Everyone loves to talk about the money. Honestly, if you spent five minutes on social media after the final out in late 2024, you saw the same narrative over and over again. People were obsessed with the $700 million contract. They wanted to talk about the "buy-a-championship" strategy. But if you actually watched the Los Angeles Dodgers navigate that postseason, you know that the "checkbook" argument is a lazy way to describe one of the most resilient runs in modern baseball history.
The Los Angeles Dodgers World Series win wasn't just a foregone conclusion delivered by a front office. It was a chaotic, injury-plagued, and high-stakes gamble that almost fell apart a dozen times before October even started.
The Pitching Staff That Basically Didn't Exist
Let’s look at the rotation. By the time the NLDS rolled around, the Dodgers were essentially duct-taping a pitching staff together. Shohei Ohtani couldn't pitch. Tyler Glasnow was out. Gavin Stone was done. Clayton Kershaw’s toe had basically given up on him. You had Jack Flaherty—a trade deadline acquisition—and Yoshinobu Yamamoto carrying the weight of a billion-dollar expectation on their shoulders.
It was a mess.
Most experts thought the San Diego Padres were going to steamroll them in the division series. In fact, when the Dodgers were down 2-1 in that series, the "dynasty" felt like a joke. The bullpen had to throw 24 consecutive scoreless innings just to keep the season alive. That isn't about payroll. That’s about guys like Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, and Michael Kopech pitching until their arms felt like they were going to fall off.
Freddie Freeman’s Ankle and the Grand Slam
We have to talk about Game 1. If you aren't a die-hard baseball fan, you might not realize that Freddie Freeman was basically playing on one leg. He had a severely sprained right ankle. He could barely walk to the dugout, let alone run the bases.
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Then came the bottom of the 10th inning. Bases loaded. Two outs. The Dodgers were trailing the New York Yankees 3-2.
Nestor Cortes threw a fastball on the inside corner, and Freeman did the impossible. He hit the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history. The visual of him limping around the bases while the stadium literally shook is the defining image of that championship. It shifted the entire momentum of the series. The Yankees never really recovered from that specific moment. It was a psychological gut punch that proved this Dodgers team had a weird, gritty soul that people didn't expect from a "superteam."
The Shohei Ohtani Factor (Without the Pitching)
Everyone expected Ohtani to be the hero of the World Series. He had just come off the first 50/50 season in MLB history—54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He was the greatest show on earth. But then he partially dislocated his shoulder sliding into second base in Game 2.
He stayed in.
He wasn't the same hitter for the rest of the series, but his presence in the lineup changed how the Yankees pitched to everyone else. When you have Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman at the top of the order, there is no place to hide. Aaron Boone and the Yankees' pitching staff were exhausted just trying to navigate the first three hitters.
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Why the Yankees Actually Lost
It’s easy to credit the Dodgers, but we have to acknowledge the absolute defensive meltdown the Yankees had in Game 5. It was painful to watch. Gerrit Cole was pitching a masterpiece. The Yankees were up 5-0. Then, the fifth inning happened.
- Aaron Judge dropped a routine fly ball.
- Anthony Volpe had a throwing error.
- Gerrit Cole forgot to cover first base on a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo.
The Dodgers capitalized on every single mistake. They put up five unearned runs in a single inning. That is the hallmark of a championship team—they don't need you to give them an opening, but if you do, they will kick the door down and take everything in the room.
The Strategy Nobody Talks About: The Bullpen Game
Dave Roberts gets a lot of flak. Fans love to criticize his pitching changes. But in this postseason, he played a masterclass. He used "bullpen games" more effectively than almost any manager in history.
Because the starting rotation was so thin, the Dodgers had to rely on high-leverage relievers to pitch 4, 5, or even 9 innings in a single night. It required a level of communication and buy-in that most locker rooms can't handle. Guys were pitching in roles they weren't used to. Alex Vesia was coming in for huge outs. Ryan Brasier was opening games.
It was unconventional. It was risky. It worked.
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What This Means for the Future of Baseball
The Los Angeles Dodgers World Series victory changed the math for the rest of the league. It proved that if you have the resources, you should use them, but it also proved that talent alone isn't enough. You need the depth to survive a season where your entire starting rotation ends up on the IL.
The "Dodger Way" isn't just about spending; it's about a scouting department that finds guys like Max Muncy or Teoscar Hernández when other teams pass on them. It’s about a player development system that keeps churning out contributors.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to understand where the game is going after this win, look at these three things:
- Roster Versatility Over Everything: The Dodgers won because their stars could play multiple positions and their pitchers were flexible. Look for teams to stop valuing "specialists" and start valuing "utility" at a premium.
- The "Opener" is Here to Stay: Expect more teams to abandon the traditional "six-inning starter" model in the playoffs. The data shows that seeing a pitcher for a third time in a game is a recipe for disaster.
- Aggressive Base Running: The Dodgers' pressure on the basepaths forced the Yankees into mistakes. Speed is no longer a "bonus" skill; it's a defensive weapon used to force errors.
The 2024 championship wasn't a gift. It was earned through a grueling month of October where the team with the most money also happened to be the team with the most heart. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to respect the way they closed the door in the Bronx.
To keep track of how the Dodgers are defending their title this season, monitor the health of their returning rotation. The biggest threat to a repeat isn't another team's payroll—it's the durability of their arms. Watch the innings counts for Yamamoto and the return of Ohtani to the mound; those are the metrics that will determine if 2024 was a one-off or the start of a true multi-year reign.