Guggenheim Baseball Management has turned the Dodgers into a perennial contenderGETTY IMAGES
The Dodgers won their first World Series in 32 years last night, and the victory in the end, as much as anything, was a triumph for some "often criticized cornerstones of the organization," including Chair Mark Walter and President Stan Kasten, according to Bill Plaschke of the L.A. TIMES. Guggenheim Baseball Management "rescued the franchise in 2012 from the destructive Frank McCourt and set it on its current course, but it was never enough." Led by Walter and Kasten, the ownership "poured money into both Dodger Stadium and the organizational structure, but they forgot about some of their most loyal fans." They signed an $8.35B television deal that "kept the teams off most local TVs for six years." In a bit of "fortuitous timing, the blackout ended this season, and with this title they can now take a long-awaited victory lap." Also "heavily scrutinized" has been Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. He "hasn't lost a division championship" since '15, but it also was "never enough." He has "come under fire for constructing most of his roster with solid players who compute well but don't have the intangibles to perform in October." It is "no coincidence that the Dodgers finally won" when Friedman "finally acquired a gutsy pressure player" like RF Mookie Betts (L.A. TIMES, 10/28).
LONG TIME COMING: In N.Y., David Waldstein writes as far as championship droughts go, this "was not the longest in baseball history, or even the most agonizing." But in terms of "recent effort," including nearly $2B spent on player salaries in the past eight years, the Dodgers' 21st century championship dry spell "had become the most prominent -- and baffling -- in baseball" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/28). In L.A., Jack Harris writes the Dodgers winning the World Series during a pandemic-shortened season "should stand out" because it was a "test of mental fortitude and personal sacrifice that should come with a footnote, that should be treated with extra recognition, that should forever be viewed in a different light." The Dodgers "had been pressed on the legitimacy topic ever since the season got underway this summer." Many "wondered whether a championship this fall would fill the void left by World Series defeats in two of the previous three years" (L.A. TIMES, 10/28). ESPN.com's Alden Gonzalez wrote the World Series "functioned as a coronation." Dodgers fans "traveled en masse, making a neutral-site, quarter-capacity stadium feel like an enduring home venue" (ESPN.com, 10/27).
TAKING THEIR LOSSES: The Dodgers' Kasten prior to last night's title-clinching game said losses for the team this year are north of $100M “because we have so many fans and we take in so much revenue in an ordinary year, most of that we didn't receive this year.” Kasten: “It’s going to take years to catch up, but we managed (and) we came through it so far" (“Squawk Alley,” CNBC, 10/27).
