Here's Why The Dodgers Are Beating Everyone In MLB: 'They Turned It Into A Four Seasons'

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back-to-back World Series Champions. After winning their second straight title, they addressed two of their most glaring weaknesses by signing the best available hitter on the free agent market, Kyle Tucker, and the best available relief pitcher on the market, Edwin Diaz. 

Their payroll is massive, a sign of the tremendous increase in revenue brought in by signing Shohei Ohtani. Their investments in research, development, and scouting have also paid off, in a big way. The Dodgers have one of the top farm systems in baseball, despite the lack of high draft picks, and missing out on an entire international signing class because of Roki Sasaki. That's a tribute to their ability to identify talent in trades, later rounds of the draft, and then get the most out of that talent.

On Monday, in a rematch of the 2025 World Series, LA destroyed the Toronto Blue Jays 14-2. Lead in part by Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing, who hit two home runs, homegrown players that get little attention in the LA lineup or roster but would be integral parts of successful teams in other markets. 

Their financial advantages, which come primarily as a result of their market size, massive fanbase, smart marketing, television deal, and recent success, have given them a leg up over some teams across Major League Baseball. But it's not just the on-field product where they're outpacing the rest of the league, and a new story from David Ortiz about Ohtani explains why.

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. (Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

David Ortiz Says Dodgers Invested In Clubhouse To Make Ohtani Happy

The "Master Flip" account on X this week posted a translation of a new, Spanish-language interview with David Ortiz from the Abriendo Sports series. In it, Ortiz explained how he knew the Dodgers were operating at a different level from other organizations, starting at the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees.

During that series, Ortiz said that Mark Walter, the head of the team's ownership group, grabbed Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter to give them a tour of improvements the team had made around the stadium. Ortiz said he asked, "Mark, what's up with the construction here?" 

Walter said, "It's for Ohtani." Walter then explained that they'd asked Shohei if he thought there was anything the organization could do to help him improve. Ohtani reportedly told them, "If we had more batting cages, I think I could be a better hitter." 

The Dodgers, with limited space at an aging stadium, didn't have the number of batting cages that would allow Ohtani to practice as often as he wanted to. So what did they do? They spent $100 million, dug up the entire clubhouse and dugout infrastructure, then rebuilt it from scratch to create more space and practice facilities. Ortiz, in the interview, said, "They turned it into a Four Seasons. As we toured the new space, I looked over at Alex and Jeter and said, 'And you guys are over here talking about the Yankees…the Yankees what?"

Obviously, investing this much money in the clubhouse and team facilities is yet another financial advantage the Dodgers enjoy. But many other organizations would take the revenue Ohtani brings in and pocket it, content with success and happy that profits are up. LA's ownership group, though, has put that money back into the team. Both in signing free agents and improving facilities that nobody but the players need or enjoy. Not every team can spend $100 million, but it's just another way that the Dodgers attract players: showing they put winning and a winning culture first. That, without question, is not something every team can say.