I decided to take the Pacific Coast Highway for the long drive back to Los Angeles. While driving along with the Pacific Ocean in view, I passed through Pebble Beach and Spyglass before stopping in Santa Barbara for a quick walk on the beach. After returning to Los Angeles, Kevin and I played a quick round of miniature golf before joining my friend Doris on the set of Mighty Joe Young, an upcoming movie for which Doris is working.
While watching the crew prepare for a series of scenes, we wandered over to the snack area only to run into Brad Paxton, one of the lead actors in the movie. After being told about my adventures, Mr. Paxton and I had a wonderful conversation about the game of baseball. He reminisced about his childhood watching baseball in Texas (he grew up in Fort Worth) and some of the great stadiums (which no longer exist) that he spent lazy afternoons at. I walked away after the conversation thinking how the language of baseball can be spoken with almost everyone -- as everyone has some experience with the national pastime.
An early morning phone call got me up and out of bed (after only a few hours of sleep) and a quick interview with the Sports Pig on the SportsFan Radio Network via telephone filled up my morning. Kevin and I rented me roller blades and skated along Venice Beach until mid-day when I had to get ready for the game. I cleaned out my car from the previous day's driving adventures -- filing away my baggie full of California sand -- and hopped in the mini-van en route to the Chavez Ravine.
Dodger Stadium is in an eclectic part of Los Angeles with primarily hispanic residents and interesting little family restaurants welcoming all appetites. Signs lead drivers through the winding streets of Los Angeles and onto Elysisan Park Avenue which runs directly into the front entrance gate of Dodger Stadium. Once fans make it through the guard shacks, dozens of parking lots (identified and designated by illuminated baseballs) offer tens of thousands of $5 parking spots. But, since tailgating is not allowed at Dodger Stadium, most fans congregate in the courtyard area around the outside of the stadium before games.
"Three hundred acres of sheer beauty," Dodger Stadium is surrounded by fifteen different tree species (including Eucalyptus, Acacia, and Ficuses) and over 300 olympic rose bushes, giving a wonderfully natural backdrop for the simple design and construction of the baseball only facility. By employing the cantilever theory, every seat in the column-free stadium affords the spectator an unobstructed view of the symmetrical playing field. There are five levels of seats in addition to a large bleacher section in the outfield (each identified and designated by a different color), but no section extends back more than twenty rows so fans are never too far from the field. And, if you are lucky, you will get a seat on the first base line (or in right field) and the warm California sun will drench you until the middle of the game.
The field is covered with grass but employs Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) which includes a state-of-the-art drainage system giving the infield and outfield a un-natural carpeted look and feel. The bullpens are stuck in the corners by the foul polls -- separating the stadium seats from the bleacher seats. The clubhouses are cramped and dark -- absent are the leather couches and big screen televisions. And, the dugouts are wide open and spacious -- providing hardwood shelves and benches with individuals seat cushions for players and coaches. The Dodgers dugout even has a portable computer on which the hitting coaches track opposing pitchers successes against hitters for future analyization.
The diamond vision in left field -- a Mitsubishi Diamond Vision Mark III - is an updated version of the first full color video display screen in all of baseball (debuted at the All Star Game on July 8, 1980). The scoreboard in right field gives fans the lineups for both teams along with all the pertinent game information. And, large speakers in dead center field (atop a very large flag-pole like stand) deliver rock & roll music along with pleasantly cheerful organ tunes (the woman who runs the organ sits in the press box) and important announcements to the fans in the stadium and the surrounding residents. There is no out of town scoreboard.
Unfortunately, the ballpark is beginning to show some signs of age. Built back in 1962, many of the facilities (including bathrooms and concession stands) are too small and outdated. Seats throughout the ballpark, despite being very comfortable, are faded and cracked ( I did watch a "stadium technician" fix one seat near the right field foul poll). And, the absence of luxury suites all but dooms the park to replacement. To its credit, an extremely large staff -- including six full time gardeners -- maintain the stadium and keep it in the best condition possible (with Mother Nature taking her shots). Dodger Stadium is the third oldest ballpark in the National League, but it is the cleanest and most beautiful of all the sports complexes in baseball. It doesn't have the same history as Wrigley Field or the amenities of Camden Yards and Jacobs Field, but anyone who visits will tell you it is one of the best parks in baseball -- for its simplicity, flavor, and overall charm. It would really be a loss to the city of Los Angeles and the game of baseball if Dodger Stadium ever ceased to exist.
After a while of watching batting practices around the league, the routines and sheer monotony of the ritual becomes boring even to the most ardent of baseball fans. Sure, the art of mastering the bunt is still interesting to watch, and the way National League pitchers try place the ball verses drive pitches over the fences still fascinates me. So, instead of watching the players hit (since I had already visited with the Mets) I found myself looking around the field for interesting little things that make one team or player different from the others.
The nice thing I find as I look around is the family atmosphere that surrounds the baseball diamond. Many players and coaches have their children on the field during the pre-game warmups, some even have arranged for their heirs to dress as bat boys/girls and clubhouse attendants for the team. On this day, I watched Brett Butler play catch with his two little children -- throwing them hard grounders and high pop-ups to test their abilities. The kids, who were no taller than my waist (and I am not very tall) never seemed to run out of energy (even tiring their aging father) despite having to put all their strength and body weight into each throw (just to get the ball to travel half the distance to their father).
Then there are the media folks who gather in hopes of breaking a big story about an upcoming trade or player injury. Most of the reporters are old -- some overweight -- and can talk about baseball history for hours on end. On this night I sat with the first father-son team of reporters, both covering the Dodgers for competing publications, that any of the other reporters could remember. Surprisingly, the topic of conversation was not sports -- instead, a veteran reporter had joined the older of the team in grilling the 18-year-old about political history. Questions ranged from "Who was Wendell Wilke's Republican running mate in 1940 against Roosevelt (I'll give you a hint -- he's from Oregon)," to "Can you name all the states in alphabetical order." The young reporter handled the latter with little trouble including the state capitals as he went along, but proved unable to satisfy the elders with is answer to the second (even his father didn't know).
As I walked into Fred Claire's office, a thousand questions swirled around in my head. Mr. Claire, the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Dodgers, only had a few minutes in his busy schedule to talk to me, so I had to choose wisely in asking. "What makes the Dodgers special?" I studdered. "That's a great question," he replied, "I think it is pride. . . the pride in the game, the players, the club. . . and the continuity with which we run our organization." Mr. Claire explained how there had been only two Presidents, three General Manager's, two traveling secretaries, and three farm system administrators in the last fifty years of the organization.
As our conversation continued, Mr. Claire pointed out some of the wonderful things about the stadium but acknowledged that it was already out of date by today's major league standards. Sounding almost saddened, he said that someday in the near future, a new Dodger Stadium would have to built -- one that includes luxury suites, larger press facilities, and proper major league clubhouses. That was the only change Mr. Claire could see the club making in terms of its routines. We spoke about the upcoming change in ownership that the Dodgers will undergo with the sale of the team (probably to Rupert Murdoch) and Mr. Claire commented that he didn't expect thing to change drastically -- "If you wanted to make those kinds of changes, you should go out and buy a vacant lot and build a building" he quipped "to do that stuff here would be silly."
From there we shifted to the business of baseball, and Mr. Claire -- agreeing with a comment I had made about my reasons for taking the trip -- acknowledged that the beauty of the game and the excitement produced throughout the season made baseball the greatest sport around. He vowed to do what was needed (along with myself) to bring the game back to its original levels of excitement. He also explained how could easily go out and acquire any number of talented players (mentioning Schilling, McGwire, and others) for the final pennant stretch, but remarked that the costs to the team both financially and in terms of the talent that the Dodgers would have to relinquish could outweigh the potential gains.
Overall, the ten minutes I spent with Mr. Claire were some of the best I have spent talking with anyone during this trip. He was honest and straightforward, while communicating some of the difficulties associated with running a major league ballclub. As I left he suggested I purchase a minor league ballclub to fulfill my dreams of running a baseball team -- a comment that suggested to me that the business of baseball may be taking over the sport of it -- taking away some of the fun he once had while running a big league ballclub. I learned a lot from Mr. Claire.
In addition to the meeting, the Dodgers were kind enough to grant me a press credential giving me access to the field, They were pleasant to deal with, helpful and informative in giving directions as well as at the stadium. Essentially, everything you could ask for in a team.
THe Press Box at Dodger Stadium does its best to display the history and mystique of Dodger Stadium and the Dodgers organization. All along the walls are plaques commemorating the many division championships won by the organization -- dating back to Brooklyn Dodgers. A full service sit-down dining room is attached to the otherwise sparse area and free gourmet meals are provided (along with fresh frozen yogurt) to all the working press. But, to be perfectly honest, the press box is pretty outdated -- not offering enough electrical outlets or phone jacks for the many media folks, and compared to many stadiums the facility is not very clean.
The folks in the press box don't seem to mind the lack of cleanliness or plugs in the area. Instead, most of the reporters (who, not surprisingly, also were at the Anaheim game the other night) read newspapers and talk about baseball rather than spend their evening typing on a laptop. Because the press box is open to the field, it was very difficult to overhear conversations or start ones for myself. Besides, I was stuck sitting next to Jay Horwitz, the Media Relations Director for the Mets (who wrongly accused me of abusing my press privelages at Shea Stadium during my visit) so I didn't spend a lot of time in my assigned seat.
THE FOODIn 1985, a former teacher traveled around the United States visiting major league ballparks and rating the food offered at each. The name of the book that tracked his adventures was "Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks." So, when I arrived at Dodger Stadium (having already read the book) there was only one truly special food service I was expecting to find. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that, in addition to the regular fare (which in this case includes the Dodger Dog and new 1/4 Lb. Super Dodger Dog) there is pizza (Pizza Hut express), Carls Jr. (a West Coast Hamburger Outlet), Japanese Food (rice and teriyaki) and TCBY Frozen Yogurt to keep the fans well fed. Not exactly special food, but there is still a nice selection. The pizza was the most popular of all foods in my section (although I can't be sure if it was the best food or just the closest -- located right behind our seats) with the frozen yogurt supplying the sweet ending to most fans evening.
As for the pretzel, I was shocked to find that it, despite sitting underneath the hot lamp in the case behind the counter, was one of the best in all the leauge. Offered without salt (and with the option of having it applied as you waited), the pretzel was plump, soft, chewy, and had none of the aftertaste sometimes associated with the heating lamps. In fact, the pretzel had a distinct sourdough taste that was not only different but very pleasant. And, fans won't have any trouble purchasing two pretzels to satisfy their cravings -- the pretzels were only $1.50 a piece, the cheapest to date.
The third inning of the game was just getting underway, the sun was beginning to dip below the hills beyond the outfield wall, and the stands were only half full. I turned to Kevin and made a comment about how dissappointing the crowd was -- especially considering the beautiful weather, opponent, and heated pennant race. Kevin looked at me as if I had swallowed a rat -- "boy. . . this is a sellout."
He was right. Out in the parking lot, thousands of cars were still streaming in bringing fans to the game. The nortoriously late arriving Los Angeles crowd didn't take their seats until the middle of the fifth inning -- but the almost 54,000 screaming fans (the 4th sellout of the year sending the Dodgers well over the 2 million fan mark for the season) represented the loudest most involved crowd I have encountered. The Dodgers handed out Mike Piazza Jersey/T-shirts to kids under 14 years of age so a large portion of the crowd were young fans (and there was rumored to be 12,000 camp kids as part of the Dodger Camp Program), but everyone seemed to understand the game -- not screaming for every pop-up and ground ball as at other ballparks.
I was joined at the game by Kevin Arnovitz, who had joined me at the game in Anaheim and Phil Marsh, a friend of Kevin and Doris' who I had met once when he emerged from hiking through the mountains of the far east (needless to say he looked much less like a drowned rat this time). Also in the stands on this night were my cousins David and Danny Spiegel. The Spiegels have had season tickets to the Dodgers for many years and are die-hard baseball fans. I'm not sure if I had ever met them prior to this evening, but we had a brief conversation in the concourse before all returning to our seats to watch the game. Since everyone I knew at the stadium hated the Mets with a passion, we all spent the game cheering for the Dodgers rather than analyizing the surroundings as we have on other occasions.
And what a game we were given. Both starting pitchers baffled their opponents -- both pitching shutouts into the eighth inning. It was a beautfilly pitched game with few hits and even fewer dangerous base runners, but neither team could capitalize and it looked as if extra innings were imminent. In a strategic move, Dodgers pitcher Pedro Astacio was lifted for a reliever in the top of the ninth only to relinquish three runs to the Mets. Rookie of the Year candidate (and former corked bat offender) Wilton Guerrero homered in the bottom of the ninth off of John Franco but it wasn't enough as the Mets stole the rubber game of the series 3-1. In the car after the game, I listened as the Dodger coaches took a lot of heat from the fans for pulling Astacio in a close game, but it was the lack of clutch hitting by the Dodgers (who are notoriously bad for that) that sealed their fate on this night.
So, Game 21 of the Great American Baseball Trip is in the books. Perhaps the best overall stop of the entire trip. The meeting with Fred Claire, the on-field antics of the reporters, and the absolutely beautiful backdrop of Dodger Stadium and Chavez Ravine. I have already made plans to return to Southern California during next season in hopes of finding some time to visit Dodger Stadium again. The park, the club, and the whole baseball operation in Los Angeles could be considered national treasures -- that's how special this place was.
Here is the view of Dodger Stadium from my seats (way up behind home plate).
Here's a picture of Kevin and Phil in the stands at Dodger Stadium.
This is the organ lady who entertained the fans from her seat in the press box.
