The Dodgers Have Mostly Failed When Spending Lots of Money

It’s been a wildly successful offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They’ve committed an MLB record $1.16 billion in future payroll by signing Shohei Ohtani and NPB star Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They also traded for and extended former Rays ace Tyler Glasnow. Naturally, the buzz is very high and loud in the City of Angels. However, before everyone declares them champions you must remember that Los Angeles has spent a lot before and not won a ring. The only thing the Dodgers seem to win consistently during a full season is the payroll race.

A Record Splurge This Offseason

It has no doubt been a very successful offseason for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have essentially made a $1.16 billion investment in future payroll to try to win the World Series. Los Angeles signed the crown jewels of free agency in Shohei Ohtani (10 years, $700 million) and Japanese wonder Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million). They also traded for and extended Tyler Glasnow (5 years, $135 million). While it is great to see the Dodgers consistently investing in their team, it has yet to truly pay dividends in the postseason in a full year.

We’ve Seen Them Spend Lots of Money Before and Fail

In the past 10 seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers have led Major League Baseball in payroll six times. The other four times, Los Angeles has been in at least the top five. Countless superstars have been acquired and brought to Los Angeles. However, the only championship the Dodgers have won was in the COVID-19-shortened season. During the full seasons, Los Angeles has lost in the NLDS five times, NLCS three times, and the World Series twice. It should be noted that the Dodgers have lost in the NLDS the last two years in a row.

A Bullseye Is on Their Back

This Dodgers blowing spending a ton of money isn’t something they’re doing for the first time. However, this time the Dodgers have put a very large bullseye on their backs for the upcoming season. It seems like there is more desire than ever to see the Dodgers fail than ever. The only team that people might be rooting for to fail more than Los Angeles is the Houston Astros. Los Angeles has once again brought in some of the best players in hopes of bringing a championship back to Hollywood. However, despite spending all that money, the Dodgers haven’t won the World Series in a full year since 1988. If the Dodgers can’t bring back a World Series win with the amount of money they’ve spent, then there is a deeper problem within the organization.

Anything Short of a Championship Is a Failure

Given how much money the Dodgers have invested in their payroll, anything short of a championship will be a failed season. Unfortunately, in recent years, history has been against the Dodgers. They’ve never won the World Series in a full year despite consistently being a top-spending team. There is more desire than ever to see them fail in the postseason again. Just like the movies, the Dodgers season is either going to be a blockbuster or a box office bomb. As history tells us, whenever the Dodgers have spent lots of money, they’ve failed to win the World Series.

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