Charley

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I hope those of you who participate enjoyed the Easter festivities over the weekend. But why does a rabbit bring eggs? Shouldn’t it be the Easter Chicken?

We are only nine games into the season, far too early to reach any conclusions. Yes, the offense struggled for a few games, but the Dodgers are still 7-2. And the offense’s struggles wouldn’t have been noticeable if it had happened for a few games in the middle of the season instead of right at the start.

So let’s turn our attention to something else. I get emails every week asking about Charley Steiner. He handled the radio call for the first three innings on opening day, then left and hasn’t been back since. Stephen Nelson put up a picture of Steiner and Rick Monday that you can see by clicking here.

In October 2024, Bill Plaschke wrote a column detailing Steiner’s battle with multiple myeloma blood cancer. You can read that column here. Steiner sat out the 2004 season because of it. He called six innings on opening day in 2025 and three innings on opening day this year.

In his column, Plaschke wrote:

—”He endured constant debilitating lower back pain. He lost 50 pounds. He was confined to a wheelchair. He initially moved his bed from the second floor of his Westside home down to the family room because he couldn’t climb the stairs. He enlisted the full-time help of nurses. It wasn’t pretty.”

—“He’s gone through hell,” said his longtime radio partner Rick Monday.

—”An extremely private person, Steiner lived the nightmare without fanfare, without telling anyone outside of his inner circle, the loquacious storyteller keeping his most important words to himself.”

At the time, Steiner’s cancer was in remission, which is why he talked about it. I don’t want to speculate too much about his current health, but the fact he has called only nine innings since then can’t be a great sign. The Dodgers have kept him on the payroll and support him, just as they have done with Andrew Toles. It is one of the great things about the organization.

When Steiner was calling games on the radio full time, I would occasionally criticize him for not mentioning the score and game situation enough. Now that seems rather meaningless.

So, with so much divisiveness and unkindness in the world, here is what I would like you to do. If you remember a particular call of Steiner’s, or a moment he made you laugh, or if you just want to wish him well and let him know Dodgers fans have not forgotten him, send me an email at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and I will compile them in a future newsletter. I’m sure he will see it, and if we can bring a little sunshine into someone’s day, then we have accomplished a good thing.

A couple of my favorite Steiner moments:

When Steiner was with ESPN, he couldn’t stop laughing after hearing Carl Lewis singing the national anthem. His laughter will make you laugh. You can watch that here.

Steiner talks about growing up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and how much Vin Scully meant to him. You can watch that here.

Mookie injured

Mookie Betts injured his back while running the bases during Saturday’s victory and was put on the injured list on Sunday because of a strained right oblique. According to WebMD, the oblique muscles are broad, diagonal abdominal muscles located on the sides of the torso (internal and external) that enable trunk rotation, side-bending, and core stability. They assist in breathing and protect the spine, with external obliques running over internal obliques in opposite directions and…. this is why I’m not a doctor.

Injuries are one of the biggest things that could derail the Dodgers this season. Can they survive for four-to-six weeks without Betts? Sure, their offense is build to withstand things such as that. But if multiple hitters start ailing, then there could be a problem. Just look at the Lakers. Cruising toward the playoffs, with some experts saying they could at least reach the conference finals. Then, suddenly Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are injured, and winning a first-round series now seems problematic.

The Dodgers recalled Hyeseong Kim from Oklahoma City, where he has been crushing the ball. Kim and Miguel Rojas will share time to shortstop.

How much is too much?

On opening day, the Dodgers offered a Shohei Ohtani collectors cup for $75, with free soda all game. Many fans online were outraged by the price. For the second game of the season, the Dodgers dropped the price to $68.99 and said you could get free refills of soda all season long.

And actually, if you go to a few games a season and drink soda, that is quite a bargain, considering sodas at the stadium cost around $11.99. Of course, your ensuing bill for the onset of diabetes will make it less of a bargain.

Survey says

We asked, “Which Dodger closer had the best entrance music?” The results, after 10,941 votes:

Eric Gagne, “Welcome to the Jungle” — 53.9%
Edwin Díaz, “Narco” — 30.9%
Kenley Jansen, “California Love” — 15.2%

Up next

Monday: Dodgers (*-Justin Wrobleski, 0-0, 6.75 ERA) at Toronto (Max Scherzer, 1-0, 1.50 ERA), 4:05 p.m., Sportsnet LA, FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-1, 3.00 ERA) at Toronto (Kevin Gausman, 0-0, 0.75 ERA), 4:05 p.m., Sportsnet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) at Toronto (Dylan Cease, 0-0, 2.79 ERA), noon, Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers put Mookie Betts on IL, call up Hyeseong Kim before sweeping Nationals

Dodgers offense stays hot as Andy Pages and Kyle Tucker balance lineup with big hits

‘A new day’: Shohei Ohtani hits first homer of the season, Dodgers wake up at the plate

Dodgers Debate: LET’S PANIC! Or let’s wait for that?

Dodgers confident their bats will come alive soon despite series loss to Guardians

Shohei Ohtani battles through the rain to throw a one-hit gem in Dodgers’ win

And finally

Shohei Ohtani hits his first home run of the season. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.