\u201cThe celebration wasn\u2019t even there,\u201d veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said, \u201cbecause everybody is consumed with winning a World Series<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat,\u201d he added, \u201cis the only celebration that we want to really have.\u201d<\/p>\n This has been the Dodgers\u2019 ethos all year long. They knew they were on the precipice of history, trying to become MLB\u2019s first repeat champion in a quarter-century. They knew they were playing for a larger legacy, trying to cement a modern-day dynasty with the franchise\u2019s third title in the last six seasons. But they rarely actually vocalized it to one another. They tried to keep such historical stakes in perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cThe legacy, dynasty talk, a lot of that is meant for other people who aren\u2019t playing,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cLet them have those debates.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery few people have a chance to do something as great as this organization has a chance to do,\u201d reliever Blake Treinen<\/a> added. \u201cBut it\u2019s not like we have a huge team huddle and are like, \u2018This is what we\u2019re doing. This is all we\u2019re worried about.\u2019 It\u2019s just in our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n Treinen is one of six players who, if the Dodgers win this year\u2019s World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>, will have contributed to all three recent titles (Will Smith<\/a>, Max Muncy<\/a>, Kik\u00e9 Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, Mookie Betts<\/a> and Clayton Kershaw<\/a> are the others).<\/p>\n This week, during the team\u2019s six-day break between the end of the NLCS last Friday and the World Series opener this Friday, Treinen sat down at his locker at Dodger Stadium, took a moment to reflect on the season, then had a somewhat surprising epiphany.<\/p>\n \u201cThis doesn\u2019t even feel like the season is almost over,\u201d he thought to himself. \u201cIt feels like it\u2019s just starting.\u201d<\/p>\n It helps explain why the Dodgers were never crushed by the pressure of chasing a dynasty this year. How they followed up an underwhelming regular season with a dominant 9-1 postseason march<\/a> back to the Fall Classic.<\/p>\n Being here, Treinen said, \u201ckinda feels natural.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re a Dodger,\u201d he noted, \u201cit\u2019s just part of what you expect.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been in recent years, at least, as the club began collecting star talent in a way the rest of the sport simply couldn\u2019t match.<\/p>\n Betts became the first marquee external addition when the Dodgers acquired him in a trade from the Boston Red Sox in 2020 \u2014 back when the team was still trying to break a three-decade title drought. At that point, they\u2019d already built a juggernaut with largely homegrown talent. They\u2019d reached the World Series twice in the previous three years. And they hoped an MVP-winning superstar of his caliber could help take them over the top.<\/p>\n Betts did, playing a key role in that 2020 title team<\/a>.<\/p>\n And in the years that followed, he felt the organization\u2019s urgency for more only continued to build, as Freddie Freeman<\/a>, Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a>, Roki Sasaki<\/a>, Tyler Glasnow<\/a> and Blake Snell<\/a> also walked through the door.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go get guys [like that], I mean, that kind of lets you know where the team is,\u201d Betts said. \u201cYou can kind of look up and know that the window you\u2019re in is really important, and you really need to win now.\u201d<\/p>\n To do so, however, Betts noted a certain mindset that has enveloped the clubhouse, an understanding that \u201cyou have to take it one day at a time, you gotta just win one at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEventually, you look up at the end of that window and you\u2019ve taken care of business,\u201d Betts said. \u201cBut if you don\u2019t take care of one day at a time, then there\u2019s no way to get to where you want to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n That was key to the Dodgers\u2019 second recent championship last year, when they navigated an arduous postseason path that included two early elimination games against the San Diego Padres and a patchwork pitching plan that threatened to implode at any time.<\/p>\n It was needed again this summer, as the club grinded through a 93-win campaign (its fewest in a full season since 2018) that was marred by repeated injuries and roster-wide underperformances (including from Betts himself during a first-half hitting slump<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, it\u2019s being in the moment, taking care of business,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThen at the end of the season, you can look back.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean the Dodgers \u2014 who are trying to join the Yankees, Athletics, Red Sox, Cardinals and Giants as the sixth MLB franchise to win three titles in a six-year span \u2014 didn\u2019t recognize the opportunity in front of them this year.<\/p>\n On the first day of spring training, Roberts centered his message to the club on the historical significance this season would hold. In passing conversations over the course of the year, players would sometimes remind each other \u201clet\u2019s win another one, let\u2019s win another,\u201d Treinen recalled. Muncy said the team\u2019s internal belief was that \u201cwe need to repeat this year,\u201d because \u201cthat\u2019s how good we felt like we were.\u201d<\/p>\n And at low points during the club\u2019s second-half slide, Rojas said this week, the team\u2019s group text chat would occasionally include messages along the lines of: \u201cWe got a really good opportunity to do something really big. Not just for us, but for the city, and for the organization, for baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s one of the things that kept us going and motivated,\u201d Rojas added. \u201cIt\u2019s something we really want to accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, mileage varies on such a mentality.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761297323_389_hqdefault.jpg\")
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