DON'T BASH THIS PARTY

Joyful DodgerFest sends message to club’s haters that investing in winning isn’t ruining baseball

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Photographs by RONALDO BOLANOS Los Angeles Times

FANS PACK Dodger Stadium, where fist-bumps and line dancing helped kick off the organization's run at a three-peat.

An anonymous pitcher whose entire life changed with four innings is standing in a crowded Dodger Stadium bullpen in the middle of winter when he hears a voice from the stands.

"Will, thank you so much!" shouts a fan, and underneath his thick beard, the pitcher blushes.

DAVE ROBERTS said becoming the first National League team to win three straight World Series championships is "a challenge we're not going to run from."

"This is something I've never had before," said Will Klein.

And this is ruining baseball? On a crowded concourse in the middle of a Saturday morning two months before the start of the season, fans are chugging beers, scarfing Dodger dogs, and even doing a line dance.

The queue at the elevator is endless. The screams from the crowd are constant. Blake Snell is walking along one of the barriers giving every nearby fan-every one- a fist bump.

And this is ruining baseball? The Dodgers officially opened their doors for the 2026 season Saturday, holding an annual DodgerFest that has sent a clear message to a landscape of whiners.

This is what winning looks like.

This is why winning is worth it.

The baseball owners will likely lock out the players after this season in hopes of installing a salary cap that will curb the sort of spending that has fueled the Dodgers' consecutive championships.