Dodger Stadium – Dodger Thoughts

Video: 1960s Celebrity All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium

On August 4, 2020

In All-Star Game, Celebrities, Dodger Stadium

Somehow, I had never seen this before, so I’m appreciative to Ken Levine for passing it along. From more than 50 years ago, it’s a Celebrity All-Star softball Game at Dodger Stadium, and as these things go, the rosters are impressive, with celebrities including Woody Allen, Peter Falk, James Garner, Robert Loggia, Ryan O’Neal and Dick Shawn, and active major leaguers like Roberto Clemente, Don Drysdale, Harmon Killebrew, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Brooks Robinson and Maury Wills (in his Pirates uniform). Leo Durocher and Milton Berle are the managers.

Throw in Vin Scully for the play-by-play (albeit with a rather lugubrious Jerry Lewis as his partner), and you’ve got yourself a ballgame.

Podcast: Morning walk

By Jon Weisman

On March 25, 2020

In Coronavirus, Dodger Stadium, Life, Podcast, Thinking out loud

This is the first episode of Word to the Weisman that I’ve posted in more than a year, so check it out. You can also get it on Apple, Spotify, etc.

Visiting the Hall of Fame
Part 2: On to Los Angeles

By Jon Weisman

On July 19, 2019

In Dodger Stadium, Dodgers, Hall of Fame, History

As I mentioned a couple days ago, on July 14 I made my second visit to Cooperstown, and first as an adult. I took tons of pictures, and couldn’t help wanting to share some with you. Today, here is a set of shots focusing on the Dodgers, dating from their move to Los Angeles.

Dodger Stadium waits for spring

By Jon Weisman

On November 3, 2016

In Dodger Stadium

By Jon Weisman

If we had somehow forgotten, Wednesday’s World Series finale between the Cubs and Indians, an instant classic that will be revisited for generations to come, reminded us of why we invest in a team not only over the course of a season, but of seasons.

Today, on the first day of the rest of our offseason, Dodger Stadium killed us with its kindness, with its beauty, with its perfect backdrop for one day more of baseball, if baseball could only just oblige.

For now, our days and nights turn to other things. So the ballpark waits, patiently, for next year to arrive.

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Dodger Stadium settles in for winter

By Jon Weisman

On October 27, 2016

In Dodger Stadium, Thinking out loud

Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Cassandra Lane

The baseball park can hold close to 60,000 bodies, but it is eerily empty in the days after the Dodgers lose out on a chance to advance to the World Series race for the first time in 28 years. Another race is going on in the country — one of the bitterest presidential bids in U.S. history — yet none of that seems to matter in these parts. Chavez Ravine is a sleeping giant — no, not quite asleep; it is in a deep and sullen state, painfully aware that its soul is gone — the crowds, the roar, the hope — while its body is one great hull of a thing that must stay put until another season. It hibernates in the open, all blue and golden in its loneliness, picked on by laughing ravens and overlooked by helicopters flying over the open mouth of the stadium … to somewhere else.

Vin Scully’s Dodger Stadium farewell is a lovefest

By Jon Weisman

On September 25, 2016

In Broadcasting, Dodger Stadium

By Jon Weisman

High above the champagne party in the Dodger clubhouse, the booth sits empty now. And yet it feels so full.

Vin Scully clocked in at Dodger Stadium for the final time today, a day that encapsulated so much of what made him baseball’s premier voice.

Vin Scully sings at seventh-inning stretch

By Jon Weisman

On September 23, 2016

In Dodger Stadium

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Vin Scully had a surprise for Dodger fans — his own personal rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at the seventh-inning stretch. This one’s a keeper.

— Jon Weisman

All the feels. #VIN pic.twitter.com/KB5a8wSpJ2

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 24, 2016

Dodgers All-Access returns September 1

By Jon Weisman

On August 15, 2016

In Dodger Stadium

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

The third-annual Dodgers All-Access event will take place September 1 at Dodger Stadium, beginning at 5 p.m.

The evening features panel discussions with current and former Dodger players, coaches and executives. Guests will also have the opportunity to take batting practice in the Dodger batting cages, pitch in the Dodger bullpen, tour Dodger Stadium, call play-by-play action on historic Dodger moments, take photos throughout the stadium with Dodger alumni and enjoy a dinner on the infield.

Among those scheduled to take part in the panel discussions are Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner, Joc Pederson, Dave Roberts, Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi. Others set to participate in the event include Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Mickey Hatcher, Orel Hershiser, Eric Karros, Tommy Lasorda, Bill Russell, Reggie Smith and Steve Yeager.

Proceeds from the event will be split between the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Council, which partners with the City of Los Angeles to bring such major sporting and entertainment events to Los Angeles as NBA All-Star Weekend, the Grammys and more.

Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.

Rank Vin Scully’s Top 20 calls in Dodger history

By Jon Weisman

On August 2, 2016

In Broadcasting, Dodger Stadium

By Jon Weisman

In honor of Vin Scully’s 67th and final year announcing the team’s games, the Dodgers have nominated Scully’s Top 20 calls of all-time. Now, it’s up to you to rank them.

Go to dodgers.com/vin, where you can play videos to hear all 20 calls — and then drag and drop them in order of your preference. Voting takes place through August 12.

The Dodgers will begin revealing the order of the Top 20 on August 13, starting a countdown that will end with the announcement of the fans’ choices for his top two greatest Dodger calls on Vin Scully Appreciation Night, September 23.

A landslide of emotion for Vin Scully at LADF gala

By Jon Weisman

On July 29, 2016

In Community, Dodger Stadium

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIbqZZ-Dpy7/

By Jon Weisman

Stevie Nicks said she was backstage Thursday during the Los Angeles Dodger Foundation’s Blue Diamond Gala when she began to think about time. Nicks started performing with Mick Fleetwood nearly 50 years ago, and the years were something to contemplate.

And then her thoughts turned to Vin Scully, the night’s honoree whom the members of Fleetwood Mac met before their performance began, and his 67 seasons of service to the Dodgers, and she was blown away.

Nicks then dedicated the ballad “Landslide” to the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame announcer.

Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
‘Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I’m getting older too

In case you missed it: A moment of reflection

By Jon Weisman

On July 10, 2016

In Community, Dodger Stadium, In case you missed it, Off the field, Pregame

"The Los Angeles Dodgers will continue to stand firm against all forms of hatred, violence and discrimination."https://t.co/Z2iwBALGma

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 9, 2016

Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrián González, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Trayce Thompson, CF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Scott Van Slyke, LF
Kenta Maeda, P

By Jon Weisman

I didn’t want to let the weekend go by without passing along the words Vin Scully recited to the Dodger Stadium crowd before Friday’s game, near the end of an incredibly difficult week in this country.

Ladies and gentlemen. At this time, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the tragic events that have occurred across our country over the past few days. As a community and a nation, we mourn the tragic loss of lives and injuries, and our deepest sympathies go out to all who have been directly impacted by those events and to their families and friends. As United States attorney general Loretta Lynch said today, “This has been a week of profound grief and heartbreaking loss, but as she also reminded us, “Today and every day we are one nation, we are one people and we stand together.

Therefore, we commend the heroic actions and courage of our first responders, volunteers, citizens and government officials, and we gratefully acknowledge the sacrifice that so many have made on behalf of those people. And as the organization that took a historic stance against racism, the Los Angeles Dodgers will continue to stand firm against all forms of hatred, violence and discrimination. At this time, we ask that you please stand silently for a moment of reflection and respect.

Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers

A few other items from recent days …

What else, but ‘The eagle has landed’

By Jon Weisman

On July 5, 2016

In Dodger Stadium

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National attention fell on the apparently rogue eagle that preceded Yasiel Puig’s second-inning fly ball over the center-field fence at Dodger Stadium on Independence Day, but rest assured, Chinook is safe at home.

@Dodgers Happily, our bald eagles are fine + safely back at the Zoo. Although he missed his mark, Chinook waited by the van for his trainer

— Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens (@LAZoo) July 5, 2016

— Jon Weisman

In case you missed it: That post-Puig, post-sweep glow

By Jon Weisman

On June 23, 2016

In Dodger Stadium, History, In case you missed it, Off the field

By Jon Weisman

Still feels like there’s a buzz in the air over how very #Puignotlate the ending was to Wednesday’s game. Let’s provide some epilogues to that, as well as catching up on some other recent Dodger ephemera.

[mlbvideo id=”848082683″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Puig’s dash around the bases was 15.2 seconds, which is tied for the fastest home-to-home run in baseball this year, as seen in the video above.
What was going through Puig’s mind? “I was ready for the hit, and nobody thought that the ball would go through,” Puig said through an interpreter, according to Doug Padilla of ESPN.com. “So when I did see the ball go through, I had to talk to my hamstring so I can figure out how far I could go on the bases. … I didn’t see [the stop sign]. I was listening to my hamstring and I was trying to figure out how far it could go. If it exploded there, that’s what was going to happen, but I was able to make it home.”
The big finish called to mind 1988’s Kirk Gibson scoring from second base on a wild pitch, as Phil Gurnee writes at his new blog, Dodgers, Yesterday and Today.

Turner, Dodgers have got that bounce

By Jon Weisman

On June 18, 2016

In Dodger Stadium, History, Postgame

[mlbvideo id=”831429083″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

By Jon Weisman

Justin Turner’s weekend of heroics continued.

Turner’s third home run in two nights brought the Dodgers’ roaring back from a 5-2 deficit in the third inning, putting them on their way to a 10-6 victory over Milwaukee.

The biggest of the 14 Dodger hits that also included homers by Howie Kendrick and Joc Pederson, Turner’s blast — his sixth homer in his past 12 starts — marked the halfway point in the Dodgers’ six-run inning, their biggest of 2016. And it salvaged a night in which starting pitcher Mike Bolsinger couldn’t make it out of the third inning.

Roberts said @MBolsinger had cramping during his outing. Labored through 2.2 IP.

— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) June 19, 2016

In fact, Bolsinger and Milwaukee’s Chase Anderson, childhood friends who were best men at each other’s weddings, each threw exactly 29 balls and 44 strikes in 2 1/3 innings tonight. Anderson took the loss, while Chris Hatcher, who threw 2 1/3 shutout innings, was the Dodgers’ winning pitcher.

Hatcher, who made his MLB debut as a catcher in 2010 but went 0 for 6, also picked up his first career hit, an RBI single in the third.

[mlbvideo id=”831523083″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

Scully, Dodgers remember victims of Orlando tragedy

By Jon Weisman

On June 17, 2016

In Dodger Stadium, Farewells

[mlbvideo id=”823429083″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]

By Jon Weisman

Flags flew at half staff Thursday at Dodger Stadium in tribute to the victims of the mass murder early Sunday morning in Orlando. Before Thursday’s game, Vin Scully led those in attendance at Dodger Stadium into a moment of silence. Here is the text of what he said:

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Category: Dodger Stadium (Page 1 of 12)

Video: 1960s Celebrity All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium

Podcast: Morning walk

Visiting the Hall of Fame
Part 2: On to Los Angeles

Dodger Stadium waits for spring

Dodger Stadium settles in for winter

Vin Scully’s Dodger Stadium farewell is a lovefest

Vin Scully sings at seventh-inning stretch

Dodgers All-Access returns September 1

Rank Vin Scully’s Top 20 calls in Dodger history

A landslide of emotion for Vin Scully at LADF gala

In case you missed it: A moment of reflection

What else, but ‘The eagle has landed’

In case you missed it: That post-Puig, post-sweep glow

Turner, Dodgers have got that bounce

Scully, Dodgers remember victims of Orlando tragedy

Buy ‘The Catch: A novel’

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