When Walter’s Guggenheim Baseball group bought the Dodgers in 2012, the once-proud franchise was mired in embarrassment and mediocrity.

Under Frank McCourt’s ownership, the team was in bankruptcy. It had not fielded a top-10 MLB payroll three years running. And it had won the National League West only three times since the turn of the century, seemingly miles away from ending what was already by then a decades-long World Series drought.

But then came Guggenheim — making huge infusions of cash, followed by a sudden return to contention.

Since 2013, the Dodgers have exceeded MLB’s luxury tax threshold (the closest thing baseball has to a soft salary cap) eight times and topped the league in spending seven times.

They’ve splurged repeatedly on star talent, from lucrative extensions for Clayton Kershaw, Andre Ethier and Kenley Jansen; to blockbuster acquisitions of Adrián González, Hanley Ramírez and Zack Greinke; to the more recently transformative arrivals of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani.

And in that span, they’ve never once missed the playoffs, won their division 11 of the last 12 seasons, and reached the World Series on four occasions — finally breaking through with championships in 2020 and 2024.

“He wants to win,” Roberts said of Walter. “He feels that the fans, the city deserves that.”

Walter’s Guggenheim group has made major outlays beyond the roster as well. They invested in what has become one of the most renowned farm systems in the sport. They have built a robust analytics department in the front office. They’ve made multiple major renovations to Dodger Stadium, upgrading fan areas and the players’ clubhouse facility.

There have been moments when the team has shown financial constraint, most notably when it strategically stayed under the luxury tax in 2018 and 2019 — to the chagrin of some fans at the time.

But in the last two offseasons, the Dodgers have spared almost no expense, this year becoming the first team in MLB history to boast a $400-million luxury tax payroll.

“The commitment from our ownership group from the minute I got here has been incredible,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said this offseason. “It has always been, ‘Hey let’s push. Let’s go. Let’s get better.’”