Hey Molly! I am REALLY excited about this Series. One huge reason is because the last time these teams met we saw one of the guttiest Series pitching performances ever, by a rookie who battled through nine innings protecting a one-run lead in a game his team absolutely had to win, allowing 16 base runners (!) but pitching his heart out for the victory. That was Fernando Valenzuela, a great pitcher and broadcaster we very sadly lost earlier this week, and whose arrival in LA beautifully transformed the sport.
The other big reason is we are seeing the best players in the game - several of whom are certain HOF - matched against each other. This is heaven for baseball fans (even when your own team was eliminated or, lol, never got within sight of the post season).
I should have added that Fernando’s death hit me hard too - I loved the guy. I loved his pitching, his fantastic impact on the game - everything about him. RIP to my favorite Dodger.
Really excited to see this Series (and hoping for a Dodger win), to see some of the very best current players battle it out.
I hope you and Emmie have an amazing time at the game. My baseball loving heart is so happy you two get to share time at a WS game together, cheering on your Dodgers 💙⚾️
I love that you and your niece get to enjoy the game in person together! That sounds like the dream. Hoping Emmie gets the biggest ice cream and has the best time with her Aunt Molly cheering loudly for Teoscar and Shohei!
I was Emmie’s age in 1976, about when I fell in love with the Reds and learned to hate the Dodgers and Yankees. So I’m not as pumped for this WS as some people are.
I’m also not pumped by the request that I direct my anger at the league against the tightfisted owners. I’m plenty angry at the Castellinis of the league, thank you very much. Please don’t deflect or ignore the righteous anger directed at MLB for its economic injustice. The league is unjust because the revenues are wildly unequal. If all the teams spent 100% of their revenue, payrolls would still be wildly uneven. So teams in Milwaukee and Cincinnati would still be facing a huge uphill fight against teams in NYC and LA. Those of us who love small market teams owned by tightfisted owners are doubly screwed, once by the league and once by the owner. We don’t want to hear fans of more fortunate teams telling us that it’s all about the tightfisted owners.
Tight-fisted owners - you said the only thing that matters right there! As Joe Sheehan pointed out some years ago, but still very timely:
‘The conversation about these matters tends to use a language --- "what we can afford", "in our market", "fiscal responsibility" -- that clouds what is happening, which is that spectacularly wealthy men, women and companies can invest in their product, but they often choose not to. The fact is, everybody who owns a major league team -- when MLB isn't making spectacularly bad choices about who gets to own a team, anyway -- is wealthy enough to make investments in the product that can improve the win-loss record without sweating whether the team will have positive cash-flow in the short term.’
Thanks for another great article/breakdown of the Series Molly! Did tear up when you mentioned you were going to be watching it with your niece. Great memories!!!
I was almost 48 years old before I attended my first World Series, and that was only because a dear friend had Cleveland season tickets, we got to freeze our a**es off dusted by snow flurries, but I will always cherish that memory.
I greatly appreciate Molly's Friday letter for her heartfelt paean to the great, and now sadly late Fernando Valenzuela, and for the love she has shown to her niece Emmie and shared with all of us.
The death of Fernando hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I wrote an essay about it and sent it around to a few friends. I won't repeat that here, but will share a few thoughts-----
La Ciudad de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles (The City of our Lady, the Queen of the Angels,) was founded by a small handful of folk from Sinaloa and Sonora, the northern desert states of then New Spain, now Mexico. It was founded in the fall of 1781, near simultaneously with the commencement of Washington's encirclement of Yorktown, ending the Revolutionary War in favor of the then good guy Yankees. Those patches on the shoulders of the Dodgers playing in the '81 WS reflect the 200th anniversary of Los Angeles, and it was only fitting that a Son of Sonora was wearing one of those patches as he whirled his magnificent left arm 147 times from the mound at the Ravine, on October 23rd, 1981.
On that day, as Jack Whalen so kindly described herein, the Dodgers commenced the game down 2-0 in the Series to the Yanks, having lost the first two games in the Bronx. As a college senior at the time, I well remembered the mounting sense of doom I and many Angelenos felt, having witnessed losing both the '77 and '78 WS to the hated Highlanders. But # 34 knew neither fear of the past nor fear of the batters he faced that day, however hard they hit him. Even in the days when starting pitchers oft finished the game, his performance that day was truly remarkable.
Finally, I would be remiss not to note that Fernando was almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing La Gente back to the Ravine. From the early 19th century until its demise in the 1950s, the communities of Palo Verde and La Loma collectively known as Chavez Ravine, was a thriving community of predominantly Mexican-Americans in the rolling hills just north of downtown.
In consummating the sweetheart deal wherein the City gave the land to the then Westward Ho'ing Dodgers, so many families were either low balled out or forcibly and cruelly evicted, and in their place, up went the parking lots paving the paradise, and the now 3rd oldest stadium in MLB
It is rare to find someone with the charisma and character to bear the light to cast off such a dark moment, but that's exactly what Fernando did.
This lines up perfectly for a Yankee Meltdown worthy of all diehard Red Sox fans and of course, you Red Sox West (Dodger) fans. GO D’s!!! Yankees SUCK!
Molly: May Emmie break YOUR piggy bank eating helmeted ice cream! (Ahem. Without requiring you to raise your subscription price, of course!)
Six must be the magic age. My first solid baseball memory was forged then. I was days shy of turning six when I was watching Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. The game is best remembered by all as Tom Seaver’s only WS win (went 10 innings to do it, when that seemed normal) as a result of a fluke play after JC Martin bunted.
I remember none of that. My grandfather attended that game; I only remember scanning the stands to try to find him. (Spoiler alert: I failed!)
I clearly remember Fernando’s emergence. He was must see TV in the days when cable still meant a telegram, the remote control was someone Emmie's age changing the channel, and streaming was something kite tails did. While I was conditioned to hate the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn by the NY tabloids' sportswriters, it was impossible not to recognize greatness whenever he took the mound. In the days when it took a day for information to travel, EVERYONE knew who he was. There is no modern day comparison.
If Tommy had dialed back by even 10% and pitch counted Fernando to 125 or so, Fernando ends up in Cooperstown. The modern day wizards running guys out there to throw 100MPH until their arms fall off weren’t the first to blow guys’ arms out.
Fernando still has a chance at the Hall of Fame. He should be considered as a contributor based on his pitching, his announcing and his immeasurable contribution to bringing Latinos to the MLB ballparks to watch the game. Even this NY baseball fan (yes, that includes the Yankees) would strongly welcome his induction.
Molly: May Emmie break YOUR piggy bank eating helmeted ice cream.
Six must be the magic age. I was days shy of turning six when I was watching Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. In a game best remembered by all as Tom Seaver’s only WS win (went 10 innings to do it, when that seemed normal) as a result of a fluke play involving JC Martin, I spent my time looking for my grandfather in the stands.
Hopefully, Emmie forges stronger memories simply by being there. I suspect, though, that she’ll remember only that Aunt Molly took her there…and that will mean much, much more to her.
Just maybe after this season ends, writers can write about Ohtani without having to keep mentioning the losing seasons as an Angel. It’s like having the salt rubbed into the wound over and over again.
Hey Molly! I am REALLY excited about this Series. One huge reason is because the last time these teams met we saw one of the guttiest Series pitching performances ever, by a rookie who battled through nine innings protecting a one-run lead in a game his team absolutely had to win, allowing 16 base runners (!) but pitching his heart out for the victory. That was Fernando Valenzuela, a great pitcher and broadcaster we very sadly lost earlier this week, and whose arrival in LA beautifully transformed the sport.
The other big reason is we are seeing the best players in the game - several of whom are certain HOF - matched against each other. This is heaven for baseball fans (even when your own team was eliminated or, lol, never got within sight of the post season).
Play ball!
I should have added that Fernando’s death hit me hard too - I loved the guy. I loved his pitching, his fantastic impact on the game - everything about him. RIP to my favorite Dodger.
Really excited to see this Series (and hoping for a Dodger win), to see some of the very best current players battle it out.
I hope you and Emmie have an amazing time at the game. My baseball loving heart is so happy you two get to share time at a WS game together, cheering on your Dodgers 💙⚾️
I love that you and your niece get to enjoy the game in person together! That sounds like the dream. Hoping Emmie gets the biggest ice cream and has the best time with her Aunt Molly cheering loudly for Teoscar and Shohei!
I was Emmie’s age in 1976, about when I fell in love with the Reds and learned to hate the Dodgers and Yankees. So I’m not as pumped for this WS as some people are.
I’m also not pumped by the request that I direct my anger at the league against the tightfisted owners. I’m plenty angry at the Castellinis of the league, thank you very much. Please don’t deflect or ignore the righteous anger directed at MLB for its economic injustice. The league is unjust because the revenues are wildly unequal. If all the teams spent 100% of their revenue, payrolls would still be wildly uneven. So teams in Milwaukee and Cincinnati would still be facing a huge uphill fight against teams in NYC and LA. Those of us who love small market teams owned by tightfisted owners are doubly screwed, once by the league and once by the owner. We don’t want to hear fans of more fortunate teams telling us that it’s all about the tightfisted owners.
But I’ll be cheering for the Dodgers, and thinking of young Emmie’s excitement. Thanks for sharing that.
Tight-fisted owners - you said the only thing that matters right there! As Joe Sheehan pointed out some years ago, but still very timely:
‘The conversation about these matters tends to use a language --- "what we can afford", "in our market", "fiscal responsibility" -- that clouds what is happening, which is that spectacularly wealthy men, women and companies can invest in their product, but they often choose not to. The fact is, everybody who owns a major league team -- when MLB isn't making spectacularly bad choices about who gets to own a team, anyway -- is wealthy enough to make investments in the product that can improve the win-loss record without sweating whether the team will have positive cash-flow in the short term.’
Thanks for another great article/breakdown of the Series Molly! Did tear up when you mentioned you were going to be watching it with your niece. Great memories!!!
Emmie will cherish this memory forever!
I was almost 48 years old before I attended my first World Series, and that was only because a dear friend had Cleveland season tickets, we got to freeze our a**es off dusted by snow flurries, but I will always cherish that memory.
Hello to All!
I greatly appreciate Molly's Friday letter for her heartfelt paean to the great, and now sadly late Fernando Valenzuela, and for the love she has shown to her niece Emmie and shared with all of us.
The death of Fernando hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I wrote an essay about it and sent it around to a few friends. I won't repeat that here, but will share a few thoughts-----
La Ciudad de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles (The City of our Lady, the Queen of the Angels,) was founded by a small handful of folk from Sinaloa and Sonora, the northern desert states of then New Spain, now Mexico. It was founded in the fall of 1781, near simultaneously with the commencement of Washington's encirclement of Yorktown, ending the Revolutionary War in favor of the then good guy Yankees. Those patches on the shoulders of the Dodgers playing in the '81 WS reflect the 200th anniversary of Los Angeles, and it was only fitting that a Son of Sonora was wearing one of those patches as he whirled his magnificent left arm 147 times from the mound at the Ravine, on October 23rd, 1981.
On that day, as Jack Whalen so kindly described herein, the Dodgers commenced the game down 2-0 in the Series to the Yanks, having lost the first two games in the Bronx. As a college senior at the time, I well remembered the mounting sense of doom I and many Angelenos felt, having witnessed losing both the '77 and '78 WS to the hated Highlanders. But # 34 knew neither fear of the past nor fear of the batters he faced that day, however hard they hit him. Even in the days when starting pitchers oft finished the game, his performance that day was truly remarkable.
Finally, I would be remiss not to note that Fernando was almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing La Gente back to the Ravine. From the early 19th century until its demise in the 1950s, the communities of Palo Verde and La Loma collectively known as Chavez Ravine, was a thriving community of predominantly Mexican-Americans in the rolling hills just north of downtown.
In consummating the sweetheart deal wherein the City gave the land to the then Westward Ho'ing Dodgers, so many families were either low balled out or forcibly and cruelly evicted, and in their place, up went the parking lots paving the paradise, and the now 3rd oldest stadium in MLB
It is rare to find someone with the charisma and character to bear the light to cast off such a dark moment, but that's exactly what Fernando did.
There will never be another like him.
Vaya con Dios, Fernando
Fernando and Emmie.
Perfect bookends for another great piece.
This lines up perfectly for a Yankee Meltdown worthy of all diehard Red Sox fans and of course, you Red Sox West (Dodger) fans. GO D’s!!! Yankees SUCK!
NO offense intended to any subscribers who favor The Spanks, of course. Just displaying my disdain for the team as all Red Sox fans do. Again, GO D’s!
Molly: May Emmie break YOUR piggy bank eating helmeted ice cream! (Ahem. Without requiring you to raise your subscription price, of course!)
Six must be the magic age. My first solid baseball memory was forged then. I was days shy of turning six when I was watching Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. The game is best remembered by all as Tom Seaver’s only WS win (went 10 innings to do it, when that seemed normal) as a result of a fluke play after JC Martin bunted.
I remember none of that. My grandfather attended that game; I only remember scanning the stands to try to find him. (Spoiler alert: I failed!)
I clearly remember Fernando’s emergence. He was must see TV in the days when cable still meant a telegram, the remote control was someone Emmie's age changing the channel, and streaming was something kite tails did. While I was conditioned to hate the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn by the NY tabloids' sportswriters, it was impossible not to recognize greatness whenever he took the mound. In the days when it took a day for information to travel, EVERYONE knew who he was. There is no modern day comparison.
If Tommy had dialed back by even 10% and pitch counted Fernando to 125 or so, Fernando ends up in Cooperstown. The modern day wizards running guys out there to throw 100MPH until their arms fall off weren’t the first to blow guys’ arms out.
Fernando still has a chance at the Hall of Fame. He should be considered as a contributor based on his pitching, his announcing and his immeasurable contribution to bringing Latinos to the MLB ballparks to watch the game. Even this NY baseball fan (yes, that includes the Yankees) would strongly welcome his induction.
Molly: May Emmie break YOUR piggy bank eating helmeted ice cream.
Six must be the magic age. I was days shy of turning six when I was watching Game 4 of the 1969 World Series. In a game best remembered by all as Tom Seaver’s only WS win (went 10 innings to do it, when that seemed normal) as a result of a fluke play involving JC Martin, I spent my time looking for my grandfather in the stands.
Hopefully, Emmie forges stronger memories simply by being there. I suspect, though, that she’ll remember only that Aunt Molly took her there…and that will mean much, much more to her.
Lovely post. Baseball and family… it doesn’t get any better. My brother and I are on the way to the game now. Go Dodgers!
Just maybe after this season ends, writers can write about Ohtani without having to keep mentioning the losing seasons as an Angel. It’s like having the salt rubbed into the wound over and over again.
In watching the game tonight (currently the 6th inning), I realize I hate the Yankees more than the Dodgers. Have a great time with your niece.