Championship Teams: There Are the Dodgers—and Then There Are the Rest

That's it—the teams that will compete in the two leagues' finals are now set. Yesterday, the Cleveland Guardians joined the Tampa Bay Rays, and the two teams will battle it out to determine who will represent the American League in the upcoming World Series.

Will the Guardians or the Rays succeed the Toronto Blue Jays as this league's champions? We'll find out soon enough.

Remember that last year, at almost the same time, the Jays were facing the Seattle Mariners in the penultimate round of the playoffs. We know how that story ended, but unfortunately, the Toronto team isn't in the mix this season.

In the National League, the Dodgers (unsurprisingly) will face off against the Milwaukee Brewers. Pat Murphy's team won the most games in 2026 with 103 victories and they more than deserve their spot in the league finals.

Aside from the fact that the Dodgers have the largest payroll and the other three teams still in the running are near the bottom in that regard, this shows that team chemistry and the managers' strategic contributions add a dimension that a big bank account alone cannot provide.

The Dodgers are well-funded, as we know, but they'll have to earn every win from here on out against less-wealthy teams if they want to win a third consecutive title. The series against the Brewers promises to be interesting, as the two teams have racked up 203 wins this season.

And in that regard—when it comes to championships—Dave Roberts's men are also in a league of their own, with their most recent World Series victory coming just last season. The other three teams lag behind, as neither the Rays nor the Brewers have tasted the thrill of the ultimate victory, while the Guardians' last World Series win dates back to 1948. They also won the title in 1920.

Without a doubt, the 2026 league championship series in both leagues have proven the experts wrong on many counts. When it comes to money and major victories in the modern era, there are the Dodgers—and then there are the rest.

It will be the rich versus the middle class, as well as the regulars at the big stage facing those who have been dreaming of it for far too long.

In an American League where performance levels were lower in 2026, the Guardians and the Rays still have something to prove—especially Cleveland, where the magic has been slower to take hold. The team's pitchers, led by Gavin Williams, have stepped up, while Jose Ramirez and Stephen Vogt have done the rest of the work. The last time the city of Cleveland saw its baseball team crowned champions, it was known as the Indians.

The Dodgers may have, once again, assembled the best lineup by adding Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, but they'll face a well-oiled, well-managed machine that shows no hesitation and whose players are entirely dedicated to the cause: the team. In Milwaukee, individual successes take a back seat to collective performances.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.