The Phillies had a strong regular season in 2025, and it wouldn’t have been possible without some superlative individual efforts. But like their experience in the postseason, two of their stars will have to overcome some fierce competition to win the big trophies.
Designated hitter Kyle Schwarber was named a finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player award, and Lefty Cristopher Sanchez is one of three finalists for the NL Cy Young award.
Schwarber, a 3-time All-Star, played his best season by far, leading the NL in home runs with 56 and RBI with 132, both career highs. The closest he had ever come to winning an MVP award was last season, when he finshed 15th in the voting. He is also a finalist to win the NL Silver Slugger.
Standing in Schwarber’s way are the other two nominees, both of whom had very strong seasons. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers is in pursuit of his third straight MVP, and fourth in five years. He finished just behind Schwarber with 55 homers, and added 102 RBI and 146 runs scored, a mark which led the majors. He also started in 14 games, striking out 62 in 47 innings.
Juan Soto had a very good inaugural season with the Mets, leading the NL in walks (127), stolen bases (38), and on-base percentage (.396). He added 43 homers and 105 RBI, and scored 120 runs.
Like Schwarber, Sanchez also had a career year. The 28-year-old reached new personal bests in wins (13), innings (202), ERA (2.50), and strikeouts (212). He led NL pitchers in bWAR (8.0) and finished in the top five in ERA, innings, and Ks. Sanchez finished 10th in Cy Young voting last season.
The other nominees along with Sanchez are Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Dodgers. Skenes led all of MLB with a 1.97 ERA, and finished just ahead of Sanchez with 216 strikeouts. Yamamoto, the World Series MVP, was largely unhittable, leading MLB in hits allowed per 9 IP (5.8), and striking out 201 in 173 innings.
The Cy Young awards for both leagues will be announced Wednesday, November 12, while the MVP awards will be announced the following day.
Players who were once strangers are now extended members of hundreds of thousands of families.
Ordinarily, a team as old as the Dodgers would have to consider a roster makeover. Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas will be 37 by the start of the next World Series. Max Muncy will be 36, Kiké Hernández 35, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández 34 and Shohei Ohtani 32.
But under these circumstances, how could the Dodgers think of breaking up their team?
How could they unload any of their superstars, regardless of how much they could decline in the next year? How could they not retain their key free agents, regardless of how old they are?
They can’t, they can’t and they can’t.
The Dodgers have to run this back — again.
“Obviously, we would love everybody to come back,” Freeman said.
Muncy has a $10-million team option for next season. The Dodgers have to pick it up.
Rojas and Kiké Hernández are free agents. The Dodgers have to re-sign them.
Freeman won’t be making the calls on his teammates, of course. The decisions will be made by president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who was characteristically evasive when asked about the efforts the Dodgers would make to keep their out-of-contract players.
“Obviously, guys who have been here and been a big part of it start with a major upper hand,” Friedman said. “That being said, they’re free agents. They’ve earned the right to go out and talk to the 29 other teams as well.”
Muncy doesn’t have a choice to leave if the Dodgers exercise his option, but Rojas and Kiké Hernández have said they would like to return next season.
Whatever Friedman decides shouldn’t preclude the Dodgers from shopping on the free-agent market, with Kyle Tucker and Steven Kwan being potential additions to their outfield.
But the nucleus of the Dodgers would be even older than it was this year when their collective age presented a variety of problems.
Their 18-inning victory in Game 3 clearly diminished them more than it did the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the next two games. In retrospect, that should have been expected, as the Dodgers struggled to maintain consistency on offense over a grinding six-month regular season.
While Betts transformed into one of the league’s best defensive shortstops, he experienced a sharp offensive decline. Muncy was limited to 100 games because of injuries. Teoscar Hernández wasn’t close to being the same player he was last year.
There were times that even Ohtani started to show the effects of being on the wrong side of 30. Ohtani’s father acknowledged this reality in a congratulatory open letter he wrote to his son, which was published in the Monday edition of Sports Nippon.
“Shohei, you’re 31 years old,” Toru Ohtani wrote in Japanese. “I think that as a baseball player, you’re in your prime, but there will come a time when you have to decide between pitching and hitting. When you can’t pitch anymore, you can be an outfielder. I think that if you practice, you can definitely do it.”
That being said, the team has to be kept together.
A championship can force teams into sentimental decisions, as was the case last winter when the Dodgers re-signed Teoscar Hernández to a three-year, $66-million contract.
This winter, they will have to settle similar disputes between their hearts and minds. They should listen to their hearts.
Balco boss revealed Marion Jones used growth hormones
Conte served four months in prison over involvement
Victor Conte, the architect of a scheme to provide undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes including the baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and the Olympic track champion Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He was 75.
The federal government’s investigation into a company Conte founded, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), yielded the convictions of Jones, the elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas and the former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.
MLB teams are already shifting their attention to how they can improve going into 2026, but before we look ahead, it's time to celebrate some of the amazing seasons we just witnessed. Individual hardware is about to be handed out in the National and American Leagues in recognition of accomplishments during the 2025 MLB regular season.
The American League features an intriguing MVP showdown pitting Cal Raleigh's historic season against Aaron Judge's continued brilliance. In the National League, Shohei Ohtani remains the obvious favorite, but can anyone challenge him? Will Paul Skenes be a unanimous Cy Young Award winner, and can Tarik Skubal repeat? Nick Kurtz is likely a runaway winner for AL Rookie of the Year, but things are tighter in the National League, with Cubs right-hander Cade Horton and Braves catcher Blake Baldwin in the mix.
Below you’ll find everything you need to know about the Most Valuable Player Award, the Cy Young Award, the Rookie of the Year Award, and the Manager of the Year Award.
Stars like Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Cody Bellinger join headliners Kyle Tucker, Dylan Cease, and Bo Bichette in a 2025–26 MLB free agent class loaded with impact bats and arms.
Dan Wilson (Mariners), John Schneider (Blue Jays), Stephen Vogt (Guardians)
NL Manager of the Year finalists
Pat Murphy (Brewers), Terry Francona (Reds), Rob Thomson (Phillies)
▶ Who votes for the MLB Awards?
The awards are voted on exclusively by Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) members. The BBWAA consists of writers who cover MLB in a variety of capacities, ranging from national to local beat writers.
▶ Where can I watch the MLB Awards announcements?
All of the award announcements will be broadcast next week on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET.
After the announcements are made, full results (including those who opted to make their ballots public) can be found at BBWAA.com.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stands on stage at the Dodgers' 2025 World Series celebration at Dodger Stadium on Monday. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
The celebration had hardly begun, when Shohei Ohtani first voiced the theme of the day.
“I’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 team’s 2025 World Series parade.
Turns out, he wasn’t alone.
Two days removed from a dramatic Game 7 victory that made the Dodgers baseball’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.
“All I have to say to you,” owner and chairman Mark Walter told the 52,703 fans at the team’s stadium rally, “is we’ll be back next year.”
“I have a crazy idea for you,” Friedman echoed. “How about we do it again?”
When manager Dave Roberts took the mic, he tripled down on that objective: “What’s better than two? Three! Three-peat! Three-peat! Let’s go.”
When shortstop Mookie Betts, the only active player with four World Series rings, followed him, he quadrupled the expectation: “I got four. Now it’s time to fill the hand all the way up, baby. ‘Three-peat’ ain’t never sounded so sweet. Somebody make that a T-shirt.”
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.”
“[To] do this for the city, that’s what it’s all about,” first baseman Freddie Freeman added. “There’s nothing that feels as important as winning a championship. And if so happens to be three in a row, that’s what it is. But that’s what’s gonna drive us to keep going.”
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, “it’s starting to get a little bit comfortable up here. Let’s keep it going.”
“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, “isn’t an option.”
Doing it won’t be easy.
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 can’t believe we won Game 7,” fan favorite Kiké Hernández said in a bus-top interview.
But, he quickly added, “We’re all winners. Winners win.”
Thus, they also get celebrations like Monday’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.
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.”
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 year’s parade day felt more like an overdue coronation, this one served to crystallize their legacy.
“Everybody’s been asking questions about a dynasty,” Hernández said. “How about three in six years? How about a back-to-back?”
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 I’ll tell you right now, this group of guys was never gonna be denied to bring this city another championship.”
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.
Yamamoto, coming off his heroic pitching victories in Games 6 and 7, received some of the day’s loudest ovations.
“We did it together,” he said. “I love the Dodgers. I love Los Angeles.”
Muncy, Ohtani and Blake Snell also all addressed the crowd.
“I’m trying to get used to this,” Snell said.
“I’m ready to get another ring next year,” Ohtani reiterated.
One franchise face who won’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.
“Last year, I said I was a Dodger for life. And today, that’s true,” Kershaw said. “And today, I get to say that I’m a champion for life. And that’s never going away.”
Kershaw, of course, is one of the few still around from the club’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. They’ve set payroll records and bolstered their roster with a wave of star signings. They’ve turned the pursuit of championships into a yearly expectation, proud but unsatisfied with what they’ve achieved to this point.
“I think, definitionally, it’s a dynasty,” said Friedman, the architect of this run with the help of Walter’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, it’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.”
On Monday, they raised that bar another notch higher.
“This parade was the most insane thing I’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.”
On Tuesday, the Dodgers’ long road toward holding another one begins.
“I know they’re gonna get one more next year,” Kershaw told the crowd. “And I’m gonna watch, just like all of you.”
Mets OF Juan Soto has officially been named a finalist for the 2025 National League MVP.
The other two finalists are Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
While Los Angeles’ two-way talent is viewed as the favorite by most around the game, Soto put up an awfully strong fight down the stretch in the first year of his historic contract in Queens.
The 26-year-old was able to overcome a slow start and All-Star snub to finish with terrific numbers across the board.
He topped his career-high set just last season with the Yankees and was second on the team with 43 homers.
Soto drove in 105 runs and drew a league-high 127 walks to help him finish with a .396 OBP and .921 OPS.
He also added a new dimension to his game with some help from first base coach Antoan Richardson, swiping a new career-best 38 bases, falling just two shy of the first 40-40 season in franchise history.
This is Soto's third time being named an MVP finalist and his sixth top-10 finish across eight big-league seasons.
The winner will be named at the MLB Awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 13 in Las Vegas.
Your 2025 @officialBBWAA NL Most Valuable Player Award finalists:
Aaron Judge had yet another historical year during the 2025 MLB season and, as expected, he's now being recognized for it.
The Yankees slugger was named one of three finalists for the American League MVP on Monday night, joining the Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh and Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez.
Judge, who's looking to take home his second straight AL MVP and the third of his career, hit 53 home runs and led the league in batting average (.331) for the first time in his career.
He helped the Yanks win 94 games and make the postseason for the second straight season, finishing second in the AL East to the eventual pennant winning Toronto Blue Jays.
Some of his other jaw-dropping stats from the 2025 season include:
9.7 WAR (league leader) / 10.1 fWAR (league leader)
137 runs scored (league leader)
124 walks (league leader)
.457 OBP (league leader)
.688 SLG (league leader)
1.144 OPS (league leader)
215 OPS+ (league leader)
Simply put, Judge was the best baseball player in the American League this season.
Raleigh is Judge's toughest competition for the award and will likely garner some first-place votes after smashing a switch-hitting and catcher record 60 home runs. He led the Mariners to an AL West title for the first time since 2001 and finished the year with a league-leading 125 RBI while hitting .247.
Ramírez, who is quietly putting together a HOF-worthy career, hit .283 with 30 homers and 34 doubles with 85 RBI, helping the Guardians win their second straight AL Central title and third in four years.
The winner will be named at the MLB Awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 13 in Las Vegas.
Your 2025 @officialBBWAA AL Most Valuable Player Award finalists:
NEW YORK — Pitchers Michael King and Michael Lorenzen along with catcher Mitch Garver became free agents Monday when their mutual options for 2026 were declined.
King declined his option with San Diego, while Kansas City turned down Lorenzen and Seattle declined Garver.
In addition, Kansas City said outfielder Randal Grichuk declined his mutual option and became eligible for free agency.
King was guaranteed $7.75 million under a one-year contract with San Diego that included a $3.75 million buyout of a $15 million option. The 30-year-old right-hander was 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA this year, limited to 15 starts by stints on the injured list for right shoulder inflammation that sidelined him between May 18 and Aug. 9 and left knee inflammation that kept him out between Aug. 9 and Sept. 9.
King was in his second season with the Padres after being acquired in the trade that sent All-Star outfielder Juan Soto to the Yankees.
Lorenzen was guaranteed $7 million in a one-year deal with Kansas City that included a $1.5 million buyout of a $12 million option, and he earned an additional $1 million in performance bonuses for innings and games pitched.
An All-Star in 2023, the 33-year-old right-hander signed with the Royals as a free agent in January and went 7-11 with a 4.64 ERA in 26 starts and one relief appearance. He didn’t pitch for the Royals between July 6 and Aug. 16 because of a left oblique strain.
Garver joined Seattle in December 2023 as a free agent with a $24 million, two-year contract that included a $12 million mutual option with a $1 million buyout. He hit .209 with nine homers and 30 RBIs this year.
Grichuk signed a one-year contract with Arizona as a free agent in February, a deal that guaranteed $5 million, including a $3 million buyout. He was traded to Kansas City on July 26 and earned an additional $750,000: $500,000 in performance bonuses and a $250,000 assignment bonus. The 34-year-old hit .228 with nine homers and 27 RBIs, including .206 with two homers and five RBIs in 43 games for the Royals.
A total of 140 players have become free agents in the two days following the end of the World Series and just under 60 more potentially can go free through Thursday, depending on whether team, player and mutual options are exercised.
Among those with player options or opt outs are Boston third baseman Alex Bregman, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz, New York Yankees outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger, San Diego right-hander Robert Suarez, Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty and Toronto right-hander Shane Bieber.
MIAMI — The Miami Marlins promoted Gabe Kapler to general manager on Monday amid a series of front office moves, the team announced.
Additionally, Frankie Piliere was promoted to vice president of amateur forecasting and player evaluation initiatives, and Vinesh Kanthan was moved to senior director of baseball operations.
Kapler will be the club’s sixth general manager after beginning his tenure with the Marlins in 2024 as an assistant GM focusing on player, coaching and staff development.
This past season, the Marlins’ minor league system made club history with four different affiliates reaching the postseason at their respective levels. That includes Jacksonville, which claimed the Triple-A National Championship.
Kapler spent the previous six seasons as a manager with Philadelphia (2018-19) and San Francisco (2020-23). The Los Angeles-native was also the World Series champion Dodgers’ director of player development from 2015-17, during which he worked with Marlins manager Clayton McCullough.
Miami outperformed many expectations in McCullough’s first season, winning 13 of their final 17 games.
“It is an exciting time to be part of the Marlins organization, and I am ready to continue the great work we are doing here, alongside Peter (Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix) and our entire Baseball Operations staff,” Kapler said in a statement. “The growth and momentum we’ve built are a direct reflection of a clear vision, a strong culture, and an incredible team working together toward a shared goal. I’m proud to help continue that progress and contribute to what’s ahead.”
Piliere joined the Marlins as director of amateur scouting, overseeing the club’s amateur scouts and draft. And Kanthan, before coming to Miami, spent five seasons with the Texas Rangers organization.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff declined a $20 million mutual option for 2026 in favor of a $10 million buyout and the two-time All-Star right-hander will become a free agent.
Milwaukee said Monday it exercised an $8 million team option on two-time All-Star Freddy Peralta, the final year in a contract that will be worth $30 million over seven seasons.
The Brewers declined a $12 million mutual option on catcher Danny Jansen, who get a $500,000 buyout as part of a deal he signed with Tampa Bay that guaranteed $8.5 million.
After missing the 2024 season while recovering from shoulder surgery, Woodruff returned in July and went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts. He missed the postseason with a right lat strain that was unrelated to the prior injury.
During the postseason, the Brewers had held out hope Woodruff might be able to return if they had made the World Series, an indication he should be ready for the start of the 2026 season. Woodruff will turn 33 on Feb. 10
“As far as the future, I don’t know what that will entail, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to come back here,” Woodruff said before the Brewers’ NL Division Series win over the Chicago Cubs. “My son was born here last year. I’ve got so many roots dug here in Milwaukee. And not just the people in the clubhouse but people outside of the baseball field I’ve gotten to know. It’s home for sure. It’s my second home. Yeah, so for sure, I needed to throw on this uniform again.”
Woodruff agreed before the 2024 season to a backloaded $17.5 million, two-year contract. He gets half the buyout on Jan. 15 and the remainder on July 15.
Jansen, who turns 31 on April 15, batted .254 with a .346 on-base percentage, three homers and seven RBIs in 25 games with Milwaukee after his hometown team acquired him at the trade deadline. He hit .204 with a .314 on-base percentage, 11 homers and 29 RBIs in 73 games with Tampa Bay.
Peralta, 29, made his second All-Star team this season and went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts. He struck out 204 over 176 2/3 innings while helping Milwaukee win a third straight NL Central title.
Milwaukee also selected the contract of right-hander Coleman Crow from Triple-A Nashville. Crow, who turns 25 on Dec. 30, went 4-1 with a 3.24 ERA in 12 starts for Double-A Biloxi and the Sounds.
BALTIMORE — Left-hander Dietrich Enns and the Baltimore Orioles agreed Monday to a one-year contract guaranteeing $2,625,000.
Enns gets a $2.5 million salary for 2026 and the deal includes a $3.5 million team option for 2027 with a $125,000 buyout. Enns has the right to become a free agent at the end of the contract.
Baltimore had a $3 million option for 2026 as part of the contract he signed for 2025, which included a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues and a $210,000 salary while in the minors. He could have become a free agent had the option been declined.
Enns, 34. made his major league debut with Minnesota in 2017 and pitched for Toronto in 2021. He played for the Seibu Lions in Japan’s Pacific League in 2022 and ’23 and for the LG Twins in South Korea in 2024. He then signed a minor league contract in January with Detroit that called for a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues and a $210,000 salary while in the minors. He could have become a free agent had the option been declined.
He was brought up by the Tigers on June 26 and traded to the Orioles on July 31. Enns went 3-3 with a 4.08 ERA in three starts and 21 relief appearances.
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani and the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated their second straight World Series championship with a downtown parade and stadium rally Monday after becoming the first team in 25 years to win back-to-back titles.
“Hello, hello,” Ohtani said, speaking in English at a sold out Dodger Stadium. “I want to say I’m so proud of this team. I want to say you guys are the greatest fans in the world. I’m ready to get another ring next year. Let’s go.”
Ohtani was accompanied by his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, who took a photo of him along the parade route. Last year, Ohtani carried his dog, Decoy, in his arms on the bus.
“It’s really nice to be able to win the game, and to be surrounded by all these amazing fans,” Ohtani said during the bus ride. “I’m really taking it in and enjoying it.”
World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto wore a black T-shirt with World Series champions on the front. Wearing sunglasses and a backward baseball cap, Yamamoto waved to fans.
“Losing isn’t an option,” Yamamoto told the stadium crowd in English. “To my teammates, my coaches, amazing staff and all the fans, we did it together. I love the Dodgers. I love Los Angeles.”
The team’s third Japanese player, rookie pitcher Roki Sasaki, celebrated his 24th birthday Monday.
Players walked a blue carpet from center field to a circular blue stage.
“What they talking about in Toronto right now?” actor-comedian Anthony Anderson asked the crowd. “They’re talkin’ about nothing.”
A woman in the crowd wore a blue T-shirt reading “Let’s ruin baseball.”
“I got four. Fill the hand all the way up, baby,” said Mookie Betts, who won a title with the Boston Red Sox and three with the Dodgers. “Three-peat has never sounded so sweet. Somebody make that a T-shirt.”
Rapper-actor Ice Cube drove a bright blue convertible around the warning track with the Commissioner’s Trophy in the front passenger seat. He carried it overhead to the stage and set it on a table next to a table with last year’s championship hardware.
Kiké Hernández apologized in advance for his expletive-filled comments.
“My teammates have been pretty humble, but I think it’s time to talk that s—-,” he said. “Everybody’s been asking questions about a dynasty. How about three in six years? We’re a motherf——in’ dynasty, baby.”
Earlier, manager Dave Roberts hoisted the trophy while aboard one of several buses that traversed a route packed with cheering, flag-waving blue-clad fans. “B 2 B” read one of many hand-lettered signs held up.
“I feel like it’s almost double from last year,” Freddie Freeman said. “These fans are crazy. It’s so awesome to be a part of this.”
Blue-and-white confetti blew from a truck rolling between the buses, which were filled with family members of the players, including newly retired Clayton Kershaw and his four children.
“It’s the perfect way to be done,” said Kershaw, who ended an 18-year career played entirely with Los Angeles. “I know the Dodgers have always meant a lot to this city for generations. For us to get to do this in front of them, it means the world to me and all the rest of the guys.”
Pitcher Blake Snell made the 6-7 gesture with his hands, signifying the Dodgers’ wins over the Toronto Blue Jays in Games 6 and 7.
“This is lit,” Snell said. “I love it.”
A bare-chested Hernández filmed the throngs with a hand-held camera.
“Winners win,” he said. “I hope these Dodger fans have a lot of fun because they deserve this. They showed up all year long, they supported us and here we are back-to-back champs.”
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss on Monday as their manager, promoting from within for the successor to 2021 World Series winner Brian Snitker.
Weiss has been the Braves’ bench coach since 2018 and was on Snitker’s staff four years ago when they won the fourth championship in franchise history. Snitker also was an internal hire, coming from Triple-A in 2016, when he replaced Fredi González midseason and then got the full-time job the following year.
This is Weiss’ second major league managing job after four seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2013-16). Weiss finished his playing career as a shortstop with Atlanta from 1998-2000.
Snitker, who turned 70 last month, announced in early October that he would not be returning for an 11th year with the club. General manager Alex Anthopoulos said at the time that he did not have a list of candidates but wanted to move quickly to make a hire.
Vincent Trocheck has taken a big step towards his potential return from an upper-body injury suffered just two games into the regular season.
The scrappy top line center was finally able to get back out there when the Rangers hit the ice for Monday's practice, skating with the team for the first time in a non-contact jersey.
Trocheck hasn’t been activated from LTIR yet, but he is eligible whenever deemed ready.
His presence is encouraging but doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as he was said to have made significant progress while the Rangers were out of town on their Western swing.
It remains to be seen when exactly Trocheck will be able to work his way back into the starting lineup, but Monday was certainly a significant step towards that goal.
Getting him back out there will be a huge boost for the Rangers, who have rattled off three consecutive wins.
“Just his presence around the group means the world,” Mike Sullivan said. “Just his leadership and his energy. The fact that he joined the group today is gonna suggest that he’s getting closer, so it’s great that he’s back out there.”
Large crowds attend the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration in downtown in Los Angeles. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers fans filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles early Monday morning, to celebrate the Dodgers becoming baseball’s first back-to-back World Series champion in 25 years.
The celebratory parade is commenced at 11 a.m., with the Dodgers traveling on top of double-decker buses through downtown with a final stop at Dodger Stadium.
The 2025 Dodgers team has been a bright spot for many Angelenos during an otherwise tumultuous year for the region, after historic firestorms devastated thousands of homes in January and then widespread immigration sweeps over the summer by the Trump administration.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Manager Dave Roberts holds the Commissioner's Trophy during the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Fans fill the streets of downtown Los Angeles following the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani during the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration.
(Kayla Bartkowsk/Los Angeles Times)
Ramon Ontivros, left, and Michelle Ruiz, both from Redlands, join fans lining the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Fans fill the streets of downtown Los Angeles following the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration.
(Kayla Bartkowsk/Los Angeles Times)
From left, Mike Soto, Luis Espino, and Francisco Espino, join fans lining the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Mia Nava, 9, waves a flag. "She's skipping school today and her teachers know her passion." Said her mom, Jennie Nava.
Carlin Stiehl/For The Times
Alex Portugal holds onto a championship belt at Dodger Stadium. Claudia Villar Lee, poses with a model of the World Series trophy around her neck.
(Kayla Bartkowsk/Los Angeles Times)
Young fans line the streets of downtown Los Angeles for the Dodgers World Championship Parade and Celebration.
Matthew Pouliot
