Bronx, NY.– The main press boxes were made small to accommodate the number of writers accredited to cover the World Series, so we had to sit in the auxiliary boxes, in both stadiums.
At Dodger Stadium, that box is in the left field stands, on the top floor, but in the section of seats that is on the bottom side of the ring. Upstairs we have more chairs, so we can say that we were surrounded by fans.
At Yankee Stadium, the location was on the top floor, in a section of right field; In my particular case, I was in the last row, practically at the height of the iconic railing of the Bronx park. Located in the second chair in the row, I had Daniel to my right and two sections of fans were barely separated by a narrow hallway. Towards the other side of the area that was set up with tables and televisions so that we reporters could write, the rest of the fans, plus those who sit in the rows under that auxiliary box.
In both parks we were literally in the middle of the crowd, without being part of it.
Although the visual of the game is different, because we are not facing the pitcher, facing the diamond, but perched so high, first on the left side and then on the right side, it is worth saying that from anywhere it looks good, and there is also the complement of the image and TV repetitions, which for our work is very useful.
Having explained this, now I am going to tell you what it feels like from there.
The first day in Los Angeles began with a beautiful tribute to Fernando Valenzuela, the legendary Mexican pitcher who conquered Dodger fans since his first full season in 1981, when he was Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, in addition to being key in the championship in the World Series, over the Yankees, the last time before this, that they saw each other in this instance.
Valenzuela passed away on October 22, three days before the Fall Classic.
The tribute was with mariachis.
We listened to “Eternal Love” by singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel, with a great performance by the singer who sang the song accompanied by a good part of the fans of Mexican origin who arrived early to be part of the tribute; They also sang a corrido that tells the life of “El Toro” and the classic “El Rey”, to close.
There was a request for a minute of silence, but those present preferred to change the silence for cries of love; “Up, Fernando!”, “I love you!”, “Long live Valenzuela!”, “Toro, Toro, Toro!”; The moment ended with applause, the “34” family was on the field.
I lost count of the number of people wearing the Valenzuela jersey.
An attendance of 52,394 fans was reported for that game, the number indicating that all tickets were sold.
As we told in the chronicle of that first challenge, the Dodgers started ahead with one run, the Yankees responded and turned the score around; In the eighth the game was tied, New York took the lead in the tenth, but in the bottom half everything ended with Freddie Freeman’s Grand Slam that left them on the field.
The Dodger fans don’t stop making noise, the organist plays and encourages. These people make noise all the time, they give the rivals the typical boo that is accentuated according to the danger that the batter represents. With the game “close,” they held out hope until Freeman’s turn confirmed that Yogi Berra was always right and “the game isn’t over until it’s over.” Plus, the Dodgers are the Dodgers.
There was a momentary silence when the Yankees scored the third run in that 10th inning, but they immediately stood up to wave their blue handkerchiefs. The excitement grew as the bases filled with Dodgers. When Freeman came to the plate, those people were sure he was going to hit a hit, I don’t know if they all believed it would be a home run, but they trusted him and he didn’t let them down.
The explosion of joy made the structure vibrate, they chanted the name of Freddie Freeman, they shouted and left happy, while El Mariachi gave a serenade.
Mariachis are part of the Los Angeles stadium soundtrack.
In the second game, the urban artist “Ice Cube” sang and made everyone in the stands, stands and dugouts dance. The good energy in the fans’ smiles was noticeable. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Alex Verdugo did not contain their desire to dance.
Play Ball! It was 5pm in LA and it was cool and sunny. Clear blue sky, 76 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Dodgers made the 4 runs in the first three innings with which they won, 4-2.
As Yoshinobu Yamamoto dominated the Yankees, the fans cheered, loud as always; They never stop making noise, which is why it was so shocking to hear the absolute silence that took over the park at the moment when Shohei Ohtani, trying to steal second base in the seventh inning, hit his left shoulder and was left lying on the ground. ; for those seconds that were very long, in which everyone held their breath and did not make a sound until he got up and walked out; The silence was thunderous.
There was tension again in the ninth inning when Michael Kopech left the bases full of Yankees, Alex Vesia came in to relieve him and ended the threat, so the party could begin.
The Dodgers went to New York with a 2-0 lead. Mission accomplished.
At Yankee Stadium we were in the right field bleachers. It was cold in games three and four.
As an “answer” to Ice Cube, the Yankees invited “Fat Joe”, he did not have the same impact as the Los Angeles artist, I think honoring the saying: “he who hits first”.
There, in that location we were also within the sound; rather, one of those sounds that are also baseball.
You just have to pay attention with your five senses.
From the main press box, you can hear the murmur of the crowd, close, but distant; This time we were in the middle, being part without being part of the noise, the bustle and also the silence, seeing the faces of each individual that makes up the crowd.
We heard Aaron Judge start to be booed after he failed to swing, but the organist started playing to appease him. Also the enormous fans that support him sang “MVP, MVP!” They are the judge’s court, and they prevailed.
The Dodgers made their first two runs in the first inning, with another home run by Freddie Freeman. It was the first time I heard the Yankees stay silent. Afterwards they booed each of the Dodgers, they supported their hitters, but just as the bats didn’t turn on in the ninth, when they were finally able to score twice, the stands didn’t light up either.
The next day was something else.
The joy of turning the game around, of seeing their “Bombers” beat the Dodgers, was felt to the point of shaking the concrete and making the floor, the tables, the laptops vibrate… They jumped and chanted the names of each Yankee and they came out singing with Frank Sinatra, the classic “New York, New York”, which always plays, win or lose.
The possibility of becoming the first team in history to come back from 0-3 in the World Series was the hope they went to sleep with.
In the fifth and final game, with the Yankees up 5-0, the excitement took over the park. It looked like they were going back to Los Angeles.
Every fan likes to go to the stadium to see their team win, those from the Bronx are going to demand that their players win, in addition to booing and shouting anything at the Dodger hitters. Intensely, this is how they have lived baseball since they existed and the ring drought has been long.
In the fateful fifth inning for the Yankees, when everything happened, including Judge and Volpe’s errors and the situation with Mookie Betts’ hit, when Gerrit Cole did not run to assist at first base, he once again left the bustling fans in absolute silence.
Rumors of disappointment were heard since Kike Hernández gave Cole the first hit. It was a succession of reactions, consistent with what was happening.
From happiness to frustration there are only a few hits.
They cheered up again as they went ahead, but when the Dodgers once again took the lead in the eighth, even with the game down to just one run, many began to leave, resigned, as if they were convinced that Walker Buehler was going to handcuff them, preventing them from reacting.
When the Dodgers took the field after Alex Verdugo struck out, the stands and stands were already emptying.
They finished leaving while Sinatra was heard, over and over again, on repeat, and the players celebrated on the Yankee field.
Dodger fans gathered on the third-base dugout to see them receive the championship trophy and celebrate with them. Fans of all ages; kids, young and old, some wearing their original Brooklyn jerseys.
It wasn’t cold that night in the Bronx.
