“Before this season started, they said, ‘The Dodgers are ruining baseball.’ Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball!” These were manager Dave Roberts’ words after advancing to the World Series.
Sixteen days later, as the clock hit 12:18 EST, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2025 World Series in thrilling fashion, 5-4 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Entering the 2025 season, the Dodgers were looking to go back-to-back as World Series champions, which hasn’t been done since the New York Yankees in 1999 and 2000. People were arguing whether this team was going to be the greatest team ever assembled.
The Dodgers started the season in a Tokyo exhibition series against the Chicago Cubs, in which they defeated the Cubs twice in the two-game series.
The Dodgers faced lots of criticism for “buying a championship” last year by paying for all of the best players. Last offseason, they signed power hitter Teoscar Hernandez and Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki, as well as already having future Hall of Famers like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and the best player in the MLB, Shohei Ohtani.
While Sasaki struggled to start the season, he carved a role out for himself in the bullpen later in the season.
The Dodgers had many concerns throughout the season, like health and a strong bullpen. After signing Tanner Scott in the offseason to be their closer, he finished with an abysmal 4.74 ERA. The doubters were loud after they didn’t even finish with the best record with all of their talent.
The Dodgers finished with a record of 93-69, which was below expectations. However, they more than lived up to expectations in the playoffs.
After beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS in 4 games, they easily took care of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS in a sweep. The World Series though, was nothing more than a heart-racing experience.
The Dodgers went up 2-1 in the World Series in Game 3 after playing an 18 inning game which lasted 6 hours and 39 minutes. After that, they lost the next 2 and their backs were against the wall.
Roberts rallied his players to win game 6 and force a game 7 in Toronto where everything was on the line.
The Dodgers responded to the pressure and ended the game in a double play to become the 2025 World Series champions.
Ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto won the Willie Mays trophy (World Series MVP) after pitching 3 times in the series and having 15 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.
It seemed like Yamamoto was pitching every game and was completely unfazed by the pressure of becoming a back to back champion.
However, with a potential lockout looming, the Dodgers winning the World Series did not help the case of the fans who believe a salary cap (spending limit) is not necessary.
But for right now, the players and staff don’t care. After starting in Tokyo and ending in Canada, the Dodgers will be glad to enjoy a long off season of rest.