Should baseball fans be surprised that the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the cusp of making it to the National League Championship Series?
During the 2026 MLB regular season, the Atlanta Braves dominated the Dodgers. During their six games, Atlanta yielded but one game to Los Angeles.
But when the postseason arrived, the Dodgers seemed to kick their game into a higher gear, as they worked toward being the last club standing in October.
A victory on Thursday, in Game 4 of the National League Division Series with the Atlanta Braves, and the Dodgers will advance to the NL Championship Series against either the San Diego Padres or Milwaukee Brewers.
Winning Game 1, 5–3 in Los Angeles, and claiming Game 3 of the best-of-five series, 3–1 on Wednesday in Atlanta, the Dodgers find themselves in a familiar postseason position.
With the Braves on the brink of elimination, Los Angeles is one win away from challenging for the NL Pennant for the fifth time in nine seasons.
Winning is a matter of routine since 2020, when the Dodgers topped the Tampa Bay Rays for the organization’s seventh World Series title in franchise history.
According to ESPN Los Angeles, this season’s Dodgers club is so successful because of their strong pitching rotation, including Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Tyler Glasnow.
To some among today’s baseball fan base, many outside of the Golden State, the well-bankrolled Dodgers (MLB’s 2026 second-highest team payroll at $322 million) are the second-coming of the New York Yankees’ dynasty of the late 1990s.
New York, from 1996–2003, appeared in six World Series and was tagged as the game’s “Evil Empire” due to their continued success.
Having won the World Series in 2024 and 2025, a third consecutive championship, Los Angeles will have a good chance at inheriting the label from the Yankees.
Over the past 75 years, the Dodgers have been one of the most successful teams in baseball.
Winning regularly over the past decade shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have studied the club’s history.
Since Guggenheim Baseball Management took over the Dodgers in 2012, it’s clear no resources would be denied them in returning the club to MLB prominence.
Then calling Brooklyn home, the Dodgers—under the Walter O’Malley-led leadership—won their first World Series championship in 1955, over the Yankees.
The Dodgers also were the club to break the color barrier when they signed Jackie Robinson in 1947.
A laundry list of broadcasters, managers, and executives, primarily associated with the Dodgers during their careers, have found their way into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Legendary names such as Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, Gil Hodges, and Don Drysdale lead the pack of Dodgers who were valuable pieces to the organization’s solid growth.
From building and then opening their own stadium in the Chavez Ravine section of Los Angeles in 1962—and having the wherewithal to move across the country and bring big league baseball to the West Coast—the Dodgers haven’t been risk-averse.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper, among the elite players today, believes Los Angeles’ success is rooted in more than just their money, as the former National League MVP said in an interview with current Dodger standout Mookie Betts for his Bleacher Report podcast.
“Funny thing, when I think of the Dodgers, I’ve always had the respect because I think the thing people lose sight of is that you guys develop,” Harper said.
“You guys do a real good job in developing [minor leaguers], and that’s why you can go out and get players. Obviously, you guys have the money. I get that. [Pitcher Will Klein] coming in last year. He was sitting home in Arizona on the couch, and then bang, he comes into the postseason. Six innings strong, and there you go.”
President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks in the outfield during batting practice at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 22, 2026. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Shohei Ohtani came over from the Angels, Freddie Freeman left the Braves, Betts said good-bye to Boston, and now Skubal exited the Tigers for “La-la land.”
Wednesday’s Game 4 at Truist Park should be a “pressure-free” zone for manager Dave Roberts’ Dodgers.
Winning in high-leverage games has become routine for them just as winning pennants in Brooklyn’s confines of Ebbets Field was through the 1957 season.
Duke Snider in center field and Don Newcombe or Johnny Padres pitching; today, these greats have been replaced by Andy Pages, Edwin Diaz, and Roki Sasaki.
The on-field success of the Dodgers rolls on, as some of the brightest and most seasoned executives properly prepare the roster’s players for the baseball battle.
If Los Angeles is the last club standing, again by month’s end, it’s by no fluke but as a result of organizational teamwork second to none.
