Clayton Kershaw ‘Doesn’t Understand’ Owners’ Anti-Spending Arguments

The Los Angeles Dodgers capped off the 2025 season with a World Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays that set viewership records in the United States and Canada, showcasing the upward trajectory of the sport’s health.

While MLB is in an advantageous position thanks to the momentum of the past couple years, some owners don’t like the optics of the Dodgers becoming the sport’s first repeat champions in 25 years as the result of their aggressive spending the past two offseasons.

Clayton Kershaw believes those who are against spending and are calling for an MLB salary cap, like Colorado Rockies owner Dick Monfort, are running their organizations with the wrong mindset.

During an episode of “Literally! With Rob Lowe,” Kershaw criticized owners who aren’t able to grasp the long-term benefits of investing money into the product on the field:

“I don’t understand some of the ownerships’ arguments with this stuff. Because there’s probably hundreds of multi-, multi-billionaires that would love to own a professional baseball team. I bet we could get a list of 100 guys right now that are uber wealthy, that would love to run a baseball team. And knowing that year in and year out, it might not make the money you would want it to make, but over time it’s just like a stock. It’s going to continue to appreciate.

“It’s just like anything else. When the Dodgers were bought by ownership group, now it’s worth 3x of what it was. I don’t understand that. I don’t really get that part of it, of the owners pinching pennies and different things like that.”

While not every organization will have the same advantages the Dodgers possess, there is certainly more they can contribute monetarily to their team’s success.

Furthermore, nothing is stopping owners from making crucial long-term investments in the infrastructure of their organizations in an effort to mimic the Dodgers’ operation.

The benefits of investing in scouting and development systems will have more of an impact than free agency spending alone ever could.

Clayton Kershaw identifies Dodgers’ biggest strength

In the same interview, Kershaw shared his opinion on how the Dodgers’ commitment to winning helped them throughout the postseason despite the team not necessarily having a fiery, if not combative, leader.

He added that teams run into problems when they have players who give more priority to their personal desires and goals rather than wanting to win.