The Dodgers are to be commended for their pursuit of excellence

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was accused of destroying the sport as he increased the team's payroll to $350 million.

TORONTO - The man who is ruining baseball held a press conference before the first game of the World Series.

Or at least that's what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has alleged since he pushed the team's payroll to $350 million.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts jokingly weighed in on the heated story after the Dodgers defeated the Brewers to win the National League Championship Series.

"Let's win four more games and we're going to lose baseball."Before he popped open a bottle of champagne and headed to the clubhouse to celebrate.

The Dodgers should be praised, not criticized, for striving for excellence and raising the bar in their sport.

Friedman owes it to Dodgers fans to come out.

He said on Friday, "Our job is to bring it back and try to give them that same ambition for the competition, which they can be proud of.

"For us, that's what we focus on. Everything we focus on is sharing with our fans and the partnership that we have."

It seems like an obvious answer, but there is truth behind Friedman's words.The average ticket price for a Dodgers game this season is $177, $44 more than the second-place Astros and $45 more than the Red Sox.

Charge that much and you should put a good product on the field. The Dodgers know they would insult their fans by asking them to patient and wait for a window to open when they can compete for a championship.

Their slesserte was wrong at times - Schosha sale Scorn Scott didn't figure in their £4m roster for the season, but the riders moved on.

The Mets ran in similar fashion under Steve Cohen, reaching the NLCs last season before losing to the Dodgers.That makes the signing of Juan Soto and Bump salary up to 341.8 million dollars.

He had an 83-79 season and lost season to the lowly Reds.

Salary is a factor, not a deciding factor.Friedman said the Dodgers invest heavily in player development personnel and technology because it helps them attract free agents.

"When we meet with players in the offseason, they want to know that you can help them maximize their potential and that you can get the most out of their teammates," he said.Because when you can do that and do it well, you win more games.

The Dodgers also improved their homes and other facilities to make sure players' families were taken care of.

"Perhaps what is unusual and the main goal of the goal is to try to get to a place where our players want to leave and where players from other teams come," Friedman said.

Equality is not an issue in baseball.The Dodgers are the first champions to return to the World Series the following year since the 2009 Phillies.

They are favored to become the first repeat champion since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.It didn't ruin baseball, as six different teams won in the next six seasons.

That 24-year streak is the longest in baseball history and longer than any streak in the NBA, NFL or NHL.

It's a fact that only two teams outside of the top 10 have won national championships in the last 20 years.The Cardinals have done it twice (2006 and 2011) and the Royals once (2015).

But the solution shouldn't be a collective solution that prevents ambitious teams from doing whatever it takes to win.

Friedman built the 2008 Rays, a low-budget team that won the American League pennant before losing to the Phillies in the World Series.

He took his secret sauce to the Dodgers in 2015. It took him 11 years to win two in a row.

Money helps, no doubt.But the World Series can't be bought.

Friedman isn't even sure he has job security.

He said, "One of our main goals — whenever the time comes, we're fired — is that people look back on this period as the Golden Age of Dodger baseball, which is a high standard."

"What exactly does it mean the way it's going, life is too busy. It'll be more when we're done. But that's our goal."

For the fan, that's what you want.

Peter Abraham can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.