Dodgers Cement Dynasty with Back-to-Back Titles; 'Dynasty' Book Hits Shelves After Historic 2025 Win
The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t just win a championship — they rewrote the script of modern baseball. On November 1, 2025, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Will Smith, the Dodgers’ $140 million catcher, launched a hanging slider from Shane Bieber into the night air — an 11th-inning home run that ended Game 7 of the World Series 5-4, and with it, sealed the franchise’s second straight title. The moment wasn’t just historic; it was unprecedented. The first extra-inning, Game 7 homer in World Series history. And just hours later, the Los Angeles Times dropped Dynasty, a 240-page commemorative book chronicling the Dodgers’ rise to baseball’s modern throne — available now through the Los Angeles Times Store.
A Dynasty Forged in Pressure
This isn’t just about two titles. It’s about three in six years: 2020, 2024, 2025. The Dodgers didn’t stumble into greatness — they engineered it. After the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when they won their first title in 32 years, expectations didn’t fade. They multiplied. By spring training 2024, the entire baseball world assumed they’d win again. And they did. Then again in 2025. No team had done that since the Yankees in 2000. The pressure? It was suffocating. "When you put on this uniform, you’re expected to win," said Freddie Freeman, the 35-year-old first baseman under a $160 million deal. "When everyone’s waiting for you to do it — and you do it anyway — that’s when it means something."The Billion-Dollar Machine
The Dodgers’ roster reads like a billionaire’s fantasy draft. Mookie Betts, the $365 million superstar, closed out Game 7 with a textbook double play — fielding a grounder, stepping on second, firing to Freeman. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, baseball’s only $325 million pitcher, threw 5.1 innings in relief on two days’ rest after starting Game 6. And it wasn’t just stars. The entire 2025 payroll hit $350 million. Over the last six years, the Dodgers have poured $1.025 billion into player contracts. On the night of Game 7 alone, the value of their pitching staff on the mound exceeded $1.3 billion — a staggering figure that speaks less to salary inflation and more to the team’s calculated dominance."We started in Tokyo," said manager Dave Roberts, 52, reflecting on the season’s 187-game grind. "We kept going. And we’re the last team standing." He didn’t say "we won." He said "we’re the last team standing." That’s the language of survival — and of a dynasty.
The Vision Behind the Victory
At the heart of it all is Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations, based at 1000 Vin Scully Avenue in Los Angeles. Friedman didn’t just build a team. He built a culture — one that treats repetition as a requirement, not a miracle. "Our overarching goal," he told reporters after the game, "is for this to be the golden era of Dodger baseball." And with nine World Series titles now in the books — the most since the Yankees’ heyday — it’s hard to argue.The Dodgers are now just the seventh franchise in MLB history to win back-to-back championships. The others? The Yankees (five times), Athletics, Reds, and — controversially — the Mets, whose 1969-73 run included two titles and three near-misses. But this Dodgers team? They didn’t just win twice. They won under the brightest lights, against the toughest competition, with the highest expectations. They beat the Toronto Blue Jays, who had surged through the AL playoffs after ousting the Cleveland Guardians, in a Game 7 that lasted 4 hours and 17 minutes — the longest in World Series history to end on a home run.
What the Book Captures
Dynasty isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a diary. It includes locker room moments, handwritten notes from Roberts before Game 7, photos of Smith’s family watching from the stands, and even the exact pitch count of Yamamoto’s relief appearance: 89 pitches, 64 strikes, 34 swings and misses. It also documents the team’s 56 more wins than any other MLB franchise between 2020 and 2025 — a margin so wide, it’s almost unfair. And yes, it includes the $65 "Dodgers Nine-Time World Champions: 2025 Page Print," a limited-edition poster already selling out online."This isn’t luck," said longtime Dodgers analyst Lisa Mendoza on ESPN. "It’s the result of a 15-year plan. They’ve been drafting better, trading smarter, and investing in analytics while others chased flash. They didn’t just build a team — they built a machine."
What Comes Next?
The Dodgers aren’t stopping. Freeman is signed through 2027. Betts through 2032. Yamamoto through 2030. Smith, 28, has only just begun. The question isn’t whether they’ll contend in 2026 — it’s whether they’ll break their own record. The Yankees’ 1998-2000 run lasted three years. The Dodgers have already done it twice in six. Could a third title in 2026 be possible? The front office won’t say. But they’ve already started planning the next book.Frequently Asked Questions
How does this affect MLB’s competitive balance?
The Dodgers’ spending dominance has reignited debates about salary caps and luxury tax reform. With their $350 million payroll — nearly double the league average — other teams struggle to compete. The MLB Players Association has called for a "true competitive floor," while owners argue the Dodgers’ model incentivizes investment. Still, no team has matched their 56-win edge over rivals since 2020.
Why is Will Smith’s home run so historically significant?
Smith’s 11th-inning homer was the first in World Series Game 7 history to end the game. Only 14 Game 7s have gone past nine innings since 1903. The last extra-inning Game 7 winner was Joe Carter’s 1993 walk-off for Toronto — but that was in the 9th. Smith’s shot broke a 122-year pattern, proving that even in the most pressure-packed moments, the Dodgers’ bats still deliver.
Who are the key figures behind the Dodgers’ success?
Beyond the stars, the core is Andrew Friedman, who built the front office from scratch in 2014; Dave Roberts, whose in-game decisions are now legendary; and scout and development chief Tony Reagins, who identified Yamamoto in Japan in 2022. Together, they’ve turned the Dodgers into the NFL’s Patriots of baseball — consistent, calculated, and relentless.
How does this compare to the Yankees’ dynasty?
The Yankees won five consecutive titles from 1949-53 and three straight from 1998-2000, but they did so in eras with far fewer teams and lower salaries. The Dodgers’ achievement comes in a 30-team league with global talent, advanced analytics, and record-breaking contracts. Statistically, they’ve outperformed their peers by a wider margin than any dynasty since the 1927 Yankees — and they’re still playing.
What’s next for the Toronto Blue Jays after their loss?
Despite the heartbreaking defeat, Toronto’s 2025 run — their first World Series appearance since 1993 — signals a new era. General Manager Ross Atkins has committed to retaining core players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alek Manoah. With Rogers Centre now a true playoff destination, the Blue Jays are no longer underdogs — they’re contenders. And they’ll be back.
Is the Dodgers’ spending sustainable?
For now, yes. The team’s media rights deal with Spectrum SportsNet brings in over $500 million annually, and their global brand — fueled by Betts’ social media presence and the Dodgers’ international games — drives merchandise sales beyond any other MLB team. But if the league doesn’t adjust its revenue-sharing model, the gap between the Dodgers and the rest could become unbridgeable — and that’s a threat to the sport’s long-term health.