2025/26 Team Ranking: #1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Began: 11/18/2025. Published: 11/23/2025.
Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable – Coco Chanel
1. LA Dodgers: Last 3 seasons/100-98-93 [Rating=575/6=95.8 wins]
Position in the Cycle of Success and Failure: The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the middle of a Dynasty run. A run that shows no sign of abating any time soon. Like the New York Yankee clubs of old, the L.A. Dodgers are currently defying the usual up and down cycle of success and failure that eventually always brings down a winning team. The Dodger’s last losing season was in 2010 [80-82], which was during the tenure of the previous owner, the much-maligned Frank McCourt [2004-2011]. But, since 2010, the Dodgers have had fifteen straight winning seasons [2011-2025]. In the first year of this streak, the Dodgers finished a mediocre 82-79. But in 2012, after the Dodgers were bought by the current owners [aka Guggenheim Baseball Management], the Dodgers improved to 86-76. Then came the deluge. From 2013 to 2025 [13 years in a row], the Los Angeles Dodgers never won less than 91 games in a season and have also gone to the NL playoffs each year. In five of those 13 seasons, the Dodgers won over 100 games [2017: 104-58; 2019: 106-56; 2021: 106-56; 2022: 111-51; and 2023: 100-62]. The Los Angeles Dodgers have also now won three World Series during this period* [2020, 2024, & 2025]. Oddly enough, the LA Dodgers did not win 100 games or more during any of their World Championship seasons. But they were certainly on pace to win over 100 games during the lockout shortened 2020 season [their record of 43-17 translates to a 116-56 record over a full year]. Considering all Major League Baseball’s rules and regulations specifically designed to punish success and the current playoff system, there is certainly an argument to be made that this Dodger Dynasty run may be the most impressive of all time.
*Some Los Angeles Dodger fans will also argue that their team was cheated out of a World Championship in 2017 by the illegal sign stealing scheme of the Houston Astros. This may be true. Every Astro 2017 World Series game won against the Dodgers (Games 2, 3, 5, and 7) is suspect. But, because the Astros cheated throughout the 2017 playoffs, there is no certainty that the Dodgers would have even faced the Space Cowboys in the World Series if the Astros were on the up and up. Instead, the Dodgers may have faced another team eliminated by the crooked Astros (such as the 2017 New York Yankees). There is a high likelihood that the Dodgers would have won the World Series in 2017 if the Astros didn’t cheat but certainly no guarantee.
Owner [Control Person]: Mark Walter.
The Major League Baseball [MLB] Control Person is Mark Walter, but the team is owned by the Guggenheim Baseball Management, LLC [GBM]. As a partner in GBM, Walter reportedly owns 27% of the LLC. There are several other prominent investors in the GBM, most notably the retired basketball superstar Earvin (Magic) Johnson [reportedly 2.3%] and Billie Jean King, the former tennis champion [along with other less well-known part-owners]. Mark Walter is also the CEO of the financial investments firm: Guggenheim Partners, LLC. This company was started in 1999 by heirs of the Guggenheim family (a clan that originally made their fortune way back during the 19th Century in the mining industry). Reportedly, this corporation currently manages well over 350 billion dollars of assets. In other words, there are almost certainly significant financial resources available to the Dodgers, if the team needs them. Of course, most people would recognize the name Guggenheim because of the two famous Guggenheim museums (one in New York City and the other in Bilbao, Spain). Other than all this, there is not much else to say about the background of Mark Walter. He seems to be a private person who does not crave the spotlight at all. For instance, the Guggenheim Family were Jewish-Americans of Swiss origin who moved to the U.S.A. way back in 1847. Is Mark Walter related to them? Is he Jewish? For all anybody knows, he’s a Presbyterian.
Strangely enough, this anonymity makes Mark Walter somewhat interesting. Walter seems to be a Baseball fan’s dream come true of an MLB club owner. He has access to significant financial resources. He is committed to winning and funding a great team but is also apparently egoless and stays relatively in the background. Walter obviously believes in spending money to make money rather than pinching pennies until his employees scream painfully. He hires competent people to run the team and then is content to get out of the way and let them do their jobs. Mark Walter is obviously incredibly good at his day job of investing money. In 2012, he led the consortium that purchased the Dodgers for 2 billion dollars. In 2025, Forbes Magazine listed the team as being worth around 7 billion dollars [some other sources list the club for less, but other sources list the team for even more]. But, even if it is just 6 billion, that’s quite a return on investment. In October 2025, Walter put together another consortium of investors to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. The sale price was reportedly ten billion dollars. Buying the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014 for 2 billion certainly looks good in comparison to the Lakers price (which will also probably eventually go down as another Grand Theft Franchise).
General Manager [GM]: Andrew Friedman [2015-2025].
Of course, Andrew Friedman is not listed as the Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager [GM] by the team itself. He is listed as the LA Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations. Friedman has not technically been a Baseball GM since he worked for the Tampa Bay club from 2006 to 2014. The two actual Dodgers GMs during 2015-2025 period were Farhan Zaidi from 2015 to 2018 [when he left to become the San Francisco Giants GM] & then the relatively invisible Brandon Gomes from 2022 to 2025. From 2019 to 2021, the LA Dodgers had no GM at all but, of course, Friedman filled the role. This oddity represents one of the latest mutations of front office roles in Baseball. At the very beginning of Baseball way back in the 19th Century, there were many teams that had one man fill the role of owner, business manager, general manager, field manager and [sometimes] even a player. Over time, each of those roles became more distinct. Recently, the job of General Manager fractured once again. Now the old school GM is often called the President of Baseball Operations (or some similar title) while the person titled GM is just some type of assistant GM. After the 2023 season, Kim Ng, who had been the Miami Marlins GM from 2021 to 2023, immediately resigned when it became clear that her team was looking for a President of Baseball Operations. Ng knew that, despite no change in her title, she was being demoted (like many things Marlin, it turned into a travesty). Whether carrying the actual title of GM or not, Andrew Friedman is one of the best (if not the very best) GMs in the business. He is the architect of this current Dodger Dynasty and may one day be rewarded for it with a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is also apparently the epitome of the Mark Walter business style and strategy: hire the best and then let them do their job.
Field Manager [FM]: Dave Roberts 2016-2025.
After the 2025 season ended, stories appeared claiming that Shohei Ohtani had guaranteed his eventual election to the Baseball Hall of Fame [BHOF]. These articles were basically clickbait. At the present time, the only thing that keeps Ohtani out of the BHOF is that he is not eligible* yet. When he is eligible, the only thing that could possibly keep him out would probably be immense bribes to that year’s BHOF voters. Oddly, no stories were written about the Los Angeles Dodger who absolutely punched his BHOF ticket in 2025. That man is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Field Manager Dave Roberts. He had a memorable career as a player from 1999-2008 but certainly not BHOF worthy. However, as a manager, Roberts’ credentials are now impeccable. Dave Roberts has managed the Los Angeles Dodgers for exactly 10 seasons [2016-2025]. He has never had a losing season. His teams have gone to the playoffs every single year. His 10-year record is now an incredible 944 victories against just 575 defeats for a .621 winning percentage [that is a 100.6 wins per season pace over a 162 games shedule]. He has been the winning manager of 3 World Series Championship teams. The only real argument against him as a BHOF electee would be that the organization and/or the players deserve all the credit and Dave Roberts just got lucky. However, Branch Rickey once said that: “Luck is the residue of design” and it appears that Dave Roberts has figured out how to design the residue.
*As of 2025, Ohtani has only played 8 seasons in the Major Leagues, two years short of the BHOF’s 10 seasons minimum requirement. But, if you believe that rule would keep Ohtani out, you haven’t paid attention to the BHOF election procedures [see Addie Joss]. If Ohtani retired right now, the BHOF would find a way to elect him (righteously if ridiculously so).
Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane once said that “My shit doesn’t work in the playoffs.” Beane, one of the original architects of ‘Moneyball’ (or the application of strategies to maximize winning games during the regular season), couldn’t figure out how to win in the post season. Or perhaps Beane just didn’t have the correct man in his field managerial chair (looking in your general direction, Art Howe). Casey Stengel, the old-time New York Yankee manager who won 7 World Series in a 10-year span, replied when asked about one of his many strategies: “What did you want me to do? Sit there and lose?” Perhaps that is the key. In the post season, the team’s field manager needs to manage like his pants are figuratively on fire. In the post season, you can’t save your ammo for another day. You need to chase after each victory like an intelligently rabid dog. Dave Roberts now has 10 years of playoff experience under his belt, and it shows. In both the 2024 and 2025 playoffs, he managed the hell out of every Series. He adjusted on the fly and seemed to have a ‘what have you done for me lately’ attitude. I believe that Dave Roberts was as responsible as anyone in the organization for the 2025 Dodger World Championship. If my opinion, Dave Roberts has earned his eventual induction into the BHOF. Of course, Roberts is also still the field manager of the most impressive Baseball team of the 21st Century. Unless he does something truly stupid and gets himself fired, Roberts has many more years to pad his BHOF resume with this Dodger Dynasty.*
*One of the sad sub-plots of the 2025 World Series was Don Mattingly as the Toronto Blue Jay’s bench coach. Mattingly, of course, was the Dodger field manager just before Roberts. Mattingly managed the team for the first five straight seasons of the current 15-year streak of winning seasons [from 2011-2015]. But worn down by fan’s constant criticism of him not winning it all, he resigned. New Dodger GM Andrew Friedman then hired Roberts and has stuck with him through thick and thin. The theme of Mattingly’s career has been: “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.“ His career as a player for the Yankees began in 1982 right after the Yanks appeared in the 1981 World Series and he retired in 1995 right before the Yankees got back and won the 1996 World Series. He has never gotten a Championship ring. As a player, Mattingly was on a sure BHOF track until derailed by back injuries. After the 2025 Blue Jays World Series loss, Don Mattingly once again resigned, this time from the Blue Jays. Was his disappointment unbearable?
2025 Los Angeles Dodgers [Titans*]: Season in Review
*To honor the 19th Century tradition of having multiple nicknames for teams (or none at all), I decided to give each team an alternative moniker for the 2025 Season in Review section just for the fun of it. The Dodgers’ alternate alias honors a (only partially true) Hollywood movie about a high school superteam: “Remember the Titans.”
Before the 2025 season began, the question was: “Exactly how good could this year’s edition of the Los Angeles Dodger team be?” If everyone was healthy and playing well, there seemed to be a chance that the club could challenge the single season record for wins [116]. The Dodgers began the season with 2 victories in Japan [March 18-19] before returning home for their U.S.A. debut on March 27. The Dodgers then won six more games to start the season with 8 wins and 0 losses. It seemed like the predicted super-team was in process, tearing the League and World apart. But, after this great start, the Dodgers split the next 20 games. From that point on, the Dodgers seemed to treat the 2025 regular season as one long rehearsal for the main show. Decimated by injuries (especially to the pitching staff), the team just puttered along for most of the year. After April 28th, they did spend the entire year in first place except for one single day: August 23rd [behind the Padres]. The LA Dodgers were especially mediocre in July and August, going just 25-27. At the very end of the year, the Dodgers put on the afterburners (15-5 in their last 20 games and winning 5 straight games to finish the season). Taking away the hot beginning and end, the club went just 70-64 through the bulk of the 2025 season. But the club entered the playoffs smoking hot and then basically annihilated their first three playoff opponents [Reds, Phillies, Brewers*], winning 9 games and losing just one. Would the Dodgers steamroll right through the World Series?
*Baseball surely is an odd game. The Brewers had the best record during the 2025 season [97-65]. In the regular season, they faced the Dodgers six times, winning all 6 games. But then, in the playoffs, the Dodgers beat the Brewers four straight games by a combined score of 15-4.
The answer to that question was no. The Dodgers did not steamroll through the World Series. It could easily be argued that the Dodgers’ World Series opponents, the Toronto Blue Jays, actually seemed to be the better team. The Jays outscored the Dodgers over the seven game Series, 34-26. All 3 of the Blue Jay wins were basically uncontested victories. On the other hand, the Dodgers won just one game easily and that was basically due to the efforts of one single player, starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yammamoto. The Series had three incredibly close games with the Dodgers winning all three, This included 2 extra-inning games, including the seventh and final game, by just one run. In the other close game [Game 6], a Blue Jays rally in the ninth inning that would have tied the game was snuffed out by a bizarre ground rule double and improbable double play that ended the game. When it counted, luck and the bouncing baseball were on the Dodgers’ side. As a Baseball fan, the World Series was as fantastic and dramatic as you could wish for. And you can certainly celebrate the LA Dodgers 2nd consecutive World Championship. But you have to also feel the gut punch that this Series must have been to the unlucky Toronto Blue Jays.
2026 Season Prediction: If you just look at the direction that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seasonal win totals are trending, the team seems to be in a steep decline. In 2022, they won 111 games. In 2023, they won 100. In 2024, the LA Dodgers won 98 games and a World Championship. In 2025, they won only 93 games but repeated as World Champions. If this trend continues, the Dodgers should finish with around 87-88 victories in 2026 and perhaps miss the playoffs for the first time in forever. I wouldn’t place any bets on that though. The team spent most of the 2025 season almost completely debilitated. Shohei Ohtani won another MVP but, by the metric WAR (wins above replacement), had his worst year since 2020. Mookie Betts caught some terrible virus on the Japan trip and lost over 20 pounds. He spent the year proving that he could play shortstop with almost anybody, but he also had the worst hitting year of his career. Freddie Freeman spent the entire year apparently recovering from his 2024 ankle injuries. Catcher Will Smith was having a career year until hand injuries brought him down. The team’s one big free agent signing, outfielder Michael Conforto, was a unmitigated disaster. Andy Pages stepped up to balance out Conforto but then couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat during the playoffs. Except for Yoshinobu Yammamoto, the entire pitching staff seemed to spend the year occupying a hospital ward. The starters recovered just in time for the playoffs, but the relief pitching staff never really made it back. All in all, the year was somewhat of a disappointment that was wiped completely away by the end result.
A realistic projection for the 2026 Dodgers season is probably 100 wins and yet another division title and playoff appearance. If they fail to meet that projection, it will surely be injuries that once again drag the team down to (probably) a low 90s victory total with yet another playoff appearance. But, with any semblance of good health and luck, the LA Dodgers are capable of an easy 100+ win season. With a lot of luck and great health, the Dodgers may even end up challenging that single season win record [116] one year later than hopefully predicted. Most importantly, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a fighting chance to win their third straight World Championship and accomplish the first three-peat of the 21st Century. All that being said, the most interesting off-season storyline for these Dodgers will probabaly be: “Will they continue to double down on their success and bring in even more high-priced free agent talent?” The premier 2025-26 free agent, Kyle Tucker, would look good in the Dodger outfield and line-up. Will they also continue to add the cream of Japanese talent? There is a very good Japanese pitcher available, Tatsuya Imai. Even more interestingly, will they make an offer to Japanese super-slugger Munetaka Murakami, despite the fact that they do not really have a position for him to play? Or will the Dodgers just add on the edges, signing less exciting players that will complement the current team (like Michael Conforto)? Just for the sheer fun of it, I hope that they keep the momentum going, make another splash, and sign at least one of the three players mentioned above.