On November 1, 2025, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays faced off in Game 7 of the World Series. In the top of the 9th inning, victory was within Toronto’s grasp when, all of a sudden, an unlikely hero in Miguel Rojas cranked a 387-foot homerun to left field to tie the game at 4-4. The Dodgers then recaptured the lead in the top of the 11th inning, thanks to a Will Smith solo home run, before shutting out the Jays in the bottom of the inning to claim the 2025 World Series title. It was an incredible baseball game full of big plays, drama, and suspense. However, despite the undeniable quality of play, the game left many patrons disappointed. According to faceless idiots on social media, “everybody” was pulling for the “underdog” Toronto Blue Jays to pull off a “miraculous upset” against the “unbeatable force” known as the Los Angeles Dodgers. Thanos had collected his final infinity stone and snapped his finger, Ivan Drago had knocked out Apollo Creed, leaving his lifeless body on the canvas, and Darth Vader had struck down Luke Skywalker, leaving him to perish beneath the cloud city of Bespin.
Hyperbole and my annoying nerd fandom aside, I found the response to Game 7 on social media shocking. Obviously, there were a number of people doing their best Magic Johnson impression (if you are unfamiliar, do yourself a favor and check out Magic’s X page anytime there is a big sports game), stating how awesome the game was; however, a number of people were beside themselves that the Dodgers had yet again won the World Series. I simply could not relate to this sentiment. Yes, the Dodgers had won back-to-back World Series, a feat that hadn’t been achieved since the New York Yankees’ three-peat 25 years ago. Yes, the Dodgers had the highest payroll in the MLB. Yes, this was the Dodgers’ third World Series victory since 2020. Yet, I didn’t view the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series victory the same way I viewed the Golden State Warriors’ 2018 NBA Championship win or Alabama winning three NCAA championships in 4 years between 2009 and 2012.
Prior to winning the past two World Series, the Dodgers won what many consider a fraudulent 2020 World Series and lost back-to-back World Series in 2017 and 2018. The core that appeared in the World Series in 2017, 2018, and 2020 is wildly different from the team that appeared in 2024 and 2025. Yeah, it’s still the Dodgers, but it is not an early 2000s Yankees or 2015-2019 Warriors dynasty. Simply put, this iteration of the Los Angeles Dodgers was not the dynasty that many were claiming it was.
What exactly constitutes a “dynasty” in the MLB, you ask? In my eyes, it’s simple: a team that is a perennial contender for 5+ years that wins at least three championships while retaining the same core of star players. Dynasties are interesting to look back on, but when you are in the presence of one (and you’re not a fan of said team), it can be quite frustrating from a fan perspective. Everyone was tired of the Yankees winning the World Series in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but now, many look back on that era fondly. The same can be said for the aforementioned Golden State Warriors teams.
It is easy to hate a dynasty team. They are hoarding all the best players, winning championships year in and year out, and dominating media coverage. Luckily for baseball fans, the MLB hasn’t really had a dynasty since the Evil Empire Yankees 25 years ago. Yes, an argument could be made for the Red Sox winning 4 championships between 2004 and 2013, but those runs had two pretty distinct cores and didn’t really have that “dynasty feel.” The closest thing the MLB had to a dynasty was the San Francisco Giants. The Giants won 3 World Series between 2010 and 2014. The thing that really saved the Giants from getting on the nerves of baseball fans in that era was not winning any back-to-back World Series. An interesting storyline grew out of the Giants’ only winning the World Series in even years and narrowly avoiding the coveted back-to-back World Series Champion title. Now, with the Dodgers winning back-to-back titles with a dominant core of superstars, including perhaps the best baseball player to ever walk this earth in Shohei Ohtani, it seems the MLB is ready for its first true dynasty in over two decades.
And why exactly do I sound so excited about a team that I have no rooting interest in becoming a dynasty? Well, my friend, every dynasty comes crashing down sooner or later, typically when least expected. Thanos won in Avengers: Infinity War, but who got the last laugh in Avengers: Endgame? Drago might have literally killed Creed in the beginning of Rocky IV, but who knocked Drago out in the end and essentially ended communism in the Soviet Union? And finally, Luke Skywalker might have gotten his hand cut off in The Empire Strikes Back, but who threw that wrinkly bastard to his death (shut up about the sequels I’m cooking right now) and blew up the Death Star for a second freaking time? My point is, the sweetest part about a dynasty is its eventual fall to the lovable underdog, but it has to happen naturally. That’s why I was so bothered by MLB fans for both prematurely crowning the Dodgers as a dynasty and pushing the narrative that the Blue Jays, with the 5th highest payroll in the league, were somehow a scrappy underdog. The ending to Die Hard wouldn’t be as satisfying if one of Hans Gruber’s goons shot him in the back during the first act instead of John McClane shooting him out a window in the end, right? My message: Be patient. If the Dodgers keep winning, let them; it will only make their inevitable collapse that much sweeter.
the skippers view anti-dodgers bias is so fascinating to see in real time as they go back to back. A baseball team that pays their players money they deserve, does things the right way, executes at a high level in both fundamental baseball and MLB-level stuff, sells out stadiums, etc. etc. etc. somehow is rooted against in the long run by "baseball purists". fascinating. Most organizations have a lot to learn from the Dodgers but maybe they're ran by people with the same mentality - root for the demise of success rather than imitate it.
if this was the yankees, all I'd read would be think pieces about how perfect an organization they are.