3+ week, 4+ day ago (276+ words) Vesia's post referred to a newborn daughter, Sterling Sol, who "went to heaven Sunday, October 26th." Vesia and his wife were expecting the birth of their first child when it was announced by the Dodgers that Vesia would not be on their roster for the World Series due to "a deeply personal family matter." Vesia's fellow relievers had his uniform number "51" on their caps during the World Series and pitchers from their opponent, the Toronto Blue Jays, joined them in doing so during the World Series. "Our little angel we love you forever & you're with us always," the Instagram post said. "Our beautiful daughter went to heaven Sunday October 26th. There are no words to describe the pain we're going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her. "Thank you to the Dodgers for…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (742+ words) Regardless of which team you were rooting for, the 2025 World Series is one that will be talked about for years to come. Both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays played legendary games that had big moments that fans and viewers alike couldn't get enough of on social media. Here are some of the top moments throughout all seven games that people were talking about on social media. It was the game that just didn't seem to end. The Dodgers were up by two, then the Blue Jays scored four runs in the fourth, the Dodgers tied it 4-4 in the fifth, and then both teams scored a point in the 7th. And then for 10 innings, no one scored. Until finally, at the end of the 18th Inning, Freddie Freeman hit a home run at Dodger Stadium, leading the home team…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (706+ words) It's easy to imagine legendary pitching ace Fernando Valenzuela watching over his beloved Dodgers on what would have been his 64th birthday, and throwing in some left-handed divine intervention in the team's hard-fought, back-to-back title win on Nov. 1. It sure felt like it for the fans and friends that packed Valenzuela's favorite booth at Max's Mexican restaurant in Monrovia on Saturday. "He loved and admired his Dodgers. He would always root and travel with them as part of his continued career with the organization. He would say, "Que les vaya bien,' all will be well," said friend Ulises Gutierrez. In the year since "El Toro's" death on Oct. 22, 2024, the restaurant has become a destination for Dodgers fans from across the San Gabriel Valley, according to Gutierrez, operations director for Max's. Valenzuela, great friends of owner Max Arteaga and his family, would…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (836+ words) LOS ANGELES " So the big-spending Dodgers have gone and ruined baseball again? Sure, whatever they say. I must say, though, the Dodgers" second consecutive World Series title " celebrated joyously Monday by more than 250,000 dancing Southern Californians along the parade route downtown and then by 52,703 more who went to party at the ballpark " did produce an embarrassment of riches. Just a glut of signature moments, an all-you-can-eat buffet of iconic plays and performances that ranged from unexpected to never before seen. So many wild plot twists that my new friends along the parade route Monday morning had trouble picking their favorite, as if I were asking them to choose among their children and not events that happened on a baseball field. What was fun about this dogpile of not-so-minor miracles was that the best of them, the real bacon-saving heroics, came…...

10+ hour, 54+ min ago (368+ words) U.S. District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto on Tuesday said jury selection would tentatively begin May 4 in Brooklyn federal court, with the trial opening the following week or sooner. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Sherman told the judge at the brief hearing that prosecutors anticipate the trial could last two weeks. He said both sides have been in discussions since the pitchers were arrested last month, but have not yet talked about a possible plea deal in the case to avoid trial. Matsumoto initially proposed a February trial date, but prosecutors and defense lawyers pushed for a spring start. Sherman said prosecutors began providing defense lawyers evidence and other materials this week in anticipation of a trial, including hundreds of gigabytes of files pulled from a number of electronic devices. Clase, Ortiz and their lawyers declined to comment outside the courtroom. They're due back…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago (1188+ words) It has been, seemingly, a lifetime of benign negligence from the Lords of Baseball that drove author Jane Leavy " biographer of Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth " to write a how-to book of sorts, aimed at correcting some of what has ailed the national pastime over the years. Then again, there seemed a lack of potential material currently out there involving more recent generations of baseball stars. "The access that you have with dead guys, it turns out, is a lot better than you have in a modern locker room," she quipped in a Zoom conversation this week, noting that the process of writing her last book, "The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created," took eight years before it was published in 2018. The result is "Make Me Commissioner: I Know What's Wrong with…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (419+ words) After playing into November and winning a second consecutive World Series championship with the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani announced on Instagram on Monday that he will play for Team Samurai in the World Baseball Classic next spring. "Dear fans, thank you for sharing this wonderful season with me. I will train hard and see you again next year," Ohtani posted in Japanese. "I am delighted to have the opportunity to play again representing Japan." Ohtani was named the MVP of the 2023 WBC, when he memorably struck out Mike Trout to end the gold-medal game against Team USA. As Japan's DH, Ohtani hit .435 with a home run, eight RBIs and a 1.345 OPS in seven games during the tournament. He was 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in three appearances as a pitcher. Ohtani's post does not specify whether he will participate for Japan as a…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (592+ words) Every small movement of the eyes or wiggle of the fingers provides hope for Rio Foster's mother. Foster, the Angels minor leaguer who suffered serious brain injuries in a car accident in September, is now making gradual progress at a hospital in Atlanta. Foster remains unconscious, but not in a coma, according to his mother, Iris Cleveland. She said his eyes are open and he is breathing on his own. He can sometimes respond to instructions to move a finger, but he doesn't do it consistently. "The doctors tell me that by him being young and healthy, he could make a full recovery," Cleveland said. "That is a possibility. But the thing about that is they can't tell me a time frame." Although it's been nearly three months since the accident and Foster still hasn't regained consciousness, Cleveland said doctors…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (165+ words) In the Los Angeles Dodgers star-studded lineup, he was a bit player. Until his game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series made him a big deal. Rojas dropped by Legends" Attic, the sports memorabilia shop opened by a group that includes former Dodgers player and current broadcaster Orel Hershisher. ESPN LA co-hosted the event, which also featured team broadcasters Stephen Nelson and John Hartung as well as ex-Dodgers player Rick Dempsey. Also present was a special baseball " the one Rojas sent over the fence in Toronto that night. Up for auction, it was on public display Friday for the first time, a news release states. Bidding has hit $50,000, with another week to go, according to the release. The auction also includes slugger Shohei Ohtani"s second home run ball from Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago (215+ words) The City of Torrance held an international Dodgers celebration Thursday afternoon, celebrating the Los Angeles Dodgers back-to-back world series win with Torrance's "friendship cities," Oshu, Japan (Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani's hometown) and Bizen, Japan (Blue Crew hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto's hometown) whose mayors and city staff attended virtually. "Today we are celebrating not only the back-to-back championships of our Los Angeles Dodgers, but also the incredible international friendships they foster," said John La Rock, community services director with the City of Torrance. "This community is deeply connected to baseball and is proud to share this special day with our friendship cities in Japan." Dozens of Torrance residents, city staff and first responders filled the conference room at the Mary K. Giordano Regional Transit Center, cheering and waving at Oshu and Bizen's mayors and city staff. La Rock noted the first ever "friendship…...