Because nothing binds us in human solidarity like the golden threads of Search Engine Optimization, it’s time for this space, which is notionally devoted to Major League Baseball coverage, to talk about the upcoming Super Bowl. Indeed, on Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will meet in a Bowl overflowing with Super, and at stake is Utmost American Football Glory.
This, naturally enough, brings us to the Los Angeles Dodgers by way of those aforementioned Chiefs. The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in six years, and in related matters they’re aiming for their third consecutive belt and title. This general notion of repeat champions brings us back to the Dodgers, winners of the 2024 World Series, their chances of doing it again in 2025, and the frankly grim recent history of MLB squadrons aiming to repeat as champs of the sport.
Let’s hit that last part first. No MLB team has repeated as World Series champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees. Those Yankees came tantalizingly close to winning four straight World Series, but the Arizona Diamondbacks edged them in the white-knuckled 2001 World Series, a true classic of the genre. So it’s been roughly a quarter-century since anyone in MLB has successfully defended the title. For comparison’s sake, let’s note that over that same span, the NFL has yielded two repeat champions (the Chiefs over the last two years and the 2003-04 New England Patriots). The NBA, meantime, has had four repeat champs since 2000. Maybe, though, MLB’s