When Arizona beat the Yankees in 2001, they ended the Yanks brief streak at three titles (98-2000), but pretty much every team since then believed they’d repeat as WS champion. The closest anyone came was the Giants who won in 2010, 12, and 14.

While fans of the teams that have won World Series rings in the past ten years, other than the fans of those teams nobody seems to mind that common enemy hasn’t appeared on the scene.

The media and some fans prefer dynasties, if only to direct venom at. There’s a mistaken belief that certain franchises and their fan bases couldn’t handle the dynasty thing-too much of a good thing. Other fans and media members prefer to hate a team-take the people that would rather root against Brady and the Patriots, Nick Saban and Alabama, Coach K and Duke, instead of rooting for their favorite school or team.

Rather than worrying about specific decades, I suggest taking a look at the past ten ML seasons. From 2014-20 and 2023, there have been 9 different winners; San Francisco, Kansas City, Cubs, Houston, Boston, Washington, Dodgers, Atlanta, and Texas. The Nationals, Astros and Rangers were first time winners and after 108 years, the Cubs may as well be first timers. Only one manager won more than one title, Bruce Bochy with the Giants in 2014 and Rangers in ’23. The only team to repeat was Houston in ’17 and ’22 but with different managers.

Teams did it differently and without any of the social engineering that Manfred the Magician is famous for. Several other teams have tried to follow the different leads of the winners with specs of success and others have failed miserably.

Everyone seems to think the Dodgers have spent their way into another title, but I fear we’re going to have to endure a 162-game season in order to reach that conclusion. Aside from having the best manager in the game, the 2023 Rangers spent their way to a title as well.

We’ll have to wait and see what works best in 2024. I wouldn’t bet heavily against Bochy and the Rangers, but I thought Brian Snitker and the Braves were a good bet to repeat in 2022.