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The Los Angeles Dodgers are set for what is now becoming an annual trip to the White House.
After becoming the first team to win back-to-back Fall Classics since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998 to 2000, the Dodgers will once again pay a visit to President Donald Trump in the nation’s capital.
The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital that the team will visit on July 23, an off day between series in Philadelphia and New York.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The California Post was the first to report the news.
The Dodgers were crowned champs again after completing a Game 7 comeback against the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings in one of the wildest games of all time.
The visit will not come easily to some — shortly after winning the Fall Classic, an immigration rights group pleaded with the team not to visit again.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers have always been more than a baseball team — they’re part of the spirit of who we are as a city. The team represents our neighborhoods, our families, and our shared love for our diverse communities. But right now, our community, our city are under siege, we need them to stand with us, on the right side of history,” the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) wrote in an online petition.
“Ask the team to honor the unity, integrity and diversity they themselves represent. They cannot stay silent as our families and neighbors face violence, detention, and deportation. By visiting a president who has used his power to harm the most vulnerable, the team would be turning its back on the very people who fill the stadiums, wear the jerseys, and give this team its heart. By encouraging the team to do the right thing, we will show the White House that Los Angeles stands for compassion, dignity, and solidarity with their immigrant neighbors.”
Hard-throwing reliever Brusdar Graterol, along with some others, missed out on the celebration last year, which celebrated the 2024 title. Graterol opted to stay at “my brown house.” Freddie Freeman did not attend while he had been on the injured list at the time, but several injured players like Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Stone, Michael Kopech and Michael Grove were there.
Meanwhile, outfielder Mookie Betts decided to go last year after opting out of the trip with the Boston Red Sox in 2019.
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“This is not about me; I don’t want anything to be about me. This is about the Dodgers. Because these boys were there for me,” Betts said, via the Los Angeles Times.
Betts said he regretted not making the trip in 2019, which manager Alex Cora and pitcher David Price also skipped, saying he felt he was a distraction. Cora recently admitted he skipped out on meeting Trump because he wanted to prioritize his home of Puerto Rico. When the Red Sox visited the White House in May 2019, Puerto Rico was still recovering from the destruction of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Cora wasn’t satisfied with the federal government’s response.
The Dodgers visited former President Joe Biden in July 2021 to celebrate their 2020 World Series title.
Several major sports champions, including each NBA title winner, have declined to visit the White House during both of Trump’s terms. The Dodgers, Philadelphia Eagles, Florida Panthers, Ohio State football team, Indiana football team, LSU baseball team and Inter Miami have all visited the White House to celebrate their championships since Trump’s second term began in January 2025.
It remains to be seen whether the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Hurricanes will follow suit, but Knicks owner James Dolan said his team would visit. That would make them the first NBA team to visit Trump.
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Last year, the Florida Gators were the first college basketball team to visit Trump since the Baylor women’s team in 2019.
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