Grand Park was a sea of blue on Friday, Nov. 1, as passionate Dodgers fans packed the streets to celebrate the team’s victory, the second championship win in four years and the first parade since the 1988 World Series. The long-awaited parade was cathartic for many, as in 2020, there was no parade due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Dodgers fans near and far traveled to Downtown Los Angeles to celebrate, like Chris Fuentes, who came with his family from San Diego.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Fuentes said regarding the team’s win. “My daughter is a big Dodger fan, and she started screaming and running around the house. My son was jumping up and down.”
When the Dodgers clinched a World Series berth earlier in October against the New York Mets, they set the stage for baseball’s most highly anticipated matchup. The Boys in Blue would face the most historically successful club in Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees, for their first full-season championship title since 1988.
What seemed like a dream matchup for both clubs quickly became a nightmare for the Yankees. The Dodgers swept the first three games and, despite conceding Game 4, made a historic 5th-inning comeback to win the fifth and final game of the World Series 7-6.
As the double-decker buses carrying the team pulled up to City Hall, chants cheering on stars Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts filled the air. Blue and white confetti rained down, and fans basked in the glory of the moment. For Dodgers fan Javier Rivera, the parade is 36 excruciatingly long years in the making.
“We’re overdue for a parade. We deserved it,” Rivera said. “It was amazing having my family here with me. We bleed Dodger blue.”
The parade also coincided with the birthday of Fernando Valenzuela, the famed pitcher who died on Oct. 22. Valenzuela’s jerseys were on full display as fans throughout the park began chanting “For Fernando,” even stopping at one point to sing “Happy Birthday” to the beloved icon.
“This means a lot to me,” said Fuentes. “He was my favorite player growing up, and to have all this commemorated on this day is something special.”
For Cal State LA associate professor Alejandro Villalpando, his love of the team stems from his father, who got him into baseball as a child. One of his core memories of the Dodgers was during their last full-season title in 1988.
Last year, Villalpando’s father was severely ill and received a double organ transplant to save his life. When Villalpando asked his father to accompany him to Game 1 of the Series, his father declined due to his poor vision, but encouraged him to go anyway. The professor said seeing Freddie Freeman pull off a walk-off grand slam to win the game — a moment that echoed Kirk Gibson’s legendary homerun in 1988 — is something he will never forget.
“I was just taken with emotion, the general emotion of an amazing thing that’s historic … that’ll replay over and over and over,” he said. “I was like, ‘wow, my dad’s alive to see this, and I can share it with him.’”
Villalpando also attended Game 3 of the Series in New York and witnessed the Dodgers dash the Yankees’ championship hopes. He recalled the tension in the stadium as Yankees fans watched Freeman smash a two-run home run into the cold night, leading to the Dodgers’ 4-2 win and commanding 3-0 game lead.
“It was like a funeral … I was like, ‘hey, come on man, get excited,” Villalpando said. “In New York, it felt like everyone was living and breathing on every pitch in a dreadful way.”
Before Game 5, Villalpando was confident the Dodgers would wrap up the Series, and that he would get to share a parade experience with his father.
“If they win, we’ll be at the parade no matter what, and there’s no way he can tell me no,” said Villalpando. “He’s going to have to go. He doesn’t have to see, I’ll guide him. I’ll be his seeing-eye person.”
Villalpando and thousands of fans would get their wish. Even after the Yankees took a 5-0 lead with their ace pitcher Gerrit Cole on the mound, the Dodgers erased the massive deficit to tie the game and eventually take the lead 7-6. Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler delivered the final blow to the Yankees with a 78 mph knuckle curve to Alex Verdugo. This was the largest comeback in a clinching game in World Series history.
The parade festivities continued as fans packed into Dodger Stadium. Rap icon Ice Cube introduced the team as they walked down the blue carpet cascading down through centerfield to a raised platform. Heartfelt and tearful speeches of gratitude for each other and their loyal fans were made by Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts, and players Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Clayton Kershaw.
At the end of the celebration, as blue confetti showered the crowd, the team’s signature song “I Love L.A.” by Randy Newman roared through the speakers, capping off their historic 2024 season.
This article was first published in the November 6 print edition of the University Times.
