LOS ANGELES — As the new baseball season unfolds, the Los Angeles Dodgers are eagerly commemorating their 2024 World Series triumph. Celebrations kicked off in style as rapper Ice Cube made a grand entrance in a classic blue convertible, chauffeuring the prized Commissioner’s Trophy to Dodger Stadium. The legendary Magic Johnson then carried the championship trophy to home plate, met with raucous applause from the sellout crowd of 53,595 before the Dodgers faced the Detroit Tigers in their home opener.
The game concluded with a narrow victory for the Dodgers, prevailing 5-4 against the Tigers. Teoscar Hernández was pivotal with a three-run homer, while Shohei Ohtani contributed a solo home run. “It’s always great here, especially in front of the fans,” expressed Hernández. To add to the ongoing celebrations, players and staff are set to receive their commemorative World Series rings during the next game day.
This marked the start of the Dodgers’ season, following their victorious matches against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo. The festivities on Thursday were centered around a tribute to the Dodgers’ conquest over the New York Yankees, marking their eighth World Series title and their second since the pandemic-affected season of 2020. “I thought the ceremony was fantastic,” shared manager Dave Roberts, adding praise for the enthusiastic fan involvement.
Adding to the day’s highlights, Kirk Gibson threw the ceremonial first pitch to World Series MVP Freddie Freeman. Gibson’s historic pinch-hit, walk-off homer during the 1988 World Series against Oakland remains etched in Dodger lore, and Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in the recent series against the Yankees echoed this legendary play. Freeman graced the event with his family, as the crowd roared his name.
The Dodgers’ ownership, including Mark Walter, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Todd Boehly, and Johnson, proudly raised a blue-and-white World Series flag in center field. Meanwhile, among the giant baseballs marking all of the Dodgers’ World Series wins, the number 2024 was unveiled, courtesy of captains from the Los Angeles and Pasadena fire departments.
The team’s champions donned special jerseys featuring “Dodgers” in gold script, with their names and numbers similarly highlighted on the back. “We nailed it,” Roberts proudly remarked.
As part of the celebrations, the starting lineup, led by Ohtani, made a theatrical entrance by jogging down a blue carpet towards the infield amidst a spectacle of blue smoke and white fireworks. Meanwhile, the Tigers watched from their dugout, with Detroit’s starter Tarik Skubal warming up nearby. Ohtani, symbolizing mutual respect, briefly acknowledged Skubal while passing by.
After vocalist Josh Groban’s stirring rendition of the national anthem, two F-15C aircraft from Fresno and two F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from Arizona performed a thundering flyover. The Dodgers revisited last season’s glory days with a video montage, including the World Series trophy’s local and international appearances.
Conspicuously absent from the celebration was Kiké Hernández, who stayed home due to illness but is expected to return on Friday, albeit not in the starting lineup. As Roberts noted, “My hope is that he’ll be here ready to come off the bench.”
Mookie Betts, on the other hand, made an appearance in the starting lineup at shortstop. Betts, who had recently lost 18 pounds due to illness and missed some games, impressively showed no signs of fatigue, “After the game he looked like he wasn’t fatigued, which is a good thing,” Roberts observed. “My expectation is that he’ll be back in there tomorrow.”