On witnessing history by accident
Clayton Kershaw's strikeout milestone made my visit to Dodger Stadium extra memorable.
“Was the traffic this bad last time?” I heard Dorina ask from the passenger seat. On this Saturday, April 30 we had allowed plenty of time to arrive at Dodger Stadium but were stuck in a crush of cars outside the parking lot gate.
“Pretty much,” I responded. The two of us attended the Maury Wills bobblehead giveaway game two weeks prior following our trip to the Natural History Museum and pregame meal of empanadas at Rincon Chileno. A strategic nap en route to the ballpark had apparently made it difficult to remember the caravan of vehicles waiting to enter. As it turned out, the April 16 contest drew about 51,000 fans and more than 52,000 spectators would show up on this particular occasion. When a concessions worker asked, I told her that the drive from Orange County to the Stadium Way freeway offramp took about as long as the subsequent journey of roughly two miles toward the stadium grounds.
We had planned this visit for several weeks and anticipated the Kirk Gibson bobble promotion, but soon after being seated it was obvious why the place was so packed. Clayton Kershaw, who had long cemented his place among the great Dodgers pitchers of all time, received a large ovation. He was four strikeouts away from the franchise record that had been owned by Don Sutton and the fans knew it.
Kershaw breezed through the top of the first inning against the Detroit Tigers, setting the stage for Mookie Betts to club a home run on the second pitch from Beau Brieske. Shockingly, it would be the only run of the game for the Dodgers and one of only four team hits.
Halfway through the game, I joked that we should see an Angels game next time to avoid such severe crowds. I was thankful that I could still see the action despite standing in a very long line for ice cream served in a souvenir helmet with the ubiquitous interlocking LA logo. It wasn’t the deluxe version with churros in the bowl, but at least the soft serve was solid. Speaking of ice, here’s what happened when I was given the chance by the Anaheim Ducks to paint messages on the Honda Center’s playing surface.
The Tigers evened the score on a two-out single by Javier Báez in the third, by which point the crowd was standing in anticipation of the magical moment. That feat would have to wait until the fourth, when Kershaw fanned Spencer Torkelson to make it 2,697 career strikeouts before acknowledging an exultant fan base.
The rest of the game was rather anticlimactic, with Detroit rallying for three runs charged to Evan Phillips in the seventh. That allowed the stadium to empty out a bit before Gregory Soto got Cody Bellinger to make the final out on a ground ball to Jeimer Candelario. The game ended in a 5-1 defeat for Los Angeles, but fans in my section were treated to an appearance by stunt performer Johnny Knoxville.
Despite the lines for parking and teeming crowds, the experience reminded me of why I attend games in the first place. A sense of history will always permeate baseball, and feeling a part of that is why so many spectators fork over the cash for tickets, parking, food, and merchandise. The fan reaction was a love letter to a three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, 2020 World Series champion, and (at least at this point) Dodger for life.
I recommend Brothers In Arms by Jon Weisman for anyone curious about the long track record of pitching excellence held by the Dodgers organization. Sandy Koufax may have been the most dominant hurler at his peak, Don Newcombe was the first black pitcher to win Rookie of the Year, Orel Hershiser can boast an incredible scoreless streak, and Fernando Valenzuela is still the most popular Dodger in some circles. Nevertheless, Kershaw has combined performance and longevity in a way that makes him stand out even among very good company. In fact, Koufax and former teammate Max Scherzer have the closest Similarity Scores when compared to Kershaw’s career. Kershaw stands just 11 wins from 200 for his career, a milestone that is likely to draw even more large crowds if he finds himself on the precipice of reaching it.