Dodgers celebrate repeat World Series title with another downtown parade, stadium rally

The celebration had hardly begun, when Shohei Ohtani first voiced the theme of the day.

“Iâ€m already thinking about the third time,†he said in Japanese, standing atop a double-decker bus in downtown Los Angeles with thousands of blue-clad, flag-waving, championship-celebrating Dodgers fans lining the streets around him for the teamâ€s 2025 World Series parade.

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Turns out, he wasnâ€t alone.

Two days removed from a dramatic Game 7 victory that made the Dodgers baseballâ€s first repeat champion in 25 years, the team rolled through the streets of downtown and into a sold-out rally at Dodger Stadium on Monday already thinking about what lies ahead in 2026.

With three titles in the last six seasons, their modern-day dynasty might now be cemented.

But their goal of adding to this “golden era of Dodger baseball,†as top executive Andrew Friedman has repeatedly called it, is far from over.

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“All I have to say to you,†owner and chairman Mark Walter told the 52,703 fans at the teamâ€s stadium rally, “is weâ€ll be back next year.â€

“I have a crazy idea for you,†Friedman echoed. “How about we do it again?â€

When manager Dave Roberts took the mic, he tripled down on that objective: “Whatâ€s better than two? Three! Three-peat! Three-peat! Letâ€s go.â€

When shortstop Mookie Betts, the only active player with four World Series rings, followed him, he quadrupled the expectation: “I got four. Now itâ€s time to fill the hand all the way up, baby. ‘Three-peat†ainâ€t never sounded so sweet. Somebody make that a T-shirt.â€

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For these history-achieving, legacy-sealing Dodgers, Monday was a reminder of the ultimate end goal — the kind of scene that, as they embark on another short winter, will soon fuel their motivations for another confetti-filled parade this time next year.

“For me, winning a championship, the seminal moment of that is the parade,†Friedman said. “The jubilation of doing it, when you get the final out, whatever game you win it in, is special. That night is special. But to be able to take a breath and then experience a parade, in my mind, that is what has always driven me to want to win.â€

“[To] do this for the city, thatâ€s what itâ€s all about,†first baseman Freddie Freeman added. “Thereâ€s nothing that feels as important as winning a championship. And if so happens to be three in a row, thatâ€s what it is. But thatâ€s whatâ€s gonna drive us to keep going.â€

Last November, the Dodgers†first parade in 36 years was a novelty.

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Much of the group had been part of the 2020 title team that was denied such a serenade following that pandemic-altered campaign. They had waited four long years to experience a city-wide celebration. The reception they received was sentimental and unique.

Now, as third baseman Max Muncy said with a devious grin from atop a makeshift stage in the Dodger Stadium outfield, “itâ€s starting to get a little bit comfortable up here. Letâ€s keep it going.â€

“Losing,†star pitcher and World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto added, in English, in a callback to one of his memorable quotes from this past October, “isnâ€t an option.â€

Doing it wonâ€t be easy.

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This year, the Dodgers†win total went down to 93 in an inconsistent regular season. They had to play in the wild-card round for the first time since the playoffs expanded in 2022. And in the World Series, they faced elimination in Games 6 and 7, narrowly winning both to complete their quest to repeat.

“I borderline still canâ€t believe we won Game 7,†fan favorite Kiké Hernández said in a bus-top interview.

But, he quickly added, “Weâ€re all winners. Winners win.â€

Thus, they also get celebrations like Mondayâ€s.

As it was 367 days earlier, the Dodgers winded down a parade route in front of tens of thousands of fans from Temple Street to Grand Avenue to 7th Street to Figueroa. Both on board the double-decker buses and in the frenzied masses below, elation swirled and beverages flowed.

Once the team arrived at Dodger Stadium, it climbed atop a blue circular riser in the middle of the field — the final symbolic steps of their ascent back to the mountaintop of the sport.

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Anthony Anderson introduced them to the crowd, while Ice Cube delivered the trophy in a blue 1957 Chevy Bel Air.

Familiar scenes, they are hoping become an annual tradition.

“Job in 2024, done. Job in 2025, done,†Freeman said. “Job in 2026? Starts now.â€

The Dodgers did take time to recognize their newfound place in baseball history, having become just the sixth MLB franchise to win three titles in the span of six years and the first since the New York Yankees of 1998 to 2000 to win in consecutive years.

Where last yearâ€s parade day felt more like an overdue coronation, this one served to crystallize their legacy.

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“Everybodyâ€s been asking questions about a dynasty,†Hernández said. “How about three in six years? How about a back-to-back?â€

And, on Monday, all the main characters of this storybook accomplishment got their moment in the sun.

There was, as team broadcaster and rally emcee Joe Davis described him, “the Hall of Fame-bound†Roberts, who now only trails Walter Alston in team history with three World Series rings.

“We talked about last year, wanting to run it back,†he said. “And Iâ€ll tell you right now, this group of guys was never gonna be denied to bring this city another championship.â€

There was Game 7 hero Miguel Rojas calling up surprise October closer Roki Sasaki, on his birthday, to dance to his “Bailalo Rocky†entrance song; a request Sasaki sheepishly obliged by pumping his fist to the beat.

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Yamamoto, coming off his heroic pitching victories in Games 6 and 7, received some of the dayâ€s loudest ovations.

“We did it together,†he said. “I love the Dodgers. I love Los Angeles.â€

Muncy, Ohtani and Blake Snell also all addressed the crowd.

“Iâ€m trying to get used to this,†Snell said.

“Iâ€m ready to get another ring next year,†Ohtani reiterated.

One franchise face who wonâ€t be back for that chase: Clayton Kershaw, who rode into the sunset of retirement by getting one last day at Dodger Stadium, fighting back tears as he thanked the crowd at the end of his illustrious (and also Hall of Fame-bound) 18-year career.

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“Last year, I said I was a Dodger for life. And today, thatâ€s true,†Kershaw said. “And today, I get to say that Iâ€m a champion for life. And thatâ€s never going away.â€

Kershaw, of course, is one of the few still around from the clubâ€s dark days of the early 2010s, when money was scarce and playoff appearances were uncertain and parades were only things to dream about — not expect.

As he walks away, however, the team has been totally transformed.

Now, the Dodgers have been to 13 straight postseasons. Theyâ€ve set payroll records and bolstered their roster with a wave of star signings. Theyâ€ve turned the pursuit of championships into a yearly expectation, proud but unsatisfied with what theyâ€ve achieved to this point.

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“I think, definitionally, itâ€s a dynasty,†said Friedman, the architect of this run with the help of Walterâ€s deep-pocketed Guggenheim ownership group. “But that to me, in a lot of ways, that kind of caps it if you say, ‘OK, this is what it is.†For me, itâ€s still evolving and growing. We want to add to it. We want to continue it, and do everything we can to put it at a level where people after us have a hard time reaching.â€

On Monday, they raised that bar another notch higher.

“This parade was the most insane thing Iâ€ve ever witnessed, been a part of,†Kershaw said. “It truly is the most incredible day ever to be able to end your career on.â€

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On Tuesday, the Dodgers†long road toward holding another one begins.

“I know theyâ€re gonna get one more next year,†Kershaw told the crowd. “And Iâ€m gonna watch, just like all of you.â€

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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