Dodgers Win World Series, But...

Above, the last Dodger game I attended was on September 1, 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While I am glad that the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series in Yankee Stadium last night, I can't get past the fact that I am done with them and Major League Baseball in general. I did not watch any of the games.

The reasons were their support for the Black Lives Matter Marxist group. I stated my outrage here. That was later reinforced when Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Atlanta in 2020. I wrote about that here.

Then, the Dodgers did something even more stupid last year:

From Newsweek:

But inclusion for some has come to mean exclusion for others. As part of their Pride Night celebrations, the Dodgers invited, then uninvited, then reinvited the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence," a self-described "Order of queer and trans nuns" who "use humor and irreverent wit to expose the forces of bigotry."

Their target is frequently the Catholic Church. The group's roster includes such faux-religious ribaldry as Sister Risqué of the Sissytine Chapel, Father Fellatio, Sister Missionary Position, and other less printable mockery of traditional Catholic figures and beliefs. Their motto: "Go forth and sin some more!"

The Dodgers saw fit to bestow the team's Community Hero Award on the group, despite a fairly pedestrian record of actual impact; per their documents filed with the IRS, the group offers modest grants, between $50,000 and $60,000 to community groups each year. Backlash ensued, but after an initial backtrack, the team reinvited the "Sisters."

The news came as a betrayal to many longtime Dodger fans, who remembered devout Catholic Vin Scully melodically commentating games for 67 seasons, the "Nuns Days" that used to fill Chavez Ravine with (real) wimples and habits, and the Catholic Bronze Star recipient Gil Hodges playing at first base. The Dodgers seemed content to throw that history away, to the dismay of Catholics like Bishop Robert Barron, until recently an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who called for a boycott of the team.

Since I was already done with the Dodgers and Major League Baseball, I didn't bother to comment on that.  

I will always treasure being a Dodger fan while the team was owned by Walter and Peter O'Malley. But, I am no longer a fan under the current ownership. 

Two Baseball Greats Go To The Golden Ballpark In The Sky

Baseball has lost two of its greats in recent days. Both were younger than me and both were very familiar to me when I was a rabid baseball fan and practically lived at Dodger Stadium. I used to attend at least one game per homestand.

First, Bob Welch, the Los Angeles Dodger pitcher who famously struck out Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson in Game 2 of the 1978 World Series. I remember watching that game live. Amazing! He died June 9 at age 57 of a heart attack. Much too young for this two-time Cy Young Award winner.

In honor of Welch, the above video is of that strike-out of Jackson. Farewell, Welchie!

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Whenever the San Diego Padres faced the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tony Gwynn was in the on-deck circle, I always thought, "Here comes trouble!" He was THAT good a hitter and is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gwynn died today of cancer at age 54. Again, much too young.