In the wake of the Dodgers’ winning a second consecutive WS title and third in the past five years many sports commentators and fans have been characterizing them as a “dynasty.” In the context of the current structure of baseball what criteria constitute a “dynasty?” Do the Dodgers qualify? Read on for my opinion.
Prior to 1969 it was easier for a team to win a WS. There were no playoffs. Each league’s pennant winners automatically advanced to the WS. All a team had to do was win one post season series, and it was the champion. Thus, there were many instances of teams’ winning consecutive WS. For example, the NY Yankees won five straight from 1949 – 1953.
In 1969 due to expansion the Lords of Baseball decided to add one playoff round. Then, in 1995 they added a Wild Card round. Over time the playoffs have expanded further. Now a team is required to navigate through as many as three rounds of playoffs – the Wildcard, the Divisional and the League Championship rounds- just to qualify for the WS. The current system is not designed for the best team to win the WS, just the one that gets “hot” at the right time. Why? One word – “money.”
As I have written many times given the nature of baseball where the best teams often lost three, four or more games in a row winning a WS is a difficult task. A short losing streak during the regular season is no big deal. A short losing streak during the playoffs means Sayonara. For instance, in 2023 the Arizona Diamondbacks barely squeaked into the playoffs as the number six seed. Yet, they swept the number one seeded Dodgers in the NLDS as, inexplicably, the whole team went into a batting slump. It has been common for the team with the best regular season record to stumble somewhere along the line. During the Wild Card Era (1995 – the present), teams with the best regular season record have only won the World Series 24% of the time. Many times, the best regular season team has not even made it to the WS. On the other hand, eight Wild Card teams have won the WS. (Quiz question – can you name them? See the answer below.)
In sports, as in any other business, success begins at the top. The Dodgers current run of sustained excellence commenced in 2012 the year Mark Walter bought the team. Walter hired Andrew Friedman, as President of Baseball Operations beginning with the 2015 season. The Dodgers had already won NL West Division titles in 2013 and 2014, but in the past 13 years he has led the team to a higher level. The team hasn’t missed the playoffs since. It has won 12 division titles, five NL pennants, and three World Series championships. Moreover, for most of those years the team also had the best regular season record only to be upset in one of the playoff rounds. Under the pre-Wild Card rules the team would likely have won several more WS. I believe their record of sustained excellence during the past 13 years easily meets the current criteria for a dynasty.
In the current era of 12 playoff spots, as many as four playoff rounds, the draft, free agency, revenue sharing, and sabermetric analysis the Dodgers have managed to win three of the last six World Series and made five of the last nine. Over that nine-season span, the team has compiled a .627 winning percentage across the regular season and postseason, a pace of 101.5 wins per 162 games.
Some naysayers have attributed the team’s success to its high payroll. It’s true that the Dodgers’ payroll has been in the top five every year since 2013, and many years, including 2025 it was the highest. In 2025 its payroll was an astounding $509.5 million including $168 million in projected luxury tax. However, a high payroll is no guarantee of winning a championship. For example, the NY Mets, NY Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and other teams have had very high payrolls and have not won any championships recently. In 2025 the depth of the Dodgers’ roster enabled them to survive the plethora of injuries to key players during the season, especially to their pitching staff. Once they got healthy, the team hit its stride.
What has separated the Dodgers from all the other teams:
- Scouting and player development. Every year the consensus is that the Dodgers’ farm system is among the deepest. They always seem to have highly ranked prospects ready to jump in when the Big Club needs them.
- The team has emphasized analytics, research, and the application of medical science.
- Signing free agents, some long-term such as Justin Turner, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshi Yamamoto, Kenji Sasaki and Mookie Betts, and short-term, such as Trea Turner and Manny Machado.
- They have developed perhaps the strongest relationship with Nippon Baseball, which has enabled them to tap into that rich market.
- The culture of the organization and the team, itself, has generated a strong sense of mutual loyalty between the players and the team. Simply put, if given a choice many players will opt to play for the team, particularly a veteran player who has had success and made his money but has not won a WS or wants to win more. For example, prior to his retirement Clayton Kershaw elected to sign a series of one-year contracts with them rather than play for his hometown Texas Rangers or seek a more lucrative contract elsewhere. Utility player Miguel Rojas, one of the 2025 WS unexpected heroes opted to sign with them. Why? “The Dodgers gave me an opportunity to go to minor league camp in 2013. Then I got a chance to play in the big leagues in 2014 when I really wasn’t an impact player in the minors. They gave me an opportunity, and I will never forget that.” Enrique (Kike) Hernandez, who often shines in the post-season also chose to play for them. He asserted that the communication between the team and the players is what separates the Dodgers from other teams.
Conclusion
You all know that I am a huge Dodgers fan. To quote the late Tommy Lasorda “I bleed Dodger Blue.” Nevertheless, I maintain that due to the foregoing the Dodgers have earned the right to be considered a modern baseball dynasty.
Quiz answer: Florida Marlins – 1997 and 2003; Anaheim Angels – 2002; Boston Red Sox – 2004; St. Louis Cardinals – 2011; San Francisco Giants – 2014; Washington Nationals – 2019; Texas Rangers – 2023.
We Built It Blog by Larry Jacob 