It’s been a long time — 615 days to be exact, since the Dodgers lost to the Nationals in Game 5 of the 2019 NLDS in crushing fashion courtesy of Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon, and Howie Kendrick.
A lot of things have changed since that October night. The Nationals went on to win the 2019 World Series against the Astros. The Astros then got caught doing illegal things with cameras. Anthony Rendon now plays for the Angels. Howie Kendrick retired. But life as we knew it was put on a dramatic pause in March of 2020.
No longer would there be stadiums full of people conversing with a hot dog in one hand, beer in the other, with the smells of peanuts, popcorn, and Cracker Jack wafting through the air. Instead, that’d be replaced with an eerie silence.
Cracks of the bat? Pops of the glove? Yes, those were still there. But no longer accompanied by the usual screaming contingent of fans, either with jubilation or dealing with a crushing loss.
And after 615 long and seemingly-endless days as we all lived through the COVID-19 pandemic, Dodger Stadium is back in full force tonight.
As the Dodgers get set to face the Phillies at 7:10 p.m., around 56,000 people will be back in Chavez Ravine, roaring after the next Mookie Betts highlight play, a key Chris Taylor at-bat, an Albert Pujols home run to left field, and everything else synonymous with Dodgers baseball in 2021.
There will be familiarity when it comes to the right field pavilion or the great infield reserve seats to look out over a Los Angeles night, but with that there will also be new features for fans to take in and enjoy.
The new Centerfield Plaza will be in full operation, with many activities for adults and kids alike to take part in both there and in the rest of the outfield. A kids area in center field, pitching and batting cages, and the Gold Glove bar in left field will all be open, in addition to an augmented reality photo booth.
Shortstop Gavin Lux mentioned that he was in awe of the sheer size of Dodger Stadium upon playing for the club in 2019.
Looking up and seeing the amount of fans all the way up to the top put that into perspective.
Tonight, 1000 Vin Scully Avenue will be back to how it used to be, 56,000 fans seeing new Dodgers — since 2019 — in Mookie Betts and Albert Pujols. 56,000 cheering for the familiar faces in Justin Turner and World Series finisher Julio Urias.
Dodger Stadium — the home of many memories from Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter in 2014, Charlie Culberson walking off for an NL West title in Vin Scully’s final home game in 2016, to being the hub of Fernandomania in 1981 — is back to the long-awaited, the never again taken for granted, usual.
See below for clips from these epic Dodger Stadium memories:
The scene for so many memories for multiple generations returns to how it used to be, ready to make new ones both tonight and going forward.
Dodger Stadium, ladies and gentlemen, returns in all its glory. The time for 56,000 to cross through the gates into one of baseball’s true cathedrals is here again. At long, long last.
