Tony at the yard: Who Knew?

Know one knew. Who could really know? Most sports prognosticators had the Dodgers on life support. ESPN talent had 22 picking Padres and 5 going with Dodgers. Fernando Tatis Jr., the manchild, was on fire. Each time he came to the plate Dodger fans clenched their cheeks and Padre fans hissed their pent-up venom. The Padres won eight of the thirteen games this year. The Padres Dodger Rivalry has evolved suddenly. Do we need another? Everyone wants to hate the Dodgers except their fans. The Padres posterized the Blue Crew in Game 2 a lifetime ago behind Superhero Tatis. In “must win” game 3 had Walker struggling and the defense was Keystone Cops. The Dodger nominal lead became a 6-1 deficit in 34 pitches. Tatis launched a 2-run bomb to cap the scoring. Still, no one knew what was coming. San Diego fans were delirious. The Padre batting order was being lionized. Dave Roberts’ future was being questioned with another NLDS failure. There were no breadcrumbs to the future. Who could know that the Tatis bomb in the second inning of Game 3 would be the last run the Padres would score? Tatis might have known because he watched it like he was taking a selfie. For the Padres to not score another run from that moment through almost three games seems impossible to allow for. It would have been FU money on a FanDuel bet. What would be those odds? Do these Dodgers have a shot at the title? Magic 8 Ball says Future Uncertain. Many difficult situations will test our intestinal walls. But our chances are better than San Diego’s!

With the Dodger’s game one shutout of the New York Mets, the Dodgers tied the playoff records for scoreless innings at 33. The record ended abruptly but the record was set in the 1966 World Series. That fall classic pitted the Dodgers of Koufax and Drysdale against the Orioles of Jim Palmer and Moe Drabowsky. LA scored in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings of game 1 and would not score again in the last 3.5 games. It would take almost another decade before the Dodgers scored a WS run. As a young Dodger fan, The Yard learned a very early lesson in Dodger PTSD-Playoff Traumatic Stress Disorder. Since Brooklyn the Dodgers have won the National League pennant 24 times. They have the NL record for most appearances. Saint Louis is in 2^nd place with 17. Where the PTSD comes in, is the Dodgers have only won the title seven times in those two dozen tries. The Yard was witness to several of these falls. The Yankees and Dodgers faced 11 times in the WS with the Pinstripes winning 8 times. The World Series in 1977, 78 & 81 were some of the bests in history with the Yankees winning the first two and then the first two games in 1981. Coming back to LA for three games seemed like another fiasco awaiting. The Dodgers roared back and swept the last four games to win their first WS since 1965. Are we anxious today? You bet and we are not.

The Padres with the Sons of O’Malley managing went all in with this 2024 team. There is still a runway in the San Diego future, but the sands of time are starting to cover it. Padre management took big swings with Machado, Snell, Soto, Hader and others. The bar was set to beat the Dodgers. The road to the promised land goes through Los Angeles. Could be I-5 or the 405 to the 605 depending on time of day but that is the route. The Padres had already swept the Dodgers in the NLDS and so had the Diamondbacks. The next step was so tantalizingly close. The cost was their farm system. The Padre top prospects are now another team’s future. When that happens, you become the San Francisco Giants. Padre nation, the Giants have three titles to show for it, what say you? That very first title for San Diego should be special. Let us know where we should send the Participation Trophies for 2024.

Peter Rose was one of our favorite baseball players growing up. He was one of our first Topps baseball cards. He died in Las Vegas which is appropriate. Charlie Hustle was an old school grinder. His all-time hits record will never be broken. Pete did not play for the money, and it was not great back then. It was for the love of the game. He played every game like it was game 7 of the WS. He practically ended Cleveland catcher Ray Fosse’s career on a play at the plate in the 1970 All-Star game. He famously brawled with Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NLCS after the inning was over. Rose's body slammed him into the infield dirt while everyone else was headed to the dugout. He was also a hustler. He liked to bet, and it was his ultimate undoing. He denied the allegations for years. When contrition was suggested, he admitted his misdeeds. Baseball maintained the lifetime ban. Maybe now he can get recognition for his unparallelled hitting instead just for his mistakes. RIP PR.