In 1963, I became a Dodger fan for life. It’s a long story, but it happened when I was nine. I have been a Dodger fan for most of my life, and I am now an old man who will turn 72 years old in a few months. My 25-year-old son has recently turned into a rabid Dodger fan, and starting next Spring, I plan to spend all of Spring Training in Phoenix. We are currently looking at houses there. At my real job, which is www.USwaterSystems.com. We are planning on opening a West Coast Distribution Center in Phoenix, and my son, who is now the CEO, is planning on moving his family there and then spending the summer back at our Home Estate in Indianapolis.
Starting in the late 1970s, I started frequenting Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida. Spring Training was a magical time, and I loved going to Bobby’s, a restaurant on Vero Beach, where many of the Dodger Players went after the games. There was also a little “hole-in-the-wall” Italian Restaurant in Vero that Tommy frequented, and I occasionally went there. The food was outstanding, but other than a “knowing nod,” I never talked to Tommy there. My family and I were at the last game in Vero, when Tommy and Carl Erskine played a huge part. I loved Vero Beach. But, the Dodgers HAD to move Spring Training to the WEST!
In 2003, I was the National Sales Manager of a water treatment company out of Fullerton, CA. It turned out that I had to leave that job due to illness: They were sick of me! That was the day that we started US Water Systems. I was 49 years old, and working for others was not working out. I don’t play well with others. The first few years of US Water Systems were as a local water treatment dealership… much like a Culligan dealer.
On January 4th, 2006, I purchased the URL, www.LAdodgerTalk.com, for about six bucks, and shortly thereafter, I put up the blog on a WordPress Platform. The blog became my hobby. I didn’t have a lot of time to devote to LAdodgerTalk.com – I was starting a new company in our garage… along with my wife… who is a beast! She has been the love of my life, and we will celebrate our 28th anniversary this July.
In 2009, Josh Rawitch invited several bloggers to a “Bloggers Night” at Dodger Stadium. We were in a suite and Ned Colletti, Ron Cey, and others stopped by. Josh made the announcement that the Dodgers were going to allow bloggers to get Press Passes. I waited until everyone left and then said to Josh: “You know I came the farthest (Indiana) and since I am going to be here tomorrow, is there any reason why I should not be the first blogger to sit in the pressbox?” He agreed and the next day, I was in the pressbox.
There were a few other times when I got press passes, including at Camelback Ranch and Wrigley Field., but in 2010, I took the Company in a new direction. I designed an e-commerce website and turned US Water Systems into what is now one of the largest, if not THE largest, e-commerce water treatment websites. I had no more time for the Pressbox stuff. I did, however, keep the blog going, as a hobby (more or less).
When Guggenheim and Company bought the Dodgers in 2012, I casually mentioned on this blog that the Dodgers needed a President of Baseball Operations like Andrew Friedman. I was a fan of how he built the Rays in Tampa. Less than two years later, Andrew left the Rays and joined the Dodgers as President of baseball operations. I was overjoyed, but many Dodger fans were not. On this blog, some called him “FriedBrains” instead of Friedman. It turns out their brains were fried, and the hiring of Andrew Friedman has been vindicated. This is truly the “Golden Age of Dodger Baseball, and he is the architect of it all.”
Tonight, I am going to the Dodgers vs. Braves game with my wife, son, and son-in-law, and with the help of the Dodger VP of Communications, Jon Weisman, I have secured an interview with Andrew Friedman tonight, which I hope to record and play for you tomorrow. This might be the “last hurrah!”
Wow! That’s incredible … you scoring that interview …
but also I’ve always admired the trajectory your life has taken. The great thing about this country is that there are second acts. You have a pretty good second act.
Here’s a question you should ask AF:
“There is a local blogger here managed by a Scott Andes. He has been a long-time vocal critic of yours. Can you either confirm or deny that he’s a moron?”
I am very adept at perceiving the obvious immediately.
Congrats on the successes of your achievements Mark!
Look forward to seeing you interview the architect of the golden age
Give ’em hell, Mark!
Awesome, do the Go Ahead Entry to tonight’s game, thank me later….
Where are your seats?
I say Reserve, Loge and then Home Run Seats….
3FD
P
5-8
WITH ADMISSION TO STADIUM CLUB
Great seats, enjoy it!!
If they lose though it will all be because you are there.
Fantastic – a great opportunity. You should be proud and excited.
Cold and windy day here in Colorado. Waiting for some Dodger baseball to warm things up. Padres are playing excellent baseball too, maybe they will be better than we thought they would be. Anyone still want Devers? Max has been mediocre, but Devers, who is DHing now for the BoSox, has been downright awful. 19 at bats, 15 Ks and no hits. Kike and Teo hit bombs last night. Last time they both hit a homer in the same game, LA clinched the LDS.
Dodgers are now 7-0 and the Padres are 6-0….
Perhaps more shocking: The Angels are 4-1.
Wow. That 30+ year drought is in the rear view mirror, and fading fast. Finally a baseball dynasty has arrived. And it is the LA Dodgers. I am proud to be a rabid fan of said dynasty. And I am going to enjoy every single minute of it. From Guggenheim down to the peanut vendors, the Dodger family is exceeding all expectations. Everybody wants to play there and the fanbase is growing by leaps and bounds. The face of the team is Sho, but the architect is Andrew ‘frickin ‘ Friedman. Kudos to AF he deserves it.
Hey Mark…ask Andrew if October is a crapshoot. I bet he says no not really. And proceed to give great reasons why it isn’t. Anyway, keep up the great work. I love LADT.
Book em
Almost a dynasty. Need another championship. Then we can talk.
10:10 PM ET
Braves (0-5)
Dodgers (6-0)
SPChris Sale L
0-0 5.40 ERA
SP Dustin May R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
2B Tommy Edman S
RF T. Hernandez R
C Will Smith R
1B E. Hernandez R
3B Miguel Rojas R
CF Andy Pages R
LF Chris Taylor R
59° Wind 23 mph Out
NO Freeman,Conforto or Muncy
Lineup is stacked with righties versus Sale
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
Freddie Freeman explained he slipped and fell on his right ankle on Sunday morning.Freeman has a good sense of humor about the fall because X-Rays showed he didn’t damage his surgically repaired right ankle.Likely won’t play until Friday at the earliest. #Dodgers
Taylor should do real well against Sale. /sarcasm
WOWSERS Mark – that is awesome – a real feather in your cap – can’t wait to see and hear the interview !!! Unbelievable chapter in Dodger Baseball.
I am NOT SURE I LIKE the last two words “last hurrah” of your post.
If by interviewing Andrew means you are going out on top – no higher pinnacle, etc., etc. – I forbid it if I can:)
All kidding aside – this site is such an enjoyable part of so many lives and whether I was just reading into it or not I just want to say.
THANKS for all your time and effort you have put into this endeavor that is enjoyed by so many!!
Hope the Dodgers throw a no-hitter and win 10-0 in your honor tonight.
Looking forward to your interview with AF!
It would be interesting if he’d share any of his regrets, or go in-depth on difficult decisions.
Why did it take him so long to see that Lux wasn’t a SS when a mere blogger like yourself had figured that out?
I wouldn’t expect a lot of candor from AF, but …. who knows?
All I can say is last night it was…….
May in April! Oh and Mookie, who is still underweight, is proving what a superstar he is. I know it’s early but…….MVP, all my Betts are on Mookie
Book em
“Los Angeles Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing was forced to exit the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets’ game on Tuesday after taking a foul ball off his catcher’s mask.Rushing was on the ground for about a minute before getting to his feet and staying in the game. However, in the bottom half of the inning, he was pinch-hit for and exited the game”.
Everyone has a plan til they take a foul ball off the mask
David Vassegh
@THEREAL_DV
#Dodgers have not only have started the season 7-0…They have beaten the 2 Cy Young winners. Skubal and Sale.
2:05 AM · Apr 2, 2025
“Oklahoma City won a third straight game overall last night 4-1 to improve to 3-1 on the season after also winning two of three games in Sugar Land over the weekend.-Michael Chavis hit his second home run of the season and second in three games, finishing the game 2-for-4 with two RBI…Hunter Feduccia also finished with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored.
Four OKC pitchers combined to hold the Chihuahuas to one run on six hits with 10 strikeouts while issuing just two walks. Starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks with three strikeouts…Sam Carlson closed out the game for OKC, retiring all five batters he faced, including four via strikeout to earn his first save of the season…Ryan Sublette (2-0) earned the win and was charged with a blown save, while Joe Jacques was credited with a hold”.
Poor Feduccia
Good to see Code Red back.
He will be a real weapon this year.
Mark let us how it went last night!
May’s stuff is filthy!!!!
Player A OPS .351 player B OPS 1.035
Ave .095 Ave .350
RBI 0 RBI 4
HR 0 HR. 1
R 1 R 3
H 2. H 7
Yeah I know “it’s a small sample size”…….
But I’ve seen this story before
I’m ALWAYS happy to hear of an American success story like your’s Mark. On a much smaller scale I took over my dad’s dairy farming operation and built up a nice business. Although the dairy farming economy has collapsed, I exited 7 years ago before it grounded out entirely. Very sad. Transitioned my farm over to grain farming and cut my workload while actually making a better living. I too became a devoted fan at about 12 years old in the summer of 1974. I am 63 now. I will make an effort next February in Scottsdale to meet you, shake hands and visit with you Mark. Would you make this trade for Sandy Alcantara, who has a team friendly contract for a couple more years. Giving up Bobby Miller, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin ? Possibly Landon Knack too ? Is that too much or not enough ? Sandy is an incredibly talented pitcher.
Everybody would do that trade.