When the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani, they knew they were getting a one-of-a-kind talent who could help them compete for championships every season.
The first two years of Ohtani’s tenure have been an unequivocal success, with back-to-back National League MVP Awards and a pair of World Series titles.
After spending his first six Major league seasons without a playoff appearance, it’s no surprise that Ohtani is relishing the opportunity to compete on the biggest stage. He set a lofty, nigh impossible, goal of winning the World Series every year of his contract following the Dodgers championship celebration in 2024.
On the surface, it seems like a tongue-in-cheek statement purely because of how statistically impossible it would be to win 10 consecutive championships in a sport like baseball. And yet Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said during an episode of “Starkville” with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville, that Ohtani is being completely sincere:
“After we win last year in Yankee Stadium, he comes up to me — and he was saying it to everyone — ‘Nine more to go, Stan.’ And then this year, as soon as it was over, the first thing he says is, ‘Eight more to go.’ He’s fixated on that and he keeps working toward it. I’m not anyone to say he can’t lead us to that. I’m not going to say it’s impossible.”
While it’s highly unlikely that the Dodgers pull off a 10-peat, they are nearly a quarter of the way there after becoming MLB’s first repeat champion in 25 years.
With their ninth World Series title in franchise history, the Dodgers moved into a three-way tie with the Boston Red Sox and Athletics for most all-time. Winning eight more times would put L.A. comfortably in second place, ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals, and 10 behind the New York Yankees’ all-time record of 27 World Series win.
The Dodgers’ 17 hypothetical championships would also tie them with the Los Angeles Lakers as the most successful sports franchise in L.A., if the latter doesn’t win another NBA title in the same time frame.
Stan Kasten responds to Jason Kelce’s criticism
In the same interview, Kasten also responded to critical comments made by future Hall of Fame offensive lineman Jason Kelce during a recent episode of “New Heights,” a podcast he co-hosts with his brother Travis.
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