After the year it’s had, L.A. is desperate for a Dodgers win
- Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
L.A. feels ready for this moment. Ready for its Dodgers. Ready for Mookie and Freddie and Yoshi and Teoscar and, of course, ready for The Show, Shohei Ohtani, the humble giant who already has cemented himself as one of the city’s all-time All-Timers.
Angelenos feel the anticipation of another World Series, out in force in a sea of Dodgers caps and an armada of cars, with blue Dodgers flags snapping in the wind. One lady even braided her long hair blue and white and declared on social media, “Dodgers braids are World Series ready!”
The moment would be huge if it was just about baseball. The Dodgers have lost only one out of 10 playoff games and they’ve done it with panache, and achievements so grand — headlined by Ohtani’s three-homer, 10-strikeout demolition in the climactic Game 4 against the Milwaukee Brewers — that fans and pundits are straining for new superlatives.
A victory won’t rebuild L.A., but it will bring people together
But the occasion feels even bigger because of what the city has endured in 2025. It started with the fires that destroyed thousands of homes, continued with brash federal immigration raids and the unrest in the street that followed and has stumbled along with a government shutdown that pushed others from their jobs.
“Even upbeat, casual exchanges are important,” said die-hard Dodgers fan and LAist radio host Larry Mantle, “as we deal with the results of terrible fires, immigration raids and the federal shutdown.”
A victory won’t rebuild all the homes lost from Malibu to Pacific Palisades to Altadena. It won’t end the state’s seemingly endless confrontations with President Trump. But it will give a reason to forget the upsetting hurly-burly of the news and come together. “It’s like our little bubbles start to melt away,” said film editor E.J. Barrois, “because we have something that we can all agree on.”
This isn’t the only time and place in which Americans yearned to escape into sports. The people of Paradise, Calif., found it with their winning high school football team, the year after the town’s hellacious losses in the 2018 Camp fire. New Yorkers and many other Americans found it in 2001, when the Yankees fought their way into the World Series, just weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Americans talked about the solace they felt watching that seven-game series, a little more than a month after the twin towers collapsed into rubble. (The Yanks lost in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a classic Series.) “This is a moment,” Billy Crystal said, “your politics go away.”
Let’s not forget the year of the devastating Northridge earthquake, when a gritty Little League team from Northridge fought its way to the championship match in Little League’s 12-year-old division. It lost to a squad from Venezuela but returned home national heroes.
A gritty and persistent team for a gritty and persistent L.A.
As the team with the largest payroll in baseball and three former MVPs in Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman, it’s not hard to see how fans in other cities see the Dodgers as the overfed Goliath that must be brought down.
But Dodgers fans see grit and persistence that money can’t buy: in the way players like catcher Will Smith and third baseman Max Muncy fought through injuries to find late-season success and the way superstar Betts willingly gave up his long-held outfield position to shift to shortstop, where he has performed brilliantly.
The Dodgers have not escaped this decisive year unscathed. The team faced criticism in some corners for not being forceful enough in denouncing the immigration raids. But even some doubters say they have been profoundly moved by Ohtani and the Dodgers.
“As I’m hearing ‘and the Dodgers win The Pennant,’ it’s not lost on me that this immigrant from Japan is exemplifying both the greatness of immigrants and the enduring promise of the American Dream,” wrote L.A. Taco contributing editor Erick Galindo last week. He said Ohtani’s performance is a reminder “that greatness can come from anywhere, and that Los Angeles, for all its faults, still has room for someone to arrive from across the ocean and become the heartbeat of the city.”
And it’s not just Ohtani representing L.A. as a city famous for its diversity and welcoming nature. Also starring for the Dodgers are a pair of pitchers from Japan, an outfielder from Cuba, an infielder from South Korea and a beloved utility man, Kiké Hernández, who started his life in Puerto Rico and now seems to end every season playing like an all-star.
“That visible work ethic of this Dodgers team connects with L.A. in a very personal way,” said Mantle. Mayor Karen Bass said the team symbolized the city and “the grit and resilience of Angelenos.” She added: “L.A. always rises.”
As the Dodgers celebrated on the field following their National League championship, manager Dave Roberts poked fun at those who said the team was merely buying a championship.
“Before the season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball,” Roberts said. “Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball.”
After a practice this week at Dodgers Stadium, Betts told reporters he sees how the city is prepared.
“Everybody’s locked and loaded, ready to go, ready to see some history,” he said. “And we’re ready to make it.”
Barrois will be among the multitude wishing it to be true.
“Our city takes to the streets to make our voices heard during the tough times,” he said. “I’d love to see us all take to the streets again for one big collective YES, and to that I can only say GO DODGERS!”
Today’s top stories
A piano teacher to children of Hollywood stars fled the country as a jury decided his sex abuse case
- Pianist John Kaleel was convicted of multiple counts of committing lewd acts with one of his students earlier this month, but fled the country while jurors deliberated.
- The Australian national pleaded no contest to the same crime nearly a decade ago, but managed to have it thrown out on appeal.
- According to his website, he has taught the children of a number of high-level Hollywood figures, including the creators of “Mad Men” and “Orange Is the New Black.”
U.S. senators ramp up Palisades fire probe but give Eaton fire short shrift
- Two U.S. senators sent a letter to the L.A. City Council seeking records.
- Officials in L.A. County, where the Eaton fire burned, say they’ve received no request.
‘Destructive’ swans are in the crosshairs as California allows hunting
- Hunters will soon be allowed to kill mute swans as part of an effort to cull the “destructive, non-native” species statewide, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
- Starting Jan. 1, anyone with a valid hunting license will be able to kill the invasive waterfowl at any time.
- Landowners and lessees can also kill mute swans at any time without a permit or hunting license.
What else is going on
- Alex Vesia might not pitch in the World Series because of a personal matter
- Trump has called off ICE operations in San Francisco.
- Contaminated meat was linked to 1 in 5 UTIs, according to a study out of Southern California.
- L.A. County blindsided Santa Monica by announcing two homeless housing projects. Residents fought back.
- The LAFD union president has accused Mayor Bass of “retaliation” in the wake of the firestorm, files claim.
- After serving for decades as a community hub and popular shopping center, the Westminster Mall in Orange County is getting ready to close its doors.
Commentary and opinions
- Ballrooms aren’t just for Cinderella. Trump wants one, and he’s tearing up the White House to get it, writes news and culture critic Lorraine Ali.
- Behind every pink ribbon this October, millions are struggling with pain and disability from a disease that rarely makes headlines, writes guest contributor and Academy Award-winning actress Kathy Bates.
- Guest columnist Cat Cardenas writes about what “Kiss of the Spider Woman” can teach us about surviving fascism.
This morning’s must read
Operators are fleeing the Joshua Tree Airbnb market after a short-term rental boom. Area residents are grappling with how the rental surge reshaped their towns.
Other must reads
- Six Flags is struggling. Here’s why Travis Kelce is joining investors to make changes.
For your downtime
Going out
- Museums: The most significant American art museum show right now topples white supremacy.
- Movie theaters: The “Stranger Things” finale is coming to movie theaters in the latest Netflix cinema experiment.
- Outdoors: Where to explore the lush, sandy segments of the L.A. River.
Staying in
- Books: A new Tupac biography features 650 interviews and the real person behind “Brenda’s Got a Baby.”
- Recipe: Here’s a recipe for apple fritter cake with butterscotch glaze.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
A question for you: What’s the best candy to get for Halloween?
Toni writes: “Milk Duds! Absolutely the best. Those tiny boxes with four pieces of chocolate and caramel are a reward for a long day of whatever.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times contributor Gary Coronado. The Eaton fire destroyed the century-old Nature Friends lodge in Sierra Madre, but members held Oktoberfest over the ruins recently.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In our first episode, the L.A. Times columnist George Skelton sizes up the governors he’s known, what made them successful and whether the next one can measure up.
On screen, Errol Flynn played a series of daredevils, fortune hunters, and suave romantics. Off screen, he lived a life of outsize debauchery and recklessness, including a persistent interest in underage girls. In 1943, at the height of his fame, he faced trial in Los Angeles on charges of statutory rape.
Why would someone decide to risk their life for a country that is not their own? What might they be searching for? Call Sign Condor is a podcast about the thousands of Latin American soldiers who are fighting in Ukraine — for Ukraine.
