The Dodgers become a dynasty: With three titles in six years, L.A.’s big payroll is money well spent

TORONTO — As baseball would have it, the fate of the Dodgers‘ season — and their place in history — took the form of a ground ball headed for Mookie Betts. Of course it was Betts. Five years ago, the Dodgers started this run after luring him away from Boston and signing him to the second-largest contract ever at the time. After losing back-to-back World Series in 2017 and 2019, Hollywood’s team committed to buying a trophy. Betts was the foundational piece. The cornerstone of the Dodgers’ championship splurge. 

They paid for his talent, for his championship pedigree. And the six-time Gold Glove right fielder was so versatile in his capacity that he moved to shortstop this season.

The ball found him. Betts stepped on second and fired to Freddie Freeman — another star who followed Betts to L.A. earlier this decade — for the final two outs of one of the best World Series games ever. Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 4 in 11 thrilling Game 7 innings. The Dodgers’ third title in six tries.  A fitting punctuation for sports’ latest dynasty. 

“Honestly, nobody knows, because they weren’t in my head, but I was so nervous,” Betts said. “I’ve never been in that situation. And I was so nervous, and I literally, as he was pitching the ball, I was talking to myself, saying, ‘Be nasty, Mook. Just make a play. Be nasty. Be nasty.’” 

Money spent doesn’t guarantee titles. But in the intensity of Game 7, with the stakes of the World Series at center table, and the magic of the underdog Blue Jays threatening to doom their dynastic bid, the Dodgers’ embarrassment of riches flexed. They leaned on it hard, pressed every ounce of expertise they expensed.

Will Smith, the $140 million catcher, hit the go-ahead home run in the 11th. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, baseball’s only $325 million pitcher, got the win in relief — a day after getting the win as a starter. And Betts, the $365 superstar, sealed it by scooping up the grounder, stepping on second and firing a laser to Freeman, the $160 million first baseman.

Money well spent. 

“We’ve put together something pretty special, I do know that,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m proud of the players for the fans, scouting, player development, all the stuff. To do what we’ve done in this span of time is pretty remarkable. I guess let the pundits and all the fans talk about if it’s a dynasty or not, but I’m pretty happy with where we’re at.” 

It took everything the Dodgers had to outlast the Blue Jays. But even the destiny that seemed to push Toronto ran out of gas. The fervor of Canada, the spirit of Joe Carter, the hunger of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., couldn’t match the depths of Dodger excellence. Los Angeles was too talented, too experienced, too layered.

Winning a championship is hard. Repeating in baseball is even harder. The last team to pull it off was the 2000 Yankees, carried by stars in their own right. Derek Jeter among them, who watched the Dodgers celebrate firsthand Saturday night.

Dynasties don’t come in shiny suits. Oftentimes, they appear in battered form, pushed to the limit. Worn. Bloodied. The Dodgers wore that crown. Proudly. They got punched by a Bo Bichette three-run homer that sent the Rogers Centre into a frenzy. But Los Angeles responded. When Toronto punched again, when Andrés Giménez laced an RBI double to right-center field, it was Max Muncy who counterpunched. He launched a homer off Trey Yesavage in the eighth to pull the club within one.

Then in the ninth inning, the tides turned. For all the money spent on the big names, like Shohei Ohtani and Blake Snell, just as important to a dynasty are players like Miguel Rojas, a veteran glue who helps keep his team grounded. That’s the genius of the Dodgers empire. Yeah, they have deep pockets. And they use them to acquire everything necessary to win. The superstars and the superglues.

Down to their last two outs, Rojas took a Jeff Hoffman hanging slider, hooking it for a game-tying solo shot in the top of the ninth. 

Then in the bottom half, the defensive play of the night — even better than Betts’ game-ending double play — was the game-saving catch by Pages. In a gesture of the Dodgers’ never-ending options, he came in for defense. When a sac fly would win it for Toronto, manager Dave Roberts needed a strong arm for a potential throw to the plate. Pages entered the game with one out. One batter later, Pages displayed his glove, tracking down a deep fly ball and running over his teammate Kiké Hernandez to snare it. Crisis averted.

“They get the three-run bomb early and the roof exploded off this place,” Muncy said. “Loudest place I think I’ve ever been. As a hitting group, we kind of met and talked about what we talked about in Philly — there’s going to be a moment where it gets extremely loud. But it’s going to be extremely silent when we’re on top at the end.” 

And it was. Yamamoto was the hero, worthy of a World Series MVP, tossing 2 ⅔ scoreless frames to close it. This was one night after a six-inning outing in Game 6 where he threw 96 pitches. 

This is how dynasties are molded. Through shared experience. Through resolve. Through the pain showing up as product, not just promise. Enduring even when the road isn’t the swiftest.

“In baseball, three titles in six years is a dynasty,” Dodgers minority owner Magic Johnson said. “It’s not like we’ve been doing it for a long time, but in a short period of time to have three World Series. And to win back-to-back, because it’s so hard in baseball to do that, that’s why I’m saying it. It’s so difficult in baseball to achieve what we just achieved.” 

Achievement spilled into the batting cage, where champagne and beer became the spokesmen for success. Ohtani and Yamamoto were the first to emerge in the clubhouse, washing away what had felt so heavy for so long. The $1.025 billion the Dodgers spent on them comes with responsibility. They both fulfilled them during this postseason to help push their team to a Game 7 and into the history books. 

Freeman, to the right of the pair, noted that the expectations will grow more. No team has three-peated since Jeter’s Yankees. That’s now the standard. The blueprint they will try to measure. 

Betts, meanwhile, embraced his family. Sheer joy that was hard for him to find this season. 

He’s the linchpin. The common denominator of what this organization has become.