The Dodgers’ Pursuit of History Ended in Stunning Failure

Sports Illustrated ^ | 10/16/2026 | Ryan Phillips

[Kid Shelleen]

The Dodgers spent the last several years building what was supposed to be a roster so loaded it couldn't possibly lose in the postseason. But on Thursday night, a campaign that began as a chase for baseball's first three-peat in a quarter-century ended as one of its most spectacular failures.

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Los Angeles’s spending also broke records. When factoring in the team’s CBT payroll and luxury tax payments, the roster cost more than $616 million this season, nearly $150 million more than the second-place Mets ($468.9 million). The disparity was so great, the idea of a salary cap in baseball gained renewed momentum. Given all the advantages the Dodgers had, anything short of a World Series would have been a disappointment. What happened in the NLCS went far beyond that.

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[Steven Scharf]

I’m a longtime Rays fan,

Your fan club could fit in a phone booth.

[erlayman]

I only watch for Ohtani but he is going to be fine regardless.

[Dan in Wichita]

I think a Milwaukee/Cleveland World Series would draw a very good audience because neither team has won a World Series in many decades. Makes for interesting viewing.

[Dr. Franklin]

America cannot recover until the Dodgers return to Brooklyn.

Since LA is the second most populous city in the U.S. and NYC already has two teams, that is less likely than the A's, which were Philly's most successful sports franchise, returning to the City of Brotherly Love.

[Miami Rebel]

As a Mets fan, I approve this message! That’s pairing I’ve been hoping for.

[dfwgator]

Anyone who isn’t a Dodgers fan approves this message!

Now hopefully the Rays can get it into gear.

[Dr. Franklin]

I watched the four games. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers ($365 million + $162 million = $527 million), the number one and two batters in the lineup, were total no-shows at the plate in the series.
The Brewers are clicking together at the right time and they are going to win the World Series against the walkover AL team.

Good pitching always stops good hitting. What's refreshing is that Milwaukee is one of the smallest, if not the smallest, media market in baseball, giving it the least broadcast income. So, the team with much less money beat the team with the highest payroll in baseball.

[dfwgator]

I already heard a potential Cleveland-Milwaukee WS would be called “The Edmund Fitzgerald Series”.

[dfwgator]

Win it for Ueck!

[dfwgator]

Brewers now join the Astros as the only teams to make the World Series as both an American League and National League team.

[dfwgator]

Wonder if moving to Tampa from St. Petersburg will really help attendance all that much.

[Dr. Franklin]

Win it for Ueck!

I must be in the front row!

[Dr. Franklin]

Win it for Ueck!

I must be in the front row!

[dfwgator]

Milwaukee has never won a WS, and neither have the “Guardians”.

[dfwgator]

Hopefully heaven has a front row.

[Dr. Sivana]

America cannot recover until the Dodgers return to Brooklyn.

My father, who had been a New York Giants fan until they fled to the west coast, would take me to Mets-Dodgers games at Shea. I was a Dodger fan because I hated the Yankees, my big brother was a Dodgers fan (Koufax), and Reagan was from California. Attendance was sometimes in the four digits. M. Donald Grant had made awful trades and all that was left of the Mets was Jerry Koosman, John Stearns, and beefcake centerfielder Lee Mazilli.

Even then, there was a continegent with signs "Bring Back Dem Bums", and as many Dodger as Mets fans.

When Ruper Murdoch bought the Dodgers, I thought he had the opportunity to make himself a god in NYC if he brought the Dodgers back (the Mets can have L.A.).

But too much time has passed. The Mets got good again. The Dodgers (including when they were the Robins and the Bridegrooms) have now spent way more time in L.A. than in Brooklyn. The Bums are still a treasured memory and legendary, but coming back now would no longer work.

[Dan in Wichita]

The Milwaukee Braves defeated the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series.

[dfwgator]

Ahh forgot about that.

[dfwgator]

Kind of reminds me of how when the Cubs won the World Series and talking about how it was the first time Chicago won since 1908, they totally ignored the 2005 White Sox.

[Jim Noble]

that is less likely than the A's, which were Philly's most successful sports franchise, returning to the City of Brotherly Love.

So, either grandpa was wrong or America is doomed. Check back on November 4.