Spring Training is Almost Here!
Baseball has always been one of my coping mechanisms, and even more so going forward!
Living in LA comes with some crazy highs and lows. For the past week we have all been dealing with some of the most devastating lows this community has ever experienced. (I have already written about the fires here and here.) Today I want to take a different tack and speak to a high for me and many others. Baseball, baby!
I am a lifelong Dodgers fan, growing up on Koufax, Drysdale, and Maury Wills (“Go, Maury, Go!” echoing throughout Chavez Ravine.) For the last decade or so, the Dodgers have been on a tear, winning 11 Western Division Titles, 3 National League Championships, and two World Series in 2020 and 2024.
The 2024 World Series was a classic between two long time rivals: the Dodgers and the dreaded New York Yankees. The games lived up to the hype, starting with the first ever World Series walk-off Grand Slam by a hobbled Freddie Freeman channeling his inner Kirk Gibson, and culminated with a wild Game 5, in which the Dodgers erased a five-run deficit in the fifth inning, and brought in Walker Buehler to nail down the save.
As exciting as that was - and it was thrilling for this old Dodgers fan - the upcoming season could be even better. The Dodgers' pitching - which was so banged up last year that no fewer than 15 of them spent time on the injured list - has added some arms for the new season, including Blake Snell (a two time Cy Young award winner!), to a rotation that is likely to include Shohei Otani (though not at the start of the season), Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May (neither of whom pitched at all in 2024), along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Landon Knack.
And then there’s Roki Sasaki, a much heralded right-handed starting pitcher from Japan. The Dodgers are rumored to be among the final three candidates to sign him (the other two being the San Diego Padres (boo) and the Toronto Blue Jays (seriously???)). Sasaki’s signing window opened today and closes on the 23rd, so we won’t have to wait much longer to find out where he lands.
The core of the starting lineup stays pretty much the same: Ohtani leading off, followed by Mookie Betts (who appears set to return to shortstop), Freeman, Taoscar Hernandez (who signed a three-year deal in the off-season) and Max Muncy.
That the Dodgers managed to win the World Series last year with a battered and bruised pitching staff was a testament to Manager Dave Roberts skill in making the most of every player on the roster. With their key hitters all returning, and a vastly improved pitching staff, the 2025 season could be memorable - and certainly a welcome distraction from the chaos coming from Washington.
Pitchers and catchers report on February 12th, first squad practice is one month from now, on February 15th. Oh, and I’m going to my first-ever Spring Training game on my birthday! Play ball!
In community, forward!
Teoscar was a great keep. Could have lost him.