Dodgers end MLB's World Series repeat drought, join exclusive club of back-to-back winners

It's hard, you know -- repeating as the champions of a sport. This is the case for any athletic pursuit, and it's probably fair to say it's especially difficult in baseball, which has so much structural randomness and a related knack for defying expectations. The Los Angeles Dodgers, though, are beholden to none of that.  Following their heart-stopping comeback win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, the Dodgers are hereby a member of one of Major League Baseball's most exclusive guilds -- the repeat champions. 

Before the 2025 Dodgers came along, it had been a quarter century since a team won consecutive World Series titles. Over that same span, the NFL saw two teams win two Super Bowls in a row, and four teams won at least two NBA Finals in a row. This is baseball, so any team in the postseason is capable of winning it, and the expanded playoffs present more hurdles than ever for a team like the Dodgers. Speaking of which, as of Game 7 the Dodgers are the first team in MLB history to play postseason games in three different months. 

With the Dodgers newly crowned as back-to-back champs, let's run down every team across the years that's won two or more World Series in a row. Our starting point is the onset of the modern era in 1903, when the National League and the still somewhat-fledgling American League began sending their respective champions to the "World's Series." Here's a look at that most exclusive company the 2025 Dodgers have just joined. 

In all, just 15 teams have won two or more World Series in a row, and just eight franchises make up those 15 teams. The flagship Yankees account for six of the 15 title repeats, and just the Yankees and A's have managed more than one repeat team. Likewise, just the Yankees and A's have won three or more titles in a row at any point (the 2026 Dodgers will be aiming to join them). It seems unlikely any team will ever challenge the five trophies in a row hoisted by Casey Stengel's 1949-53 Yankees, which bridged the Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle eras in the Bronx. More recently, the 2001 Yankees came tantalizingly close to extending their title run to four in a row, but one of the greatest World Series ever played went the Arizona Diamondbacks' way instead.

It should be noted that it was much easier to pull this off such dynastic behavior prior to the onset of free agency in Major League Baseball in the mid-1970s, which actually helped parity and competitive balance. As for more contemporary times, yes, it's easier than ever to qualify for the playoffs in MLB, but thanks to all those rounds of play it's more difficult than ever to make a deep run.   

That the Dodgers survived four rounds of postseason play to defend their title makes the feat all the more impressive. In a real way, it's harder than ever to do what the Dodgers have just done, and history teaches us this. Three in a row? It seems nigh impossible, but the Dodgers play to a different standard these days.