My brother often went to Dodgers games with his friends in Los Angeles. I remember one night when I was about five years old, I laid in my bed crying because I wasn't allowed to go to the game with my brother and his friends. My Mother came into my room, turned on my Mickey Mouse radio and dialed it in to the Dodgers game. She sat on the bed with me for a while and told me to listen real close. After a few moments she exclaimed "Do you hear that? It's your brother Danny! He's screaming and cheering for the Dodgers!". Even at five years old, I was skeptical as to how she knew it was him, but I put my ear close to the radio and listened to the game intently until I fell asleep. The next day, I awoke to find my brother had brought me something back from the game. I think it was a pennant or a mini plastic Dodgers cap. I'm not sure if my mother put him up to that, or if he just felt sorry for me.The Dodgers were on a tear for the better part of the 70s. They finished 1st or 2nd in the league for an entire decade for all but two seasons. They finished in 3rd place in '72 and '79. They lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in both '77 and '78. I always remember my brother absolutely hating the Yankees, so by default, I of course hated them too. Other boys my age idolized Reggie Jackson while I abhorred him. I would even trade away any Reggie Jackson baseball cards from my collection for Dodger players. I even once rigged a Jackson card in the spokes of my bicycle as a noise maker, which was an unforgivable sin back in the day, as that was something you reserved for 'common' player cards.
The Dodgers had their comeuppance however in 1981, when they won the World Series against the Yankees four games to two. My brother was so nervous, as the Dodgers lost the first two games. They then rallied and won the next four, and my brother was on top of the world for weeks. I was happy about it too, and was proud to call myself a Dodgers fan. I remember a wonderful sense of fulfillment I suddenly got from being a part of something bigger. At that time, we had lived in Colorado for about two years and had no Major League Baseball team to follow, so we were faithful Dodgers fans through and through. I would get crap from the kids at school who would call me a bandwagon jumper, but I took pride in telling them I grew up in California and was watching Dodgers games when I was 4 years old.
The longest running infield in history..
Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes, Steve Garvey
I remember the Dodgers having the most incredible players during those magical years. You had players like Fernando Valenzuela, Pedro Guerrero, Dusty Baker, Steve Garvey, and my brother and I's hero.. Davey Lopes. Lopes 10-year slash line with the Dodgers (batting average / on base percentage / slugging avg) was .262 / .349 / .380. Nothing to shake a stick at for sure, but what has always been remarkable to me, was that Lopes stole 418 bases during his ten years with the Dodgers, only being caught 85 times. In one game, he stole five consecutive bases and set a franchise record that stands to this day. He wasn't a big slugger, but he was super fast and could make magic happen.
During this whole Covid mess, my enthusiasm for baseball has recently morphed from interest into passion. It's the classic dilemma "You don't know what you have until it's gone". I've been dying to watch the Dodgers, but am really been desperate to watch any game whatsoever. Not knowing when I will be able to watch MLB games once again is driving me nuts. I can only imagine how crazy the hard core fans are feeling right now.
As a way to help cope, I sprung for ESPN+ early this week, and have been filling my free time with watching old 80s Dodgers games. Its been a great way to re-live my youth, and has brought back lots of great memories. I've also begun watching KBO Korean Baseball. It really is a nice way to pass an afternoon. As crazy as it may sound, seeing the park, the baseball diamond, and simply watching the game being played, is bringing back a sense of normalcy to my spring. I neglected baseball for a long time. On the other side of this pandemic, I won't make that same mistake. Not only in regards to baseball, but for a long list of things.