Dodgers Dugout: What are the 10 greatest moments in Dodger Stadium history?
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and it’s time for the reader participation part of this newsletter.
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Not only is the All-Star game at Dodger Stadium this year, but it’s also the 60th anniversary of the opening of Dodger Stadium. The Times will be devoting a special section to all of that, and we want your help.
What do you think are the 10 greatest baseball moments in Dodger Stadium history?
What do you think are the 10 greatest non-baseball moments in Dodger Stadium history?
Among the contenders:
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Baseball moments
Some ideas (your list of 10 does not have to come from this list):
Dodger Stadium opens
Don Drysdale sets consecutive scoreless innings record
Willie Stargell becomes first player to hit home run out of Dodger Stadium
Kirk Gibson‘s home run
Sandy Koufax‘s perfect game
Bob Welch strikes out Reggie Jackson in Game 2 of 1978 World Series
Dodgers retire the numbers of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Sandy Koufax on the same day
Dusty Baker homers in final game of season to give team four players with 30+ homers
Dodgers sweep Astros on final weekend on 1980 season to force one-game playoff
The R.J. Reynolds squeeze game
Dodgers win the 1963 World Series
Fernando‘s first start
Rick Monday saves the flag
Justin Turner‘s playoff walkoff homer
Fernando’s no-hitter
Ramon Martinez strikes out 18 Braves
Dennis Martinez‘s perfect game against Dodgers
Hideo Nomo strikes out 17 Marlins
Mike Piazza hits it out of Dodger Stadium
Four homers to tie it in bottom of the ninth, plus one in extra innings to win
Steve Finley‘s walk-off grand slam to clinch the division in 2004
Charlie Culberson homers in extra innings to win Vin Scully‘s final game at Dodger Stadium
Vin Scully addresses the crowd and sings “Wind Beneath My Wings†at final Dodger Stadium game
Juan Uribe’s home run in 2013 NLDS Game 4
Three straight homers to tie it against Philadelphia
The 1980 All-Star game
Dave Kingman’s three home runs on May 14, 1978
Gibson scoring from second on a wild pitch to win a game
Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager go back-to-back off Ron Guidry in pivotal Game 5 of 1981 World Series
The crowd chanting “Go Maury Go†when Maury Wills got on base
Chris Taylor’s 2021 wild-card walk-off homer against the Cardinals
Those are just a few of the many moments to choose from. Don’t feel limited to that list at all. Please list your choices for the 10 best baseball moments at Dodger Stadium in order from 1-10, with one being the most memorable moment, and email them to me at [email protected]. Remember, these moments had to take place in Dodger Stadium.
Non-baseball moments
Some ideas (your list of 10 does not have to come from this list):
Boxer Ultiminio “Sugar†Ramos wins the WBC and WBA featherweight titles from Davey Moore in ten rounds. Moore died days after this fight. (March 21, 1963)
Ski jumping exhibition (Oct. 25-27, 1963): As part of the 1963 Giant International Ski Show, a 165-foot ski jump was built in right field. The jump hill was 28 stories high, nearly twice the height of Dodger Stadium.
The “Mr. Ed†episode at Dodger Stadium
Harlem Globetrotters (Feb. 2, 1964): The only basketball game ever played at Dodger Stadium. A basketball game preceded the Globetrotters featuring the 1963 Dodgers vs. the 1963 Chicago Bears.
Elvis Presley at Dodger Stadium to star in the movie “Spinout†(for three days to film sequences simulating road races in “Spinout†(March 9-11, 1966)
The Beatles concert (Aug. 28, 1966)
A benefit East-West Major League Baseball classic game in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (March 28, 1970)
Elton John concert (Oct. 25-26, 1975)
The 1984 Summer Olympics baseball competition
The Jacksons Victory tour concerts (Nov. 30-Dec. 9, 1984)
The Pope holds Mass at Dodger Stadium (Sept. 16, 1987)
The classic comedy “The Naked Gun†is released, featuring several scenes at Dodger Stadium (1988)
The Three Tenors concert (July 16, 1994)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert (Aug. 17, 2003)
In a scene from the 2007 film “Transformersâ€, an empty Dodger Stadium is hit by an Autobot, which crashes through the upper deck and lands in the outfield.
The Police reunion tour featuring Foo Fighters (June 23, 2007)
Madonna concert (Nov. 6, 2008)
Guinness international champions cup (Aug. 3, 2013): The tournament began in Spain in July 2013, and the first semifinal took place at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 3, the first time a soccer match was held there. The doubleheader featured Real Madrid of Spain defeating Everton of England, and Juventus of Italy losing to the Galaxy.
NHL Winter Classic (Jan. 25, 2014): Kings vs. Ducks
Dodger Stadium hosts the third and final game of the Cricket All-Stars Series (Nov. 15, 2015)
Beyoncé concert (Sept. 14, 2016)
Paul McCartney concert (July 13, 2019)
Gabriel “Fluffy†Iglesias becomes first comedian to perform at Dodger Stadium, with two sold-out shows (May 6-7, 2022)
Those are just a few of the many moments to choose from. Don’t feel limited to that list at all. Please list your choices for the 10 best non-baseball moments at Dodger Stadium in order from 1-10, with one being the most memorable moment, and email them to me at [email protected]. Remember, these moments had to take place in Dodger Stadium.
Losing to the Pirates
The Dodgers lost two of three to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. They looked tired in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss, of course, if I had to get up at the equivalent of 9:30 a.m. to play baseball I’d look tired too. Nothing to panic about. The same concerns from a week ago are still there (Max Muncy and Justin Turner hitting below .200), and now that they are in a stretch of 31 games in 31 days, the big worry will be how the pitching looks at the end of this long stretch of games. If the Dodgers can come out of this without having to seriously overwork their bullpen, everything will be fine.
Ryan Pepiot made his debut Wednesday, and looked like a pitcher making his major league debut. He gave up only one hit in three innings, but walked five and hit a batter. He’s going to be fine. Remember, Walker Buehler had an ERA of 7.71 in his first eight games with the Dodgers, and Clayton Kershaw walked a ton of guys (4.6 per 9 IP) his first two seasons with the team. Pepiot is going to be a good pitcher for a long time.
With the loss, the Dodgers are 12-4 against teams with a losing record this season. That’s pretty good. Don’t obsess over two losses to the Pirates and look at the overall picture. The Dodgers have not played their best baseball consistently this season and still have one of the best records in baseball.
Up next
Tonight: Philadelphia (Zack Wheeler, 1-3, 4.10 ERA) at Dodgers (*Tyler Anderson, 3-0, 2.78 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Friday: Philadelphia (Kyle Gibson, 3-1, 2.94 ERA) at Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 4-0, 1.80 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Philadelphia (*Ranger Suárez, 3-1, 3.68 ERA) at Dodgers (Walker Buehler, 4-1, 1.96 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Philadelphia (Aaron Nola, 1-4, 3.83 ERA) at Dodgers (*Julio UrÃas, 2-2, 2.10 ERA), 1 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*-left-handed
Stories you might have missed
Top Dodgers pitching prospect Ryan Pepiot to make his MLB debut against Pirates
Dodgers takeaways: Mookie Betts shares secret to his surge; Walker Buehler hits 100
And finally
Vin Scully says goodbye and sings “Wind Beneath My Wingsâ€. 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 [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
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