There are so many different elements that go into building a championship contender in any professional sport.

Chief among them is assembling a talented roster of highly-skilled athletes, but fostering camaraderie, unity, and a sense of family among players, coaches, and management personnel is easily a close second.

Enter the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games in this year's edition of the Fall Classic.

With the victory, manager Dave Roberts' contingent became MLB’s first repeat champs since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.

Believe it or not, the ninth title in Dodgers franchise history might actually have a pickleball connection to it.

Back in mid-April, ESPN.com reporter Jesse Rogers published a story called "How pickleball rivalries and tournaments took MLB by storm" to showcase just how popular America's fastest-growing sport has become at baseball's highest level - and the Dodgers were front and center in the piece.

"When the Los Angeles Dodgers arrived at spring training, the big-spending, star-studded defending champions were the talk of the sport. But while the rest of baseball was discussing L.A.'s chances of a repeat, there was a more pressing topic at Camelback Ranch: pickleball," detailed Rogers. "Spurred on by manager Dave Roberts for weeks, a fierce one-on-one battle between assistant general manager Jeff Kingston and Triple-A manager Scott Hennessey was finally scheduled."

How about that? Well, if you weren't a Roberts fan before, maybe you are now.

Encouraging friendly competition on the court is always a good thing.

"It's the most-hotly-talked-about topic in my seven years with the Dodgers," pitching coach Mark Prior told Rogers at the time, which is quite a noteworthy statement.

Think Prior was kidding? 

It sure doesn't sound like it.

"The Kingston vs. Hennessey clash attracted so much attention that it was held off-site to accommodate all the onlookers. A large group of Dodgers personnel made the four-mile trek from the team's spring training complex to Chicken N Pickle, a popular local eatery with courts," wrote Rogers. "Some in attendance estimated 80 to 100 members of the organization were present that March day, including Roberts, Blake Snell, Mookie Betts, Miguel Rojas and other players."

Staging the head-to-head matchup was particularly important to Roberts.

And he knew that it would draw a crowd, so it made for a perfect group outing to break up the monotony of daily workouts and exhibition games, and forge chemistry, too.

"Hennessey is a self-proclaimed great pickleball player," Roberts told ESPN. "When somebody is a self-advocate of themselves, I like to see it play out in competition. Word on the street was Jeff Kingston was a great pickleball player also."

There were even odds on the match and a betting line, and some players wanted to see Kingston and Hennessey warm up to prepare their wagers accordingly.

This was serious business.

"Hennessey was so confident that he spotted Kingston five points," wrote Rogers.

That's an especially bold move in a match to 11, but Rogers indicated that it was supposed "to level the playing field for the Dodgers executive against the former minor league outfielder turned manager."

So how did things ultimately play out?

It just so happens that Kingston emerged victorious.

"The whole place is going crazy," Kingston told Rogers. "Henny was speechless."

"He took a lot of crap," Roberts told Rogers. "Henny came in the next day and ate crow."

Fast forward eight months, and the Dodgers hoisted the coveted Commissioner's Trophy to become the first team in a quarter century to win consecutive crowns.

And maybe pickleball deserves some credit for that.