Dodgers World Series win narrows gap with Cardinals in National League supremacy race

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the oldest and most successful franchises in Major League Baseball history. They joined the league as the St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1882, and they've maintained a level of success for nearly 150 years since.

Since the institution of the World Series in 1903, the Cardinals have made it to baseball's biggest stage 19 times, second most in the National League behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cardinals have won the World Series 11 times during that stretch, just narrowly edging out the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the Los Angeles Dodgers' victory over the Toronto Blue Jays this year, they bring themselves even closer to the Cardinals for National League supremacy.

The Los Angeles Dodgers should be making the St. Louis Cardinals sweat as the best franchise in the National League.

As of now, the Cardinals are the National League's most successful franchise when looking strictly at World Series titles. The Cardinals' 11 trophies beat out the Dodgers' nine, and while it may appear close, the gap is probably greater than we realize.

The Dodgers have won 23 National League pennants since 1903, but they've gone just 9-14 in the World Series for a .391 winning percentage. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have gone 11-8 in the World Series since 1903 for a .579 winning percentage.

The Dodgers have found slightly more success since the turn of the century, winning five National League pennants to the Cardinals' four, and the Dodgers have won three World Series while the Cardinals have won two. The Cardinals dominated the first half of the 2000s, while the Dodgers have enjoyed a nice run of success since 2015.

This recent run of success for the Dodgers, paired with a change in franchise focus for the Cardinals, has given fans worry that the Dodgers will surpass the Cardinals in the near future in World Series trophies. St. Louis's focus, while winning is still important to them, is now on building a long-term sustainable model for winning. The Cardinals aren't able to outspend or match the Dodgers' financial prowess, so they're instead looking to build a pipeline of talented players to give themselves a chance each year.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers have been able to spend recklessly while relying on a steady pipeline of serviceable players to fill in the gaps. St. Louis simply isn't able to keep up with the Dodgers when it comes to payroll.

Will the Dodgers win three more World Series before the Cardinals win one?

Who will win their twelfth World Series first: the St. Louis Cardinals or the Los Angeles Dodgers?

This is an interesting thought experiment at this juncture in baseball history. The Dodgers are peaking in both talent and payroll. They have the world's best player in Shohei Ohtani, one of the best pitchers in baseball in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and two of the best players of their generation in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

The Dodgers also boast baseball's biggest payroll and not much of a desire to slow down their spending. They've already been linked to the biggest free agents this winter in Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette, and Alex Bregman.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are looking to trade off pricey veterans like Nolan Arenado and take a step back in spending. This isn't to say a homegrown team can't win a World Series, but the Cardinals are probably two years away from serious contention, while the Dodgers are the favorite for at least the next two years.

If Chaim Bloom's work behind the scenes these last two years can bear fruit in the near future, the Cardinals could find themselves surprising baseball as soon as 2027, a la the Detroit Tigers these last two years. If players like JJ Wetherholt, Liam Doyle, and Rainiel Rodriguez don't pan out, the club's rebuild may last longer than fans and the organization want, only buying time for the Dodgers to pass them up with World Series titles.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers have been the two best teams in the National League since the World Series was introduced in 1903. The Cardinals have a slight edge in World Series trophies, but their lead that once stood at a difference of five titles as recently as 2019 has now shrunk to just a lead of two trophies.

Who will make it to a dozen titles first? We'll just have to wait and see.