When I visited UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium, I noticed a tribute banner to Gerrit Cole. These days Cole is the ace of the Yankees, but he grew up less than 50 miles south of Los Angeles in Newport Beach. After attending high school at Orange Lutheran, the Yankees drafted him in 2008. Cole decided to attend UCLA and was later drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Things came full circle when Cole signed with the Yankees in 2020, and he headed to the West Coast sporting a 6-0 record on the season.
I had initially expected to attend Friday night’s interleague matchup between the Yankees and Dodgers, but my plans changed when author Will Leitch announced a Los Angeles stop on his book tour. Skipping the game felt like a smart decision after the Yankees lost 8-4. After a career in journalism and sports media, Leitch explained that he has partially pivoted to novels. He still writes articles and is featured on several podcasts. Leitch even welcomes letters from readers, so he and I have been pen pals of sorts since 2020. I drove to Chevalier’s Books in the Larchmont Village area of LA curious as to what the night would bring.
I found a convenient parking spot and rushed over to Jeni’s Ice Cream for a refreshing cream soda. Soon I was seated a few doors down at Chevalier’s, the oldest independent bookstore in the entire city. Leitch was joined by A.J. Daulerio, his former coworker at the sports website Deadspin. They commiserated about struggling to find work as writers in New York City circa 2000 which seems hard to believe given how prolific their careers have proven to be. Leitch is a contributing editor at New York magazine, writes for MLB.com, and appears on multiple podcasts including Grierson and Leitch which discusses film.
I really enjoyed Leitch’s 2021 novel How Lucky, but this visit was in support of his newest work The Time Has Come. Aside from coming away with an autographed copy, I was able to speak with Will for a couple of minutes. That was enough time to discuss how we use Substack as well as our love for the Pacific Surfliner train. He was gracious enough to pose for a photo before I headed home. It was my first trip to Chevalier’s but unlikely to be my last.
On Thursday, Dorina and I spotted a painting in Laguna Beach entitled Hey Babe, Take a Walk on the Wild Side and couldn’t help noticing the Yankees and Giants logos. When Saturday, June 3 arrived, I dealt with heavy traffic entering Dodger Stadium but managed to arrive on time. As expected, plenty of Yankee fans were in attendance as well as some of rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe’s family who I could identify thanks to their matching shirts. I even got a compliment on my Volpe apparel from a fan of the Dodgers. Despite some early offensive struggles, Volpe has gained popularity due to his strong defense and the fact that he grew up rooting for the Yanks.
Rookie Michael Grove started the game for the Dodgers while the Yankees sent Gerrit Cole to the mound. As you might recall, Cole dominated the Minnesota Twins back in April when I visited Yankee Stadium. The first inning went well for both hurlers who enjoyed 1-2-3 innings, but New York grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second after DJ LeMahieu tripled and Jake Bauers followed by slamming the ball 414 feet for a home run. The Dodgers answered immediately when David Peralta hit a bloop single to left field. That scored Jason Heyward who had been hit by a pitch.
The Yankees led just 2-1, but that all changed when Rizzo hit a fourth-inning single and Bauers homered for the second time in two at-bats. Not long afterward, I received a text from a friend who roots for the Dodgers: “Bauers 2 HRs…would not have guessed that one.” The visitors expanded their advantage to 5-1 in more predictable fashion when Aaron Judge smashed a ball over the left field fence during the sixth stanza.
The Yankees got into trouble during the seventh after Gerrit Cole was removed as a precaution due to cramping. Despite a shaky appearance by reliever Wandy Peralta, Michael King helped them escape with a 5-3 edge. For the Dodgers, Miguel Vargas hit an RBI triple and Miguel Rojas singled in Vargas later in the frame. Judge also played a role in preserving the lead by making an incredible catch on a line drive by J.D. Martinez, holding onto the ball despite crashing into the right field bullpen fence. Days letter, it became apparent that Judge would miss significant time after injuring his toe on the concrete wall, but in the moment it was absolutely thrilling to witness.
One of the off-field highlights was the presence of legendary music producer Jimmy Jam, who played alongside organist Dieter Ruhle. Oswaldo Cabrera, fresh from the minor leagues, hit a solo shot against Victor Gonzalez in the ninth. When Dave Roberts was forced to pinch hit with the offensively challenged Austin Barnes, I chuckled. Clay Holmes pitched around a walk to Mookie Betts to close out a 6-3 victory for the Yankees. As I left the ballpark, a message from my dad appeared: “You went to the right game!”
New York would go on to win the series with a 4-1 win on Sunday. Since then, the Yankees have struggled without Judge despite remaining in the wild card hunt and the Dodgers have reclaimed first place in the National League West.
How does one follow attending a favorite team’s rare interleague win? Well, I ended up eating with Dorina at my favorite Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. Guelaguetza serves the Oaxacan specialty known as mole which I have enjoyed for many years. There’s something about the savory sauce of chocolate and spices that made my mole coloradito enchiladas taste incredible. She ordered the mole rojo and we shared an order of chalupas. Celebratory margaritas were the perfect way to end one of my favorite weekends in recent memory.
Cool that you got to meet your friend Will Leitch.
Ah, Guelaguetza the parking is rough, but you love mole too much to resist. 🙂