President Donald Trump hosted the 2025 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, July 23, 2026 — the team's second championship visit in two years (The Guardian).

The Dodgers presented Trump with a custom jersey and a replica World Series championship ring during the ceremony. Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and manager Dave Roberts were among the Dodgers personnel in attendance.

Not everyone made the trip. Star shortstop Mookie Betts and utility man Kiké Hernández opted not to attend. Pitcher Edgardo Henriquez also reportedly stayed away. Betts said he preferred to spend the day with his family. Hernández had a conflicting injury rehab assignment — a minor-league stint a player completes to prove he's healthy enough to rejoin the big-league roster — but said he wouldn't have participated even if available. Hernández had been an outspoken critic of the ICE raids in Los Angeles ordered by the Trump administration.

This wasn't Betts' first time navigating the decision. He skipped the Boston Red Sox's White House visit during Trump's first term, but did attend the Dodgers' visit in 2025.

The visit celebrates a memorable championship run. The Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series, a series that included a Game 3 marathon stretching 18 innings — the equivalent of two full games plus extra frames. Longtime ace Clayton Kershaw retired after the championship, closing a career that spanned nearly two decades in Los Angeles.

Trump compared Ohtani to Babe Ruth during his remarks, noting the Japanese star's rare two-way ability as both a pitcher and hitter. He also acknowledged he hadn't followed every pitch of the Dodgers' season, saying he had been "a little busy with Iran and some other things" (The Guardian).

Roberts addressed the politics of the visit directly. "I'm not a politician… I'm a baseball coach," he said, framing the decision as a tradition — championship teams have visited the White House for decades — rather than a political endorsement.

The Dodgers' visit comes amid shifting norms around the tradition. The 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder opted not to visit the White House. The 2026 NBA champion New York Knicks received an invitation but had not decided whether to attend as of Thursday. During Trump's current term, the White House has also hosted the U.S. Olympic gold medal men's hockey team and the NHL champion Florida Panthers.

The White House published an official video of the ceremony on whitehouse.gov, titled "President Trump Hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2025 World Series Champions" (White House).

What makes this visit stand out is how it captures baseball's place in the broader culture. A manager deflects politics. A star stays home with his family. Another player sits out on principle. The game goes to the White House anyway, jersey and ring in hand — one connected world, as it always has been, where the scorebook records both sides the same way.