The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions once again. Los Angeles has two consecutive titles, after disposing of the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday by a 5-4 score. The Dodgers needed 11 innings in Game 7, but ultimately won the Fall Classic.
Los Angeles gets criticized by baseball fans in other cities, for having such a large payroll. The Dodgers agreed to big contracts with several of their top players, including Shohei Ohtani.
Dodgers fan Magic Johnson, who is part of the team's ownership group, is defending the franchise's decision to spend buckets upon buckets of money on club players.
“They said we ruined baseball,” Johnson said, per the Los Angeles Times. “Well, I guess we didn’t.”
Johnson said the Dodgers' success is helping a new generation of fans enjoy the game of baseball.
“What the Celtics and Lakers were able to do, and Michael Jordan’s Bulls, was to bring in new fans — fans that were, ‘Oh, I don’t know about the NBA,’” Johnson said, “but the play was so good, and the Celtics and Lakers and Bulls were so dominant, people said, ‘Oh man, I want to watch them.’
“It’s the same thing happening here.”
Johnson has been part of the Dodgers ownership team that helped bring in Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and others to Los Angeles.
Magic Johnson celebrated the Dodgers' World Series win
Johnson has actively posted to social media this season during the Dodgers' postseason run. He says that he frequently talks baseball with friends and family.
“My phone was blowing up with people who hadn’t watched baseball for a long time,” Johnson said. “They were watching this series.
“This was good for baseball around the world.”
Johnson joked that he even nearly lost his voice while cheering for the Dodgers throughout the World Series.
“I’m hoarse,” he said. “I’ve never been hoarse.”
Johnson has clearly helped build a winning culture in Los Angeles for the Dodgers franchise. Johnson won multiple championships playing in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers. He now has brought the city multiple World Series titles, as an executive for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers have won three World Series titles since 2020. That is certainly a dynasty, and the club will try again in 2026 for another trip to the Fall Classic. Johnson will most definitely be cheering the team on once again.
