Saturday, November 1, 2025

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025

For the first time since 1975 and 1976, a National League team won back-to-back World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Champions! The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Champions!

The New York Yankees were the last team to win back-to-back World Series at the turn of the century. The future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw is going out as a World Champion.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned the World Series MVP. He hurled 2.2 innings on Saturday after pitching six innings and 96 throws on Friday. He won three games in the World Series.

This year’s World Championship took thirteen wins to earn. The Dodgers didn’t meet expectations during the 2025 season. They overcame injuries. During May, the Dodgers didn’t know who would start a game. Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernàndez were on the IL, and they never regained their offensive prowess.

On July 2^nd, just before Kershaw collected his three thousandth strikeout, Max Muncy had a bone bruise. His original injury looked season-ending. However, within a month, Muncy returned to the active roster and immediately began contributing to the slumping offense. Then, he had a strained oblique, but he returned to the lineup quickly. If he hadn’t hit an eighth-inning home run, the Dodgers probably wouldn’t have won the World Series.

Andrew Friedman tried to build a superior bullpen, but it was not meant to be. Evan Phillips had two major arm injuries, and because of Tommy John surgery, he wasn’t available after the middle of May. Michael Kopech couldn’t pitch for most of the season and wasn’t available for the postseason. After having shoulder surgery last November, Brusdar Graterol couldn’t return at any point during the 2025 season.

The injuries to the relievers, who couldn’t pitch during the season, weren’t the only ones that affected the Dodgers. Blake Treinen missed three months with a strained right forearm, and when he returned to the active roster, he wasn’t effective. Friedman wanted to upgrade the bullpen, so he signed Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, whose injuries and ineffectiveness made the Dodgers leave them off the roster for the NLCS and the World Series.

Alex Vesia missed the World Series because he and his wife, Kayla, are dealing with a heartbreaking family matter. All the Dodgers and their fans are thinking about and praying for Alex and Kayla. However, Vesia has his second World Series ring.

It wasn’t easy, but as Vin Scully always said, the Dodgers never make it easy.