In some regard the 2025 season ended just as many had expected with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning another World Series title.
But in reality, the Dodgers fell short of expectations during the season and narrowly avoided disappointment against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Nonetheless, response to their back-to-back championships has largely centered around resurrecting claims from last offseason of the Dodgers trying to buy a World Series and ruining baseball with their financial prowess. Among those to take such a stance was retired NFL offensive lineman Jason Kelce during a recent episode of “New Heights,” a podcast he co-hosts with his brother Travis.
Kelce’s critical comments of the Dodgers drew a response from team president and CEO Stan Kasten, who noted a high payroll does not automatically equate to winning a World Series and referenced Bryce Harper’s viewpoint, via “Starkville” with Jayson Stark and Doug Glanville:
“First of all, history demonstrates that’s not true. Usually the team with the highest payroll doesn’t win the World Series. I hate to throw facts at him, but I will throw one quote from someone in his city, and that’s Bryce Harper, who said the only people complaining are losers. I think he’s exactly right.
“What got us to the position we’re in, the position of being able to have lost the World Series at any point in the World Series, 20 different ways, was because yes, we had a high payroll. But those people need to be led and developed, and we need to be backed up by a farm system that is productive year in and year out. Without that, we couldn’t compete.
“And just buying a world championship, if it were true, more teams would certainly be trying that approach. It’s not true. You need everything to succeed, and I use my teams in Atlanta to remind people. Everyone describes those teams in Atlanta as Glavine, Maddux, Smotltz. But remember, the three of them were acquired by the Braves in the three different ways you acquire players. One was developed, one was acquired in a trade and one was signed as a free agent. That’s what every team needs to do. Use all the tools to get there.
“So I will refrain from making anymore caustic responses to Jason. I’m glad he’s watching.”
Kasten has often found himself defending the Dodgers’ aggressive approach to roster building and has posited their spending in free agency is a positive not only for his team, but opponents and MLB as a whole.
Meanwhile, he seemingly gained an unexpected ally in Harper, who emphatically disagreed with those taking umbrage with the Dodgers’ payroll figures.
“I don’t know if people will like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team, they’re a great organization,” Harper said this season. “That’s why guys want to go there and play. L.A. is a great city to play in, obviously. It’s the mecca of the world in kind of everything; from food to nightlife, to sports, the Dodgers, Lakers, to anybody.
“They’re going to continue to get guys, continue to pull guys from this sport. That’s bullpen, starting pitching, international players, anything like that. They’re doing what the Dodgers do.”
Jason Kelce’s comments about Dodgers
During the podcast episode that sparked backlash, Kelce said, “So you’re telling me I’m supposed to get excited about a Canadian baseball team and a team that spends more money than everybody else? Who the [expletive] cares about either?”
When Travis responded that both the Dodgers and Blue Jays had high payrolls, Jason responded, “That’s why baseball sucks. You just buy World Series championships. It’s the dumbest thing in the world. … It’s exciting that the team that spent the most money and everybody knew was going to win the World Series, won the World Series?
“Everybody knew this was going to happen before the season. We just had a bunch of meaningless [expletive] happen before it, and then it happened. So, yeah, no, baseball’s not getting my stamp.”
While there is a segment of baseball fans who are inclined to agree with Kelce, his comments also angered some in Canada as well. That prompted a response to the backlash, and Kelce noted he loves Canada and was rooting for the Blue Jays.
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