Latest news with #Dodgers'
NBC Sports
2 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Dodgers, Padres take NL West rivalry to boiling point
The Dan Patrick Show crew discusses defining a "dynasty" in sports, examining how championships, consecutive playoff appearances, roster construction and the team's vibe all contribute to creating dynasties. LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took seven games over 11 days for the simmer to reach full boil. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres flashed playoff intensity in their long-awaited first two series of the season and went face-to-face, quite literally, after 10 batters were hit during a stretch the Dodgers owned on the scoreboard. In winning five of the seven games, the Dodgers also hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with pitches three times. The last of those came in the eighth inning of Thursday's 5-3 Padres victory when the benches finally cleared after Tatis was hit near the right hand. While the staredown behind home plate was more peacock feathers than fisticuffs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt were ejected following a tense back-and-forth exchange. Afterward, the Padres' Manny Machado said his true feelings won't be known until Tatis gets results from X-rays and a CT scan. 'They gotta pray for (results) to come back negative tomorrow,' Machado said. 'They should. Us, too, but they should for sure.' After Tatis was hit, the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani took a pitch to the back of his right (pitching) shoulder from Robert Suarez. With Dodgers players starting to move over the dugout railing, Ohtani waved back his teammates and took first base. 'Well, I think he knew it was intentional,' Roberts said. 'He wasn't hurt by it, and he didn't want any more drama, which I respect that a lot.' Ohtani was hit twice in the series, each a half inning after Tatis was hit. The Dodgers' Andy Pages also was hit twice in the series. Roberts said he hoped Tatis does not miss extended time. 'I didn't feel good about Tatis — great player, good guy — getting hit,' Roberts said. 'I didn't feel good about it. And so as (Shildt) comes out, and he's yelling at me and staring me down, that bothers me. Because, to be quite frank, that's the last thing I wanted.' Shildt said he has respect for the Dodgers but seeing Tatis get hit three times by their pitchers in less than two weeks doesn't sit right. He has also been hit by the Dodgers six times in his career, the most by any club. 'Whether it was (intentional) or it wasn't, enough is enough,' Shildt said. 'We got a guy who's getting X-rays right now, is one of the best players in the game, fortunately he's on our team, and this guy has taken shots, OK?' While the teams waited more than two months to face each other for the first time this season, there will be another two-month wait until they face off again Aug. 15-17 at Los Angeles and Aug. 22-24 at San Diego. 'It's going to be a fun ride,' Machado said. 'This division's freaking awesome, and it's going to be a fun ride going down the road. The Giants got better with (Rafael) Devers, and we know what these guys have on the other side. And what we have on this side. And obviously you can't count out Arizona. They've got a really good team over there. They're going to be battling. It's a four-headed monster battling it out, so it'll be an interesting second half.'
The Herald Scotland
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Los Angeles Dodgers denied ICE access to Dodger Stadium parking lots
In the ensuing hours, a small group of protestors arrived at Gate E, chanting at ICE officers outside the stadium gates. Eventually, Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived. "This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization," the Dodgers said in a statement. "Tonight's game will be played as scheduled." A message with ICE's media relations office was not immediately returned. The Dodgers are scheduled to play the San Diego Padres at 7:10 PDT, with a celebrity softball game hosted by All-Star Mookie Betts preceding the game at 5:30. A crowd of more than 50,000 is expected for the game. WORST TEAM EVER? Rockies settling in after historically bad start The apparently unscheduled ICE arrival is the latest twist in a saga pitting President Donald Trump's desire to deport large amounts of undocumented persons against cities aiming to salvage due process for its residents. Los Angeles is one of the cities specifically targeted by Trump, with nearly two weeks of aggressive raids in the Southland, sparking widespread protests and aggressive reaction from both LAPD and Los Angeles County Sheriffs. Dodgers players remained largely mum on the issue, until veteran utilityman Kike Hernandez released a statement on Instagram pledging support for Latinos profiled, arrested and disappeared under ICE. Manager Dave Roberts professed not having enough information to weigh in on the issue, though the franchise came under more scrutiny for its lack of support after R&B singer Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium, and posted videos and correspondence showing it was against the Dodgers' wishes. That led to a Dodgers spokesperson telling reporters Wednesday that they would announce "plans for assistance to immigrant communities impacted by the recent events in Los Angeles." Barely 12 hours later, ICE vehicles showed up at the stadium gates. The Dodgers' fan base is heavily Latino, and in the past week right-wing influencers have entered the fray, with one noting that it would be "amazing" if ICE agents staged a raid at Dodger Stadium. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news -- fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
The Herald Scotland
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Fans support LA community after feds turned up at Dodger Stadium
Aguilar, a lifelong Dodgers fan who says he was born and raised in Los Angeles, stood near the intersection on a corner near Dodger Stadium five hours before the team's game. And three hours before a scheduled protest sparked by the Dodgers' silence amidst immigration raids and unrest in Los Angeles. "At least make a statement," said Aguilar, 72, who said he drove from his home about two miles from the stadium. Aguilar held a sign that said "Dodger Boo" instead of "Dodger Blue" and many motorists honked as they drove past. Aguilar said he was old enough to remember when Latinos were displaced from the Chavez Ravine area to make way for the construction of Dodger Stadium, critical to luring the Dodgers to Los Angeles from Brooklyn in the 1950s. "I still love them, but say something," Aguilar said. "Especially on this day of Juneteenth. We stand on the shoulders of Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez." But even as drivers honked in apparent support of Aguilar's message, he said that "whether (the team) says something or not, people will still be Dodgers fans." Himself included. Amanda Carrera, who said she is a singer who wrote a song called "Dodger Girl," arrived with a sign that said "Proud to be a Latina." "I love the Los Angeles Dodgers," said Carrera, 31. "I love my community even more." Graffiti artists have left their mark near the ballpark, clearly targeting the organization over its perceived silence amidst the protests with messages like "stop selling out," "LA is our home" and "silence is the problem."
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Why is Dodger Stadium SO LOUD? ‘It's just all part of an entertainment show'
The two New York teams dropped by Dodger Stadium a couple of weeks ago, first the Yankees and then the Mets, and broadcasters for each team made sure to complain about how loud it was. 'The Dodger Stadium center field speakers are in full assault mode,' Yankees radio voice Dave Sims tweeted. On the ESPN Sunday night broadcast from Dodger Stadium that week, Karl Ravech introduced an in-game interview with the Dodgers' Tommy Edman this way: 'He's in center field now, being blasted by, I think, arguably the loudest speaker system I have ever heard in my life.' Notwithstanding the audacity of New Yorkers whining about someone else's volume, the broadcasters did lend their distinguished voices to a long-running debate among Dodgers fans: Is it loud at Dodger Stadium, or is it too loud? 'It's just all part of an entertainment show,' Mookie Betts said. 'There is no 'too loud.'' Organists Helen Dell and Nancy Bea Hefley soothed generations of fans, but the traditional soundtrack to a Dodgers game has gone the way of $10 parking and outfield walls free of advertisements. The fan experience now includes a finely choreographed production at virtually every moment except when the ball is in play, and that includes recorded music, cranked up. 'We don't make it louder just to make it louder,' said Lon Rosen, the Dodgers' executive vice president and chief marketing officer. 'It's all part of what fits in the presentation.' And the players, the ones whose performance determines whether the Dodgers win or lose, love the presentation. 'I think it's great,' Clayton Kershaw said. 'Even on the road, I'd rather have that than quiet. St. Louis was just really quiet. It almost felt like golf at times. 'The louder, the more fun, the better. The Dodgers have the best sound system out there. So why not use it?' Said former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen: 'When I used to come out to 'California Love,' that thing used to bang. The bass they have, you can feel that thing shake in your chest.' Just how loud is it at the ballpark? To find out, I downloaded a decibel meter and visited Southern California's three major league ballparks during an eight-day span this month. At Dodger Stadium, I walked around the ballpark, and up and down to different levels, but the readings were relatively consistent no matter where someone might be sitting. Bottom line: It's pleasant at Angel Stadium, lively at Petco Park, booming at Dodger Stadium. Caveat: Even with all other things equal, it always will be louder at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers sell 50,000 tickets to a game more often than not; no other major league ballpark even holds 50,000. At 60 and 30 minutes before game time, as fans settled into the ballpark, Angel Stadium and Petco Park registered in the 65-75 dB range, roughly the sound of a normal conversation on the low end and household appliances on the high end. The introduction of the home team lineup registered in the 80-85 dB range at Angel Stadium, 85-90 dB at Petco Park, and 90-95 dB at Dodger Stadium, roughly the sound of a noisy restaurant at the low end and power tools on the high end. The high-end levels would be hazardous if sustained throughout the evening, but sounds ebb and flow as the game does. (Decibel levels are measured logarithmically, so an increase of 10 dB means sound is heard 10 times louder and an increase of 20 dB means sound is heard 100 times louder.) The highest levels at any stadium occur not when a voice pleads 'Get loud!' or 'Everybody clap your hands!' but organically, as the result of a big moment in the game. My decibel meter hit 100 dB twice during my three test games: immediately after the Angels' Travis d'Arnaud homered in Anaheim, and as the Dodgers' Will Smith slid safely into home plate with the tying run at Dodger Stadium, as the opposing catcher tagged him but dropped the ball. What distinguishes the Dodger Stadium experience is the hour or so before the game starts. The Angels offer music, spotlight fans on the video board, and 'invite you to enjoy the hospitality of Angel Stadium.' The Dodgers impose a relentlessly loud pregame show, with hype guys and hype girls, pounding away well above the 65-75 dB levels in Anaheim and San Diego, with dB readings into the 80s. The Dodgers' pregame show attempts to force anticipation upon the audience, as if that is somehow necessary. It's not. You're about to see Shohei Ohtani! There is always something happening before the game in the center field plaza: a band, product giveaways, Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, the live pregame broadcast for SportsNet LA. You can get hyped there, if you like. Or you can enjoy a conversation with your friends in your seats, instead of getting a headache before the game even starts. Tyler Anderson, who pitches for the Angels now and used to pitch for the Dodgers, said he finds no fault in the traditional way of presenting the game, or in the Dodgers' way. 'It's like you're trying to turn that venue into one of the best bars in town, where you just go to the bar and listen to loud music and people are having a good time,' Anderson said. 'I think that's the atmosphere they're trying to create. It's a fun atmosphere for the fans too. 'And then some places are more family-based. They'd rather have kids and older families, and young kids and grandkids coming to games. They probably have less of a party atmosphere and less of a bar kind of atmosphere. 'There is no right or wrong way.' In his ESPN in-game interview, Edman called the Dodgers' sound system both 'absolutely absurd' and 'great.' I asked Edman about that seeming contradiction. 'That was one of the things that stuck out to me my first time playing here, just how loud the speakers are,' he said. 'You can't hear yourself think.' He got used to it, and to how he need not be distracted because the sound shuts off 'once the play actually starts.' He likes it now. 'It makes it more fun,' he said. 'It's like a big league game.' The Dodgers' game presentation is creative and compelling. And, instead of eliminating the beloved organ, the Dodgers include talented organist Dieter Ruehle as part of the show. Really, just tone down the pregame hour, and we're good. Rosen shrugged off the notion that the Dodgers should tone down anything. If fans did not enjoy the production, he wondered, why would they keep packing Dodger Stadium? 'It's really not any louder than any other of the more popular stadiums,' Rosen said. He might be onto something. Veteran baseball columnist Bob Klapisch reported that, during last month's Yankees-Mets series at Yankee Stadium, 'the decibel levels at the stadium routinely reached the mid-90s.' That, Mr. Yankee Announcer, would be 'full assault mode.'
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Dodgers to announce plans to assist immigrant communities in L.A.
The Dodgers on Thursday will announce their plans to assist the immigrant communities recently impacted in Los Angeles, according to a team spokesperson. The announcement will mark the Dodgers' first public comment regarding the recent unrest in the city since federal immigration agents began launching raids throughout the Southland almost two weeks ago. The Dodgers initially declined to make any public comment when the raids first began. But their silence had become divisive among parts of their fan base, leading to increased calls on social media in recent days for the team to address what was happening around the city. Manager Dave Roberts was asked about the situation last week, saying, 'I just hope that we can be a positive distraction for what people are going through in Los Angeles right now.' Utilityman Kiké Hernández also spoke out on social media on Saturday, writing: 'I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights.' The Dodgers became embroiled in a related controversy last weekend, when singer and social media personality Nezza sang a Spanish version of the national anthem at Dodger Stadium, in an act of protest against the immigration raids, despite being asked by a team employee to sing in English. To this point, the only other local professional sports teams to issue public statements in the wake of the raids have been soccer clubs LAFC and Angel City FC, which both acknowledged the 'fear and uncertainty' being felt throughout the L.A. community. The full breadth of the Dodgers' plans was not immediately clear. But, their silence on the situation will soon be broken.
