rarified place as only the second player to have as many. Barry Bonds holds the record with seven and remains the only other player to win at least three consecutive MVPs (2001–2004). While he finished with seven MVPs, Bonds’ accomplishments demand an asterisk due to allegations of performance-enhancing drug use during the second half of his career.
Each time Ohtani won the MVP it was by a unanimous vote, something no other player has done more than once.
Ohtani is also the second player ever, after Frank Robinson, to win MVPs in both the American and National Leagues, and the first to win multiple MVPs in each league.
With eight more years of Ohtani and ten more of Yamamoto, Dodger fans should keep savoring this long ride of high-quality Dodger baseball. What a treat to watch it unfold.
The Greatest Sho on Earth
Crosby Chronicles 