Copyright Athlon Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers did more than defend a title. They set up a run at one of the sport’s rarest feats. In more than a century of modern World Series play, only two franchises have won three straight championships, and only one has gone beyond that. The Dodgers now have a clear shot at joining that tier. Who has actually done it The list is short. The Oakland Athletics won three straight in 1972, 1973, and 1974, beating the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish the run. The New York Yankees matched the feat from 1998 through 2000, closing with the Subway Series win over the New York Mets. No club has three-peated since those Yankees. Beyond three and the bar the Yankees set Only the Yankees have pushed past three in a row. They won four straight from 1936 to 1939 and later won five straight from 1949 to 1953. No one else has reached four in a row and no one has matched five. That is the standard any modern dynasty is measured against. Why a Dodgers three-peat would matter A third straight title would place the Dodgers beside the Athletics and the Yankees and would end a 25-year gap without a three-peat. It would move this core into direct comparison with two of the sport’s most durable dynasties. Those teams won because depth held, stars produced across multiple Octobers, and managers kept finding outs in the toughest innings. Matching that in today’s game would say as much about development and roster design as it would about star power. What it will take The path is narrow. The postseason is longer, bullpens carry more weight, and health luck can swing a series. The Dodgers will need top-end pitching that sustains over two more Octobers, leverage bullpen answers that travel, and a lineup that wins in different run environments. They also have to work within competitive balance rules, make payroll choices that ripple over multiple winters, and keep a steady flow of contributors from the system to absorb inevitable injuries. The stakes for everyone else Two straight titles already change the league’s math. A real three-peat chase forces rivals to decide how aggressive to be right now. Some front offices will front-load free agency. Others will push into trades for impact innings or middle-of-the-order power. Even if the Dodgers are not perfect, the margin for everyone else gets thinner the moment a third run is on the table. The Dodgers finished the repeat. Now comes the climb almost nobody makes. Three in a row puts Los Angeles alongside the Athletics and the Yankees. Four is a room only the Yankees have entered, and they kept walking to five.
