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Why Are The Dodgers Disliked So Much?

                                               When the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, they had a natural rivalry with the New York Giants. The Giants resided in Manhattan at the Polo Grounds. Uptown as it were. Denizens of both boroughs’ genuinely disliked each other. Many times, fights would break out between the fans. After the move to California, with the Giants settling in San Francisco and the Dodgers in LA, most thought the rivalry would not be as intense. Wrong. For whatever reason, northern and southern California are not exactly drinking buddies. 

                                               So-Cal is laid back, sunny and glitzier. No-Cal is often cold and wet. Not to mention, snooty. At least that is how some of the folks south of Bakersfield see it. San Francisco is Fishermans Wharf and trolly cars, LA is Hollywood and celebrities. While Candlestick was a nightmare to play in, often cold, windy and foggy, Dodger Stadium seldom had bad weather and, on some days, you could see more than a handful of Hollywood’s best in the stands. 

                                              It did not help matters that the Dodgers went to four World Series in first nine years in California and the Giants only once. Many times, they battled right down to the wire before it was decided. The Giants had some great players, but the Dodgers seemed to win with less talented teams. Except for the pitching. After Koufax retired, it would be 8 years before LA made the series again. The Giants only pennant in the 60’s was 1962, they won zero pennants in the 70’s and they did not finally win one until 1989. The Dodgers over that same period won nine pennants and five Championships to their none. 

                                           As a matter of fact, the Giants did not win a championship in San Francisco until they won in 2010. 56 years after their last title in New York. Those kinds of stats breed a lot of animosity towards one’s rival. Then in 1969, the NL expanded and added another team in California, the San Diego Padres. It would take the Padres 25 years before they finally won their first West division title, and NL pennant in 1984. The Tigers quickly sent them home for the winter. Since then, they have won the west 4 more times, 96-98-05-06. They went to 1 more World Series in 1998 and were swept by the Yankees. They have not been back since. They along with the Rockies are the only teams in the NL West who have not won the World Series. 

                                            But let’s get back to that disliked part. The rivalry with the Giants has a long history. The rivalry with the Padres is a relatively new thing. For much of their early existence, the Padres were on the losing side of most seasons’ series with the Dodgers. 1973 was the first season in which the Padres did not have a losing record to the Dodgers. They were 9-9. But in 74, LA was 16-2 against the Pads.  In the Padres first 6 seasons they lost 74 games against the Dodgers and won 34. In 1976, the Padres finally won a season series against LA.  They went 12-6 against the Dodgers, but still finished 19 games behind them in the pennant race. 

                                          Through the rest of the 1900’s, other than 1984, LA fans never had a second thought about the Padres. The worry was always the Giants, Reds, Braves and Astros while they were in the west. There was no rivalry except with the Giants. The rivalry with the Yankees fueled by so many Series they played against each other, was a moot point after 81. Until full interleague schedules were implemented a couple of years ago, they rarely saw New York. 

                                          The rivalry between LA and San Diego began intensifying in 2019. That was when Manny Machado signed with the Padres. They also brought up Fernando Tatis Jr. that year. They may have finished last that season, but every game in San Diego was loud and usually a close game. That was also when the Beat LA chants got really loud. Machado would hear loud choruses of boos in LA whenever he came to the plate. It took Tatis Jr. a couple of years to start hearing those, but in 21, he got booed a lot. 

                                         The first time they met in the playoffs, in 2020, LA beat the Padres in 3 straight games. Will Smith set a record in game 3 getting 5 hits. He became the first Dodger to ever do that. It did not help relations that LA thumped them that game, 12-3.  It also did not help matters that the Padres kept losing season series to LA right up to this year. There was a shift in the attitude of Padres fans after the Padres took LA out in 22. The boos and chants got a lot louder whenever the Dodgers went into Petco to play. 

                                         So now it is a full-blown rivalry. The Giants in the meantime, have almost become an afterthought. They had their run of success winning in 10-12-14. After that they played second fiddle to the Dodgers until they won the West in 21. But LA took them down before losing the NLCS that year. With Buster Posey now running the team, I expect things there will be different. Posey is a winner, and he will instill that winning attitude in his club. 

                                        But other than the obvious rivalry between the Padres and Giants, why do so many other fan bases dislike LA?  My theory is success breeds contempt. I also think a lot of fans believe the Dodgers just buy what they need. Not entirely untrue but throwing money at a baseball team does not guarantee success. Just look at how long the Yankees were irrelevant. After losing the 81 series, it was 13 years before they were able to win a pennant again. After their win in 77, they went 17 years before winning another. For Yankee fans accustomed to winning a lot, that must have felt like a lifetime. Remember, their owner was George Steinbrenner. And George expected to win every year. 

                                      Since Guggenheim took over the team, the Dodgers have been more successful during the season than at any other time in their history. They have put together some very good teams. They did not always achieve their goal of winning the World Series, but they have had the opportunity to do so every year since 2013. Living in Colorado, I listen to the Rockies fans who are so very upset with the way ownership runs their team, and they naturally dislike LA because of the Dodgers success. 

                                      The Dodgers are simply disliked because they have the ability to get the players they need either through trades or free agency.  Those who are not fans of the team do not understand the commitment the ownership made to the fans when they first purchased the team. Nor do they realize all the work that the front office has to put in to keep the team competitive. I had a friend of mine ask me the other day, how in the world did the Dodgers manage to win the west as banged up as they were? To tell the truth, I honestly do not know. What I do know is that the players who were on this team, wanted to be there. The chemistry was great, and they picked each other up. It did not hurt that Ohtani had a historic season. I told them to buckle up because LA wants to do it again, and again, and again. Go on and dislike the Dodgers. Me? I love em! 

Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear

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Duke Not Snider

Haters gotta hate…
The Dodgers have their haters, of course, but I doubt any baseball team has more fans and admirers the world over than the Dodgers. Come to think, perhaps it’s the most popular team regardless of sport.
Right now, Shohei is a big reason why, making the Dodgers the No. 1 team in Asia. Just by signing him the Dodgers won tens of millions of new fans. Back in 1947, it was the heroic Jackie Robinson ushering in a new and more just era. The bigots hated it, but that’s their problem. This is forever a source of pride for Dodger fans.
Of course many other players won the hearts of fans, from the beloved Bums of Brooklyn to early LA thrills with Sandy, Maury and Big D. While Brooklyn got screwed, the pioneering move to the West added millions of fans as well. As a kid growing up as a Dodger fan in the 1960s, I read several of those slender biographies of Brooklyn’s finest–Pee Wee, Duke, Hodges, Furillo. At age 12 or 13, I considered Campanella’s autobiography “It’s Good to Be Alive” to be the best book I’d ever read…. until I read “The Godfather” and got to the part about Sonny and the bridesmaid.
The Dodgers’ magical moments kept coming–Fernando, Hershiser, Gibson’s HR–and of course it helped to have a character like Lasorda in drama, and all of it narrated by Vin.
All considered, I suspect the haters are just jealous.

Badger

Got that right. And no end in sight.

dodgerram

Interesting talk about Sasaki and Soto.

I want both!

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OhioDodger

More often than not, envy and jealousy emerge as hate.

As for buying pennants and championships. Many of the mid and lower level teams could spend more money but the owners choose to skimp on payroll to line their own pockets. Baseball needs a salary floor.

Bluto

Agreed.

Not for nothing, but this isn’t exactly (to put it mildly) what Kendrick Lamar’s song is about.

It’s a different definition of like.

Bobby

I was waiting for someone to clarify haha

Jeff Dominique

As a Dodgers fan growing up, I considered it my responsibility to hate NYY and SFG, and I relished in that. 

That “hatred” for the Giants was fostered in October 1962, when as a 10 year old I was in the school play yard with several friends listening to Game 3 of the Tie Breaker Series against the Giants. After the Giants won, one of my “friends” grabbed my transistor radio and tossed it in the air smashing it as it crashed.

I have two very close friends; one a NYY fan and one a SFG fan. The NYY fan is as obnoxious about NYY as are the fans in the stands. The SFG fan is more subdued, but his dislike for LAD comes through. My friend who is the NYY fan has not called me since the WS. My SFG fan friend reaches out every time the Dodgers win anything. I call him when SFG won. Both friends always refer to the 2020 championship as a Mickey Mouse Championship.

I also now live in SFG land, but most of the Giants fan come up to me and acknowledge the LAD win, especially the friends I have made at my office in Starbucks. I have had one SFG fan spit on me, and one other yell obscenities at me while I was having a meal. I do not know what it means, but both were women. 

I have since thawed on both teams. Buster Posey had a lot to do with me toning down my dislike for the Giants. I thought MadBum was a character. Old school. His desire to win was top shelf.  I got to meet Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence who were real gentlemen. And yes, I was wearing my Dodgers gear. It was a former SFG player who introduced me.

NYY players like Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi, and Bernie Williams went out of their way to make my son feel like he belonged. Derek Jeter has been a favorite of mine since the day Andy doubled off the fence in a ST game for a double, and Jeter walked up to Andy, put his arm around him and slapped him on the chest with a big smile. I honestly do not remember the NYY pitcher, but he was one of the top rotation guys (Andy Pettite?). 

The only team I detest is San Diego. Players like Machado, Profar, and Tatis Jr. are classless especially when it comes to the Dodgers. Trent Grisham was in that group when he was in SD. Ask Jesús Aguilar what he thinks of Machado. The Padres have never won a WS, played in only 2, and not a single Padre on the 2024 Playoff roster has been on a WS winner. And I do not count Joe Musgrove’s 2017 Astros cheat. As an aside, he was not good in that WS against the Dodgers.

San Diego players have acknowledged that part of their strategy is to get under the skin of the Dodgers, players and fans. Former San Diego Padre 1B Eric Hosmer wrote this:

As the great Vince Lombardi once said to Travis Williams, “Act like you have been there before”. San Diego Padres players and fans, you have won nothing. 

Bobby

The only team I “hate” now is the Houston Astros. The rest are fun rivalry type hate.

Keith

Wishing all of you veterans a happy, healthy, peaceful Veterans Day.
Thank you Badger, Bear, and any of you other veterans that I don’t know about, for your service.

Badger

Thanks for thinking of us Keith. And you’re welcome.

Duke Not Snider

I think the only time I truly hated the Giants was when Marichal attacked Roseboro with his bat.
But I couldn’t hate Willie and I was fond of McCovey too. I just wished they were Dodgers.

Jeff Dominique

It was hard to hate the two Willies (Kirkland not there long enough), the Alou Brothers, Jim Ray Hart, Bobby Bonds. Orlando Cepeda, Jimmy Davenport, Tom Haller. Haller had four excellent years with the Dodgers (1968-1971). They were such a good baseball team in the 60’s, and who knows how far they could have gone were there playoffs. The same is true with NYY. I knew the ’64 lineup inside out. They were just great rivalries, not like the pissant Padres of today.

Jeff Dominique

For me, the closest to MLB untouchable is Jackson Ferris. It would have to be a lot to trade guys like Joendry Vargas, Emil Morales, Eduardo Quintero, Josue DePaula, and Zyhir Hope. But they are all at or below A+ in the organization, and only DePaula was at A+ (Great Lakes). Kellon Lindsey is just outside that group, but could easily move into after his first professional experience in 2025.

I agree on River Ryan. He has made his MLB debut, but he will still be a rookie when he returns. Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, and Gavin Stone are untouchables on the MLB roster. I agree with Watford that Bobby Miller needs another shot to prove his mettle.

Keith

Depends on who we’re trading for, if the Orioles put Jackson Holiday up, nobody would be untouchable, for Crochet, I don’t think it will take two top fives.

Singing the Blue

Chris Woodward

Bobby

Miguel Rojas or Justin Turner

Jeff Dominique

Don’t sleep on former OKC manager Travis Barbary. He recently agreed to step down from OKC manager to become a roving instructor with the Dodgers. Dodgers think highly of Barbary. Chris Woodward is also a good choice.

Singing the Blue

About time they gave Barbary a shot.

Norcaldodgerfan

Thank you to all the veterans who served our great nation in the armed forces. Your service and dedication is recognized and never forgotten.

I am the son of a US Navy veteran who retired after twenty years of service and I have a son who is a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy serving as an Executive Officer on a submarine- America’s silent service.

Thank You!

Good Bless America.

Cassidy

I am always amazed at how many Dodger posters dislike the Dodgers!

Keith

God bless and watch over your son NCDF

Norcaldodgerfan

Thanks Keith.

John

Jeff , you brought up a great subject yesterday, prospects. How I define prospects is probably different than most. For example when we got Muncy I’d consider him a prospect. Same with Barnes and to a degree Taylor.. as stated yesterday I hope history shows that our trade with the Cubs turns out really good for us. Not that it matters but I have no problem trading prospects but I might put a larger value on them.Anyway this is a discussion that could be fun but it would be difficult tearing down the other persons opinion.

Hope your health is getting better and your able to get around.

Jeff Dominique

It is almost impossible to properly value prospects. None of us have the team scouting reports to make value judgements. All of us have our favorites, and discount the merits of other’s favorites. Bluto and many other posters like Maddux Bruns. I have never been a big fan. I thought (and still do) think his ceiling is as a high leverage reliever. His career BB er IP is 139 in 174.1 IP. Last year due to an undisclosed injury, Bruns only had 28.1 IP, but had 20 BB. He is a K machine. He has go hard for one inning written all over. Last year was his 4th in the organization, and he started at Great Lakes (A+). If Bruns is traded, I will not lose any sleep. But I would still wish him luck, except against the Dodgers. Bruns would not be the first 1st round pick to go from SP to RP. Andrew Miller and Brandon Morrow, both picked before Clayton Kershaw in 2006 failed as starters to become relievers.

Jackson Ferris is two years younger than Bruns, but pitched 28.1 innings at AA last year. Ferris has control issues as well, but not as bad as Bruns. I am much more bullish on Ferris than Bruns.

Bluto

It’s getting lonely on Bruns island.

Bobby

I still have a condo there

Singing the Blue

Buehler – Dodgers
12:34 Pacific Time, Thursday Nov. 14th.

OhioDodger

Looks like parking would have been a big problem. Why did they choose the coliseum over Wrigley LA?

Spokane Bob

Went to a Yankee/ Angels game there. You could park on just about any front lawn for about $$2.00

Bluto

This would be a great post subject!

Carlin, Hedberg, Pryor, Murphy, Rickles…

Keith

I wonder if TB can void his contract for something like this if he is convicted.

Keith

I think Adames will be the first big name to sign.
1 Dodgers 2 Mets 3 Giants

Keith

We know who’s not going to be first to sign.
any of Scott Boras’ clients.

Last edited 27 days ago by Keith
Duke Not Snider

Hopefully Boras learned something….
Atlanta also rumored for Adames. The Braves were hit hard by injuries last season, but Adames would be a big upgrade over Arcia.
DodgerBlue reports that these prospects are eligible for the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 11:

SS Austin Gauthier
OF Damon Keith
LHP Jack Dreyer
RHP Antonio Knowles
LHP Ben Harris
RHP Ryan Sublette
RHP Kelvin Ramírez
RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr
OF Jake Vogel
C Griffin Lockwood-Powell
RHP Michael Hobbs
RHP David Tiburcio
RHP Gabe Emmett

If the Dodgers work out a deal in the next month, perhaps a couple of spots on the 40-man roster would open up.
I hope the Rule 5 should be expanded to help small-market teams be more competitive and make it hard for the rich teams to hoard talent.

Jeff Dominique

He is on the restricted list. He is not getting paid. He does not count against the 40 man roster. If he is cleared (doubtful) he would get his contract reinstated and he would get his back pay. If he is convicted, the contract will be voided.

Keith

Thanks Jeff, I wasn’t sure about the contract getting voided.
what a waste.

Cassidy

Some sources estimating the Dodgers have made about $120 mil off Ohtani in his first year. This will probably cover his deferred salary within the first six years of his contract with four years of gravy

Last edited 27 days ago by Cassidy
Bluto

Would love to see that article, if you can share it….

Jeff Dominique

This started to foment when former All-Star catcher AJ Pierzynski revealed a source close to the Dodgers advising him the team made $120 million off Ohtani alone since signing him.

Pierzynski added a caveat: “I don’t know how true this number was, but I was told from a pretty reliable person.” If we assume it’s accurate, then Ohtani’s contract is on track to pay for itself — and then some — before the Dodgers even have to pay out the $680 million they’ll owe him from 2034 through 2043.

Entrepreneur Joe Pompliano studied the contract and revenue sources to support what Pierzynski reported. Here is the Foul Territory Podcast on the subject.

Last week I read a far more detailed article saying the same things. I am sorry that I did not write that source down.

March 2024, Forbes valued the Dodgers at $5.45B. Many are reporting the value to be around $6.3B now.

The Dodgers have the best and smartest owners in MLB and maybe all of professional sports.

Jeff Dominique

The Dodgers won more games than any team in MLB, went on to win the World Series, and yet their sole award finalist and presumptive winner is Shohei Ohtani for NL MVP. I agree that there should be no other Dodgers individual player award finalists. But what that tells me is that Dave Roberts was a master weaver dealing with all of the injuries (position players and pitchers), maneuvering through all of the depth. What he did in the Playoffs was not relevant to the award, but his regular season prowess should qualify for manager of the year consideration.

OTOH, what it may symbolize is that the Dodgers were a true team achievement. 

Jeff Dominique

Very sad day for Trojan fans. Legendary HOF Football Coach, John Robinson, passed away at the age of 89. He was the SC Offensive Coordinator while I was there, and someone who took the time to talk to “regular students” in the quad. He will be missed by me and Trojans everywhere.

RIP JR 🙏

Wally Moonshot

The Rays could play on a high school field and still not fill it.

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