Has Dodgers Dominance Made the National League Stronger Than the American League.

The National League, founded on February 2, 1876, was created to bring stability and financial discipline to professional baseball. One hundred fifty years later, Major League Baseball once again finds itself at a crossroads, with questions about competitive balance, league strength, and the long-term effects of superstar-driven dominance. As the Los Angeles Dodgers pursue a third consecutive World Series title entering the 2026 season, a compelling question emerges: has their sustained success elevated the National League above the American League? Historically, league superiority has ebbed and flowed. For much of the twentieth century, the NL and AL operated as rivals with distinct leadership, rules, and identities. Dominance in events such as the All-Star Game was often used as evidence of league strength, particularly during the National League’s overwhelming success from the 1960s through the early 1980s. Today, however, interleague play provides a more concrete way to compare the leagues. Since the expansion of interleague games in 2023, the National League has held a narrow but consistent edge. Across the 2023–2025 seasons, NL teams posted a cumulative winning record against AL opponents. While the American League finished slightly ahead in total interleague wins in 2025, that margin was heavily influenced by the struggles of the Colorado Rockies, whose poor performance distorted league-wide results. When focusing on playoff-caliber teams, the advantage shifts clearly to the NL, whose postseason qualifiers consistently outperformed their AL counterparts in head-to-head matchups.

This gap becomes even more pronounced when examining elite teams. In 2025, National League playoff teams posted a dominant record against American League playoff teams, winning at a pace equivalent to a 94-win season. The Dodgers, Phillies, and Reds were particularly effective, suggesting that the NL’s upper tier has become deeper and more competitive—possibly in direct response to the Dodgers’ presence at the top.

Free agency trends further reinforce this conclusion. Over the past several offseasons, the National League has attracted the majority of elite free agents, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Juan Soto, and Roki Sasaki. While the most recent offseason saw a more even distribution of talent between the leagues, the earlier imbalance shifted significant star power to the NL. Payroll figures reflect this movement, with four of the six highest-spending teams in 2025 belonging to the National League. Interestingly, however, high-priced stars alone do not fully explain the NL’s advantage. When comparing players on contracts worth $100 million or more, American League teams actually received more total WAR from those players in 2025 than NL teams did. This suggests that the difference lies not at the very top of the payroll scale, but in how teams deploy mid-tier spending. The Dodgers, Phillies, and Cubs have shown a greater willingness to invest heavily in solid, non-superstar contributors—players who carry risk but can significantly raise a team’s floor when successful. Attempts to match the Dodgers’ aggression have varied. The Phillies have focused on continuity, maintaining their core rather than dramatically reshaping their roster. The Mets, despite massive spending earlier in the decade, only recently appear to be settling on a coherent strategy under David Stearns. The Padres pushed their payroll beyond market norms under late owner Peter Seidler, but aging contracts now threaten their competitive window. Meanwhile, the Cubs, despite their market size, have largely avoided sustained top-tier payrolls, even as they begin to re-enter the arms race.

In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays stand out as the most aggressive challenger, significantly increasing payroll and acquiring multiple high-impact players. The Yankees and Red Sox have made selective all-in moves, but neither has matched the Dodgers’ sustained financial commitment. Other playoff teams, such as the Mariners and Tigers, have largely relied on internal development rather than bold external additions. Looking ahead, the Dodgers’ dominance may not be nearing its end. Despite winning the World Series in both 2024 and 2025, those teams were statistically weaker than many of their predecessors, suggesting that injuries and roster flaws limited their regular-season dominance rather than diminished organizational strength. With a healthier rotation expected in 2026 and one of baseball’s strongest farm systems supplying young talent, Los Angeles appears positioned to remain the standard. Ultimately, the evidence suggests that the National League currently holds a modest advantage over the American League. That edge is driven not only by the Dodgers’ excellence, but by how other NL teams have adapted—through aggressive spending, depth-building, and player development—to compete in a league shaped by sustained supremacy. As history shows, however, dominance invites resistance, and the American League may yet respond.