Major League Baseball’s preseason opened earlier this month with the Los Angeles Dodgers trying to do something no other team has done since the New York Yankees in 2000.
After taking down the Toronto Blue Jays last fall in a thrilling seven-game series, the Dodgers are going for a third-straight World Series title.
“It’s the first thing on everybody’s mind,” said Lawrence Nunez, as he watched his favorite team play at the Dodgers’ spring training stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “The Dodgers aren’t loved by everyone.”
Some fans believe that the Dodgers have bought their past two titles against the Yankees and the Blue Jays by outspending other teams in the league.
Eight players on this year’s roster have signed deals worth more than $100 million. Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani — the incredibly rare player who can pitch and hit — is making $700 million over 10 years.
“He gives me energy and dreams, so we are happy to watch him,” said Demi Otake, who traveled to Arizona from Tokyo to watch a preseason game. “They will win this year.”
Matt Slattus, the general manager of the spring-training stadium that the Dodgers share with the Chicago White Sox, said interest from Japan is at an “unprecedented level” since both teams signed high-profile Japanese players. Munetaka Murakami signed with the White Sox in December 2025.
“We had to go as far as building an ancillary satellite press box in our parking lot just to accommodate the Japanese media that are here every single day,” he said.
The vibe around the park is “cautious optimism” for a third-straight Dodgers’ title, Slattus said.
Accomplishing that goal won’t be easy. “It’s extremely difficult, and if anything else, it’s gotten harder,” said former big-league outfielder Doug Glanville.
Glanville, now an analyst for ESPN, said other deep-pocketed teams like the New York Mets are eager to dethrone the Dodgers. In a long season that stretches from March to September, a lot will depend on how the team responds to inevitable injuries to key players.
“The stars have to align, as well,” he said.
The winner of this year’s World Series may affect the future of the sport. On Dec. 1, the bargaining agreement between players and Major League Baseball expires, and a proposed salary cap will be at the center of tense negotiations, Glanville said.
Team owners are pushing for a cap to help smaller markets compete with big spenders like the Dodgers. Glanville said the players do not support limits on their income, and he expects the conflict will lead to a lockout.
“That’s a big storyline this season, and everybody’s going to watch the Dodgers because if they win again, it makes more of an argument for a dynasty and the owners saying, ‘Hey this is too homogeneous,’” Glanville said. “But if they don’t win and the [Milwaukee] Brewers win, then you have a different argument. So, I am watching this very closely.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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