​Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked that he has a “company line” when it comes to trips to the White House. “I hope that we get this invitation every year,” he said Friday. “Because that’s the goal, to win a championship, to get this invitation to the White House.” The Dodgers are set to return to the White House on July 23 to celebrate last year’s World Series title. The Washington Post, citing Getty Images, reported that it took time for the Dodgers and the White House to lock in plans for a team visit this week, with the team slated to meet President Trump to commemorate their 2025 World Series on July 23. They will travel to Washington, D.C., on an off-day during a New York/Philadelphia road trip following the All-Star break.
This visit comes later than last year’s, when the Dodgers were honored at the White House in April for their 2024 championship. Scheduling conflicts prevented the team from making the visit during an early-season road trip to the Nationals, leaving the July 23 off day as one of the few remaining options for the year. “I think there was a lot of unknown,” Roberts said. “Then we got word, I mean, yesterday or two days ago that it was official. So then it was kind of [figuring out] how could we work this out logistically? A lot of phone calls, texts and communication internally.”
It will be the second consecutive year the Dodgers have made the trip to the White House to celebrate as champions, continuing a pattern of teams visiting executive offices to mark their title. Roberts noted the logistical hurdles but said they were worth pursuing to ensure the team visits the White House for the third time in six years (they also met with President Biden in 2021 after their 2020 title). “I’m not a politician,” Roberts said, sidestepping the public discourse among Dodgers fans in the wake of the latest news. “I’m doing something that teams have done for decades. That’s where I stand, really. I’m a baseball coach. That’s what I do.”
The Dodgers have an off day on July 23 and will travel to Washington, D.C., to meet President Trump, a plan the organization underscored as part of a tradition. In a statement released Thursday, the club cited longstanding customs in its initial comment on the trip: “As was the case one year ago, the Dodgers’ upcoming visits to the White House and Capitol Hill follow the longtime tradition of visits by other World Series champions. We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships.” Last year, that sense of tradition drew the entire active roster to the ceremony. “The White House is an incredible honor to get to go see, regardless of who’s in office,” former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said at the time. “We went in 2021. We went this time. I know there’s been a lot of stuff about, should th for better SEO.”