Dodgers: 2017 — the season that changed Los Angeles
The Dodgers changed the way we see baseball in 2017, but what often goes unnoticed is how the team changed the city they call home.
Los Angeles is a poetic city. Los Angeles is a city of heroes and a city where life-changing stories are created. I have lived here my entire life, and never once have I stepped outside and not felt that sense of possibility. What this city has lacked, what many cities often lack, is something to rally around – something to believe in. The Dodgers wanted to change that.
In 2017, LA bled blue, and because of that, baseball in LA has been completely redefined.
It all began on Opening Day. If only we knew what was ahead. Opening Day was like every other one before. The season always begins with hope, immense and unwavering hope. Whether your team won the World Series the previous year or finished last in the league, hope is there. The Dodgers, though, were walking into 2017 with something to say.
With their first of many win streaks, the Dodgers announced their intent to win the west once more and suddenly, the city had something honest, and real to believe in.
Here’s the thing about LA, it’s massive. I’ve been to countless other cities on vacations and school trips and none of them, not a single one, are like Los Angeles. In all my years in this town, I’ve never seen anything like what I saw this summer.
People talked to each other about the Dodgers, genuinely talked. People I hardly know or rarely talk to would ask me about my favorite team because even though they weren’t as focused on it as much as I was – as much as I am – they asked because they knew something big was happening.
Everybody knew.
LA changed for the better in 2017, because one sport, one team, fit the energy of one of the largest cities in the world into a single stadium, with everyone rooting for the same thing.
Los Angeles has a lot of defining factors; movies, the beach, and a reputation revolving around relaxation and perfect weather. Those are all true for the most part, but something else has become true; LA is a sports town. The Rams are here. The Lakers, the Clippers, the Kings and the Chargers are here. The Angels, Ducks, Galaxy, Sparks and of course, the Dodgers, are here.
LA is a sports town now, through and through. This season, on the 29th anniversary of Kirk Gibson’s historic home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, right as Justin Turner hit a walk-off home run off the Cubs’ John Lackey, LA changed.
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Over the course of 2017, the entirety of baseball witnessed what the Dodgers were able to do. Fans all across the country were aware of Cody Bellinger and his record-setting home run pace. We all watched as Enrique Hernandez redefined the role of a utility player, and we watched as he hit three home runs to help the Dodgers win their first National League pennant in nearly 30 years.
Baseball fans all across the world saw what the Dodgers did in 2017. Fans in LA lived in those effects and witnessed their beauty first hand. They witnessed the energy.
Next season could be different. Next season, we could be talking about the Angels changing LA for the better. The Dodger fan in me hopes that 2018 is more of the same, but the baseball fan in me is excited to see what the Angels are able to do.
Either way, keep your eye on LA in 2018. Soon enough, the sun will rise on a new season in Southern California, and just like in 2017, there is plenty to root for.
Next: Chris Taylor Should Not Have A Set Position in 2018
Get ready and get excited. Dodger baseball isn’t too far off.