Even before they won their latest World Series championship, the debate was raging like the Los Angeles Dodgers ruining baseball. Well, they just did it. The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays to win back-to-back World Series titles, an amazing feat not achieved in a quarter-century, since the New York Yankees dynasty of 1998-2000. In the last 13 years, they have had 13 straight playoff trips, 12 division titles, and three World Series rings.

And considering their massive payroll, that was more than enough to spark the salary cap debate, and it was only a matter of time before TV experts demanded a salary cap before the next CBA, which will expire in December 2026. But they might not have all the support they think.

NY Post journalist Jon Heyman recently offered his thoughts on that. Writing on the Dodgers’ historic success, Heyman tweeted: “Final thoughts on Dodgers: 1. It’s not all about $ (some teams spend big and still stink) 2. The pick the right stars 3. They out-scout most (they draft close to last yet their prospects pan out) 4. They didn’t always get the best Japanese talent but wisely made it a priority.”

Heyman’s first point is obviously right. Money alone does not buy rings. Just ask the 2023 New York Mets. They had the second-highest payroll in baseball and missed the playoffs entirely. So do the Yankees and the Phillies. Though they qualified for the postseason, they fell short. The Yankees didn’t win a World Series Championship in 16 years before this season, and that streak now continues to 17. The Phillies last won their rings in 2008.

Second, the front office does not just sign the biggest checks; they outsmart others in choice. The team uses smart contract deferrals on its stars —like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman —that allow it to have the right stars at the right time.

And the Dodgers always draft late in each round, but they still find stars like Corey Seager, Walker Buehler, Hall of Famer Mike Piazza (62nd round), or more recently, Cody Bellinger and the World Series hero Will Smith. Plus, their system also famously fixes veterans like Justin Turner and Chris Taylor into All-Stars.

Finally, the Dodgers have taken the art of finding Japanese talent to a whole new level. Do you really think the Dodgers could repeat their title with a team that has no Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

But this machine has not always been perfect

Fans surely remember the stunning playoff exits in 2019 when the 106-win Dodgers lost to the wild-card Nationals before winning the title in 2020. This happened to them again in the 2022 NLDS when a highly favoured 111-win team was bounced against the division-rival Padres. They repeated that when their 100-game winning team was famously swept by the 84-win Diamondbacks. They also lost back-to-back World Series in 2017 and 2018. 

But the organization never flinched. After the 2024 win, owner Mark Walter knows luck plays a part, but he is never shy of investing and demanding excellence. And to be honest, the Dodgers are more than just Heyman’s four points.

Look at the 2025 World Series when they cleverly used Shohei Ohtani to stay in the game as DH after he pitched. Or, when rookie Roki Sasaki struggled, they patiently rebuilt him and made him an important part of their playoff bullpen, where they needed him most. You can even look at how they handled Alex Vesia.

Their most reliable reliever missed the entire World Series when he had a “deeply personal family matter.” The team never pressured him to return. On the other hand, they even offered pure support as players on both the Dodgers and Blue Jays wrote Vesia’s number “51” on their caps. Then there is veteran Miguel Rojas. Rojas was having a miserable postseason, but the team kept its faith in him. And he repaid them with the biggest hit in team history when he hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7.

And that’s why you can hear players like Aroldis Chapman blast the New York Yankees, saying he “dealt with a lot of disrespect” from the “bosses” and he would “retire right on the spot” before playing for them again. But you can never hear any stories like that from any current or former Dodgers. This is why the Dodgers are different.