The Astros-Dodgers rivalry erupted in 2017 when Houston defeated Los Angeles in a seven-game World Series, later getting crowded with controversy. Then came the summer of 2025. The Astros completely dominated the Dodgers by winning all 3 regular games. Yet, in the end, the Men in Blue lifted the trophy at Rogers Centre. California Governor Gavin Newsom watched this second straight win. But when the moment came to defend LA’s victory in Houston, it felt shaky.

Newsom’s Saturday appearance in Houston was particularly charged. The governor visited Texas after Democrats’ recent victory as California voters approved Proposition 50, his plan for Texas’s new congressional map. Speaking to about 800 Democrats at a union hall, Newsom praised their inspiration and briefly celebrated the Dodgers’ World Series win. “The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the World Series.”

That remark got followed by boos from Houston folks. Newsom quickly stepped back with a smile and defended himself, which felt like turning his back on LA. “Forgive me. Forgive me. Hold on…,” as he reminded everyone that he “was the former mayor of San Francisco. That’s harder for me than it is for you.”

Before the 2025 World Series, Newsom admitted publicly that he was “a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan.” But then again, he was rooting for the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. Throughout his political career, he has often been seen siding with both ends.

During the World Series 2024, he was involved in a friendly wager with the NY Governor, Kathy Hochul, who was vouching for the NYY. Meanwhile, Newsom chose the Dodgers. However, Newsom supported San Francisco with a “#BeatLA” tweet on social media when the Giants and Dodgers played in the 2021 NLDS.

The Houston event made that complexity very clear.

It was either political instinct or real feeling that made him talk about his Giants connection at that moment. This made him connect with a Texas audience that shares the Bay Area’s long-standing rivalry with Los Angeles, which started back in the late 1950s when both teams moved west.

But Newsom isn’t the only prominent figure caught in the crossfire of this bitterness between the Astros and the Dodgers.

A rivalry that runs deeper than politics

After winning the Fall Classic, Clayton Kershaw made a critical comment. This shows how deep the animosity between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros still is.

Kershaw talked about the Dodgers’ last seven-game World Series appearance after they won the 2025 World Series. “I’ve been to one other seven-game World Series, and we lost that one — well, there’s an asterisk on that one.” He referred to the Astros’ 2017 win, which was marred by accusations of sign-stealing.

In 2017, the Houston Astros used a center field camera to capture opposing catchers’ signals. The video was relayed to a monitor near the dugout, where staff decoded the signals and communicated them to batters by banging a trash can. A bang indicated a breaking ball, and no bang a fastball. This gave batters a significant advantage in their decision-making, enhancing their performance.

While stealing signs through observation is accepted in baseball, using cameras and monitors violates league rules.

That comment isn’t just a joke. It stayed as a reminder for LA that they had to wait till 2025 to win Game 7 since their last 1965 victory.

Kershaw’s sly jab is a reminder of how old arguments still affect the emotions and tensions surrounding this rivalry, making every game between the two teams more than simply a game.

For Dodgers fans who watched their team battle through seven games to secure another championship, both moments – Newsom’s Houston response and Kershaw’s pointed comment – tell the same story from different angles. The rivalry isn’t just about wins and losses anymore. It’s about legacy, credibility, and the long shadow that 2017 continues to cast over every interaction between these teams and their supporters.