Thanks to COVID-19, the Dodgers may have celebrated their first World Series Championship win since 1988 in the bubble in Arlington, TX, at Globe Life Field, but anyone near Dodger Stadium would have thought the Fall Classic was being played at their home field in Chavez Ravine.
Fans congregated in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium, where two large screens were set up so that hundreds of cars were able to pull up and enjoy the National League Championship Series as well as the World Series in the safety of their vehicle surrounded by their Dodger brethren.
As the American League champions, the Tampa Bay Rays, went toe to toe with the National League champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2020 World Series, fans anxiously showed up for each game to the stadium to watch the match up at the home of their beloved Boys in Blue, even though the team was in Texas battling it out.
Before what would be the Game-6 series-ender Tuesday evening, the Dodgers were up three games to two against the Rays. So a win would cement their first championship after a 32-year drought.
Tampa Bay struck first blood with a solo homerun in the first inning by outfielder Randy Arozarena, but the Dodgers were able to claw their way back in later innings when the Rays starter, Blake Snell, was pulled in the bottom of the sixth. Snell had managed to hold the Dodgers back from scoring any runs through the first six innings. Once he left the game, LA quickly scored two runs to take the lead 2-1 over the Rays.
The bullpens battled back and forth until Mookie Betts hit a homerun in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Dodgers one more insurance run. Tampa Bay came into the top of the ninth trailing 3-1. Dodger’s reliever Julio Urias was able to get outfielder Manuel Margot to fly out to Mookie Betts in right field for the first out. Rays’ infielder Mike Brousseau came in next to replace second baseman Joey Wendle and was struck out looking on a full count.
Then Tampa’s shortstop Willy Adames came up to bat and Julio went to work on that last important out. LA was up 3-1 in the top of the ninth, two out, no one on, and two strikes to Adames and as Urias threw the next pitch, Dodger fans held their breath as Willy struck out.
And that’s when the fans lost it. Many had hoped, but the reality had actually come true – the Dodgers had won the World Series!
If people were anywhere near Chavez Ravine when that last out was recorded, they would have heard utter mayhem. A stadium parking lot full of cars were honking and fans were shouting from their vehicles. Fireworks were being set off across Los Angeles. Some people were laughing, while others were crying tears of joy and disbelief. A few people could be seen running around at first, but as the gravity of the situation and safety precautions set in, those that were outside went back to their vehicles to celebrate with the friends and family they came with.
Horns continued to honk, large Dodger flags were waving, and most fans could be seen on their phones sharing the news with those that were not in attendance or taking pictures or video to record the moment.
Obviously, the ideal would have been to celebrate with home field advantage and the Boys in Blue commemorating their win in front of a stadium full of fans. Anyone who attended the Dodger Stadium Drive-in will remember where they were when their team secured the last out. Being able to congregate in mass amongst the rest of their Dodger’s brethren in the midst of a pandemic after a season that came so close to not even happening, was a dream come true.
In the words of Dave Robert, ”This is our year. We said it. This is our year. Everyone in this ballpark wearing Dodger blue, everyone all over the world wearing Dodger blue never wavered… This is our year.”
For everyone out there celebrating or not quite able to believe that “we” did it … believe it!
This IS our year.
I love LA!