Did you know the ruination of baseball could be just days away? It’s true, apparently. But the team bent on wreaking all that ruination doesn’t seem to care.

Hey, you can’t say those marauding, cash-laden Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t warn us. They’ve actually taken way too much joy in warning us. It was just last Friday that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stood on the NLCS victory podium and pretty much shouted these words into the euphoric California sky:

“They said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” Roberts said that night, as 52,000 Dodgers fans basked in the glow of that ruination. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”

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Uh-oh. Sounds like we’d better stock the shelves of our doomsday shelters. It’s possible those four more wins could be coming right up, in the 2025 World Series, which begins Friday night in Toronto.

So the Toronto Blue Jays are all that stands between us and the annihilation of this sport as we used to know it? Hoo boy. It sure seems that way — except for one thing …

Um, no, they’re not?

This might not be a real popular opinion in portions of North America we like to call “not Los Angeles.” But the Dodgers are not ruining baseball. In fact, there’s an excellent case they’re actually great for baseball. We’re here to discuss why.

Did Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs “ruin” football?

Did Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors “ruin” basketball?

Did those sports just shut down operations after those teams kept going back to the championship round year after year after year? Not that we’ve noticed.

Wait. What’s that, you say? That’s not the point? It’s not the winning per se? It’s about the money?

Oh, right. Got it. The money is a thing with these Dodgers. There’s no denying that. But did you know that over the past four seasons, the Mets have significantly outspent the Dodgers in total payroll ($1.28 billion to $1.12 billion, according to Spotrac)? And best we can tell, the only thing the Mets have ruined over these past four years is Hank Azaria’s appetite.

But we understand that the ruination of baseball is a real topic — not just this October but over the next year and change, as we approach possible labor armageddon in 2027. So here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to study what the Dodgers could potentially be ruining — and see whether the rumblings match reality.

First, however, let’s give you some reactions to this whole concept. It’s time to ask:

Are the Dodgers ruining baseball?

From left, Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten, GM Brandon Gomes, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, pitcher Roki Sasaki and manager Dave Roberts pose after the coveted free agent signed with the Dodgers in January. (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

As you might imagine, the people who run the Dodgers have some thoughts on this.

Dodgers president Stan Kasten: “I think the question is so stupid, because every year in the postseason, how many wild-card teams have adva