Tag: MLB

The Dodgers World Series parade is on the late Fernando Valenzuela’s birthday

Expect a lot of tributes to El Toro.

The Dodgers are officially MLB World Series champions and will host a parade for the first time in franchise history since 1988.

Even though Los Angeles also won the World Series during the shortened 2020 season, the organization was not able to celebrate with its fans due to COVID-19 restrictions. This year, however, everyone who wants to join the festivities will have a chance to do so in sunny Southern California.

There is a lot to look forward to about the festivities surrounding World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and a very strong supporting cast.

WHEN IS THE WORLD SERIES PARADE? All the info you need to know.

The parade could have an extra special feel this year, however, due to a very sad reason.

This year, Los Angeles will host its parade for the Dodgers on Friday, November 1.

That is also the birthday of the late Fernando Valenzuela, who died earlier this year. The former Dodgers star pitcher, who won NL Rookie of the Year and NL Cy Young while also making six All-Star appearances and winning two World Series titles of his own, was 63.

DODGERS WORLD SERIES COMMEMORTIVE BOOK: Order it here!

Los Angeles also wore his number, No. 34, as a patch on their jersey during the World Series as well.

Expect to see a lot of love and deserved tributes to Valenzuela, nicknamed El Toro, while you are watching the parade this year.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1374]

Why Yankees Stadium playing New York, New York after World Series defeat wasn’t a big deal

This wasn’t anything to get upset about.

The New York Yankees lost Game 5 of the 2024 World Series on Wednesday night as they dropped their series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1.

However, some controversy bubbled up as Jomboy shared Yankees Stadium still played Frank Sinatra’s classic song “New York, New York” after the Dodgers’ win.

That got baseball fans in a frenzy, but it’s the song that Yankees Stadium plays after every game whether New York wins or loses.

It might sting a good bit after the team lost a championship to hear Sinatra’s legendary song, but it’s just business as usual at Yankees Stadium to play the song.

Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez ripped the Yankees for their Game 5 meltdown

When The Captain calls out the Yankees, you know it’s bad.

It takes quite a bit for Derek Jeter to speak ill of the New York Yankees. He is The Captain, after all. Yet not even two of the most famous ballplayers to don the pinstripes could spin what happened in the Bronx on Wednesday night.

After the Yankees completely melted down in the fifth inning of Game 5 — blowing a 5-0 lead by giving up five unearned runs to the Dodgers — Jeter and former teammate Alex Rodriguez struggled to comprehend how the Yankees could make such mistakes on the Fox postgame show.

Dodgers World Series Photo Gallery: 12 photos of Los Angeles’ World Series celebration at Yankee Stadium

“I don’t know if I’ve ever quite seen an inning like this,” Jeter said. “Especially in a World Series or postseason game.”

Rodriguez struck an even harsher tone.

“This is one of the greatest meltdowns that I’ve ever seen in 40 years,” A-Rod said.

If you’re going to be on a national baseball show, you’ve got to speak the truth about what you saw, but you know that had to feel super uncomfortable for the former New York legends.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1374]

12 photos of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series celebration at Yankee Stadium

The party is on in Los Angeles!

For the eighth time in franchise history, the Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions, defeating the New York Yankees 4-1 in 5 games — including an absolutely bonkers Game 5 in the Bronx on Wednesday night.

After the Yankees took a 5-0 lead, the Dodgers miraculously scored five unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning, only for the two teams to trade leads over the second half of the game before Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly in the eighth inning gave Los Angeles the lead for good.

Freddie Freeman’s streak of six consecutive World Series games came to an end in the final game of the Fall Classic as he locked up MVP with ease.

As Will Smith caught the final out at Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers poured out onto the field and kicked off what’s bound to be a months-long party in Los Angeles.

These are just some of the unforgettable images captured as the the Dodgers celebrate their second title in five years.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Walker Buehler #21 and Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate as the the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: The Los Angeles Dodgers react as they defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 to win game 5 and the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate as the they defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Walker Buehler #21, Will Smith #16, Max Muncy #13 and Teoscar Hernández #37 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate as the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Walker Buehler #21 and Will Smith #16 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate as the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates as the the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with Will Smith #16 as the Dodgers defeat the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Freddie Freeman #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with the MVP trophy after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates with the trophy after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 30: Magic Johnson celebrates with Mookie Betts #50 and the Los Angeles Dodgers after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 7-6 in game 5 to win the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on October 30, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1374]

The World Series featured a Will Smith on the winning team for a fifth straight year

The World Series has been good to people named Will Smith lately.

The World Series has been good to MLB players named Will Smith over the last five years.

After the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series on Wednesday night in Game 5 over the New York Yankees, catcher Will Smith once again became a champion.

L.A.’s Smith won the World Series in 2020 with the Dodgers, and the other MLB’s Will Smith, a pitcher, won the World Series in 2021 (Atlanta Braves), 2022 (Houston Astros) and 2023 (Texas Rangers), as MLB’s Sarah Langs observed on Twitter (X).

Like, c’mon, that’s wild. If you want your favorite MLB team to win a World Series next year, get one of the two MLB Will Smiths.

This seems to be a good plan!

Member of worst baseball team of all time wins 2024 World Series

Starting the season on the worst team in baseball, ending it on the best.

Congratulations to Michael Kopech.

The Los Angeles Dodgers reliever just won his first World Series title over the New York Yankees in five games in a postseason performance that’s best classified as solid for the 28-year-old.

He wasn’t the Dodgers’ best arm (because Walker Buehler exists, among other things), but he was solid enough to earn manager Dave Roberts’ trust in October with 10 strikeouts over nine innings with a 3.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

DODGERS WORLD SERIES COMMEMORTIVE BOOK: Order it here!

Kopech, however, accomplished something much more astounding. Something he can hold over every one of his Dodgers teammates. He will now be credited with being a member of the worst MLB team of all time the same year he won the World Series.

Up until late July, Kopech was a part of the 121-loss Chicago White Sox. He was ultimately dealt to Los Angeles at the trade deadline as part of a three-team swap that sent  Kopech, Tommy Edman and Oliver Gonzalez to the Dodgers while the St. Louis Cardinals received Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham. Chicago received Miguel Vargas, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Pérez.

That trade proved crucial for Los Angeles as Edman earned National League Championship Series MVP against the New York Mets.

Vargas, the centerpiece of the return from the Dodgers, slashed .104/.217/.170 for the White Sox over 42 games after the trade.

Congrats, once again, to Michael Kopech for escaping baseball hell and reaching immortality only a few months later. Anything is truly possible.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1374]

Hear the Fox Sports and Dodgers radio calls for Los Angeles’ final World Series out

The Dodgers are World Series champs once more, and the calls of the final out are stellar.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series on Wednesday night in New York after taking Game 5, earning the team’s second title in the last four years.

As the final out came in and the Dodgers players flooded the diamond to celebrate their series win over the New York Yankees, Fox Sports’ Joe Davis delivered a fantastic call of the moment.

The Dodgers Radio Network’s broadcast also did a swell job of calling the moment, and you can hear both of these broadcast moments below.

For Los Angeles fans, these are calls you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Enjoy the moment, and keep these videos on a loop for the rest of the week.

The Yankees committed 3 disastrous errors in 1 inning and Aaron Boone was nowhere to be found

Where was the Yankees’ manager during this meltdown?

Is Aaron Boone awake? Or did the Yankees manager decide to pack it in for the day after watching Giancarlo Stanton’s mammoth home run in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday night?

That’s going to be a serious question asked all winter long across baseball if the Dodgers clinch the championship after the disastrous fifth inning at Yankee Stadium.

With New York up 5-0 and Gerrit Cole absolutely cruising on the mound, the Yankees unraveled. First slowly, then all at once as the Dodgers put up five unearned runs in one frame thanks to three mistakes most little leaguers would be able to avoid.

First it was Aaron Judge dropping a shallow fly off the bat of Tommy Edman.

Then Anthony Volpe spiked a throw to third base for the force out two batters later.

But it seemed like the Yankees were about to escape after more masterful pitching from Cole induced a weak grounder from Mookie Betts to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. With Rizzo playing back, Cole was expected to cover the bag and secure the put-out. For reasons passing understanding, the Yankees’ ace stopped running after a few steps and watched helplessly as Betts not only reached safely, but brought in Edman from third.

The play was scored a hit for Betts, but there’s no escaping Cole’s mistake.

You can absolutely guess what happened next. The Dodgers smelled blood and pounced. Back-to-back doubles from Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez knotted things up at 5 before the Yankees were able to get off the field.

You may also have noticed that at no point during these mental mistakes from New York did manager Aaron Boone leave the dugout to settle down his team.

It was wild to watch play out in real time. Baseball fans were stunned Boone didn’t go out and buy some time for his players to catch their breath and break the tension.

Aaron Boone’s in-game interview reaction to Giancarlo Stanton’s Game 5 homer was priceless

BANG!

New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton kept the homers coming during Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.

In the bottom of the third inning, Stanton slammed a homer run into the stands at Yankees Stadium to get his team up 5-0 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York manager Aaron Boone was giving an in-game interview with Fox Sports when Stanton was at the plate, and he let out an excited “Bang!” right as the homer went on the board.

Boone channeled his best Mike Breen here, giving fans such a cool moment to see a manager react to such a huge swing right when it happens.

Is that Pat Sajak behind home plate at World Series Game 5?

We’d like to solve this puzzle

Hey, did you notice that familiar-looking gentleman sitting behind home plate at Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night?

He kinda, sorta looked like former Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak. Wait a second…that is Sajak!

The now-retired game show personality has been a fixture at the 2024 World Series, watching his Los Angeles Dodgers on both coasts. Sajak was spotted behind home plate at Dodger Stadium earlier in the series before popping into frame on Wednesday.

Clearly Sajak knew the answer to the prize puzzle to score those seats…or he just used any of the millions he earned over his illustrious television career to purchase them himself. We can probably solve this puzzle ourselves.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1374]