The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 on Wednesday night with a walk-off home run and will now advance to the playoffs to face the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division Series. The Dodgers are no stranger to the playoffs and have advanced to the World Series three out of the last four years, winning in 2020.
David Samson discusses some of what is behind the Dodgers' success on the latest episode of "Nothing Personal with David Samson."
The podcast host says the Dodgers use their money as a sword, not a shield, to bully teams. The way they conduct business, taking high quality veteran players from teams, taking overpaid stars from teams, paying their minor leaguers more, it is all too much for other teams to keep up with.
"The Dodgers do something to make them the most hated team in baseball by the other 29 teams … people are jealous of the money the Dodgers have and they hate them," Samson said, adding that L.A. flaunts their money.
Samson says this goes back to the days he was the president of the Miami Marlins and it was clear the Dodgers were far ahead with their finances.
"There's a level of irrational exuberance when it comes to the Dodgers and how they operate that made me crazy as the president of the Marlins, because I knew no matter how hard I worked … we could never be the Dodgers," he said.
The Dodgers haven't been perfect in their signings, drafts and trades, but they have the money to cover up their mistakes in a way other teams don't.
Concluding, Samson gives a message that San Diego fans won't love.
"Do the Padres have a chance to catch the Dodgers? No," Samson says.
