Since 1883, the Los Angeles Dodgers have existed as a Major League franchise. The now iconic blue and white-clad ball club has seen name changes, stadium changes, city changes, and Babe Ruth as their first base coach in 1938. For over 70 years, the Dodgers called Brooklyn home and claimed only one World Series championship.

Since moving to the West Coast, along with the Giants, the Dodgers have seemingly reversed their fortunes and have claimed eight World Series titles since 1957, with three coming over the last five years. That’s nine championships for a franchise that has existed longer than 12 states in the union. Their nine championships are two fewer than the St. Louis Cardinals franchise and 18 fewer than the vaunted New York Yankees franchise. So… why all the hate for the Dodgers?

One of which is recency bias; they are the new villain, and they spend money. Probably doesn’t help that the Dodgers play in a near-perfect location that almost always has beautiful weather and celebrities in attendance for their home games. I mean, let’s say you’re sitting at home in your parents’ house in the Midwest and have to be nagged by your parents to shovel snow for the second straight day… why would you not hate the Dodgers? Over the last five years, the Dodgers have claimed three championships, and the last two have come in back-to-back fashion. One of those World Series championships came via a victory over the New York Yankees. And as the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros can attest, that seems to only amplify any negative chatter whenever you beat the team from the Bronx.

The Second reason? The Dodgers are signing everyone and hyping up the calls for a salary cap in Major League Baseball. However, are the Dodgers really signing everyone? Out of the ten largest contracts of all time, the Dodgers have been responsible for two of those signings (Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto). When you focus on the highest average annual value for contracts all time, the Dodgers are only responsible for three of the ten (Ohtani, Blake Snell, and now this offseason, Kyle Tucker). Yes, the Dodgers are going to owe a billion dollars in deferred salaries, and that highlights the disparities between markets in MLB. Is what the Dodgers are doing anything really different than what the Yankees have done for years?

When you look at the brain trust of the Dodgers, you’ll find Andrew Friedman as Director of Baseball Operations and Brandon Gomes as the General Manager of the club. Both Friedman and Gomes grew up in the Tampa Bay Rays philosophies and way to conduct business- Friedman as an executive and Gomes as a player. What the Dodgers are doing is not too dissimilar to what the Rays are doing: taking trends in the markets and doing it better than everyone else. When Friedman was with the Rays, he had a similar development strategy as the (Homeless, but currently residing in Sacramento) Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Guardians, except LA did it better, with no noticeable lull and constant competitive teams. Now, in control of a near-endless amount of resources, Friedman is spending money like the Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, and Philadelphia Phillies. He is just doing it better.

So, if you’re a fan of a lower-market team, do you really want to put in a salary cap? I mean, the Dodgers are running the risk that the contracts could turn sour (see Anthony Rendon for an example). The Dodgers are just the rich family down the street that are buying the newest toys and gadgets. They have been around and will be around, but we are noticing them a lot more.

So, I say, let the Dodgers sign who they want. That only makes the story sweeter if your team is the Luke Skywalker to the Dodgers Darth Vader. The Dodgers were just like your club, struggling to survive, and then became the villain that we all despise.