As someone who has permanent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) as a result of hearing damage from concerts, I must take exception to how loud the music is played at sporting events these days. Despite quotes from Dodger players and executives stating how “great” the loudness at Dodger Stadium is, they are putting the paying customers and employees at risk for hearing loss with the excessive volume. Entertaining the fans is one thing, assaulting the delicate instrument that is our ears is quite another. I’m sure they could turn it down to safer decibel levels and everyone will still have a good time.
Mark Furcick San Pedro
Dodger Stadium hosts a Military Appreciation Night, a Salvadoran Heritage Night, and a Guatemalan Heritage Night. But we will never see an Autism Spectrum Night. The ear-shattering sound system would cause fans to run from the stadium screaming in pain and terror.
I suffer from a condition called hyperacusis, where loud noises can cause ear pain lasting for days or even weeks. It’s rare in the general population, but more common among autistic people. I love baseball, and used to love going to Dodger Stadium from the year it opened until 20-something years ago. But now I’d have to wear industrial-strength ear protection.
Russell Stone Westchester
I used to like bleacher seats but won’t sit there again — way too loud right under the sound system.
Bob Wieting Simi Valley
Sure it’s “entertainment.” Sure the players like the enthusiasm. But there are seats located beneath or near speakers that are simply painful to the ears.
Dodger Stadium is the proud owner of the most home runs in baseball this season. The long-ball trend might not be an anomaly.
On Saturday night, the Dodgers and Washington Nationals combined for eight home runs, the most in a Dodgers game this season, but only three came off L.A. bats.
Dodgers right-hander Dustin May gave up three of those home runs, all solo shots, in a 7-3 loss to the Nationals. Andy Pages, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández hit home runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings, respectively.
In the fourth inning, Nationals slugger James Wood used all of his 6-foot-7, 234-pound frame to launch a sinker from May to break a scoreless game. Pages only took one step from his position in center field as he tracked the ball off Wood’s bat — he knew where it was headed.
The 451-foot solo blast gave the Nationals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Three-hole hitter Luis Garcia Jr. followed Wood with a solo home run.
For being middle of the pack offense — ranked 18th overall in runs scored — the Nationals flexed their muscle with their young stars. CJ Abrams socked a two-run home run in the seventh off Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer, his second in as many games.
Washington’s Nathaniel Lowe celebrates in the dugout after hitting his second home run of the game in the eighth inning Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Wood and Abrams were acquired by the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade with San Diego in 2022.
May gave up a home run in the sixth to Nathaniel Lowe — who also hit a homer in the eighth inning for his first multi-home run game. May gave up five hits, struck out five and walked two, tossing six innings for the third time in his last five starts.
Outside of Pages, Smith and Hernández’s home runs, the Dodgers (47-31) threatened to score when Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman reached via singles in the fifth. Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, however, struck out Freddie Freeman to end the threat. Irvin struck out seven and walked none in 5 ⅓ innings.
Shohei Ohtani, who will start on the mound Sunday against the Nationals (32-45) in his second pitching appearance of 2025, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Eight home runs at Dodger Stadium is unusual, but low humidity in L.A. could be a factor in helping hard hits soar. Climate change researchers have even pondered the effect that warmer climates could have on home runs, with a 2023 study in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society stating that more than 500 home runs since 2010 could be credited to global warming.
Across the last six seasons, Chavez Ravine has ranked top five in home runs on five occasions. In the 43 games the Dodgers have played at home in 2025, there have been an average of 3.39 home runs per game (146 home runs overall and 23 more than second-place George M. Steinbrenner Field).
Glasnow update
Tyler Glasnow (right shoulder) is scheduled to pitch two innings for triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday. Relief pitcher Luis Garcia (right adductor) is set to appear for single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday as well.
Both rehabilitation outings are their first since joining the injured list.
They remained silent when he flooded their city with federal agents, chief marketing officer Lon Rosen refusing to comment on the racist kidnapping sweeps terrorizing the very community that helped them break attendance records.
And what did the Dodgers receive in exchange for betraying their fans and sucking up to President Trump?
A knock at the door from immigration enforcement.
The Dodgers learned what many Trump voters already learned, which is that Agent Orange doesn’t always reward subservience.
So much for all of their front-office genius. So much for staying out of politics.
Federal agents in unmarked vehicles formed a line at Dodger Stadium’s main entrance on Thursday, apparently with the intention of using a section of the parking lot as a processing center for detainees who were picked up during a morning immigration raid.
The Dodgers could look away when ICE was causing havoc in other parts of town, but even the morally compromised have limits. More than 40% of Dodgers fans are Latino. Transforming Dodger Stadium into ground zero for the administration’s war on brown people would be financial suicide for the franchise.
The agents were denied entry, according to the team.
There was speculation in and around the organization about whether the presence of the federal agents was a form of retaliation by a notoriously vindictive administration. Just a day earlier, the Dodgers said they would announce on Thursday plans to assist immigrant communities affected by the recent raids. In the wake of the visit, the announcement was delayed.
Ultimately, what did the Dodgers gain from their silent complicity with Trump?
They further diminished their stature as vehicles of inclusion, a tradition that included the breaking of baseball’s color barrier by Jackie Robinson and the expansion of the sport’s borders with the likes of Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo and Chan Ho Park.
They broke their sacred bond with the Latino community that was forged over Valenzuela’s career and passed down for multiple generations.
They at least resisted immigration agents’ efforts to annex their parking lot, but how much damage was already done? How much trust was already lost?
Consider this: When photographs of the unmarked vehicles in front of Dodger Stadium started circulating online, the widespread suspicion was that federal agents were permitted by the Dodgers to be there.
That was later revealed to be untrue, but what does that say about how the Dodgers were perceived?
Federal agents stand outside Gate E of Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Their announcement about their impending announcement looked like a cynical effort to reverse a recent wave of negative publicity, which started with Rosen refusing to comment on the immigration sweeps.
Asked if the Dodgers regretted visiting the White House, Rosen said, “We’re not going to comment on anything.”
On the day of the “No Kings” demonstrations, a 30-year-old performer named Nezza sang a version of the national anthem in Spanish that was commissioned in 1945 by the U.S. State Department under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, later posted a video on her TikTok account showing a Dodgers employee directing her to sing in English. She disobeyed the order, explaining that because of what was happening in Los Angeles, “I just felt like I needed to do it.”
In subsequent interviews, Nezza said her agent was called by a Dodgers employee, who said Nezza was to never return to Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers later clarified that Nezza wasn’t banned from the ballpark, but the incident nonetheless struck a chord. Reports of American citizens being detained or harassed have surfaced, creating a feeling the raids are as much about making brown-skinned people feel unwelcome as they are about deporting undocumented migrants. Nezza’s experience symbolized this feeling.
The incident resulted in widespread calls for a Dodgers boycott, which, coincidentally or not, was followed by the Dodgers teasing their announcement of support for immigrants.
The divisive environment created by Trump forced the Dodgers to take a side, however passively. Now, they have to win back angry fans who pledged allegiance to them only to be let down. Now, they have to deal with potential retaliation from the Mad King they pathetically tried to appease.
Chances are, you’ve seen (or heard) Judy Greer in one of her many roles over her prolific, multidecade career. She’s played Maggie Lang in “Ant-Man,” voiced Cheryl Tunt in the long-running animated adult sitcom “Archer,” and appeared as Jennifer Garner’s bestie in the 2004 rom-com classic “13 Going on 30” (the two are friends IRL too). She’s also joining the cast for the second season of Garner’s Apple TV series “The Last Thing He Told Me.”
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Streaming now is Apple TV+’s heartfelt new golf comedy, “Stick,” in which Greer plays Amber-Linn — not a best friend, but the ex-wife of former professional golfer Pryce Cahill, played by Owen Wilson. You don’t have to be a fan of the sport to watch. “Honestly, I’m not a golfer and I love it,” she says.
As for her perfect Sunday, she’ll stick close to Larchmont, where she’s lived for 20 years. “I travel a lot for work, so I don’t always like to go far and wide on my weekends,” she says. “My dream Sunday is to not actually exit the threshold, but today I’m going to.” And she’ll get a lot done, from reading a’plenty to hitting up the farmers market and Dodger Stadium, taking in a movie and getting quality time with her husband, Dean Johnsen, her stepkids and her terrier mix, Mary Richards.
6:30 a.m.: A pot of coffee and reading in bed
I get up at 6, 6:30, and not on purpose. My husband likes to sleep, so if the sun’s out, I can read in bed. If not, sometimes I’ll come downstairs and read and have coffee, and then when he wakes up, I’ll go back up and we’ll have coffee in bed together. I love to start my day with a pot of coffee in bed.
The coffee maker, it’s like a basic bitch, a Cuisinart coffee maker. We get this brand called Punk Bunny. That’s our favorite kind of coffee. We did recently try the dark roast, but we both have decided it’s too much for us. We’re going back down to the medium dark roast. And I just put soy milk in it.
Whenever I’m traveling for work and staying in these Airbnbs and apartments and stuff, there’ll be a cappuccino maker, and we’ll always be like, should we get one of those? and then we never end up doing it. If I go out to a cafe, like Lamill or Go Get ‘Em Tiger on Larchmont, I’ll get a cappuccino, but I don’t need to be making cappuccinos in my house.
9 a.m.: Two loops around the Silver Lake Reservoir
Then I would drive to the Silver Lake Reservoir, and I would walk around it twice, which is probably just under five miles. I would take my sweet dog — she’s a really good walker, even though she’s tiny. After my walk, I would make a parfait for myself at home. I also like to go and get the protein pancakes at Cafe Gratitude. That would be a really big treat. I don’t love getting breakfast on Larchmont on Sundays because it’s so crowded.
11 a.m.: Hit up the Larchmont Village Farmers Market
My husband and I, we’re not cooks or chefs or anything. We have a couple go-tos at the farmers market: There’s the soup guy who has the frozen soup, and I like to get flowers and usually berries. We don’t really eat meat, but once in a while we’ll treat ourselves to salmon. My husband will make salmon on the grill, so he’ll get fish from the fishmonger and sometimes those Parmesan crisps he really likes (and then I eat them, even though he is like, they’re for me). If we’re thinking of making a big salad or something, we’ll get salad stuff. But again, we’re not those people, even though we really want to be those people.
Noon: Stop at Chevalier’s Books
Then I would walk down to Chevalier’s, our little local bookstore, and say hi to everyone who works there and wander around a bit. I have so many books and it’s a problem, but then there’s usually something there that just came out that I’m really excited about, and so I’ll get it. I’ve lately been buying hardcovers because it’s kind of fun to have a first edition of something that could potentially win the Nobel Prize or Pulitzer.
My husband was like, “The thing about you is you buy a lot of books, but you do read them.” So I’m not just randomly buying books. I’m reading a book by Barbara Kingsolver right now called “Unsheltered.” That one I think I probably swiped out of a little library on a dog walk because it’s definitely not brand new. I just finished “Martyr!” [by Kaveh Akbar] and I was so blown away that I almost didn’t even want to read another book for a while.
1 p.m.: A quick dip in the pool, some shopping and Dodger Stadium
Now, we’re coming home, and we’re going to rinse off in the pool, which is gross, but I don’t care. And then we’re decking ourselves out in our Dodger gear and we’re going to go to Dodger Stadium and we’re going to watch the Dodgers win at Dodger Stadium. We would meet my stepkids there and the four of us would watch the Dodger game and they would have some beers and probably some nachos. I’d sit with my peanuts and Diet Coke, and we would watch the Dodgers. I love Sundays at the ballpark because it’s fun, it’s chill, it’s tons of families.
Dodger Stadium has really become one of my favorite places in Los Angeles. It’s just a really beautiful place. Sometimes I’ll walk around the whole loop of the stadium, just get my steps in, wander around and see everybody, and see all the food.
4 p.m.: An afternoon movie and the best popcorn
Mann Chinese [TCL Chinese Theatres] is where my husband and I mostly go to the movies because it’s weirdly closer to our house, but kind of a pain in the ass because it’s really touristy. But now we know where to park and how to get in and out really quickly. So we’ve got it down.
I’m probably going to get myself into a lot of trouble now, but we pop our own popcorn. This is husband territory; he makes it on the stovetop with kernels and coconut oil. We’re an Orville Redenbacher family. I’m not ashamed to say we have tried all the fancy popcorn kernels, but honestly, I feel like Orville gives you the best pop, so that’s what we buy.
Oh, I’ll show you something dorky. Hold on. [Greer disappears and returns with a large Ziploc bag.] I usually sneak it in my tote bag. I love having popcorn in the movies, but the movie popcorn is usually not super good for us. Sometimes I will also sneak in some dried mangoes, and usually I’ll still buy a Diet Coke. I feel guilty not buying anything.
I love that big theater. It’s just so beautiful. There are such great movie theaters in L.A., such old theaters, and that one is so historical. I’ve been to a bunch of movie premieres there too. But probably I prefer it when I’m just like a citizen watching a movie.
7 p.m.: Pasta for dinner
I would finish my day by going to dinner atOsteria Mamma and getting — I don’t want to get in trouble for this, because they took it off the menu — their pasta pomodoro. Sometimes I’m just like, “Can you just make me the pasta pomodoro?” It’s just so good. My husband gets the cacio pepe, which they make tableside in this huge cheese wheel, which is bananas, and I like their tricolore salad. We usually split that. Yeah, we’d have a nice little cozy dinner and not have to cook on a Sunday night. We didn’t really buy much at the farmers market anyway, let’s be honest.
8 p.m.: Watch a little TV or read in bed
Sometimes we’re watching a show and we’ll watch an episode, or we’ll just go to bed and read in bed. I like to ascend around 9. This week, I’ve been really tired, so I’ve been going up at 8:30. I’m like, the sun is still out. But by the time I’m done with all my ablutions and the flossing and all the things, it’s definitely almost dark. I get cuddly with my dog and read for a little while, and then, yeah, lights out by 10, but that’s even sometimes a little bit late. On a Sunday, I want to get a really good night’s sleep before Monday morning.
And, to be safe, every doughnut shop in Los Angeles should be closed pending investigation.
Some Dodgers fans might be undocumented, which could explain why federal agents were camped near Dodger Stadium on Thursday but denied entry.
Or there could be another reason.
Roughly a quarter of the players in Major League Baseball are from outside the country. Those foreigners have visas, as I understand it, but these days, the Trump administration has made clear that temporary protected legal status is no guarantee against ejection. Not from a game, but from the country.
Has anybody checked Shohei Ohtani’s papers lately? Or those of Teoscar Hernández, Kim Hye-seong or Yoshinobu Yamamoto?
And what about the doughnuts?
It’s no secret in Los Angeles that a lot of doughnut shops are run by immigrants. So it can’t be a coincidence that, on Wednesday, agents arrested several men at a bus stop near a Winchell’s Donut House in Pasadena.
State Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) posted comments and video on social media.
“As you can see, these ICE agents are pointing guns at innocent individuals, no warrants, no explanations, just fear and intimidation,” Chu wrote, adding that agents “masked and armed like a militia” constitute an “absolutely vile” abuse of power.
This country is under threat like never before. Immigrants playing baseball, making doughnuts, hustling construction jobs at day laborer sites, changing the diapers of seniors with physical and cognitive disabilities.
But for all of that, it can be a little difficult at times to follow the Trump administration’s thinking.
Then Trump quickly reversed course, saying raids on farms, hotels and restaurants would be curtailed because he learned in a shocking revelation from employers that “our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.”
First of all, it’s worth noting that consistency has long been an issue for the president, so much so that he should be wearing flip-flops at all times. To the Oval Office, to the golf course, to bed. Everywhere.
And yet, although we’re used to him saying one thing and doing another, I think something else is at play here.
Trump has kept some campaign promises, but struck out on key vows, and he’s not a guy who handles defeat well.
Grocery prices were supposed to drop on Day 1, and a new age of American prosperity was about to begin.
How’s that going, folks?
He was going to end the war in Ukraine before he even took office, and then put an end to the war in the Middle East.
Hmmmmmmmm.
He was going to usher in a new era of budget accountability with his buddy Elon Musk leading the way.
Well, that was a quick and ugly divorce, and Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” adds $3 trillion to the national debt.
We know Trump loves to watch television, so we can only assume that after he threw himself a birthday party with a military parade on Saturday, he had to have caught news clips of millions of Americans marching at “No Kings Day” rallies across the country, including in red states.
Ouch.
I’m wondering if Trump saw the same sign I saw at the El Segundo demonstration, which was about a certain wife who hasn’t spent much time in the White House: “If Melania doesn’t have to live with him, America shouldn’t have to either.”
Weak men, under duress, flex their muscles.
Trump can deport, and so he will. It could ruin the economy, but that won’t stop him.
Catch a Dodgers game while you can, and stock up on doughnuts.
The two New York teams dropped by Dodger Stadium a couple of weeks ago, first the Yankees and then the Mets, and broadcasters for each team made sure to complain about how loud it was.
“The Dodger Stadium center field speakers are in full assault mode,” Yankees radio voice Dave Sims tweeted.
On the ESPN Sunday night broadcast from Dodger Stadium that week, Karl Ravech introduced an in-game interview with the Dodgers’ Tommy Edman this way: “He’s in center field now, being blasted by, I think, arguably the loudest speaker system I have ever heard in my life.”
Notwithstanding the audacity of New Yorkers whining about someone else’s volume, the broadcasters did lend their distinguished voices to a long-running debate among Dodgers fans: Is it loud at Dodger Stadium, or is it too loud?
“It’s just all part of an entertainment show,” Mookie Betts said. “There is no ‘too loud.’”
Organists Helen Dell and Nancy Bea Hefley soothed generations of fans, but the traditional soundtrack to a Dodgers game has gone the way of $10 parking and outfield walls free of advertisements. The fan experience now includes a finely choreographed production at virtually every moment except when the ball is in play, and that includes recorded music, cranked up.
“We don’t make it louder just to make it louder,” said Lon Rosen, the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “It’s all part of what fits in the presentation.”
And the players, the ones whose performance determines whether the Dodgers win or lose, love the presentation.
“I think it’s great,” Clayton Kershaw said. “Even on the road, I’d rather have that than quiet. St. Louis was just really quiet. It almost felt like golf at times.
“The louder, the more fun, the better. The Dodgers have the best sound system out there. So why not use it?”
Said former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen: “When I used to come out to ‘California Love,’ that thing used to bang. The bass they have, you can feel that thing shake in your chest.”
Just how loud is it at the ballpark?
To find out, I downloaded a decibel meter and visited Southern California’s three major league ballparks during an eight-day span this month. At Dodger Stadium, I walked around the ballpark, and up and down to different levels, but the readings were relatively consistent no matter where someone might be sitting.
Bottom line: It’s pleasant at Angel Stadium, lively at Petco Park, booming at Dodger Stadium.
Caveat: Even with all other things equal, it always will be louder at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers sell 50,000 tickets to a game more often than not; no other major league ballpark even holds 50,000.
At 60 and 30 minutes before game time, as fans settled into the ballpark, Angel Stadium and Petco Park registered in the 65-75 dB range, roughly the sound of a normal conversation on the low end and household appliances on the high end.
The introduction of the home team lineup registered in the 80-85 dB range at Angel Stadium, 85-90 dB at Petco Park, and 90-95 dB at Dodger Stadium, roughly the sound of a noisy restaurant at the low end and power tools on the high end.
The high-end levels would be hazardous if sustained throughout the evening, but sounds ebb and flow as the game does. (Decibel levels are measured logarithmically, so an increase of 10 dB means sound is heard 10 times louder and an increase of 20 dB means sound is heard 100 times louder.)
The highest levels at any stadium occur not when a voice pleads “Get loud!” or “Everybody clap your hands!” but organically, as the result of a big moment in the game.
My decibel meter hit 100 dB twice during my three test games: immediately after the Angels’ Travis d’Arnaud homered in Anaheim, and as the Dodgers’ Will Smith slid safely into home plate with the tying run at Dodger Stadium, as the opposing catcher tagged him but dropped the ball.
What distinguishes the Dodger Stadium experience is the hour or so before the game starts. The Angels offer music, spotlight fans on the video board, and “invite you to enjoy the hospitality of Angel Stadium.” The Dodgers impose a relentlessly loud pregame show, with hype guys and hype girls, pounding away well above the 65-75 dB levels in Anaheim and San Diego, with dB readings into the 80s.
A Dodger Stadium screen encourages fans to be loud during Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers’ pregame show attempts to force anticipation upon the audience, as if that is somehow necessary. It’s not. You’re about to see Shohei Ohtani!
There is always something happening before the game in the center field plaza: a band, product giveaways, Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, the live pregame broadcast for SportsNet LA. You can get hyped there, if you like. Or you can enjoy a conversation with your friends in your seats, instead of getting a headache before the game even starts.
Tyler Anderson, who pitches for the Angels now and used to pitch for the Dodgers, said he finds no fault in the traditional way of presenting the game, or in the Dodgers’ way.
“It’s like you’re trying to turn that venue into one of the best bars in town, where you just go to the bar and listen to loud music and people are having a good time,” Anderson said. “I think that’s the atmosphere they’re trying to create. It’s a fun atmosphere for the fans too.
The center field plaza area at Dodger Stadium is always a lively spot for fans before a game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“And then some places are more family-based. They’d rather have kids and older families, and young kids and grandkids coming to games. They probably have less of a party atmosphere and less of a bar kind of atmosphere.
“There is no right or wrong way.”
In his ESPN in-game interview, Edman called the Dodgers’ sound system both “absolutely absurd” and “great.”
I asked Edman about that seeming contradiction.
“That was one of the things that stuck out to me my first time playing here, just how loud the speakers are,” he said. “You can’t hear yourself think.”
He got used to it, and to how he need not be distracted because the sound shuts off “once the play actually starts.” He likes it now.
“It makes it more fun,” he said. “It’s like a big league game.”
The Dodgers’ game presentation is creative and compelling. And, instead of eliminating the beloved organ, the Dodgers include talented organist Dieter Ruehle as part of the show. Really, just tone down the pregame hour, and we’re good.
Rosen shrugged off the notion that the Dodgers should tone down anything. If fans did not enjoy the production, he wondered, why would they keep packing Dodger Stadium?
“It’s really not any louder than any other of the more popular stadiums,” Rosen said.
He might be onto something. Veteran baseball columnist Bob Klapisch reported that, during last month’s Yankees-Mets series at Yankee Stadium, “the decibel levels at the stadium routinely reached the mid-90s.”
That, Mr. Yankee Announcer, would be “full assault mode.”
All eyes are on Shohei Ohtani, as he made his long-awaited return to the pitching mound and delivered his first pitches as a member of the Dodgers on Monday night in a 6-3 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. Ohtani last pitched on Aug. 23, 2023, while with the Angels. He underwent his second Tommy John surgery the following month.
Ohtani is 38-19 with 3.01 earned-run average over 86 starts in his MLB career entering Monday’s game and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2022, when he went 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA. He is expected to help bolster a depleted Dodgers starting rotation that has been missing Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, among others, for extended stretches this season.
Shohei Ohtani pitches for the Dodgers against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani delivers against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani pitches against the San Diego Padres on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani in Phoenix in February.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws during spring training in Phoenix in February.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani enters the field at the Tokyo Dome for a workout ahead of the Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs in March.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani warms up during a baseball spring training workout in Phoenix.
(Matt York / Associated Press)
Fans head up some stairs wearing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto jerseys before the game between the Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium on March 27.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani runs onto the field during introductions during the Dodgers’ home opener in March.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani throws a live batting practice before a game against the New York Mets on May 25.
(Adam Hunger/AP)
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani throws in the outfield before a game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 4.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers coaches keep a watchful eye as Shohei Ohtani throws in the bullpen before the game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 4.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Dodgers fans watch as Shohei Ohtani throws in the outfield before the game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 4.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani plays catch before the Dodgers take on the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on June 2.
(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani walks past a throng of journalists before the Dodgers play an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome in March.
Singer and social media personality Nezza sang the national anthem in Spanish at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night.
And, according to a video the performer later posted to social media, she did so against the wishes of the Dodgers organization.
In a video Nezza, whose full name is Vanessa Hernández, posted to TikTok, an unidentified Dodgers employee is heard telling her before Saturday’s performance that “we are going to do the song in English today, so I’m not sure if that wasn’t relayed.”
Then, the video cuts to Nezza — who was wearing a Dominican Republic shirt — signing a Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner on the field ahead of the Dodgers’ win against the San Francisco Giants.
The video’s caption: “So I did it anyway.”
In a separate video, Nezza said the version of the song she sang was commissioned in 1945 by the U.S. State Department under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and that she wanted to sing it amid the recent unrest in Los Angeles stemming from raids by ICE agents.
“I didn’t think I would be met with any sort of no, especially because we’re in LA and with everything happening,” she said. “But today out of all days, I just could not believe when she [the Dodgers employee] walked in and told me ‘no.’ But I just felt like I needed to do it. Para mi gente.”
The Dodgers did not respond to a request for comment.
Nezza reacts after singing the national anthem prior to a game between the Dodgers and Giants in at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
(Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press)
In general, the Dodgers have largely been quiet about the raids and resulting protests in the city over the last week.
Manager Dave Roberts has been asked about the situation twice. On Monday, he said that, “I just hope that we can be a positive distraction for what people are going through in Los Angeles right now.”
On Friday, he offered little further comment: “I know that when you’re having to bring people in and deport people, all the unrest, it’s certainly unsettling for everyone,” he said, “But I haven’t dug enough and can’t speak intelligently on it.”
Veteran Kiké Hernández spoke out on Instagram on Saturday, writing that “I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights.”
The Dodgers, however, have not issued any team-level statement, and a club executive told The Times’ Dylan Hernández on Friday that they did not plan to make any comment.
By the time Cuco arrived at Dodger Stadium on a recent Tuesday evening, thousands of fans were already lined up outside the venue’s gates, waiting to be let in.
Though the matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks wouldn’t begin for another two hours, these Doyer diehards made their way to Chavez Ravine early to catch the pre-game festivities. It was Mexican Heritage Night, and the team had plenty of entertainment planned for the fanbase that Fernando Valenzuela built: a mini-concert by the legendary La Original Banda el Limón de Salvador Lizárraga; a lucha libre exhibition; and the throwing of the ceremonial first pitch by Chavo Guerrero Jr., scion of the storied Mexican American Guerrero wrestling clan.
Luchadores perform in the outfield during Mexican Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
To complete this hodgepodge of a cultural celebration, the Dodgers also asked Cuco to sing the national anthem, a fitting invitation given that the 26-year-old Inglewood-born and Hawthorne-raised artist, whose real name is Omar Banos, had just put out “Ridin’” (released May 9 via Interscope Records). The LP, his third, is an 11-track gem of L.A. Mexican Americana dripping with the ageless sounds of Chicano soul.
Donning a team cap, a long white tee, black shorts, Dodger blue Nike SB Dunk Lows and his trademark glasses, Cuco walked into the stadium entrance reserved for suite-level ticketholders accompanied by his manager and a social content creator. Despite a heat wave that raised that day’s temperatures into the high 80s, a black Dodgers windbreaker that he planned to wear later in the evening hung around his neck. Pinned to it was a button that contained a portrait of Jaime Mendoza, his late maternal grandfather.
“My grandpa was big on the Dodgers,” Cuco said, noting that it was because of him that his whole family rooted for the Boys in Blue.
Cuco wears a pin with his grandfather Jaime Mendoza’s picture at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As Cuco is escorted through the concrete bowels of Dodger Stadium by a pair of team publicists taking him to sound check, fans spot him and excitedly call out his name. Some even approach him for a selfie. When asked if he often gets recognized in public, the singer-songwriter chuckled.
“Yeah, if there’s a lot of Latinos around,” he quipped. “I’m always going to say yes to a photo. I’m never going to turn them down.”
It’s cliché for any artist to say that they’d be nothing without their fans, but this adage rings particularly true when it comes to Cuco. His loyal supporters, dubbed the “Cuco Puffs,” turned a former precocious marching band geek into a bonafide indie pop star.
He began his career in the mid-2010s by uploading Spanglish lo-fi love songs recorded in his childhood bedroom to Soundcloud and Bandcamp. Dreamy, synth-heavy ballads like “Lover Is a Day” (off of his first mixtape, 2016’s “Wannabewithu”) and “Lo Que Siento” (released as a single in 2017) quickly connected with countless bicultural, Gen Z Latinos, racking up millions of streams in the process. By the time Cuco started performing at backyard shows, he had packed crowds singing every lyric back at him.
Such was the hype around him that several labels got into a two-year bidding war to sign the unlikely teen idol with a ready-made fan base.
Cuco sings the national anthem before the Dodgers game.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I don’t need a label. The labels mostly need me,” Cuco told The Times in 2017. “Like, in no cocky way, the reality of it is labels stay up because of the artists.”
When Interscope finally won out in 2019, it was on the artist’s terms — Cuco inked a seven-figure deal that allowed him to retain ownership of his music and gave him the creative freedom to do what he wanted. He was 20 at the time.
That summer, he released his debut album, “Para Mi,” a notable first effort that paired a blissful sound — inspired by a slew of genres, including psychedelic rock, bossa nova, pop and quiet storm R&B — with lyrics that touched on loneliness and substance abuse (“Take this and fly away till the substance numbs the pain,” he sings in “Ego Death in Thailand”). The album’s first single, “Hydrocodone,” is a nod to the pain medication he was on after being involved in a near-fatal car crash while out on tour in 2018.
The year 2022 saw the release of “Fantasy Gateway,” an ambitious concept album heavily inspired by psych rockers Tame Impala that takes the listener to another dimension, featuring notable collaborations with artists like Mexico’s indie darling Bratty and fellow sadboi romántico DannyLux. “Sitting in the Corner,” recorded with música Mexicana crooner Adriel Favela and country singer Kacey Musgraves, is a space pop ranchera that yearns for a lover who has left.
“It’s the vibe, man,” he says of the musicians he chooses to work with. “It’s not really about artists being big or not. It’s just if I get along with them and they have cool ideas and it aligns with my personality.”
With “Ridin’,” Cuco delivers his most mature album to date. Produced by Thomas Brenneck (Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse), the record is a neo-Chicano soul instant classic that pays tribute to the likes of Brenton Wood, Al Green and Smokey Robinson — soul and R&B artists from the ’60s and ’70s whose music has been adopted by lowrider and Chicano culture — all while maintaining that distinct Cuco sound, a perfect marriage between the old and the new.
The album’s opener, “ICNBYH” (an abbrevation of “I Could Never Break Your Heart”), would be at home in an “East Side Story” mixtape compilation. Cuco’s psychedelia roots are most apparent in songs like “Ridin’,” a track that feels like you’re cruising on a spaceship down Whittier Boulevard.
“I couldn’t really try to make something that sounded exactly like [Chicano soul]. I was hoping to embody that timelessness, but I had to work in the most authentic way possible so that it felt that way,” he said.
“I wanted to go for more natural sounds with the soul sound, but I think it’s just inevitable for me sometimes. I’m just going to end up doing some psychedelic parts with the music because that’s what I’ve always been.”
“Ridin’” is an album of the summer contender for anyone whose idea of summer means hanging out at the beach with all your friends — this exact scenario describes the music video for the album’s first single, “My 45,” which stars Mexican American actress Xochitl Gomez as a femme fatale.
And while the LP is teeming with enough vehicular references to make Bruce Springsteen jealous (the cover shows Cuco sitting on top of his 1989 Toyota Supra), Cuco says “Ridin’” isn’t strictly meant for the car.
“I’m hoping that [“Ridin’”] is something that’s interpreted however the listener chooses to interpret it, whether they’re ridin’ in your car, ridin’ for somebody or just ridin’ through life,” he says.
After sound check, Cuco made his way back to the suite level to wait for the rest of his party to arrive, which included his parents, Adolfo Banos and Irma Mendoza. The only child of immigrants, the artist has made it a point to share his success with them. Forgoing wearing anything in Dodger blue, the elder Banos donned a hoodie from his son’s latest tour. Mendoza showed up wearing a team hat and a striped shirt. Affixed to it was a button identical to her son’s. It was her idea; she had made them the night before.
Cuco gets a hug from his dad after singing the national anthem.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As it got closer to game time, the singer was ushered down to the field once again. It was showtime.
Cuco poses with his parents before singing the national anthem.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Please stand and remove your hats for the singing of the national anthem,” the stadium announcer said over the P.A. system. “Joining us today is Cuco, indie pop star from Hawthorne!”
Cuco took a beat before singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in his patented soft and mellow voice. His parents stood approximately 20 feet away, beaming with pride. After it was all over, the singer quickly made his way to them, and was met with smiles and hugs.
A minute later, a production assistant grabs Cuco for his final obligation of the night. He’s handed a microphone and is escorted back to where he performed the national anthem. He’s met by a congregation of luchadores who will act as a chorus as he delivers the phrase popularized by the legendary broadcaster Vin Scully — “It’s time for Dodger baseball!”
In the fall, Cuco will go on a nationwide tour to promote the album — he’ll be performing at the Greek Theatre on Sept. 15. But right now it’s summer and he’s ridin’ with his loved ones, about to watch a game the Dodgers will end up winning 4-3 in extra innings.
For senior catcher Matthew Gonzalez of Banning, Saturday’s City Section Division I championship baseball game at Dodger Stadium ended in tears after a 3-1 defeat to Carson.
Few were more impressive on the field than Gonzalez, who hardly passes the eyeball test at 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds. Thank goodness players in high school usually earn spots by their ability and performance and not by physical measurements.
He threw out two runners trying to steal second with throws that looked like they came out of a bazooka. Twice in the seventh inning he made plays at the plate, tagging runners with great expertise. The umpire ruled one runner safe (he looked out) and another runner out. Each time, Gonzalez moved on whether he agreed with the call or not.
Afterward, Gonzalez received hugs from teammates and coaches trying to console him. He said he believed the runner sliding the first time was out but accepted the decision. You can see how much people appreciate his presence and character.
Another view of sophomore RJ De La Rosa’s RBI triple for El Camino Real in the seventh inning at Dodger Stadium. Was it the bat or the hair style that did it? pic.twitter.com/6U36mjrhav
Just like on the TV program “The Voice,” ignore your eyes and what you see from physical dimensions. Just watch his arm strength and ability to block pitches and make plays at the plate. He was a catcher extraordinaire on a major league field. Nobody can take that away and perhaps someone will recognize he might help them in the future.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
It’s the greatest gift to baseball players who attend schools in the City Section. Every season since 1969, except for two years during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021, the championship game has been played at Dodger Stadium.
The championships return to Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Marine League rivals Banning and Carson will face off at 10 a.m. for the Division I title, followed by El Camino Real taking on Venice at 1 p.m. for the Open Division championship. There’s free parking and tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for students. Gates open at 9 a.m.
Three of the four semifinal games were decided on walk-off hits, showing the parity this season.
In the Open Division, El Camino Real has its top two pitchers ready to go. Devin Gonor will get the start and Luke Howe has four innings left to throw if needed. Venice has its ace, Noel Moreno (12-1) available.
As usual, handling the environment and dimensions of Dodger Stadium will be key, from catchers preventing balls in the dirt from going to the backstop to outfielders making catches in the sun.
Banning has beaten Carson two of three times this season. Carson is coming off a dramatic win in the semifinals over Taft in which Xavier Allen hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the 11th inning.
Canon King of Venice is coming off a five-for-five performance against Birmingham. El Camino Real has won nine City titles.
All the teams involved will be invited to play in the Southern California regionals that begin in two weeks.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Nick Garcia, the throws coach at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, calls shotputter and discus thrower Aja Johnson “the dragon slayer.”
She’s only 5 feet 3 but slays taller girls competing in those events.
Last weekend, she won the Southern Section Division 3 shotput and discus titles. This weekend she will try to qualify for the state championships when competing at the Masters Meet at Moorpark High. She won the state discus title last year. She was state champion in the shotput in 2023.
Aja Johnson of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Under Garcia’s guidance, Johnson uses technique, athleticism, agility and explosiveness to excel in the two events. She has committed to Louisville. Notre Dame athletes have won every Division 3 shotput or discus title since 2021. …
The City Section Division I baseball semifinals will be held Wednesday at Stengel Field in Glendale with a trip to Dodger Stadium on Saturday at stake. Carson will play Taft at 3 p.m., followed by Banning taking on Verdugo Hills at 6 p.m.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
There was pure joy as Canon King ran toward his Venice High teammates standing outside the dugout after touching home plate to complete a home run. He launched a group chest bump with Dylan Johnson, who went tumbling through the dirt like a kid playing in a sandbox.
“This feels great,” King said later. “We’ve worked so hard for four years.”
Venice (27-2) is tantalizingly close to earning a trip to Dodger Stadium to play for the City Section Open Division baseball championship. The Gondoliers play Sylmar at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the semifinals. The other matchup as part of a doubleheader has El Camino Real facing Birmingham at 3 p.m.
In many ways, these two games impose far more pressure on players than reaching the championship game, because each player so badly wants to make it to Dodger Stadium to fulfill dreams of a lifetime.
“It’s magical,” King said.
To see King’s smile and excitement last week after hitting his sixth home run in a 4-1 playoff win over Chatsworth offered a hint of his value and importance to a surging Gondoliers team. He’s a three-time Western League MVP.
He’s committed to Cal State San Marcos, has gotten all A’s for four years on his report card except for one B in chemistry freshman year and one B in AP Spanish. He’s a born leader and “loves” being named Canon by his father, a high school teacher and former amateur rapper whose best friend had Canon as his last name.
“The energy is infectious,” he said of the team’s success. “It’s all coming together. Our team chemistry has been high. Our practices have been so productive.”
Canon King of Venice hit his sixth home run last week against Chasworth.
(Craig Weston)
Coach Kevin Brockway has 16 seniors on the roster. The Gondoliers haven’t won an upper division championship since 1972 and are trying to follow the same improbable path as last year’s champion, Bell, which hadn’t been to a final since 1953.
Venice was given the No. 1 seed even though El Camino Real and Birmingham came from the stronger West Valley League. But the Gondoliers went 18-0 in the Western League and have the defensive prowess to do well, with a solid catcher in Charlie Nisbet, a dependable shortstop in Daniel Quiroz and King in center field.
Sylmar, the Valley Mission League champion, went to Dodger Stadium two years ago for the Division I championship game. Pitcher Alex Martinez remembers starting at third base as a freshman.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the atmosphere. “Overwhelming for sure. It looks different, even when the ball is up in the air. It blends in.”
He threw a shutout last week in Sylmar’s Open Division win over Cleveland. Coach Ray Rivera has come to rely on him as a pitcher and hitter.
“He trusts me with the ball and in special situations,” Martinez said.
He thinks the Spartans are coming into Tuesday’s game feeling good about themselves.
“This team is special this year,” he said. “This team can beat anyone if we play our game.”
Venice knows the challenge ahead, first having to get past Sylmar, then one of the two West Valley League powers, El Camino Real or Birmingham.
Whatever happens, King is ready, though he’s thankful the games are 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Gondoliers don’t do well with morning games.
“We’re notorious for Saturday morning games,” he said.
He’ll get everyone to go to bed early the night before. None of them will sleep well anyway thinking of the possibilities.
“Surreal,” is how King put it if the Gondoliers can make it to Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
