Peanuts In My Pocket

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in five games to become the 2024 World Series Champions. Congratulations to all my family and friends who are fans—I know this means a lot to you!

I managed to watch every minute of every game, despite not being a huge baseball fan and usually favoring the Angels. The series was wonderfully intense; I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The drama and pressure were over the top, making for fantastic entertainment. I genuinely enjoyed every moment.

Baseball was never my sport. Growing up, I had my hands full with three others: basketball, which I loved, football, which came in a close second, and baseball, which I avoided when I could. I did play a few seasons of park league baseball as a kid, with my stepfather as the coach. Our team went undefeated for two years and finished first each season, packed with future baseball standouts. I was the weakest player by far, managing only one hit in three seasons. At the time, I didn’t realize my vision was so poor that I could barely see the ball. I was a right-handed hitter but left-eye dominant, which didn’t help. Later in life, I discovered I could hit a bit better left-handed, but it was never my sport.

As kids, we played over-the-line, sandlot games, and pickle regularly. It was frustrating to be the one who’d strike himself out in over-the-line if we didn’t have a pitcher, but most of us weren’t great, so it was all in good fun. I focused on basketball, where I excelled.

I grew up an Angels fan but still went to a lot of Dodger games. I remember exactly where I was in 1988 when Kirk Gibson hit his iconic home run, and now I can add Freddie Freeman’s Game 1 walk-off grand slam to my list of Dodger memories. Freeman’s bat toss is starting to pop up everywhere, like Michael Jordan’s iconic dunk against the Sonics in 1988.

I generally prefer watching games in person and rarely have the patience to sit through them on TV. I don’t fully understand the game, either, but thankfully, everyone around me helps out. My sister Lisa is especially patient with my questions. Still, I’m genuinely happy for the Dodgers’ championship win, even if it crushed my friend Kenny’s soul!