The Los Angeles Dodgers once again dominate October, heading to the World Series

During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ October rampage to the NL pennant, the defending World Series champions have actually been the dark eminence that many baseball people have long feared they would become

During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ October rampage to the NL pennant, the defending World Series champions have actually been the dark eminence that many baseball people have long feared they would become.

The Dodgers are 9-1 in the postseason — and they’ve looked like a juggernaut while doing it, with near-flawless starting pitching and a deep, resilient lineup producing key hits and electrifying highlights. They swept the Milwaukee Brewers out of the NL Championship Series with a 5-1 victory Friday night featuring an iconic three-homer, 10-strikeout performance by Shohei Ohtani, their $700 million superstar.

The Dodgers beat the Yankees to win it all last year, and they’re headed back to the World Series on Friday with a chance to become MLB’s first repeat champions in a quarter-century. They’re in the Fall Classic for the fifth time in nine seasons during a streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances.

But naysayers have claimed for years that it’s bad for baseball if one team ever becomes this successful. The Dodgers’ ravenous spending of their extensive resources could irretrievably fracture the majors’ competitive balance, and they could even hurt the Dodgers by providing fuel for some owners’ desire for a salary cap in the next labor negotiations.

The players and coaches in Dodger Blue — and the more than 4 million fans who have packed Dodger Stadium all season long — had absolutely no interest in worrying about what their success means to other people while they celebrated another unforgettable night.