Players and fans take the offseason to recover from the long haul of the grueling baseball season from Spring to Fall. Winter is also a time for Front Offices to catch their respective breaths, while catching up on things they could not tackle with stadiums full of people.
Opening Day 2023 this past Thursday and into the first weekend proved to be well worth the wait for showcasing some of the changes made to MLB’s third oldest ballpark – Dodger Stadium – which opened its doors for the first time in 1962.
In addition to several new incredible menu items, the Dodgers announced they would introduce new state-of-the-art lights within the stadium. To do so, the ballpark’s 600 light fixtures and their old (from 2008) High-intensity Discharge (HID) light bulbs were replace with modern Light-emitting Diode (LED) lights over a two-month period. The many beneficial attributes range from minimizing glare and spill light to improving broadcast quality, and just being more energy efficient overall.
Another advantage of the new LED lights over the previous iteration is the ability to change colors. Fans were treated to the Opening Weekend display on many different occasions. The lights have added an additional layer of entertainment for those visiting the stadium for night games.
In the first few days of the fledgling season, the new LEDs have received an amazing response from the crowds. For instance, the new LED lights change between red, white, and blue as the National Anthem is being performed. They were also paired with fireworks on the field to spotlight the teams for the Opening Day ceremonies. A few times, the lights were even coupled with the Star Wars “Imperial March” for the Arizona Diamondbacks mound visits or pitching changes on Opening Night.
The real standouts were after key plays when the bright white lights would drop and only the blue lights would remain lit. It cast the entire field in a soft, blue light, giving the field a magical hue.
Saturday evening’s matchup had quite a few of those moments in the Boys in Blue’s 10-1 victory over the Diamondbacks. One player in particular was responsible for setting the LED’s in motion several times during the two-hour and fourteen-minute contest (that’s not a typo) in front of a crowd of 48,886 excited fans.
Eight of the Dodger’s ten runs on the board resulted from Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson’s powerful bat. Specifically, the grand slam he knocked into the Left Field Pavilion in the bottom of the first inning, the second of his career. He also tacked on another three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. And to add insult to injury (for Arizona fans, that is), he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to really pad the score.
Thompson is now one of eight Dodgers credited with at least eight RBI in a single game. And each time he knocked one out of the park, the LEDs would dim and the blue lights showered the field in a blue glow while fans were on their feet cheering loudly as he rounded the bases.
“I couldn’t be happier for Trayce; it was really cool. That’s a good month right there,” Dodgers ace and future Hall of Fame left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who was the beneficiary of Thompson’s historic night with his first win of the new season, told reporters postgame. “He can sit on that for a while. But he’s the best, man, so I’m happy for him and it’s a great way to get going for the season.”
Hopefully, this is a preview of things to come for the Dodgers this season.
Here’s to more amazing feats coupled with a magical backdrop of lights and the historic views of Los Angeles beyond the stadium.
Hit the lights!