Stan Kasten, Los Angeles Dodgers President and CEO, announces plans for improvements to Dodger Stadim at a press conference held at Dodger Stadium on January 8, 2013. Upgrades include new high definition video boards in left field and right field. Existing message boards, including ribbon boards at the Loge level and outfield wall will be replaced with the new technology as well. The unique hexagon shape of both scoreboards will be restored. There will be a new sound system directed to minimize echoes and sound migration outside the stadium plus a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi network and cellular antenna system to support cell-phone and internet connectivity from mobile devices. Also, there will be wider concourses and additional locations for wheelchair bound fans and their companions on all levels. There will be expanded and renovated restrooms plus food service enhancements to loge, reserve, and upper reserve levels including new stands, cooking facilities and menus. There will be new Field Level entry plazas and bullpen overlooks to create standing room areas with a view of the game and a new home team clubhouse, expanded and enhanced training/conditioning areas and new batting cages for both teams. (Photo by Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers managed a rare feat when they won a consecutive World Series Championship to cap off a season under scrutiny.
After the team followed up its acquisitions of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto with several more star additions this past winter, it entered the season as a preeminent championship favorite, earning plenty of negative attention for its leading payroll. And even after the team won its back-to-back title, the negative attention persisted.
“That’s why baseball sucks,” former Philadelphia Eagles star turned podcast host Jason Kelce said on the “New Heights” show shortly after the Dodgers won. “You just buy World Series championships.”
Kelce was reflecting a common criticism of the Dodgers’ success, which has come in tandem with several offseasons of deferring significant salaries and acquiring much of the leading free agent talent on the market. But the comments still caught the attention of Dodgers president and part-owner Stan Kasten, who retorted during an appearance on the “Starkville” podcast.
“Usually the team with the highest payroll doesn’t win the World Series,” Kasten said in response to Kelce. “I hate to throw facts at him, but I will throw one quote from someone in his city, and that’s Bryce Harper, who said the only people complaining are losers. I think he’s exactly right.”
Kasten was referring to comments that Harper made at the start of this past season, shortly after the Dodgers added Blake Snell, Tanner Scott and Roki Sasaki to their star-studded roster. Despite playing for one of the Dodgers’ biggest rivals, at least in total payroll, the Philadelphia Phillies slugger made it clear that he only has positive things to say about the organization in comments he made at the beginning of the season.
“I don’t know if people will like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing,” Harper told the Associated Press when asked about the Dodgers’ spending in April. “I think they’re a great team and a great organization.”
Harper endured a second straight season of playoff disappointment with the Phillies while the Dodgers seized yet another championship. When Harper met Kansten’s team in the National League Division Series this past October, the Phillies were only able to take one game. But it still seems he would disapprove of Kelce’s take that their aggressive spending should negate the accomplishment of their latest championship.
And even though Kasten sent the Harper-focused message to Kelce because both athletes have enjoyed standout professional sports careers in Philadelphia, he might have also been making a point with Harper’s particular name for those who complain about the Dodgers.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterchawaga/2025/12/01/dodgers-president-sends-phillies-bryce-harper-message-after-world-series-diss/
