Magic Johnson is all smiles about the Dodgers World Series rise

NEW YORK— Magic Johnson smiled, because of course he did. It’s the smile that conquered a city. It is the smile that has taken away our worries over the decades.

In 1980, the child smiled and told Los Angeles he would lead the Lakers to a championship on a night without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In 2012, the old man smiled and told Los Angeles that he would lead the Dodgers out of bankruptcy and back to baseball’s promised land.

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‘The city has gone crazy for this team’ Johnson said late Wednesdaydressed in a Dodger letterman jacket with a block D on one side and the Dodgers logo on the other.

“It was crazy. You think, yes, I’m a Laker, but I’m also a true blue Dodger. Hopefully they will win it again one day, but right now the city is owned by the Evaders.”

The winning bidder for the Dodgers in 2012 was an entity called Guggenheim Baseball. That meant nothing to LA. Mark Walter, the money man, was from Chicago. Stan Kastenthe baseball guy, was from Atlanta.

Johnson put his credibility on the line. He joined them and promised LA that these guys would be winners. He had told Walter and Kasten that there was only one way to win.

“If we’re all just about making money, then I’m out,” Johnson told Walter. “I don’t want to be part of it.”

The morning after Guggenheim Baseball won the bid, I met with the owners in a conference room about 10 miles from Yankee Stadium. Kasten emphasized player development.

Johnson did not. The New York Yankees were his role model, the eternal big spenders. The Angels had just signed Albert Pujols.

“Teams invest” Johnson said that day. “That’s what you do when you put a winning team on the field. We will be no different than those teams.

“We would also like to copy the success of the Yankees. If you say, ‘Do we want to be the Yankees?’, the answer is yes. We want to win the World Series. We do want to win.”

The Yankees haven’t won the World Series since. The Dodgers have won twice.

The Dodgers won the National League West every year from 2013 to 2019, supplementing the minor league system and developing a talent pipeline unparalleled in the industry. But Kasten, who managed the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals before joining the Dodgers, had never signed a player for $100 million. Nor does Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.

Finally, starting in 2020, the Dodgers went all in: Mookie Betts that year, for $365 million; Freddie Freeman, in 2022, for $162 million; Shohei Ohtani last December, for $700 million; Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last December, for $325 million; Tyler Glasnow, last December, for $136.5 million; Will Smith, signed an extension last March for $140 million.

The first three batters in the lineup on Wednesday: Ohtani, Betts and Friedman.

The final two, and the Dodgers’ only draft picks: Smith and Gavin Lux.

The last of their eight pitchers, and the Dodgers’ only draft pick: Walker Buehler.

“From the first day I met Mark, he was just like me,” Johnson said. “He wanted to win. He was competitive. And he wasn’t afraid to spend the money. I think we showed that to everyone.

“I think that’s why we’ve been able to attract the talent. But also give Stan a lot of credit. He said we need to build up the minor league system, and we both did that.”

If the Yankees were Johnson’s model, look who’s dancing now.

“This is what the country and the world wanted: the two of us to play against each other,” Johnson said.

“This is the most legendary franchise, right? To do it against the Yankees, here in New York….”

His voice trailed off, but he smiled again. He had a few comparisons for Freeman, the World Series’ most valuable player.

“He was Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant,” Johnson said. “That’s who I compare him to, that level of dominance on the biggest stage. All those guys did it on the biggest stage. All those guys did it in a championship series too. I had never seen a baseball guy do it like that.”

Johnson raised his voice, just a little. For four years, he and the Dodgers have heard how their 2020 championship, in a pandemic-shortened season, necessitated an asterisk or some other form of punctuation.

“There is no question mark,” he said. “I hated the whole Covid thing. I didn’t like people saying things like that about us, even though we won the World Series. But this time there is no doubt: we are going to have a good time.”

And Johnson wouldn’t leave the Yankee Stadium field without a few kind words for it Fernando ValenzuelaWHO passed away last week. The Dodgers parade Friday, on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday.

“There have only been a few guys who have taken over Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant, Kareem, this other guy who wore No. 32, and Fernando,” Johnson said. “When he threw, we all watched. If we weren’t watching it live at Dodger Stadium, we were watching on TV.

“He was just the sweetest man. He was modest. I think that’s why everyone loved him. Not only was he dominant as a pitcher, but he was also the nicest guy. I wish he was around to see this. We have lost a true icon, one of the best to ever play in the city of Los Angeles.”

That other guy who wore number 32 is the biggest winner in the city of Los Angeles. He has won, as a player or as an owner, with the Lakers, Dodgers, Sparks and LAFC. He’s taken us from parade to parade, from Showtime to Shotime.