Dodger fans finally get victory parade following latest World Series win
Hillel Aron
LOS ANGELES (CN) — Two days after the Dodgers' dramatic World Series win, roughly 225,000 baseball fans packed the streets of downtown LA to celebrate the victory, according to estimates from LAPD officials.
That crowd size — a testament to the Dodgers' fervent fan base — was nearly twice what officials had expected.
The Dodgers may have won the World Series in 2020, but the Covid pandemic meant there was no open-top bus parade. Thus, Friday's parade marked four years of pent-up jubilation.
"We celebrated at home. Now, we get to celebrate in person," said fan Jason Sikora, who took an hourlong train ride from the San Fernando Valley to Grand Park in downtown to see the start of the parade.
"There’s a lot of love for the Dodgers in this town," he said.
Another fan had driven up from Orange County at 5:30 in the morning with her 9-year-old daughter. When asked why they weren't fans of the Angels, who play their games in Anaheim, the daughter interjected: "They suck!"
The Dodgers officially beat the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, coming behind from 5-0 down to clinch the championship in five games.
As fans took to the streets that night, the city spontaneously erupted in a firework-fueled celebration.
Those celebrations devolved somewhat into a few scattered cases of vandalism, looting and even arson. In Echo Park near Dodgers Stadium, a Metro bus was set on fire.
A dozen arrests were made, including seven who participated in the looting. One fan injured his hand trying to set off a firework.
"Celebrate peacefully!" Mayor Karen Bass told the crowd on Friday, speaking briefly aboard one of the open-top buses. "Have a great day, LA!”
Police officials say Dodger fans obliged the mayor. The crowd, which included numerous children and more than a few babies, was happy and polite, singing along as "It Was a Good Day" and "I Love LA" blasted from speakers. There were no reports of any crimes, nor were arrests made — though clouds of now-legal marijuana did waft through the fall air.
Aboard one of the other buses, pitcher Walker Buehler, who pitched the final outs of game 5, could be seen drinking from appeared to be a rather tall beer bong. Japanese star Shohei Ohtani, capping a historic season in which he hit more than 50 home runs and stole more than 50 bases — and in which his former translator admitted to stealing millions of dollars from him — was photographed holding his dog, Decoy.
The parade ended at Dodgers Stadium, where thousands of paying fans were waiting to cheer.
Most of the Dodgers spoke. Even Ohtani, who rarely speaks in English, shyly told the crowd: "I'm just so honored to be here and be part of this team."
Mookie Betts did well to summarize the feeling of cockiness surrounding the team.
"We got two so far," said Betts, referring to recent championship rings. "We got eight or nine years left. I got to get at least five or six, right?"
World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, who homered in the first four games and whose RBI single in game 5 helped tie the game, also addressed the crowd.
Freeman's season was interrupted when his three-year-old son, Maximus, was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder. His son eventually recovered, and Freeman rejoined the team, though he sprained his ankle late in the season.
"When I came back after my son got sick, you guys showed up for my family and I," Freeman told the crowd at Dodgers Stadium. "I was so touched, I did everything I could to get back on the field for you guys. And I’m glad I did, because we got a championship now."
Friday also marked the birthday of Dodger legend Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican pitcher who died last week. Fans in Grand Park sang happy birthday to Valenzuela and shouted more chants. Among them: "Let's go Dodgers," "Let's go Kike," and of course, "Yankees suck!"