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World Series Watch 2024: Game One

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Good morning, everyone. Last night the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated not only the life of the recently departed Fernando Valenzuela, but a 1-0 lead in this year’s World Series as well. There were a couple of firsts, one of which I’ll talk about now and one that I’ll save for the end. In the featured photo you can see Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. He’s not the first zero-clad player to appear in the Fall Classic (Junior Ortiz played in 1991 for the Twins), but he is the first zero-clad World Series pitcher.

Before the game, Flaherty wore Valenzuela’s number.

So did Dodgers greats Orel Hershiser and Steve Yeager, who came out for the ceremonial first non-pitch. Hershiser had the ball and Yeager wore a catcher’s mitt, but instead of doing the usual first pitch, they went to the mound and Hershiser *tried* to place the ball inside the number 34 painted on the back of the mound.

Close enough.

As Phil mentioned a couple of days ago, the Dodgers wore a memorial patch with Fernando’s name and number above the LA logo on the sleeves.

You can see a clearer look at the World Series patch, here:

Unfortunately, you also can see the real Baby Ruth in the swimming pool: the giant ad on both sides of the helmets.

It’s bad enough that both teams have sleeve ads…

…now the helmet ad just adds to the clutter.

The Yankees look a little less cluttered in their “new” road grays.

At first I missed the white trim, but this simpler jersey has grown on me. They still look like the Yankees, and the Dodgers still look like the Dodgers, and I love that. Just a great matchup, especially when guys are going with the high, colorful socks.

I wonder if the Yankees will add a memorial patch or a black armband in game two, because they announced that former pitcher Rudy May died yesterday.

Rest in peace, Rudy…and Fernando.

As for the other first, while I like to end posts with a walk-off field goal (didn’t get one, but there was a walk-off punt last night in Edmonton), today I want to end with a walk-off grand slam…the first in World Series history.

 

 

 
  
 

That's It For Today

Tonight is trick-or-treat night in my old neighborhood, so we’re taking the kids there before going to visit Dad. And of course I have a full day of looking at uni matchups for tomorrow’s 5&1 list. I’ll see you tomorrow, along with the rest of the Sunday Morning Uni Watch Crew. Until then, take care and have a great Saturday.

 

 

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Comments (19)

    Even the wife, who is not baseball fan, said last night looked really good. With the SoCal sunset at first pitch, tight game throughout, and dramatic walk-off, it was borderline perfect.

    But yeah, those helmet ads are just brutal.

    Kirk Gibson’s home run is one of the most overhyped moments in sports. It was dramatic and all, but it was Game 1. Now I suppose Freeman’s will be overhyped too, seeing as it’s the glorious Dodgers again.

    Edgar Renteria’s Game 7 10th-inning walk-off single for the Marlins in 1997 was a far greater moment, but you don’t hear much about it and it doesn’t pop up in the media anywhere near as often as Gibson’s hit. Renteria deserves better. (Even though that hit ripped my guts out.)

    I wish I could memory-hole Joe Carter’s Game 6/Seties-winning HR off Mitch Williams in ‘93. Glad it’s almost never brought up in Fall Classic conversation.
    Most over-hyped in my area in ‘recent’ sports history : The Philly Special.

    At least in my readings, the Joe Carter HR is mentioned 95% of the time, and usually in the Top 3 WS moments. But, like Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, and Carter’s HR, all oversaturated.

    Hard disagree. Gibson’s HR gets so much hype because it was so unexpected. Both Renteria’s hit and Freeman’s slam, while walk off winners, lack that iconic status because in both cases the bases were loaded, so a winning run was not completely out of the question. Freeman, who had already legged out a triple, was facing a pitcher that had not pitched in a month. Renteria’s hit also came with the bases loaded and only succeeded because Nagy tipped the ball.

    However, there was no indication…none…that Gibson had any chance of winning the game. He was coming off the bench, there was only a runner on second, and Gibson could not run. A hit like Renteria’s, or Gonzalez’s in the 2001 Series, would not have won the game and possibly ended it. Plus, he was facing the most dominant closer of the era that had faced 279 batters that year, kept opponents to a .196 batting average, and allowed only 5 HR. For the entire at bat, Gibson was the personification of “flailing.” Then, all of a sudden, the game is over and the monumental upset begins.

    Of course, the red lights in the parking lot and Vin Scully/ Jack Buck on the call helps with the mystique, but it was definitely iconic.

    Go back and watch that plate appearance pitch by pitch and you will understand your misconception. It wasn’t a guy turning on an errant first pitch, it was textbook hitting. And as my dad said to me after Vin Scully broke two-plus minutes of silence with his iconic call, the series was over.

    Calandra et al,

    I’m not saying it isn’t iconic. I’m not saying it wasn’t dramatic, or a fine piece of hitting, or a very memorable moment. It was all those things.

    But it was Game ONE. Adolis Garcia did the same thing.

    “Who?” you ask?

    Exactly. Who?

    You know who also hit a walk-off HR in Game 1? Dusty Rhodes and Tommy Henrich.

    Have you ever seen the networks gush over them?

    Neither have I.

    All I’m saying is that it’s overhyped.

    “Now I suppose Freeman’s will be overhyped too, seeing as it’s the glorious Dodgers again.”

    You sound super chill and not all biased.

    I didn’t watch much MLB this season, but I always tune in for a while for the WS.
    NYY’s aways looked purple-y…probably due to the navy/gray/sans white combo – nothing at all to due with the manufacturer, right?

    I also occasionally see purple in the navy blue baseball teams. I think it stems from the printing techniques of baseball cards from the 60s, though I see no reason my brain should trick me into seeing it these days in pics on my desktop.

    Horrible. Waaaay too many patches. And enough with the mismatched elbow sleeves, belts and cleats. They’re called uniforms for a reason. And those gawdawful helmet ads are a disgrace.

    There’s not a single angle – front, back, left, right – that doesn’t contain some form of advertising. That was the goal and they’ve succeeded spectacularly.

    And by all means, let’s give a sub-.500 pitcher space on the Yankees’ uniform. And don’t forget to retire his number.

    Haha. So true. The Yankees love to retire numbers almost as much as the Celtics. Way too much mediocrity has been rewarded over the years. If I owned the Yankees, it would be: 2…3…4…5…7…8…15…16…42. Done.

    OK, I’m going to GO THERE (after all, it is sports and wardrobe related), but I was so distracted by the woman in the MAGA hat behind home plate. She’s certainly within her right but I was looking forward to a three-hour break from politics. Given her visibility and attention she must be getting, I suspect we’ll see more.

    Can teams institute policies that restrict political messaging? Should they? I’m sure some UW readers will rightly caution about a slippery slope, but there are already policies that restrict certain kinds of offensive, provocative, messaging. Where do we draw the line? Perhaps this could be a topic for future discussions. For what it’s worth, I attend many Arizona Fall League games and rarely see political shirts and hats. Around here, that’s a rarity. I don’t know if fans are self-policing, but it’s a breath of fresh air.

    It’s just the latest version of the rainbow wig guy holding the John 3:16 sign. They aren’t changing anyone’s mind. If anything, they’re likely hurting their cause. Either way, I don’t have a problem with it.

    they looked like fred flintstone with those untucked jerseys during the pregame ceremony. not a good look.

Comments are closed.