
By Lucas Camacho
This has been a very interesting weekend for LA sports fans. The Dodgers held their first annual Dodgers Fan Fest as reigning World Series Champions. As the day drew to a close, a big move came from the other decorated LA sports team: the Lakers. Let’s go over some of the highlights of the weekend…because I think we all need to grasp what just happened.
DODGERS FAN FEST
It’s that time of year again; Dodger Fan Fest (or just Dodgerfest), the unofficial beginning of the season for the Dodgers. This year was definitely different for two reasons: the festivities was held in the parking lot as the stadium goes through a $100 to $300 million dollar renovations happening inside Dodger Stadium, and the fact that the Dodgers are the reigning champions. The Dodgers have not only inspired other LA teams to step up (from the Sparks and Angel FC making moves to the blockbuster trade involving the Lakers), but they’ve also put a target on their backs. The Dodgers were the winners of the big Roki Sasaki sweepstakes but that’s not the only reason teams and analysts are mad at the Dodgers. Besides bringing back Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez, they also added the following: Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Korean star Hyeseong Kim, Sasaki of course, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates (and I’m probably forgetting some moves, but there was just a lot of them). Here are some highlights:
Ohtani making progress
Shohei Ohtani is coming off a successful first season with the Dodgers. He was the unanimous NL MVP for all of his major accomplishments, but he didn’t pitch this last year. After sustaining a shoulder injury in the World Series, his pitching debut has understandably been pushed back to May. Despite that, the team expects him to be able to hit when the team opens the season in Japan against the Cubs on March 18. When he pitches, he hopes to join a rotation alongside his countrymen: Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Roberts ready to build on Dodgers’ momentum
Dodger manager Dave Roberts described how excited he was about his team going into the season. He also expressed how much it meant to him that the Dodgers were able to give their fans a parade this time around. The last time they won in 2020, there was no parade due to the pandemic. Obviously, there was a parade this time around. Roberts also talked Ohtani, his upcoming return to the mound, and how the team is preparing for the reaction to the Japanese fans for the Dodgers’ impending arrival (and how you see Ohtani’s face everywhere when you go to Tokyo, Japan). Roberts called the Dodgers the epicenter of the baseball world because of their diversity and the amount of star power the Dodgers have at their disposal.
Teoscar and Tommy are back
Dodgers fans chanted for both Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman to come back during the parade. Fortunately, wish granted for the fans as the Dodgers resigned both of them, and why wouldn’t they? Hernandez is the reigning Home Run Derby Champion (the first in Dodgers history) and Edman was the MVP of the NLCS. Both men were the new kids on the block last year, but they had big contributions to the Dodgers’ success and the Dodger faithful rewarded them with undying admiration. It could be because of that love-love relationship and the idea of having another championship that brought them both back. They certainly sounded like they were glad to be back, and they want another parade.
Big Reunion and returns this year
The Dodgers are hoping to have Tyler Glasnow back as he went down in August last year and was unable to return the rest of the 2024 campaign. But he says that he has been throwing normal and everything feels good. If he’s ready to roll, he will pitch alongside his old teammate, Blake Snell. With talks breaking down with World Series hero Walker Buehler (who went to the Boston Red Sox), the Dodgers pivoted to Snell. The reunion brings up memories, as both Glasnow and Snell were on the Tampa Bay Rays together (most importantly in 2020 when they lost to the Dodgers in the World Series last year). Snell said he was excited and both he and Glasnow were ready to win with the Dodgers. Besides getting Glasnow back, the Dodgers expect to get back both Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May. Both men missed out on contributing to the 2024 campaign, but both sound ready to rejoin a stacked Dodgers rotation.
Bullpen ready to get back to work
It’s no secret that the Dodgers’ bullpen were a big factor in the 2024 championship run. Hearing the relievers from last year and the new additions talk, it sounds like the bullpen is ready for more. Newcomer Tanner Scott said it best when he talked about how, at a young age, he was told that home plate is like your home, so you either defend it or let the other team take it (and he said point blank that he’s ready to defend it). This is a definitely an intimidating bullpen, and they seem hungry to prove they’re the best unit in baseball (while Ohtani is secretly glad that he won’t have to face Tanner Scott again, who has emerged as his only Kryptonite).
New guys ready to jump in
As seen from both Tanner Scott and Blake Snell’s comments, the new additions to the Dodgers are ready to help the team run it back. Several of the new guys commented in their introductory press conferences how excited they were to join the Dodgers given their storied history and what the Dodgers already built. Many of them have already faced the Dodgers before and that they were excited to join a team that was already favored to win it all again. It’s good to see that they already want to contribute, and Dodgers fans cheered how new man Michael Conforto was wearing a Dodger jersey now (as opposed to the jersey of the Dodgers’ most hated rivals, the Giants). Dodgers fans will be watching with great anticipation.
Mookie and Freddie reflect and look ahead
Toward the end of the festivities, fans got to hear from two of the faces of the Dodgers’ franchise: Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts. There isn’t an official team captain for the team, but if they had to have one: Mookie and Freddie would probably be co-captains. Freddie reflected on how it was still a whirlwind looking back on his grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series (and we can’t blame him). Both him and Mookie were ready to get back to work, especially since Mookie commented that he wanted to fill up his hand with rings at the parade. Freddie is reportedly making progress recovering from his injuries and is expected to be ready for opening day. To be honest, both Mookie and Freddie are really embracing the culture of LA and the patented Mamba Mentality passed onto the city by the late great Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant.
Kike and Kershaw loom large
The big question for Baseball Operations President Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes didn’t come from the Sportsnet LA commentators, but from the fans: what was the status of fan favorites Kike Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw. Both Friedman and Gomes have said that they haven’t closed the door on Kike’s return (remember he didn’t sign to return to the Dodgers until February 27 last year). As for future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, he has started to throw again and remains in contact with the Dodgers to hammer out a deal. Bringing back Kershaw, who has been a face and leader of the franchise for over a decade, is probably the last item on Friedman and Gomes’ to-do list for this offseason (since they already accomplished nearly everything else).
LAKERS’ BLOCKBUSTER TRADE
Moving on from the Dodgers, big news out of the NBA this weekend, as the Lakers made a trade of shocking proportions. They said goodbye to one of the mainstays of the team, Anthony Davis, and got in return star Luka Doncic. Here’s how the three team trade breaks down. The Utah Jazz got Jalen Hood-Schifino, and two second round draft picks for the 2025 NBA Draft (one from Dallas and one from the Clippers…and no that is not a misprint). The Dallas Mavericks get Davis, Max Christie, and a first round pick in the 2029 NBA Draft. Finally, the Lakers get Doncic, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris.
What does this mean for the Lakers? Well, personally, I will miss Anthony Davis, who was a big part of the Lakers’ championship run in 2020. However, there is no denying that Luka Doncic is one of the rising stars of the NBA. The word is that Dallas was worried that Doncic had a lack of discipline regarding his diet and conditioning. From the sound of it…he may not have wanted to stay in Dallas from the sound of it (but that’s a total guess on my part). The Lakers are still getting a great player without exhausting a lot of draft picks, so that is an incredible coup on their part. Now, the Lakers are going to have to look for a new defender with Davis gone, but at least their offense might start showing signs of life.
REMEMBERENCE: CARL WEATHERS ONE YEAR LATER
It’s hard to believe, but it has been a year now since the news broke of the death of beloved actor Carl Weathers. It was a loss that still resonates today considering Weathers’ memorable roles from Apollo Creed in the Rocky movies to Greef Karga in the Star Wars series, The Mandalorian. The reports say that he died the day before, but the news broke the next day on Groundhog’s Day. As I wrote in my tribute to him last year, Weathers was thought to have a promising career in football, considering his role with the successful San Diego State Aztecs team that won the 1969 Pasadena Bowl (finishing the season a perfect 11-0). But if it had worked out, would we have gotten Apollo Creed or Greef Karga, or even Combat Carl in the Toy Story movies? So, I thought it was important to remind us that Carl Weathers still looms large even a year after his passing, because I doubt he’ll ever be forgotten.