I paid my first visit to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, watching the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the mighty local nine in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. It was a thrill on two levels.
First, merely getting to Dodger Stadium in person was a big deal for me. I flew into LA at noon that day and had plenty of time to get to my motel and head to the stadium. On TV, I’ve seen scores of games at Dodger Stadium over the years. Despite living in California for 13 years, I never got to a game there.
To dodge the $70 parking fees at the stadium, I caught one of the free Dodger Express buses from Union Station, where it cost a mere $8 to park in the transit plaza garage. The bus dropped me off near the center field gate, and I soaked up the sunny pre-game atmosphere as I walked through.
I had about 90 minutes to kill before the 5 p.m. game time, so I wandered through the stadium, working my way up to the Top Deck to get a Dodger Dog and an Estrella Jalisco beer at one of the concession stands. I took in the views of the hills and palm trees that surround the stadium.
I moved down a level and watched the opening ceremony that included the singing of the National Anthem as well as flyover by a few military jets. Then I took my seat in the sparsely populated outer right field seats.
Here’s the second big thrill for me that night: watching the Brewers take down the Dodgers.
Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio belted the first pitch for a home run. That made me happy on several levels. It was great to see the Brewers get off to a fast start, and the Giants fan in me was tickled to see that it was Blake Snell who gave up the homer. Snell spent a single season in San Francisco before spurning the Giants for the free-spending Dodgers.
LA would take a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning, but the Brewers came back with three runs in the seventh. They added single a run in the 8th, prompting many of the Dodger fans to head toward the exits, and another in the 9th.
That victory set up what would be the Brewers’ sweep of the series on Thursday, sending them to the World Series for the first time since 1982. I was living in Milwaukee then, and that loss to the Cardinals still stings.
I was one of the few people in the park wearing Brewers kit. The Dodger fans and concession staff who noticed my cap were friendly and good-natured, with one minor exception.
A young man who came around a corner scowled and waves his hands at me weirdly. I believe it was the same guy who was on the way out of the park in the eighth inning and stopped at the top of the stairs to shout, “Fuck Milwaukee.” 🧢
