I just started thinking about this the other day. And it is so true. As a kid, you are in awe of the players. The speed of the game and how it seems like they make the plays so easily.
The first time in a major league ballpark is magical. The first time you come through the tunnel as I did at the Coliseum and see the colors and have all the smells that are such a part of the game. My first Dodger Dog, and the first program. Wow, I was pretty hooked on coming back as many times as I could.
The thing about the Coliseum was how far away we were and how small the players looked. We usually sat down the RF line way behind where the fence was and even the right fielder looked like a midget. Let alone the hitter and the pitcher.
But there were so many transistor radios there, that even if you did not see the action clearly, Vin’s voice was booming all over the place. A couple of times after the games we would hang out by the players entrance to try and get autographs. Never did get one.
And the place was seemingly always packed. Got most of my info of the team from the yearbook, or baseball cards. I read the box scores every day to follow my favorites.
Wrigley Field, where I saw my first Angel game was entirely a different experience. You did not expect the Angels to win. They were an expansion team and made up of all the other teams cast offs. And in reality it was a minor league park. But the smells and ambiance of the game was still present.
The only MLB game I saw there was the Angels against the Tigers. Tigers big stars were Al Kaline and Norm Cash. But they had a veteran of the 1954 World Series on that team. Vic Wertz, who hit the ball Willie Mays ran down at the Polo Grounds.
He launched one into the night that we all thought would never come down. Yep, as a kid, there is a lot of awe involved in how you look at the game and the players.
I was 14 when we went to our first game at Dodger Stadium, and oddly, it was an Angel game. I did not see my first Dodger game there until years later when I was in the Army. But even at 14, my view was changing. It wasn’t so much awe anymore. It was admiration for the skill set these guys had.
It was something I wished I had. I loved watching and playing the game. The mid 60’s were good years in Dodgerland. We won 3 pennants in 4 years and 2 World Series. But I had not been to a game in quite a while. I was overseas or living in Texas and had only AA ball to attend.
But after I got married in 68, we would go to games at Dodger Stadium when I was home on leave. And I watched every game I could on TV. But how I watched had changed again. I had a family, and did not spend as much time watching as I had earlier.
I was not collecting cards, so I got all the stats from the Sporting News and baseball annuals I would buy every spring. I was not obsessing or getting stressed out when the Dodgers lost. They were not contenders from 67-69. I was back overseas in Germany in 1970, so the only games I got were on AFRN. And they were like one time a week.
Stars and Stripes carried some of the sports news, but I relied on my subscription to The Sporting News to keep up with the Dodgers. They rebounded some, and became a more competitive team.
But being so far away just kept me from being very rabid about anything they did. We came home in 1973. And again when I went to California on leave, we would attend at least one game.
But it was my kids who were excited now. For me, it was a way to relax and unwind from all the pressures of having a family and being in the service. My daughters both loved the team. And the first thing they always wanted at the Stadium was a Dodger dog, and a new baseball cap.
In 1974 I was getting ready to get out of the service, and they went to the World Series while I was doing all my clearing of the post. I watched when I was not busy, but losing 4-1 was a downer. I enjoyed watching the players from that historic draft start to make their marks as stars in the league.
But family took precedence over everything. After my wife and I separated, I did not watch many games or keep track of what was going on as diligently as I had before. It was the summer of 1976 when all that began to change.
I changed careers, was driving trucks and living in LA, so I could go back to listening to the games. I was in essence reliving my childhood because lo and behold, Vin Scully was still the voice of the Dodgers.
I totally hated the Reds of that time. And the Dodgers had some stars of their own, but Lasorda came, and things really changed again. He brought an energy to the team and some swagger. He made them believe they were winners.
It lit a fire under me for sure and I became more immersed in the team than I had been in years. And they had the players who kept your interest high. They were playing well, drafting well. Now and then Al Campanis would make a trade that shook things up.
Singing the Anthem there was another boost for my growth as a fan. Just walking out into center to sing in front of all those people and against the Giants too. Well, I was walking on air.
I was as rabid a fan at that point as I have ever been. And beating the Yanks in the 81 series was awesome. I watched all of the games. But I was also immersed in my work, and did not get to attend as many games as I would have liked.
And it pretty much stayed that way for many years. Winning in 88 was great as I was still working local, and not only did I get to go to some games, but I watched many more on the TV.
What really started changing me was when I went on the road driving long haul in 1994. Now getting games was not so easy. I could listen to Cardinal games sometimes because their station in the Midwest was so powerful. Dodger games were an entirely different story. I saw a few on TV, but rarely got them on the radio. That would not happen until Sirius came along and I had the sports package for my rig.
What was apparent to me was that missing games did not bother me nearly as much as it had in my 30’s and early 40’s. Now I would read the news every morning with my breakfast at whatever truck stop I happened to be at. And I would read USA Today to get my Dodger fix. They also came out with a weekly sports paper that like the Sporting News had all the scores of the week.
This went on the entire time I was driving cross country. When I quit driving cross country and moved to Phoenix, I was able to start watching again. Cable allowed me to get the Dodger’s home station out of LA. So whenever the Dodgers broadcast a game, I could get it. I had my computer to keep caught up on the internet. The times they were changing, FAST.
I went to see the Dodgers play the D-Backs at Chase many times, and went to Camelback a few times when they moved spring training. They were good, but it seemed they just could not get over the hump. I was excited when they got Manny, and watched from afar as he had one of the most awesome stretches by a Dodger player ever.
But the steroid era had tainted the game a lot to me. I have no sympathy or tolerance for cheaters. Which is why I do not believe Bonds, Clemons or any of those guys belong in the hall.
In 2010 I decided I had enough and retired from trucking. I moved to Colorado to be with some friends and play some music. And I became detached from my Dodgers. I watched when they were on TV and finally I got a MLB.TV subscription and took to being serious about the team again in 2012.
But the game had changed a lot by then. There was all this saber metric stuff that I had zero clue about. Most teams were using it. The Dodgers had come close to breaking through under Torre, but just missed.
Then Mattingly took over. They had some talented kids come up from the minors, and they signed some wild man from Cuba. But the stats still eluded me. I find now, that although I love the game, and the team, I no longer have favorite players. Probably because they can just leave.
Also, when Friedman took over, I was not down with his way of doing business. Like many others I thought they have all this money, go get the best you can. I did not value prospects like he does.
That has changed the last couple of years. I know now he made the right choice not depleting his farm system. I like the kids that they have. And I think some have the potential to be good players in the league.
How I look at the game now is so much different than when I first started. Back in the day, when they traded a favorite the reaction was usually shock and dismay, Now it is how is he going to fit into the plan. It took a long long time for that change to happen.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year Everyone!
I have NEVER started a year as a Dodger fan where I had more confidence about our teams chances. We are in a great place. Thank you Andrew.
Great story Bear. Every time you write about your childhood experiences with Baseball and the Dodgers it takes me back. We shared many of those experiences.
I went to one game in 1958 as part of a Summer softball program. Dodgers beat the Cubs 8 to 3. Big D pitched and the Duke went deep. The next year with great effort I talked my parents into letting me take the bus from Highland Park to the Colosseum with a friend. When I came back alive, they let me go again and I ended up seeing 17 games including the second All Star game. I did have good luck getting autographs at the Colosseum. We would hang out by the gate where the visitors would come out to get on their bus. Sometimes they would sign while walking to the bus, but you could also hold up programs to the open windows and the players would sign them.
Again wishing all my LADT brethren a Very Happy New Year.
Biggest difference for me over the years is no being to bothered by a loss during the regular season. Sometimes a team loses when the manager is trying to get players in form, sometimes when it’s necessary to have a pitcher work out of a jam only to have it all blow up. I remember hearing years ago a team will lose 1/3 of its games and win 1/3 of their games no matter how they play. It’s the final third that makes the difference. Aside from the ‘62 Mets that seems about right.
That is so true. When you are young and they lose, you agonize until they win again!. Now I do not do that at all, and I do not even check the standings everyday until towards the end of September. But I do get disgusted when they lose UGLY or to the Giants. That is unforgivable.
Same here.
Regular season losses do not bother me as much as they did when I was ( a lot) younger.
Different story with the playoffs.
But after winning it all last season I might not be as emotionally touched as I was in the last 32 years should we not win it all this year.
But then again I am pretty sure I will have to have the blood pressure pills ready come October.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Loved your post Bear. I wasn’t born yet when they were playing in the coliseum, it must have been really something the see a game there. I grew up watching “The Infield” and my brother used to bring me to games. We would sit in the left field bleachers when it was general admission and you could sit wherever you want. We would usually post up right next the the bullpen and I would throw my glove or hat down to get it autographed.
The one thing you mentioned that really struck home was hearing all those transistor radios at the park with Vin Scully’s voice coming from all directions. I think it was a unique experience to the Dodgers because I don’t remember that at Angel Stadium.
In other news, I read this morning that Anthony Castrovince is predicting an early exit from the playoffs for the Dodgers in 2021. This makes total sense since he seems to be a mid-west guy, educated in Ohio and a former Indians beat writer. He’s predicting that the NLCS will be between the Padres and the Braves. I guess Smyly and Morton are gonna push the Braves over the top?
I realize that it’s tough to come up with things to write about in the midst of a slow offseason, and the article is for bold predictions. But seriously, he could have just as easily wrote that the Dodgers would be the first team to repeat in 20 years. But, part of the fun of being a Dodgers fan is getting little respect from the national media and dealing with the East Coast bias and all the haters out there, especially when we’re the cream of the crop.
I would like to retort Mr. Castrovince with a few reasons why the Dodgers will be the first team to repeat since the 1999 Yankees.
1) – Depth. No team in baseball has the depth that the Dodgers have. While most teams are lucky to have a full starting rotation, we will be fielding a team that will force one mid twenties pitcher with an ERA of less than 3.27 to the bullpen and have a major league caliber starter backing up just about every position on the field.
2) – Age. Unlike the Yankees in 1999, the Dodgers are a fairly young team. The core of the Yankees position players were grizzled vets, mostly in their 30’s. Our position players? AJ Pollock is our elder statesman at the ripe old age of 33, and he’s one of just two 30 year olds on the roster. Belli at 25 is still not yet in his prime while Seager 27, Betts 28, Rios 26, Smith 26 are just entering their prime years, so there’s still room to improve. Their rotation was even older with three pitchers at ages 33, 36 and 36. Kershaw and Price at 33 and 34 are younger than Cone and Clemens were at the time of their repeat.
3) – Experience. This is our biggest advantage. Unlike the Braves and Padres, we’ve been there, done that several times over. It would be hard to find such a young core that has played as many post-season games as this Dodgers squad. The Braves are getting there, but the Padres curled up into a ball last year under the brightest lights.
4) – Management. I’ll start with the elephant in the room. Doc seems to have learned to not over manage, except for game 4 when he played musical chairs with his position players. I’m not quite confident that he’ll adjust back to National League rules without doing the same, but he just wasn’t quite the bonehead that he usually is. I would expect that he improves more next year and there’s a chance that he might actually be a good manager now that he has a few years of experience. AF may also be improving. Although, he’s still dumpster diving early in the winter, he’s picking up more experience along the way.
5) – Financial Resources. Sorry Padres and Braves, but you can’t touch us here. If the Dodgers want to spend 278M on payroll, they can and they have. Now let’s see how bad the front office and ownership want to repeat.
You are correct BP. Castrovince could just as easily have picked us to repeat and you have artfully laid out all the reasons why, but he goes out of his way to throw weird things out there just to get people talking. I’m kind of surprised he didn’t pick the Rockies.
He’s one of my favorite guys on MLB. He has a great sense of humor and absolutely doesn’t take himself seriously. After all, he’s writing about a game and a realizes that. Most every comment he makes verbally or in writing is with tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Good points Bulldogs on the Castrovince article. Anthony is normally a pretty good baseball writer, and used to have a daily MLB podcast that was informative. As you point out, in a slow offseason writers have to reach for material.
Both the Braves and the Padres will be strong competition this year, and when the Padres made 3 big moves in 24 hours it definitely improved their 2021 roster. Acquiring Snell, Darvish and Kim are aggressive, win now moves, and my initial reaction was that the Padres were now division co-favorites. But after looking at the acquisitions a little closer, maybe they weren’t the blockbuster steals that I initially thought.
Snell has tremendous upside and was dominant in the postseason and during his Cy young year. But he has only thrown more than 130 innings once in his career, and has had arm injuries in the past. And the Padres gave up Patino who is a major league ready starter plus other promising prospects. Kim is highly touted out of Korea, but the pitching he faced in KBO is not comparable to MLB, as I heard the average velocity is approximately 88 mph compared to 93 in MLB. Kim projects as a decent utility player, but probably not as a power hitting MLB starter.
The Darvish trade seemed to put the Padres over the top, as the runner up Cy Young pitcher was added to a solid pitching staff and roster. Yes, Darvish posted a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts in 2020 with a WHIP of 0.96 and a FIP of 2.23.
But 2020 was an outlier, and in the previous 3 years, his best ERA was 3.86. Plus he makes $20 million for next 3 years, and turns 35 in August. And the Padres traded Zach Davies to the Cubs, who doesn’t have the name recognition or the arm talent of Darvish, but has been an effective MLB pitcher. Davies finished 5th in NL in era in 2020 with 2.73 era, makes $8.5 million in 2021, and turns 28 in February.
In comparing Darvish to Davies over the last 4 years, their stats are quite comparable:
Darvish: 82 starts, 480 IP, 3.70 ERA, 25-26 W/L.
Davies: 89 starts, 485 IP, 3.73 ERA, 36-27 W/L.
While I concede that Darvish is much more dominant than Davies and has more upside, Davies is 7 years younger, and is making $12 million less in 2021. And Darvish comes with a guaranteed salary of $20 million per year in the years he turns 36 and 37. Also when you factor in that Padres sent 4 very young but talented prospects to Cubs, the trade hardly seems like the steal that I initially thought. Padres will still be a very good club this year, but Dodgers should still be the favorite, especially if they resign Turner and get bullpen help.
Thanks Bulldog. It was a different time. And the Coliseum had it’s quirks. Watching Wally Moon inside out a moon shot over the screen was something to see. And watching RH hitters go out of their way to pull the ball and try to get it over the screen. When I started going to Dodger Stadium regularly after I got out of the Army, I would always sit in the Pavilion. The reasons were obvious. Seats were 2.00. During batting practice there was a real chance you would get a ball. I always thought the Dodger Dogs in the Pavilion were better. And I loved those frozen malts they used to sell. I also liked the fact that the souvenir stands seemed to have more of the kind of things I would buy.
Happy New Year everyone!
Bear, this was one of your best articles ever. Although I never drove a rig and have spent most all of my life here in L.A., I can certainly identify with lots of the points you made about being a Dodger fan. I especially liked your comment about being in awe of the players when you were really young. Then, as we get older it changes from hero worship to admiration for their ability to do things on the field that we could only hope to do.
As we think back to last year we need to be grateful that with all the suffering that’s going on these days at least we had two championships to celebrate (Dodgers/Lakers).
My hope for this year is that we get another Dodger WS victory, that New Year’s Eve 2021 looks normal again, and that everyone’s worst concern will be where their favorite team is in the standings.
Again, wishing you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Maybe that’s a bit greedy. At least a happy and healthy new year. Prosperity may take a little longer.
Thanks Blue, I really appreciate it.
Now let’s see how bad the front office and ownership want to repeat.
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Exactly my point in a post to yesterdays article.
Dodgers have a golden opportunity to repeat. Their nucleus is the best in baseball, their depth is unnparralleled and the experience in tight playoff games and series is there too. plus they finally got the monkey off their back by winning last season. That can never be understimated.
So yes, it is up to Dodger management and ownership if they are willing to spent the money again this year.
If they do and bring in a Trevor Bauer, trade for Suarez and sign a top notch closer like Rosental, Hendriks or Hand they will again be the clear favorits to win the WS despite the additions the Padres and Braves have made.
Think about it how this team could look like with the above mentioned additions:
Betts, rf
Seager, ss
Suarez, 3b
Muncy, 1b
Smith, c
Bellinger, cf
Pollack, lf
Lux, 2b
Bench: Barnes, Taylor (supersub), Rios, McKinstry, Peters
Rotation:
CK, WB, DP, JU, DM
Pen:
Henriks
Jansen
Graterol
Kelly
V-Gone
Floro
Alexander
Gonsolin
That is one impressive lineup and rotation with a more than solid bullpen.
I would not call out Ferguson and Kahnle to maybe come back for the stretch drive in September if their rehabs go well.
And with some of the big contracts coming off the books after 2021 (Jansen, Kelly, Bauer) the Dodgers would still have financial flexibility going into the 2021 offseason to resign Seager.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suarez did however lead the league in strike outs in 2019. Our infield corners could set a combined K record in 2021.
You forgot to list Trevor Bauer in the rotation and Knebel and Morrow in the pen. Already a fantastic team. We will add a strong RH bat to the lineup and another strong piece to the pen. Fork the Padres and Braves!
I’d also like to add a couple of points. We cruised to 43 wins last year while the Braves finished with 35 and the Padres with 37. Over a full season, we finish 10 games up on both those teams.
The Braves had Freeman and Ozuna having by far their best seasons of their careers at age 31 and 30. Not likely that’s going to happen again and Ozuna’s a free agent. Acuna also had a career year, at age 23 I think he is the guy he was last year, but maybe due to regress a little. d’Aurnaud also had a career year and at age 31, it’s unlikely to have a year like that again.
The Padres had Will Meyers OPS’ing almost 200 points better than his best season at age 30 and Manny had his career year as well. He probably won’t be that good again last year, but might be close. Tatis will probably be about the same as he was last year, but also could regress a little.
The Dodgers best hitters in Seager and Betts performed more closely to what’s expected. I just don’t think they’ll regress as much. Muncy and Belli severely underperformed.
There’s a better chance that the Dodgers offense is better next year compared to last year than those two other teams. That’s freaking scary!
Both the Padres and Braves relied very heavily on their bullpens last year. Both teams lost several pieces in their pen that they have yet to replace.
The Braves added to the backend of their rotation with Morton, age 37. He had an ERA north of 4.5 and the last game he pitched was 4.1 innings and 5 ER against the Dodgers. Good luck Charlie. Drew Smyly is left handed, but he’s also like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.
Speaking of a box of chocolates, the Padres “improved” their rotation by trading away their second best pitcher in Zach Davies for what looks like is a new and improved Yu Darvish. Is that a wash? Sorry, but Yu is softer than that cream filled thing in that box that no one wants to eat. He’s already whining about the Cubs hurting his feelings. The the opposite of a bulldog, he’s a labradoodle.
The other improvement is Snell. They should give him the number 5, for how many innings he last per outing, or maybe 95, how many pitches he’s thrown at the end of 5 when they take him out. For a while I thought Drew Smyly and Blake Snell were the same pitcher. It’s ironic that one each go to each of our rivals next year.
Sorry Castrovince, you’re counting on a World Series hangover from a team that considers it a normal season.
Great look back. Have many of those same memories. One of my greatest memories was going to the Coliseum and watching my first game in person. I was already a Dodger fan, but that sealed the deal. Never forgot all the transistor radios and the voices of Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett heard throughout the stadium. Those who have never experienced that have no idea how cool that was. The Dodgers played the Reds and lost 9-3. Didn’t matter. I was a kid, it was an incredible experience. The hardest hit ball of the day slammed into the giant screen, ended up a single.
I guess I have always valued prospects, took a big interest in the draft. Probably started in 1966. I was a junior in high school, a guy I played legion ball with, Steve Chilcott, was drafted number one. He was an incredible talent, would have made the majors, but back to back shoulder injuries ended his career. I was the sports editor of our school paper, got to interview Casey Stengel, who came to watch Chilcott play. Doesn’t get better than that for a 17 year old.
So was Stengel impressed.? Absolutely. Chilcott hit two long home runs, a double off the fence and threw two runners out. Never forgot that day.
But it definitely got me interested in the draft and prospects. The Dodgers draft of 1968 cemented that interest. Watched many of those players at Dodger Stadium for years. When I became a sports editor, I spent a lot of time talking with scouts, had two friends become scouts. Then there were the conversations with Fred Claire. A class act. Was thrilled when he got to be GM.
Thanks for reflecting and sharing those memories Bear. Those were the days.
I went to Mira Costa high in Manhattan Beach, class of 66. When I was playing on the JV team, one of our alumni, who just happened to pitch for the Dodgers, Joe Moeller would come and pitch batting practice to us before he went to Vero. I remember hearing his fastball. Seeing it, not so much. One time he brought a prospect with him who had been drafted by the Giants, Ron Bryant. Nasty left hander. Pitched 8 years with the Giants and in 1973 he led the league in wins with 24. But his K to BB rate was pretty bad. Those 24 wins, were almost half of his career total. A real one year wonder.
Well Mark I c Khanles contract includes 550,000 signing bonus. So now he is up to 5 mil. U say for 2 years but he is only going to pitch one. I am sure they hope he will be back for the playoffs. Morrow if he makes it will end up costing 7-8 mil. Still paying for some of maeda contract. Mlb teams how plenty of money to blow. The number of dollars spent on players that aren’t even playing is mind boggling. I wonder how insurance plays into this. My point is the Dodgers will have money just thrown away that they could use on signing somebody good like turner… but the Dodgers won the World Series. Yay!! Let’s go with that!!
I think it is a very smart deal. Kahnle counts about $2.6 million toward the salary cap in 2021 and 2022, but he only will pitch in 2022… unless he pitches in September of 2021. You never know, but I think it is a good risk. There were always be bad contracts when you take risks, but a bigger risk would have been Gerrit Cole at $300+ million. Watch and see. these little deals like with Morrow or Knebel make a lot of sense… even if only 40% pan out!
https://dodgersway.com/2021/01/01/dodgers-tommy-kahnle-contract-details/
Sorry Ten, but you I and even our resident financial wiz, AC know nothing of the Dodgers finances including their budgets. Morrow’s contract is risk free. If he doesn’t make it, they don’t pay. If he does, he’s worth 15M! If Kahnle pitches next year, the contract is still a decent deal. If he pitches this post season, it’s icing on the cake.
The Dodgers were willing and projected to go over the CBT last year. They got a gift when Price opted out and stayed under for another season so there’s no reason to believe they won’t go over if they think it’s worth while. This is the last year of the current CBA, so none of us know where the threshold or the penalties will be in future years. They are gathering low risk / high reward players on the cheap right now like they do every offseason. So work out while others don’t.
Yeah, I hope some of those deals turn out to be huge for the Dodgers. I just know the Dodgers led the league in 2019 with over 40 million of dead money on the books. That’s a lot of poor decision making. They have been first or second in dead money the last few years. I believe AF inherited some of that and is a couple of years away from getting the dead money off the books. But then u have the cardinals with guys like Dexter Fowler who is on the field but is an albatross of a salary. I know AF is executive of the year for a reason I just find the dead money annoying. Also I realize you can’t sign players for nothing and I expect LA has to pay a bit more because of the high taxes in LA.
I was sitting here yesterday watching The Queens Gambit with my wife. The show is set in the 60s and they did a masterful job with set decorations of that era. My wife turns to me and says “I bet younger people look at these styles and laugh at how old fashioned it must look”. I realized that remembering things from the 60s and 70s now would be like me in the 60s looking back at WWI. For me in my teens and twenties The Great Depression was like ancient history. Some of what we are talking about here was over 50 years ago. That’s when 25 wins, 30 complete games and 321 innings pitched didn’t even get you a Cy Young. Now, 180 innings and no complete games can get you that award.
It’s a different time. In SO many ways.
Happy New Year to my favorite blog!!
Good topic, Bear. I feel the same way. I really think the biggest change for me came after 2017, Game 7 of the World Series. I was at Lakers-Celtics Game 7 in 2010. Being there to watch your team win the title is beyond amazing. Being there to watch your team lose a title (and not yet know about the cheating) is beyond heartbreaking.
Since that moment, I’ve had zero desire to spend my time, gas, etc going to a regular season game. I’ve barely gone to any Laker or Dodger games since Game 7 of that 2017 World Series, and I have season tickets to both!! I just don’t care, because it’s just a regular season game.
But it’s more than that. I didn’t go to any Dodger playoff games in 2018 or 2019. To me, if it’s not a chance at a clincher (or at least Game 1 of the World Series), I don’t need to go. It’s now ring or bust for me.
I’d rather sell the tickets and lose my mind sitting at home.
You are getting old, my friend. You sound like me.
I will likely go to a couple of regular-season games, but I have canceled my Colts and Pacers tickets.
We had six Pacer tickets last year which cost us $20,000 for 41 games…. which does not include parking, food and drinks. Lots of times we would take employees and spend another $200 on food and drinks.
We are thinking about getting a Suite at the Indianapolis Indians (AAA) for 41 games. It includes the suite, plus 16 outdoor seats, 2 parking passes a game, and food and beer. The cost? $20,000. Even Ray Charles can see that is a better deal.
Shoot, in 41 games I will drink $40,000 in beer. Just kidding….
As a kid I grew up in a very tiny town in southeast Illinois close to the Indiana border. I grew up a dodger fan somehow. Everybody in my neck of the woods were cardinals fans yuk! I followed the Dodgers faithfully never expecting to ever c Dodger stadium in person. I was fortunate enough to c the 2017 World Series games 6 and 7. A huge letdown when u lose but didn’t know they were cheated. I could never have afforded season tickets even if I were close enough. I envy u all who have done that. I hope to c dodger stadium again but I probably won’t. There are advantages to watching them on tv. If u get mad u just turn the tv off and go to bed. Living in the central time zone I have lost a lot of sleep watching dodger games. Go Dodgers hoping for a repeat!!!
When I was living in NH, I subscribed to Extra Innings and taped all the Dodgers games. Then the next day I would watch them in 30 minutes.
Smart!! Probably added a couple of years to your life.
haha, ya the only reason I hate visiting the east coast is I find myself staying up wayyy too late for meaningless Dodger or Laker regular season games that don’t end till 1am or so.
Great post Bear… I have great memories of the L.A. Coliseum with the exception of a few USC-ND games… My Dad made me a deal if my grades were up he’d drive me there and pick me up while he visited his brother nearby..
The good old transistor radio which you really never needed because you could bet on more than a few fans leaving the volume up on theirs for us…
I start getting stoked come ST and follow the boys all year…
You mentioning you were a long haul trucker reminds me of numerous Bob Seger concerts I attended and seeing all the trucks parked in the lots…
Thanks Peter. The Coliseum was just so massive. The only college game I ever saw there was USC-UCLA in 1960. SC won, I think..long time ago… We used to go there to see 4th of July fireworks and a circus. I only got to sit behind the screen in LF once. I remember Charlie Neal hit a screamer that missed the fence and almost too some lady’s head off. She wasn’t paying attention. Some guy reached out and caught the ball inches from her coconut. When February rolled around, I was ready for some baseball. We used to get irritated because at the school I went to, even though we were in Cali and the weather was great 90 percent of the time, they would not let us play softball until March. You did not need a radio because so many people around you had them. Doggett would call the 3rd and 7th innings and Vin did the rest. Most awesome truck convoy of musician’s equipment was Charlie Daniels. He had 6 crew bus’s and his bus, and 9 big rigs Hauling the gear. He traveled everywhere with a portable stage in case the place he was playing did not have one. His sound board was huge.
Hey Castrovince, here’s my bold predictions for the Dodgers in 2021. Spoiler alert, it ends with a repeat.
The Dodgers pull out the checkbook and ink DJLM and either Henricks or Rosenthol. They pick up some bench pieces during Spring Training.
DJLM takes over for Turner at 3B after Lux wins the 2nd base job out of Spring and puts together the ROY season that he was supposed to have last year. After his only poor season in the minors, he roared back with a .324 / .399 / .514 the following season.
The Dodgers finish the regular season after surpassing Seattle’s record 116 wins pounding their competition with 4 300 hitters in Lux, Betts, Seager and DJLM, who wins the batting title while Bellinger rebounds for the HR and RBI titles. Kershaw wins the Cy Young award after adding velo for a second season in a row and leads the league in K’s, Innings Pitched, ERA, Wins and WHIP while playing for his next Dodgers contract.
Bold Predictions are fun.
Regarding what B&P said above, is Gavin Lux still eligible for Rookie of the Year?
No
No, he has 138 MLB at bats, the limit is 130.
Bulldog. You sure you’ve sobered up from last night?
Bulldog, sober???? Surely You jest!
I drink, but don’t get drunk. Typically a 2 beer guy. Maybe 3 with 2 fingers of whisky for special occasions.
what’s your whiskey of choice?
Whiskey…..
I like MaCallen 12, but it’s gotten really expensive recently. I have a Red Breast 12 that I’m currently working on.
Something i did not realize, the Braves won their division and they had the 3rd worst starting rotation in the majors…..Notre Dame getting rolled by Alabama.
They had a couple of bad injuries with Soroka and Hamels. It took awhile to get the rotation back on track and their competition in the division was just as bad. Now with Soroka returning and the addition of Morton and Smyly they look to have a solid rotation. Plus their bullpen should be solid. Minus injuries the pitching should help them dominate their division.
They lost a couple of guys out of the pen, same as the Dodgers. Bauer has been talking with the Jays.
One thing I refuse to do is downplay the competition. To read B&P the Dodgers should just get a free pass to the post season. Why play the games? Freeman is not going to hit as well as he did (and I agree). But I do think he will be back in the MVP race. It is his walk year, and he wants the last big payday. Ozuna may not be back, but AA will sign someone to replace him. Just like they found with Josh Donaldson and Ozuna. A lot of talk is pointing Michael Brantley towards the Braves. Maybe Ozuna, maybe Bradley, maybe JT, maybe someone else. But it will be someone. I guess B&P can foretell the future, as he predicts most of the Braves will regress while the Dodgers will all get better. I predict that Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. will both have better years. I also think with Soroka back and Ian Anderson available all year, the Braves SP will be better.
I have no visions of CY votes going to Charlie Morton or Drew Smyly. But I do see several potential CY votes going to:
Mike Soroka (23)
Max Fried (26)
Ian Anderson (22)
Also LAD should not sleep on 23 year old Bryce Wilson who allowed only a 3rd inning HR to Edwin Rios for the only run (and hit) he allowed in 6 innings. The Braves also have a 25 year old RHP that they are very high on (Kyle Wright). He did not pitch well in Game 3 of the NLCS, but neither did Clayton Kershaw in Game 4. Or Tony Gonsolin in Game 1 or Game 7. The Braves have been waiting for these five for a long time.
The Dodgers lit up the Braves bullpen. But the Dodger starters certainly did not outpitch the Braves starters. I am sure that the Braves are not overly concerned about Morton or Smyly, as they are both crafty vets, and they will probably be going against the other team’s #4 and #5 pitchers. Come playoff time, they will not be relying on either pitcher.
I am not about to downplay the Braves. They were up 3 games to 1. And came within one run in Game 7. The Dodgers won because they had the timely hits (HRs), GREAT defensive plays by Mookie and JT, and horrible baserunning by Ozuna and Swanson. In 2020, it was the Dodgers turn to shine. They still have to play the games to find out what happens in 2021. No matter how much fans want to talk the Braves down, they are certainly not afraid of the Dodgers and would love nothing more than a repeat of the NLCS. Because I am a Dodger fan, I predict LAD would prevail. But just like 2020, it will be an epic series.
I have already written how I feel about the 2021 Padres vs the 2020 Padres. Just like with the Braves, B&P predicts the Pads will not approach their 2020 numbers. Perhaps they will not. Then again, just like the Dodgers are a different team with Mookie, maybe the Pads are feeding of Machado. Tatis Jr. certainly is.
For all of the Dodger fans who are not impressed with Blake Snell, you may be right. Based upon what I saw in Game 6 and comparing to 2018 videos, his slider appears to be all the way back. He did not pitch into the lineup for the third time, that is a Tampa Bay requirement, not necessarily an indication that Snell cannot go 6 or 7. Tingler certainly does not go along with that philosophy. If Tingler was managing the Rays, I would bet a bundle that Snell would not have come out. Would they have won? We will never know. But I am sure glad the Rays organization does not believe in a pitcher facing the lineup a third time. I have already stated that I believe Snell will have a very good year. With the Pads offense, he does not have to have a sub 2.00 ERA, but he is capable.
I am not as overly impressed with Darvish. I do not think the Pads got that much better with Darvish over Davies, especially against the Dodgers. I think marginally better. And I do thin the last two years will hamstring the Pads. I am also not overwhelmed with Kim. I see him as a better overall offensive threat than Kike’. Preller wants to emulate the Dodgers with players who can play multiple positions. Kim, Cronenworth, Myers, even Tatis Jr can all play multiple position well. Tatis is not coming off short, but Preller has said he would like to see what he can do in CF.
We do not know what the results would have been if Lamet and Clevinger were available to pitch in the NLDS. Also, for those who have not had the pleasure of seeing MacKenzie Gore pitch, you are in for a treat. I have not seen a better pitcher in California League since King Felix. Just like everyone is predicting that Walker Buehler is in line to win a CY, so is Gore. It is going to be a lot of fun watching these two go at it over the next several years.
Padres have lost Jurickson Profar, Mitch Moreland, Trevor Rosenthal, and Kirby Yates. I think Yates and Rosenthal had ten IP combined, so they pretty much played the season without them. The have picked up Snell and Darvish. Combined, on paper, they are better than Davies and Garrett Richards. I also think that Kim is a better player than Profar. They also have Nola for the full year. They need a lock down closer. And they are talking to Yates and Rosenthal. They are also talking to Profar, and they have room to spend.
The Dodgers so far have lost JT, Kike’, Joc, Treinen, Baez, McGee, and Wood. They have picked up Corey Knebel and David Price. I agree with Mark. I think Knebel is going to have a super year this year. We will need to see if the rust comes off Price and when. I will say it again, McKinstry is not the equivalent of Kike’. Not in power or defense. He may put more barrels to the ball than Kike’ did, but he does not have Kike’s power. Plus Kike’ is a RHB while McKinstry is another LHB. I truly hope I am wrong.
I will say it again. I still believe the Dodgers are the best team in MLB right now without any additions. That may be the fan in me. I am sure Braves and Padres fans feel a lot differently. But if the Braves and/or Padres get that lock down closer, they just narrowed the gap again.
My BOLD PREDICTION – The Dodgers will sign JT, and a reliever somewhere between Ryne Stanek and Blake Treinen. They will not go over the CBT. And they most certainly will not approach $278MM like B&P thinks. While I do disagree that the relievers mentioned by Mark yesterday are the equivalent to Hendriks, Rosenthal, Hand, Yates, or Colome, I do agree that is where AF will pull from. If they do not come through, then AF is going to have to pony up at the trade deadline. The problem as I see it, I do not see the equivalent of late inning arms who may be available in July that would be better than who is available now. And the player capital cost might be a lot higher. But I also do not know who is going to get hot, and what teams will fall out. If there is an expanded postseason, more teams will still believe they are a contender. As every baseball team knows, just get to the playoffs.
As B&P said, I have no idea what the Dodgers financial condition is. I have never seen their internal budget. I have never seen their financial reports. I have read too many times to count that they are not interested in exceeding the CBT. Is that just talk? Brian Cashman has also said that he will not exceed $210MM. Is that just talk? DJLM will sign a four year deal with NYY. I actually can see them agreeing to 4 years $100MM, but then writing it up as five years to get the AAV down. The have a $35MM spending gap, and they still need pitching.
What we do know is the Dodgers and Yankees lost more revenue than any other team. Per Ronald Blum of the AP, the Dodgers player personnel payroll was the highest in MLB at $98.6MM. NYY was #2 at $86.3MM. The Dodgers also probably have the largest non-player personnel payroll. They do not skimp anywhere. What does all that mean? I have no idea. But if it is rhetoric, they are setting everyone up to not expect much in the way of excess player payroll.
Mookie does not catch Freeman’s drive off of Treinen and it would have been a different game. Dodgers were as lucky as they were good.