Dodger Stadium, now the third oldest stadium in the MLB, is the Mecca for all things Dodgers. And now with its own zip code (letters addressed to the stadium simply need to be addressed "Dodgertown CA, 90090"), it has arguably the best stadium location in all of baseball, as it's situated amidst Elysian Park perched up in Chavez Ravine overlooking downtown Los Angeles.As a Dodger fan, of course, this is one of the many reasons I love being part of Dodgertown, however last night Dodger Stadium got one more reason for it being one of my favorite places to visit: it has now become the place where both of my boys saw their first baseball game.
Of course, as the Dodgers are off to a great start this season (even without Manny), Katie and I have been itching to get to a game. As we've been watching them via our MLB Extra Innings cable package, I've been noticing both Micah and Liam pull up a rug in the living room to watch the games as well. Micah is in T-Ball and Liam is taking an interest in that, and of course I knew how much Micah loves going to the games, but as they watched the games together, and now that whenever Liam sees anything blue he says "Dodger!," the question from Micah finally came: "can we go to a Dodger game?"
So what better night to go to a Dodger game with both boys in tow and you can get $9 tickets on Casey Blake Bobblehead night? Seventy degrees outside, a backpack full of candy and pistachios (the boys' favorite), and a potential 3 game sweep of the New York Mets. Perfect.As we pulled up, Liam, like Micah the year before, was enamored by the amount of people wearing Dodger gear. "Dodger! Dodger!" he would exclaim as he pointed to various people. He was in his own personal heaven.
We got in, took our seats, and right away, the boys were right in the game. Micah was cheering at the top of his lungs and was the biggest fan in the park. Liam, though a little tired at first from the car ride (and the fact that the game actually starts at his bed time), soon perked up as the excitement of the game, chants, and cheers continued. He actively took part in yelling "CHARGE!!!," "Let's Go Dodgers," and cheering on whichever Dodgers we told him needed cheering. I'm pretty sure his favorite to cheer for was "O-Dog," Orlando Hudson.
It was a good, solid game with solid pitching and decent hitting as Russell Martin (one of Micah's favorites) knocked in the go-ahead run finally in the 8th, and "Three Strikes" Jon (as Micah calls him from a previous game last year) came in to bully the Mets into a sweep.So there we were, watching the Dodgers go 17-3 in their first 20 home games (a shared Major League record for first 20 home games), both of our boys decked out in Dodger blue and 4 Casey Blake Bobbleheads in hand.
So yeah, as a kid who grew up watching and loving the Dodgers and going to the games, there is nothing like hearing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" after the bottom of the 8th inning, and even more than that, hearing Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." blare in the Stadium after a victory. To share that with my boys, well I hope it's one of many memories to come for us at Dodger Stadium.Oh yeah, and the icing on the cake? Somehow it only took us an hour and twenty five minutes to get home from the Stadium...weird, huh?
