My First Game at Dodger Stadium
By Mike SanClemente - Managing Editor
06/07/2006
Honestly, there weren’t too many ways a June game could have been more interesting:
June 6, 2006
7:10 PM
Dodger Stadium
Pedro Martinez (NY), 5-1, 2.51 ERA
Vs.
Derek Lowe (LA), 4-2, 3.44 ERA
Sure, if I’d seen a no-hitter, or if my favorite player hit for the cycle, or if multiple triple plays occurred, then maybe so. But otherwise, this game had more interesting ingredients than many I’d seen in a long time.
As a transplanted Bostonian living in LA, this game was a feast for the eyes with its many subplots:
- Pedro and Grady Little returning to the same field again;
- Pedro opposing fellow 2002-2004 rotationmate Derek Lowe;
- Nomar facing Pedro;
- The possibility of Eric Gagne’s first save in nearly a year, and;
- Personally, my first visit to the Elysian Fields.
Last offseason, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt – an avid Red Sox fan – delved even further into the ex-Sox bag. With Lowe already in the fold (after the Dodgers were the sole bidders for his services), McCourt signed Bill Mueller (currently on the DL) and Nomar to play after having brought in Little to manage. And earlier this season, Aaron Sele, who began his career with the Sox in the early 90’s, was recalled from the minors to take a spot in the rotation.
Fresh off a trip back to Boston last week, I was full of Sox spirit in my blood. A friend generously hooked me up last-minute with tickets to see the Yankees at Fenway, my first trip to the old ballyard since Boston won the World Series. Satisfyingly, the Sox took this game (and have since lost their last 4 in a row to NY), and the experience was complete with anti-Yankee chants, booing Johnny Damon, and “Brokeback Jeter” t-shirts.
So last night I suited up in my best obnoxious Bostonian gear; a red Red Sox hat to stand out in the sea of blue at Dodger Stadium, and my Tom Brady game jersey, which ultimately received zero comments from any of the patrons, probably because there hasn’t been an NFL team in Los Angeles in nearly 10 years (this “zero comments” thing is new to me, as I spent the past 6 years living in Oakland and being heckled at any Oakland event whilst wearing the jersey).
PREGAME
We approached the stadium with relative ease, and I can safely say that afterwards I exited this game (with 46,000 fans) faster than any stadium in recent memory, as it is very well setup to handle traffic in and out. Granted, this is southern California, so many of the fans do start to leave beginning in the 7th regardless of the score, but I was impressed nonetheless.
The park has every shade of blue imaginable, and has no problem giving off a cool retro/1970’s look, especially with the not-quite-Marlins teal in parts of the stadium. But oh how beautiful. Of all the stadiums I’d hadn’t yet visited, none ranked higher than this one on my list to see, and visually it didn’t disappoint at all. This goes for the fans as well; throughout the night, it seemed every lady who passed by was a distraction (again, this is southern California).
And just before the start of the contest, none other than 1988’s hero Orel Hershiser threw out the first pitch to roaring applause. Orel will always hold a special place in my heart, as he was my #4 starter the only year I won the World Series in my PBM league, in 1990 off the 1989 MLB season. Ah, for the days when starters like Orel would throw 270 innings in a typical year…
THE FANS
I was very impressed by the fans at the game. In contrast to fans at the other southern California stadiums (Anaheim and San Diego) who more closely embody the laid back, content SoCal style, these fans are vocal, knowledgeable, and will get in your face if necessary. They cheered former Dodger Paul Lo Duca, but booed Valentin, for his one season with the club (2005) where he did poorly.
And this game had an extra element: with the Mets in town, there were a few NY fans (who by birth will get in your face) at the game who began to cheer early on, drawing boos from the crowd and riling them up. Later, “New York sucks” chants came with fervor, and the crowd booed as well when the trainer attending to Carlos Beltran (after making a great diving catch) stayed with him for a prolonged period of time. But, appropriately, the crowd applauded both Beltran (who stayed in the game) and Cliff Floyd (who left the game earlier due to an ankle sprain).
THE GAME
Pedro is always a treasure to watch. For this day in particular we wondered how short of game this would be, given Pedro’s .167 opponent’s batting average coming in. But with Kenny “How, Exactly, Am I Hitting .325?” Lofton aboard and one out in the first, Nomar gave us an early treat by blasting the first pitch he saw from Pedro out of the park. Talk about dramatic! My friend and I said at the same time, “Pedro isn’t happy.”
Well, there was more unhappiness to come for him; he settled down over the next 4 innings, but then blew up in the 6th, aided by new starting 2B Jose Valentin making 2 errors in one inning, both while trying to turn the deuce. (Later in the game Valentin failed to cover first in time on a bunt by Furcal, and followed it by not diving for a grounder that went just under his glove for a single. Put this man down for a “4” at second next year.)
There was even an interesting element from an age perspective, as three potentially prominent rookies were in the starting lineup: the Mets’ Lastings Milledge, who showed a strong gun in RF; Dodger C and fan favorite Russell Martin, the heir apparent to Dioner Navarro despite being a year older (23 to 22); and LA RF Matt Kemp, who has 4 HR in his first 29 ABs in the bigs
So while Pedro was hot and cold, Lowe wasn’t exactly sharp, either, exiting after the 6th with an 8-2 lead. Nevertheless, the other three Dodger hurlers this night all had something interesting about them as well: Jonathon Broxton walked the ballpark after his entrance, but still remains and intriguing prospect. Watch for this guy to get a ‘B’ rating in our upcoming Rookie Review this fall thanks to a live fastball.
Next in relief was Takashi Saito. As a friend pointed out recently, his moderate leg kick probably will give base stealers a good jump, but his 31 Ks in 25 innings is a very positive sign, and he used his stuff to bail out Broxton with an 8-5 lead still intact.
Then, after the Mets brought in living fossil Darren Oliver to get through the bottom of the 8th whilst pumping 82 mph fastballs repeatedly, yet another big moment came.
Eric.
Gagne.
Having gone almost 12 months without a save – or perhaps more importantly, the fans having gone 12 months without cheering him coming in to save a game – the place just erupted in a way I wouldn’t have expected a southern California baseball establishment to react (at least not without a Jumbotron directing them mindlessly to do so….sorry, I’m a crusty 37 yr old purist from Boston who gets annoyed at those types of things).
I turned to my friend and wondered, “Tomorrow, you and I are going to come in to work, walk into the office, and we’ll get a few hellos but nothing more. This guy comes to work and forty six thousand people go nuts. Can you imagine being this guy?” Of course, our office will also not play “Welcome to the Jungle” when we walk in, either.
Gagne takes on the heart of the order. Blows away Carlos Delgado on strikes. Whiffs David Wright. Gets Endy Chavez to popout. Wow.
For a first game at a stadium – especially a game in early June – this couldn’t have been any more fun. We’re all so blessed to have found Strat, a game that at least approximates wonderful experiences like this. And we hope our site helps enhance that experience for you as well.