Today, we
continue with part three of our look at current ballparks that were in use in
the mid-1980s. And for the third time, we go to the West Coast and look at
ballpark #4.
#4. Dodger Stadium,
Los Angeles, California
Home of: Los Angeles Dodgers since 1962
Built in: 1962
Baseball Capacity: 56,000
Previous Names: None.
History: The Brooklyn Dodgers left New
York following the 1957 season and relocated in Los Angeles the following year. For the first four season in their new city, the Dodgers played at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home of College Football’s USC Trojans. While
winning the World Series in LA for the first time in 1959, the Dodgers finally
moved into their baseball-only facility in 1962. The Dodgers have won World
Series in 1963, 1965, 1981 and 1988, although only the ’63 Series was won in
Dodger Stadium. Popular players for the Dodgers during their time in Dodger
Stadium include Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Steve Garvey, Steve Yeager, Orel
Hershiser, Kirk Gibson, Eric Gagne, Shawn Green, Andre Ethier and Clayton
Kershaw.
Charm: Although located in a
not-so-nice part of the city, Dodger Stadium really is a beautiful ballpark. The
open-outfield concept offers a breath-taking view of the green hills of LA. The
two scoreboards in the power alleys, with the light standards rising above them,
have been trademarks of the stadium for years. There have been some facelifts
over the years, the most notable being the replacement of all the seats after
the 2005 season.
Great Moments:
April 25, 1976: While this moment
happened before I started watching baseball (I was only five months old at the
time) it is too important to be left of the list. At the beginning of the
bottom of the fourth inning in an early season game between the Dodgers and
Chicago Cubs, two protesters ran onto the field and tried to set fire to an
American Flag. Cubs’ Centrefielder, Rick Monday, ran over and grabbed the flag
before it could be set ablaze and ran towards the Dodger dugout and handed the
flag to one of the players. When he came to bat in the top of the fifth, the
Dodgers’ fans gave Monday a standing ovation. Monday would later be traded to
the Dodgers and helped them win the World Series in 1981.
June 18, 2014: Two-time Cy Young Award
winner Clayton Kershaw, strikes out fifteen, allows no walks or hits to pitch a
no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies. Only a seventh-inning error prevents
him from throwing a perfect game. He becomes the first pitcher in baseball
history to throw a no-hitter without walking a batter. It is the second
no-hitter for the Dodgers on the season, and the twelfth in team history. The
final score of the game is 8-0.
October 15, 1988 : This is an absolute
no-brainer, but it was Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, featuring the Dodgers
and the Oakland Athletics. The A’s led the game 4-3 going to the bottom of the
ninth, with their closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound. The first two batters
were retired. Eckersley then walked pinch-hitter Mike Davis, bringing Kirk
Gibson to the plate. A quick background: Gibson injured both his legs during
the National League Championship Series and was too hurt to participate
regularly in the World Series. He hobbled up to the plate without taking any
practice swings, an indication of how hurt he was. He fell behind 0-2 in the
count and took a few pitches and fouled a few off, eventually bringing the
count to 3-2. Eckersley threw a slider on the 3-2 pitch—exactly what Gibson was
expecting and he put all his strength into lofting a high fly ball that sailed
into the rightfield stands for a game-winning, walk-off two-run homer. It was
the only appearance for Gibson in the World Series as the Dodgers won the
championship in five games.
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