Winning a championship is one of the most difficult achievements in sports.

Winning another one immediately afterward is even harder.

In Japanese professional baseball, the longest championship streak remains the Yomiuri Giants’ legendary nine consecutive titles from 1965 to 1973 under manager Tetsuharu Kawakami, led by stars Sadaharu Oh and Shigeo Nagashima.

In Major League Baseball, the record belongs to the New York Yankees, who won five straight World Series titles from 1949 to 1953.

Throughout MLB history, only a handful of organizations have managed to repeat as champions. The Yankees alone account for nearly half of those achievements, a reminder of why they are regarded as one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, despite their rich history and numerous championship teams, have never won back-to-back World Series titles.

Even more telling, no team has repeated as World Series champion in the entire 21st century.

That fact alone shows how difficult the challenge truly is.

After winning his first World Series championship in 2024, Shohei Ohtani was asked what he wanted to accomplish next.

His answer was immediate:

“Isn’t it repeating as champions? That’s probably even harder than winning it in the first place.”

The remark perfectly captures Ohtani’s approach to achievement.

For many athletes, reaching the top is the destination.

For Ohtani, reaching the top simply reveals the next mountain to climb.

He fully understands the difficulty of repeating as champions. Injuries, fatigue, roster changes, stronger competition, and the randomness of a long season all work against it.

Yet he also believes the Dodgers possess something special.

From ownership and the front office to coaches and players, everyone in the organization is aligned around the same goal: winning championships.

That shared commitment makes the challenge worth pursuing.

Throughout his career, Ohtani has repeatedly chosen paths that others considered impossible or unrealistic. The more difficult the challenge, the more determined he seems to become.

Winning one championship fulfilled a dream.

Trying to win another immediately afterward became the next one.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

Number 1111 P14