Becerra: Dodgers’ hot season fires up the faithful
From Hector Becerra at the Los Angeles Times on October 5, 2013, with mention of SABR members Emma Amaya and Terry Cannon:
With her Dodgers dogged by injuries, Emma Amaya made a stop before work at the Our Lady Queen of Angels church in downtown Los Angeles, where she lit a prayer candle for her boys in blue.
The next day, as the team prepared for game one of their series against the Atlanta Braves, Amaya, 57, rushed to take her train to Glendale, listening to the telecast on her iPhone, where she picked up her car for an hour drive to El Monte. There, amid countless bobbleheads like Vinny and Sandy and Fernando, her anxieties washed away in the warm pulsating glow of her television set and a growing Dodgers lead.
What a time to be a Dodgers fan.
“The future is bright,” Amaya said. “They’re spending a lot of money. With these owners, it’s not just talking with them that they’re going to put the best team on the field. They’re putting their money behind it.”
Although a series loss would be a bitter disappointment for Dodgers fans, many say it would be eased by a growing sense of optimism about the franchise’s future. It is a stark contrast to the Frank McCourt years, when the team’s ownership came to be reviled and when troubles on and off the field — with loutish and even violent fans — seemed to take a little of the shine off the storied team.
It’s easy to forget that during those years, the Dodgers frequently had winning teams, though none that went far in the playoffs. Now, the team under Guggenheim Partners is spending like the Yankees, not only in acquiring top-shelf talent but also on renovating a stadium that, 52 years after its opening, remains a major-league cathedral to the Dodgers faithful.
Read the full article here: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-dodgers-fans-20131006,0,7776738.story
Originally published: October 7, 2013. Last Updated: October 7, 2013.