Hey y'all- it's been a while since I've posted on here, so I wanted to share with you a brief post about this SUPER COOL thing I got to do. Grad school life has taken up 99.999999% of my time- but in the .00000001% of corresponding free time I've had, I got a chance to check-off one of my bucket list items: going to the World Series.
Admittedly, I was hoping that my first World Series game would be one where the Padres would be playing (I can dream), but I'll settle for Dodgers-Astros, especially considering that this series will be considered an all-time classic 20 years from now.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket to Game 6 (thanks Mom!!!)- and as I walked into Dodger Stadium, I was honestly rooting the Astros to clinch their first championship. On the other hand, though, I also felt like it was only right for that series to go to a seventh and final game, considering how competitive every game that preceded Game 6 had been.
Admittedly, because Game 6 followed the already-legendary Game 5, which ended in a 12-13 shootout, it just simply wasn't reasonable to expect a similar kind of game twice in a row. Indeed, Game 6 was the complete opposite- it was low-scoring and defensive-oriented, but it was a different kind of thrill compared to Game 5.
The Astros started out strong; eventual series-MVP George Springer hit his fourth World Series home run (in the process becoming the third player to do so in baseball history), and Justin Verlander was lights out for six innings and only allowed three hits, but unfortunately, he ran out of gas soon thereafter.
The Dodgers went up for good after Chris Taylor hit a two-run double- and at times, the Astros threatened to expand or take back the lead, but they were shut down by Kenta Maeda in a relief cameo. Despite an extensive, 30+ pitch outing in Game 5, Kenley Jansen came in for a two-inning save, and despite my doubts (relievers should not be high usage players!!!!), he dominated the Astro hitters, shutting the door in the 9th inning to seal a Dodgers victory.
I don't think there's anything that can really describe the atmosphere of a World Series game. It's unbelievable- for each at-bat, Dodger fans roared as if it was the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded and two outs. As much as I hate the Dodgers... I really gotta hand it to their fans. They're some of the best in baseball and their enthusiasm enhanced my experience that much more. Again, I wanted the Astros to win- but seeing the pure joy on the faces of Dodger fans (literally EVERYONE was highfive-ing each other) thawed my cynical heart that had been frozen by the budget cuts and fire sales committed by previous Padres ownership regimes.
So yeah, GO TO A WORLD SERIES BEFORE YOU DIE. There is literally nothing else like getting to witness a piece of history first hand.
Some other stray observations:
- It's weird writing about how euphoric Dodger fans were that night after they won Game 6... knowing that heartbreak awaited them the very next day, when the Astros won Game 7 and with it, the 2017 World Series. It's hard to feel too bad for them though- the Dodgers are absolutely STACKED in literally every regard imaginable. They could seriously win five or more World Series championships over the next decade- and it's painfully obvious as a Padres fan that the Dodgers have the potential to be a dynasty-level organization. For better or worse, if everything goes to plan for Magic Johnson, Dave Roberts, Andrew Friedman & Co., they will become baseball's equivalent of the Patriots.
- Never again will I pay 15 dollars for a 20 oz. can of Bud Lite again.
- That was the first time I had ever been to Dodger Stadium, so I had to try the vaunted Dodger Dog, and unfortunately, it was kinda overrated to be honest. That underwhelming experience really made appreciate how good the food at Petco Park food is (seriously guys, we have Phil's BBQ!!!).
- I'm stating the obvious here... but LA traffic is the ABSOLUTE WORST. Unfortunately, we missed the first pitch and the pregame ceremonies because it took us 40 minutes to go about 6 miles, and after the game, it took us another 40 minutes to just leave the parking lot. (*your friendly author of this article screams into a pillow*)
- Hey Dean Spanos, if you're reading this: All 15 Dodger fans I asked mentioned that they could not care less about the Chargers being in LA. Hope it was worth it.
- Of course, Game 6 fell on Halloween, so naturally, I dressed up as a Padres fan. I heard a lot of warnings from my friends about how hostile Dodger fans can be to opposing fans, but they were actually pretty nice to me; maybe (or actually, probably) because they felt pity on me and the team I root for. In fact, three Dodger fans asked take photos with me, so I'd like to count myself among all the other celebrities that were there, including Lana Del Ray, John Hamm, Ashton Kutcher, Kate Upton. It is LA, after all.
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