Mariano Rivera celebrates after the Yankees won the 1996 World Series. ( Frank Becerra Jr. / The Journal News ) Yankee Red Sox Frank Becerra Jr/USA TODAY via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Dodgers Can Learn From Yankees Dynasty

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series. Now that they're a game away from winning a World Series, they find themselves fending off other Yankee ghosts. That's ensuring the Los Angeles Dodgers do not become the first team since the 1999 and 2000 Yankees to win back-to-back championships.

For Dave Roberts to put a third ring on his hand, his team will have to win games six and seven on the road in Toronto. It's a position they didn't expect themselves to be in after winning games two and three. LA presumably thought those upstart Jays would lay down, but Toronto prevailed in Games four and five decisively, placing the Dodgers on the brink of elimination.

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Lessons From a Previous Dynasty

Buster Olney asked Paul O'Neill what his old skipper, Joe Torre, would tell the '90s Yankees in these dire situations. According to O'Neill, it was a simple message.

"It was always one of the biggest parts of Joe Torre's speeches," O'Neill said, according to Olney for ESPN.com. "He'd say, 'The talent in this room is good enough to win this.' When he said it, you believed it."

Darryl Strawberry also relayed his wisdom from those dynasty years.

"You've just got to keep your focus. That's not always easy," Strawberry said, according to Olney. "Joe always reminded us how good we were, and to keep a foot on the gas."

Those '90s Yankees were known for their excellence, but they faced two such occasions where they were on the brink of elimination during the peak years. The first was their initial introduction to the World Series in 1996. Down 0-2 in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves, who were coming off a championship the year before, the Yankees won four straight.

The 2001 Yankees were in a similar position. They were down 0-2, but won the next three games. However, they were unable to secure a win in Arizona. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson stood in their way.

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Joe Torre's Message

Torre said that the main thing a team has to do to win back-to-back championships is not to feel totally accomplished after winning. A team has to keep its foot on the gas.

"I don't want to win one World Series. I want to win three in a row." Torre said, according to Olney, "I said that just to let them know, 'Once you win, that's fine. But you have more work to do. I don't care what line of work you're in: Once you stop to admire what you've accomplished, you stop doing it."

With one game from elimination, the Dodgers can either rest on their laurels, proud to have made it this far again, or win the next two and put themselves in the history books. They have all the talent in the world to make that happen.

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