Championship Series, and Yankees, in the World Series.

The president predicted another White House visit in the future.

“After seeing how successful you’ve begun this season, I can tell you that you can plan on being back here,” Trump said of the 9-2 Dodgers. “I hope you’re going to be back here next year.”

Trump singled out several players for their contributions to the championship, including 2024 NL MVP Shohei Ohtani for his historic 50 / 50 season, shaking hands with each player as he mentioned their achievements, but mispronouncing reliever Blake Treinen’s name.

First baseman Freddie Freeman was not part of the visit. He went on the injured list with a sprained ankle last weekend and is not traveling with the team on its current road trip.

“He looks like a movie star. He’s got a good future, I’m telling you,” Trump said of Ohtani. “He shattered all of those records last year. … He became the first ever member of the 50 / 50 club. He had 54 home runs and 59 steals, an accomplishment unparalleled in 149 years of Major League Baseball. Think of that. That’s just incredible.”

The president also had high praise for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, calling him “one of the greatest managers, really, ever to wear the Dodger blue.”

“I think he would have lasted even with George Steinbrenner, right?” Trump said, referring to the notoriously quick-triggered Yankees owner. “He was very quick. You lose two games and you were fired. Great job, Dave.”

Roberts said he thought the Dodgers “all felt really good” about their visit.

“We wanted to go there to, again, recognize our ’24 team,” he said after the event. “There’s a lot of people in our organization that were there, that have different backgrounds, different races, genders and all that stuff. And we were all there. And I thought it was a really good experience.”

Though many championship teams skipped White House visits during Trump’s first term, the Dodgers are the second team to visit already during Trump’s second term, joining the NHL’s 2024 Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. The NFL’s 2025 Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, have accepted their invitation to visit later this month.

More than anyone on the team, shortstop Mookie Betts felt the pressure of making a statement by either attending or not attending the event. He had done both, skipping the White House visit with the Boston Red Sox in 2019, during Trump’s first term, but attending during President Joe Biden’s term with the Dodgers in 2021.

He announced on Friday that he would be attending as a show of solidarity with his team.

He described Monday’s event in simple terms.

“It was fun,” he said. “Went to the White House, saw the president. That was it.”

Asked to compare the visit in 2021 to Monday’s visit, he said, “I’m different. I’ve grown. Learned to appreciate things differently.

“As long as I’m there with the boys who were there with me. Celebrate this accomplishment,” he said Monday. “It was good.”

Dodgers team owner Mark Walter spoke briefly at Monday’s event, saying the Dodgers were “very pleased to participate in the tradition of bringing champions to the White House.”

As he had in 2021 when Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hosted the 2020 championship team, pitcher Clayton Kershaw stepped forward and read a statement on behalf of the team.

“This is an incredible honor for me to stand here today representing the Los Angeles Dodgers and this group of staff and players standing behind me today,” Kershaw said Monday. “The 2024 Los Angeles Dodgers season is one that will go down in the history books, always holding a special place in my heart and those with me as well as the millions of Dodger fans around the world.

“This organization exemplifies what it means to come together as one for a greater purpose and represent something so much bigger than themselves,” he added. “The selflessness and humility that each one of these players and staff have shown over the last year is truly an inspiration. They have constantly played hurt, switched positions and taken the ball to put the team first.”

Referring to his limited role due to injury during the Dodgers’ postseason run, Kershaw called himself “a spectator for our championship run last year” but said he was “in awe of this group.”

“Their unwavering confidence coupled with the selfless pursuit for team excellence was an inspiration,” Kershaw said. “That is why I am so grateful to get to speak today on their behalf as I know none of them would say this about themselves. Moving forward, I hope the 2024 Dodgers can serve as an inspiration to many like they were to me — not just in sports but in life, remembering to put others before ourselves. It moves a team and a society forward.”

Kershaw and Betts presented Trump with a personalized Dodgers jersey with his name and the number 47 on the back.

After the event in the East Room, Trump invited the team to visit “the fabled Oval Office,” where they had opportunities to take more photos.