Dodgers getting support from hated source elevates their ‘baseball villains’ status

The discourse surrounding competitive balance in Major League Baseball has been plentiful this offseason, and most of that discourse begins and ends with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This is nothing new; the Dodgers have been the target of rival fans' ire ever since they signed Shohei Ohtani to a record-shattering 10-year, $700 million contract, including $680 million of deferred money last offseason. Of course, that ire increased tenfold when Los Angeles went on to capture a World Series title.

The Dodgers still weren't satisfied, reinforcing their World Series-winning roster with even more star power this winter in the form of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, among others. That led to even more outcry from around the league that the Dodgers were "ruining" baseball with their excessive spending and league-leading $389.1 million payroll. Speaking this week at the MLB owners' meetings in Florida, however, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred quickly came to the Dodgers' defense.

“I don’t agree with that," Manfred said (via Evan Drellich of The Athletic) when asked if the Dodgers were ruining baseball. "The Dodgers are a really well-run, successful organization. Everything that they do and have done is consistent with our rules. They’re trying to give their fans the best possible product... There are fans in other markets who are concerned about their team's ability to compete, and we always have to be concerned when our fans are concerned about something. But pinning it on the Dodgers, not in that camp."

Dodgers getting support from Rob Manfred elevates their ‘villains of baseball’ status

There's plenty of evidence to back up Manfred's claim that the Dodgers' spending isn't destroying parity in baseball. For starters, no club has won consecutive World Series since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Even the Dodgers' 2024 World Series title was their first in a full season since 1988. Smaller market teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers have also remained steadily competitive in recent years.

But getting the public stamp of approval from Manfred is essentially the kiss of death for the Dodgers. At this point, the only thing they can do (if they haven't already) is lean into their reputation as baseball's bad guys. There's no going back now.

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