Archives for posts with tag: World Series
My sweetie and I revel in victory at the World Series celebration at Dodger Stadium on Friday, Nov. 1.

I will always be grateful for the unbelievable joy and pride that the Dodgers of 2024 — the World Champion Dodgers — gave me in my final year as a Season Ticket Holder.

“What a fucking ride!” as Kiké Hernández might say!

My husband and I have watched Game 5 at least 4 times, and I’d watch it again in a second. It was heart-stopping and thrilling and so satisfying, with heroics from unexpected players and unadulterated joy in the end. What more could you want from baseball?

However, I did not renew my season tickets for 2025. The price hike of nearly 25% seemed extreme to me. But more than that, having to schedule my whole life around the Dodgers’ home games for 8 months out of the year started to feel like a job. I didn’t want to start resenting the claim on my time. I have a lot of editing to do, movies to make, books to write, friends to visit, grandsons to spoil. Going to the games has been awesome, especially this year, but it took precedence over all those things, and I needed to make a break to be able to focus and prioritize. Let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger.

Now, that doesn’t mean I’m done with the Dodgers. I will never be done with the Dodgers. I will watch games on TV and even get tickets from time to time. I will know the standings by heart, blog about games, and take score as often as possible. But it will be on my timetable, not one I feel obligated to follow.

I love the Dodgers. I love baseball. I hope my grandkids learn to love baseball and the Dodgers, too. Finally, I can’t wait until Spring.

Freddie Freeman made history with a walkoff Grand Slam, the first in World Series history!

The most unbelievable Game 1 of a World Series ever! Hear that, Kirk Gibson?

First baseman Freddie Freeman — who this season battled a broken finger, a sprained ankle and the life-threatening illness of his little son — hadn’t played in most of the postseason games so far this year. When he did, he practically had to be carried off the field by Mookie Betts! So what does he do? With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, he hits it out of the park on the first pitch!

I literally started crying, it was so beautiful!

The roar of the crowd was deafening. The feeling of triumph was overwhelming. It was a moment that will live forever in the minds and hearts of Dodger fans everywhere.

I didn’t take score for most of the games this postseason. Too crowded, plus I wanted to roam and see folks around the stadium. But yesterday, right before we left to walk up the Ravine, I decided, “It’s the freaking World Series, Dodgers vs. Yankees! Of course I have to keep score!”

I’m so glad I did.

We go again tonight, but it will be difficult to top Game 1 — for intensity, exhilaration and satisfaction! History isn’t made every day.

MY SCORECARDS
WORLD SERIES Game 1: Dodgers 6-Yankees 3

Side note: Very sad about Fernando Valenzuela. He was so young, just 63. The Dodgers are honoring him and his contribution to baseball at the World Series and next season with a patch on their uniforms. Simply “34.”

Sure, he’s happy now, but you should have heard him complaining about the Dodgers all through the game. “The pitching sucks!” “They can’t bring guys home!” “They’ve got Ohtani’s number!” OMG! It’s hard to take. But then again, maybe his negativity was the right energy to engender tonight’s miracle? Who knows? (I still think it’s my earrings.)

win-for-vin

Would you believe a home run? The Dodgers have clinched the division and will celebrate on schedule.

Vin Scully, like many of us in the stadium yesterday, had been watching the other game (Giants 3, Padres 4 in the top of the 9th) as Dodger second-baseman Charlie Culberson came to the plate. There were two outs, and his team was tied with the Rockies 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th. We were bracing to go to the 11th and to clinch the National League West championship via San Francisco’s demise.

“Culberson doesn’t have any homers,” my husband lamented. “It’s time for him to get his first.”

BAM! Vin Scully got to report one last miracle in Chavez Ravine before hanging up his microphone and heading home.

For me, it was better than Kirk Gibson’s home run simply because I was there to see it with my own eyes.

I’ve witnessed many amazing moments at Dodger Stadium — Fernando’s no-hitter, Manny’s bobblehead slam, Steve Finley’s clinching homer — but they came mostly from players who were well-known to be capable of such big contributions.

No one expected anything like this from Culberson, who practically danced from third to his waiting teammates at home plate. It was a beautiful, joyful and totally surprising turn of events.

When Kershaw was injured, a postseason berth looked like a lost cause. Luckily, this scrappy team didn’t see what so many of the rest of us saw.

To a man, they came through when needed. The unlikeliest of heroes emerged game after game. With the steady leadership of manager Dave Roberts, the veterans — Adrián González, Chase Utley, Howie Kendrick and A.J. Ellis (now gone but never forgotten) — and the rest of a roster made from spare parts came together to make history.

This is a team in the truest sense of the word.