Since 1969, when MLB introduced the League Championship Series as part of the postseason, the Dodgers have played in the NLCS a total of 17 times. That’s good for the most in NL history and ranks second all-time behind the New York Yankees (19).
The Dodgers appeared in the NLCS for the eighth time in the last 13 seasons (2013, 2016-2018, 2020-2021, 2024-2025). This was their 5th pennant since 2017. That means since 2017, the Dodgers have been in the WS more than not.
The Dodgers organization won their 1st NL pennant as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in 1890. The Brooklyn Superbas and Brooklyn Robins won two pennants each from 1899 to 1920. The Brooklyn Dodgers won their first pennant in 1941, and proceeded to win 6 other titles through 1956. The Los Angeles Dodgers have now won 14 pennants. That is 26 pennants, most in the NL History. The World Series was first played in 1903, and the Brooklyn Robins played in 2, Brooklyn Dodgers played in 7, and this will be the 14th WS for LAD, for a total of 23.
The Dodgers are tied for 5th in MLB and 2nd in NL with 8 WS Championships. The Cardinals have 11 as the top WS Champions in NL History. Of course everyone is dwarfed by NYY and their 27 WS Championships. When the Dodgers win this year for the 9th time, they will tie the Red Sox and the A’s.
It was a relatively rough season for the Dodgers. They lost season series to ten teams, including 3 season sweeps: Houston 0-3, LAA, 0-6, Milwaukee 0-6. They lost six season series to NL teams (Cubs, Milwaukee, NYM, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis) and four season series to AL teams (Baltimore, Boston, Houston, and LAA).
So when did the switch flip for LAD this year? How about the missed no-hitter turned into a loss game against Baltimore.
“I think it was a perfect time because that was devastating,” Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said. “It was heartbreaking losing that game when Yamamoto was one pitch away from a no-hitter and then losing that game against a team that’s not even in contention. You start thinking, ‘What’s wrong with us?’”
Since that game, the Dodgers were 15-5 in the regular season, and with a 9-1 post season record, they are 24-6 since then. They lost one series, to Philadelphia, which they certainly responded well to in the NLDS. They lost 6 games to 0 wins against Milwaukee in July and responded with a 4 game monster sweep over the Brewers in the NLCS.
Milwaukee had the 3rd best batting average and 2nd best OBP in MLB. Against the Dodgers in the NLCS – .118/.191/.193/.384.
I preached in July to be patient. Unlike in previous years, this team was built for October. Freddie, Mookie, and Shohei were not as bad as they played in June and July.
- Freddie – .226/.304/.312/.616, 2 HR
- Mookie – .247/.312/.355/.667, 3 HR
- Shohei – .236/.348/.533/.881, 16 HR
- Michael Conforto was in a season long slump that continued well into August.
- Max Muncy was their hottest hitter heading in July, was injured on July 2, and was out the rest of the month.
- Teoscar Hernández was still bothered by a groin injury that impaired his defense as much as his offense.
- Kiké Hernández read that the calendar had not yet turned to October.
- Tommy Edman was still nursing a bad ankle.
The starting pitching was decimated and was left with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Shohei/Piggyback for their rotation. Tyler Glasnow returned in July for four starts. Emmet Sheehan and bullpen games filled in from there.
Blake Snell was called a bust. Same with Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Michael Conforto. I think we have learned that Blake Snell was the best FA pitcher signed for 2025. Yates and Conforto are done as Dodgers. And while Scott may or may not return for the WS, he will be back in 2026, and I expect a different Tanner Scott.
I have zero idea what happened at the trade deadline when it came to OF and RP. I know others disagree, but IMO, the Dodgers did not have a chance to trade for Mason Miller or Jhoan Duran. They settled on RHRP Brock Stewart who was lethal against RH hitting. But he was injured and did not get a chance to show what he could do as a Dodger.
Could the Dodgers have traded for Ramón Laureano instead of Alex Call? Maybe. But maybe, Baltimore wanted to include Ryan O’Hearn in that deal, and the Dodgers were not interested and did not have time to flip him. It does not matter. The Dodgers got Alex Call, and they are not unhappy with that decision one bit.
But we did get this from Alex Call right after he was traded.
What did he know https://t.co/li0sTKd0Ba
— R ౨ৎ (@anakinsaber) October 18, 2025
We have learned that several MLB owners are upset that the Dodgers are ruining baseball. Have nothing to base it on, but how many of those teams will not trade high profile MLB players to the Dodgers without an exorbitant overpay? Something to think about going into the Winter Hot Stove League.
Whether fans disagree, Doc trusts Blake Treinen. So while many questioned Doc’s judgment in bringing in Treinen, it worked. So for the squeamish, when Blake is called upon, take a potty break, take a walk around the block, get up and get a beverage, or whatever you need to do while he is pitching.,
This has been a great ride for the 1st 173 games. Now they are down to the last series where they need to win 4 games. Seattle or Toronto? The ALCS is going 7 games, so we will have to wait through Monday to find out. I want Seattle, but Toronto looks awfully tough at home.
After watching the Ms/Tononto game tonight I think if Seattle somehow makes it to the WS the Dodger starters could eat them for lunch. Apparently you don’t have to throw a strike to most of them and they swing and miss. Raleigh seems worn out. Toronto would definitely be more of a challenge.
Against either team our starting pitching should be an advantage, and maybe not a small one.
Our bullpen we hope to avoid being too big a factor, one way or another.
We barely use our bench.
Our position players I’ve broken into five tiers:
God–Ohtani
Hall of Fame–Betts & Freeman
Love To See Up–Smith/Muncy/Edman
Lightning Strikss–Hernandez Brothers
Raw Youth–Pages
On paper we dominate. But the game isn’t played on paper. Losing four times in the next seven games seems very unlikely. Don’t give the opponent any hope.
It is going to be an epic series. I believe the Dodger’s starting pitching is better than either Toronto or Seattle. The Dodgers played Toronto in August and won 2 of the 3 games. 5-1, 9-1. The game they lost was a 5-4 affair. Kershaw and Snell won, and Vesia lost on a homer by Clement. Treinen gave up two homers in that game that tied the game in the 8th at Dodger Stadium. Clement’s game winner came in the 9th. LA hit 5 homers in the three games to the Jays 4. Ohtani had 2 of them.
The bullpen still gives me the restive heebie jeebies. If I had pearls I’d be clutching them in late innings.
Is there a way to avoid Treinen? Casparius, who was very helpful early disappeared late. Where’s Dreyer? I see they are on the WS roster. Scott and Yates are not. Feels like our starters all have to go 7. And they won’t.
We scored 15 runs in beating the Brewers. 3.75 per game. I think it will take more than that in the next series. For 4 of the 7 it would be nice to see everyone contribute. When they do, they score 8.
The roster up on the website is still the NLCS roster. The Series starts this Friday; LA will submit their roster probably on Friday morning or Thursday night.
I’m projecting. I do a lot of that.
We don’t have a WS roster yet.
Apparently Albert Pujols will not be the LAA manager. Contractual terms, coaches, and resources. Somehow the 7 years, $7MM remaining on the personal services contract is impacting negotiations. I am guessing that Arte Moreno wants that to go away if he is managing, or at least the contract as manager will need to be reduced. Pujols’ side probably says…two different contracts, one does not affect the other. Now the Angels have nobody else on the periphery.
What I fear is that Tio Albert will become the Padres manager. I cannot think of any other managerial prospect they are considering who can possibly control, Machado, Tatis Jr., and Bogaerts. You know there will be tons of respect there. Now can Pujols manage a team. IMO there is no doubt. If San Diego signs any other managerial candidate, that will be a huge loss for SD and a huge win for the Dodgers.
I do not like to toss around the term moron, but that is exactly what Arte Moreno is.
You say Albert could control Machado, Tatis and Bogaerts. I didn’t realize Bogaerts had that kind of reputation. I thought he was one of those calming influences. Be that as it may, Pujols would seem to me to be the perfect influence on those guys and I bet Preller agrees with both of us. I fully expect to see him hired there.
He’s probably going to expect complete control of the dugout/clubhouse, including hiring his own coaches, being allowed to come up with his own lineups and strategy and have a voice in roster decisions. Preller might be the one guy who would agree to all of that.
Luckily, we’re going to trade for Skubal or Skenes and sign Tucker this winter so we’ll still be able to beat them.
I have a friend who follows the Padres VERY closely. Machado ad Tatis Jr. are definitely the ring leaders, but Bogaerts is no calming influence. My friend said Bogaerts and Shildt had issues.
Sounds like Shildt had issues with a lot of people, including management with the Cardinals at his last stop.
He did. After what happened in St. Louis, I have no idea why Preller signed him.
Moreno-moron-millionaire.
Only in America!
Good opine on Pujols in SD. That would be a really nice get for them.
Looking like Seattle might be their opponent.
3-1 after five.
It’s amazing that Moreno pisses away hundreds .of million dollars on awful FA signing, yet nickels and dimes Pujols over a few million bucks on a irrelevant contract. Run Albert, run!
Sell Arte, sell!!
Springer can go f his cheating ass self
Yep!!
This time Ohtani will definitely be on the plane to Toronto from LA
Nice Cassidy.
And we’re off to Canada!!
It’s on to Toronto!!!
A lot of second guessing on Wilson’s bullpen management in the 7th inning.
World Series should start on Wednesday. Why wait??
I 2nd that
Me too.
TOR will be a tough opponent IMHO. Their offense is clicking.
It all depends on our starting pitching. Again.
If they can come close to what they did so far in the postseason we will win .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
Here are the free agents the Dodgers signed in the offseason and their regular season results:
Blake Snell. $36.4M. 1.9 WAR
Teoscar Hernandez $22M. 0.6
Tanner Scott. $18M. 0
Kirby Yates. $13M. -0.1
Blake Treinen. $11M. -0.1
Clayton Kershaw. $7.5M. 2.5
Kiké Hernandez. $6.5M. -0.2
Hyeseong Kim. $4.2M. 0.8
Roki Sasaki Pre-arb. -0.1
Total ~$119M. for 4.5 WAR or $26.4M per war. Given that the standard estimated cost of WAR is around $10M per WAR. Those would be some astronomically bad investments if the regular season were all that mattered. Luckily, Snell, the Hernandezes, and Sasaki have all been doing some heavy lifting this October
Add in Conforto at $17M for -0.7 WAR and it is even worse. $136M for 3.8 WAR. $35.8 per WAR.
I am not sure why you care about the $$$ investment. The Dodgers do not care, so why should the fans? This team was not built for the 162 game season, it was built for October. So, for me, I throw those WAR #s out. They are in the WS, even with Conforto being on the 26 man over the full 162 game season.
It was a straight forward critique supported with research. I don’t know if Ohio cares or not but I do. The Dodgers had the money to hedge their bets and it worked. They may have signed a few players that were their second or third choices. But it never hurts to recognize what worked and what did not.
I don’t see any where in my post where I expressed concern over the money being spent. Just posting the numbers. However, I do think they could have done better with the $136M. Even with their deep pocketbook, how long is it sustainable to spend $136M for virtually nothing?
You did say it was an astronomically bad investment for the regular season.
For 2024, they led MLB in revenue with $752MM and spent 73% of those revenues on player payroll and luxury tax ($150MM). They also had an operating income of $21MM after all the payroll costs.
Ohtani’s and Yamamoto’s contracts are basically paid for by all of the Japanese partnership deals they have consummated.
I see no reason why it isn’t sustainable.
The Dodgers invest, they do not spend.
Well, I hope AF does better this off season.
BTW, I do appreciate the work in gathering the information. I have been working on a post about the Dodgers ruining baseball, and I grow tired of those criticiizing AF for what he spent the last two years. I have no objection to the criticism, but it reached a peak level for me, and your post pushed me over the edge. My bad, not yours.
I think you will see a different approach this year. I think we will see more trades than monster FA contracts.
I also do not think AF whiffed all that much except for Conforto. I believe Snell, Teo, Scott, and Roki will all have good years in 2026. I also do not think he whiffed on Kim. He is a good utility player who will replace Kiké.
Can Kike just skip the regular season, show up in October every year?
Sign him, and put him on the 60 Day IL until September 1. That will give him 1 month to get used to live MLB pitching. It is not that far fetched that he should get injured.
And bring Snell and Glasnow along with him
He hasn’t totally whiffed on the players he signed to multi-year deals yet. Yates and Conforto are the only really glaring mishits thus far.
Well that sucks.
Toronto in 4.
Looking at the Dodgers and how they run things it would appear they are wealthy enough to buy multiple used Lamborghini’s and so what if a few are lemons. They already have a stable of high performing Ferrari’s in the garage along with an Aspark Owl that leads the way.
Yeah, I had to look that one up. Japanese hypercar with a quad-motor electric powertrain that produces 1,985 horsepower and a top speed of 273 mph. The Dodgers paid $700,000,000 for theirs.
Dodgers in 6.
Yep, luckily the Dodgers have the financial wherewithal to whiff on some players and still be OK.
Tanner Scott has proclaimed he’s ready to go for the World Series!!
As in “go home and watch the game on TV”?
My initial reaction to that is “so what?” Do the Dodgers trust him enough to give him a roster spot?
I hope we don’t see Conforto or Scott on the WS roster.
Kurt Suzuki hired as Angels Manager. Cal St. Fullerton product. Not quite the attraction as Pujols would have been, but Suzuki is a still a positive choice, IMO.
I already feel sorry for him. He was a solid player with the A’s.
Crazy that the Series doesn’t start until Friday. The same old question with 7 days off. Rest versus rust. I’d like to see more Dreyer. Same formula, starting pictures go deep in the games, Sasaki the closer and find somebody to get through the 8th inning. I like our chances All right
Seattle up 3 -1 going into the 7th. Reminds us that 6 or 7 innings of shutout one or two hit ball still requires a team to get through 9 innings. If only starters with the big salaries could go 9.
Yeah, Bum. The Mariners were reliant on the same 4 relievers every tight game; Brash, Spier, Bazardo, and Munoz.
Woo’s inability to pitch until game 6 was a big loss.
But the Jays can rake.
I forgave the Astros and their players and coaches a long time ago. It feels good.
I say this because I’m tired of the ongoing years old gripes. We should move on. Giants fans would have been hateful of Bonds’ PED use if he were not a Giant. Is stealing signs any worse than cheating on one’s taxes or spouses? Depends on the connection one has with that person.
We all can be so hypocritical. We obviously includes me.
I’m with you Fred. I’ve put the cheating Astros behind me, although I fully realize that others can’t/won’t, and that’s their prerogative.
As I watched Springer hit that homer last night, I realized that except for the couple of years after the scandal, I’ve always admired the way he plays ball. And I’ve also been a fan of Bregman’s and Altuve’s through the years (except for that slight pause I mentioned). Not sure why but Correa and Beltran have never been favorites of mine so I think I’ll just lay all the cheating at their feet (or should I say cleats).
Anyway, Springer reminds me a bit of Hunter Pence, another of my favorites even though he spent a long time with the Giants.
I guess I’m just not as good a Dodger fan as I should be and I will accept permanent banishment if voted off the island.
banishment to Houston?
I am not a fan of Houston, the city. That would be a tough one.
New desktop set up now, ready to rock n roll
Looking forward to your articles.
Speaking about the money spent by AF this off season. It wasn’t spent intended for just the regular season. The focus was more on October. When you look at this, it was money well spent on Snell, Teo, Kike and Sasaki. And Kersh had an outstanding regular season. Scott and Yates were the big misses but what executive bats 100%? I’m grateful that the Dodgers are willing and able to spend the $. Just remember AF, check with me before 2026. I always bat 100% in hindsight!
I’m not nervous but I don’t expect this to be an easy series.
No, it won’t be, but the Jays pitching, especially the starting pitching is not as good as LA>
Just checked the stats, all time LA is 19-11 against Toronto overall. They were 2-1 this year with both games played in LA and last year they were 2-1 with games played in Toronto.
Fun fact. Buddy Kennedy (remember him?) will be getting a World Series ring this year.
Kennedy played 4 games with LA and 2 games with Toronto in 2025. Amazing.
Just look at how many guys LA had to give rings to last season, including the likes of Jason Heyward, Lux, Taylor, Barnes, Outman, Biggio, Vargas, Kiermaier, Ahmed, Rosario, Trammell, Paxton, Yarbrough, Yohan Ramirez, Michael Peterson, Nick Ramirez, Elieser Hernandez, Nabil Crismatt, Gus Varland, Dinelson Lamet, Zack Logue, Ricky Vanasco, Eduardo Salazar and Connor Brogdon.
Braves signed Austin Nola to a minor league deal.
Really looking forward to first inning of game 1 with Snell verses the top of their lineup. It will set the tone. Snell is going to have to throw his off speed stuff for strikes. If he can then later he can get them to chase. They’ve been crushing fast balls.
Snell struck out 10 Jays earlier this year at Dodger Stadium in a 9-1 win.
I’ll take that!!!!
Giants hired Vitello as their manager, that leaves six jobs open. Twins, Padres, Orioles, Nationals, Rockies and Braves still have openings. Dodgers seem to be the popular pick to win, some say in five games. I would like that, it would mean they win their second ever WS at home at Dodger Stadium. Only other time they ever won at home was 1963.
Dodger bench coach Danny Lehmann is supposedly being considered for the Atlanta job.
I hope he gets it which would create the perfect opening for Justin Turner to replace him next year.
I don’t think they would start JT out as a bench coach. But I can see him returning to the team in some capacity.
You may very well be right, but if you were Andrew and wanted him back, what kind of position would you offer him that you think would interest him?