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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Tom Verducci

Could the Dodgers Be MLB's Version of the Chiefs? It's Complicated.

New Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki stands in between Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations and manager Dave Roberts during an introductory press conference at Dodger Stadium. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Are the Los Angeles Dodgers the next Kansas City Chiefs? Are they the next great sports dynasty that plays for multiple championships? The answer, despite the Dodgers’ edge on paper against every other team, is most likely no, simply because MLB’s championship format does not reward greatness as thoroughly as the one in the NFL.

The irony is that the Dodgers open the MLB season with better betting odds to successfully defend their championship (+300) than did the Chiefs at the start of the NFL season to add a third straight championship (+500). Los Angeles began the offseason at +400, but the signings of pitchers Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Tanner Scott pushed it to +300, way ahead of the next most favored teams, the New York Yankees (+800) and New York Mets (+850).

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