The Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series championship on Oct. 30, defeating the New York Yankees in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers began the game needing just one victory to shore up the championship. Things looked bleak in the fifth inning, with the Dodgers down 5-0. But with two outs in the top of the fifth, the Dodgers piled on five unearned runs to tie the game. Former Yankee Alex Rodriguez called that fifth inning one of the greatest meltdowns he’d ever seen. By the end, the Dodgers won 7-6. It was the major league’s largest World Series comeback and clinched thefirst Dodger championship since 2020.
Things looked bleak for the Dodgers in Game 1, down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. But with two outs and bases loaded, first baseman Freddie Freeman smacked a game-winning grand slam home run to the right field bleachers to propel the Dodgers to a 6-3 victory. It was the first ever walk-off grand slam in World Series history
This was the 12th time the Dodgers and Yankees have faced off in the World Series, dating back to 1941 when the Dodgers were still based in Brooklyn. No two teams have faced each other in the World Series more frequently. Since both teams come from the second and third most-Jewish cities in the world, Jewish fans of both teams were spotted in the attendance during the World Series — among them, actor Billy Crystal and music manager Steve Lobel both cheering on the Yankees, and actor Jonah Platt and punk guitarist Greg Hetson in Dodger blue.
The last time the Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series was in 1981. That was the year that Fernando-mania took over Los Angeles, as a husky 21-year-old pitcher named Fernando Valenzuela captivated Dodger fans throughout the season. He won his first eight starts that season, five of them shutouts.
Valenzuela had been part of the team’s Spanish broadcast team since 2003. But Dodger fans were shocked to hear that Valenzuela passed away on Oct. 22 at age 63, just three days before the start of the World Series. Dodgers players all wore a “34” patch on their uniforms throughout the World Series in his honor. This year was also the first time the Dodgers competed in the World Series since team manager (1976-1996) Tommy Lasorda passed away in 2021. It’s also the first since longtime announcer Vin Scully passed away in 2022. Scully was the voice of the Dodgers from 1950 in Brooklyn until his retirement in 2016.
Although Jewish legend and Hall of Fame Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax did not make any public appearances during the 2024 World Series run, the publication Dodgers Nation reported this week that Koufax “approved” of how manager Dave Roberts was leading the team.
“We’ve had that conversation in years past, but I think right now he gave me a ‘good job.’ He gave me a ‘you’re doing all right,’” Roberts told Dodgers Nation. Koufax still holds the record for the second-most strikeouts thrown in a single World Series game, with 15 strikeouts against the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. In 2023, the Dodgers honored Koufax with a statue just outside the centerfield bleachers, next to the statue Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
Although there were no Jewish players on this year’s Dodgers roster, Andrew Friedman, the team’s President of Baseball Operations for the Dodgers since 2015, is Jewish. This was the team’s second World Series championship during his tenure. In 2023, Friedman was part of the process of signing Japanese pitching sensation Shohei Otani to the largest contract in Major League Baseball history — $700 million over 10 years.
“Obviously winning is the number one goal, but I’ve always tied that to a parade” Friedman said in a post-game interview in the locker room — drenched in champagne. “Bringing the fans of L.A. — the amazing fans we have — bringing this trophy home and celebrating it with them and [2020] we didn’t get the chance to do it. To do it now is everything. Freddie winning the MVP of this series is storybook. What he went through this year, what he went through in the playoffs, for him to do what he did, just speaks volumes about who he is.”
“Bringing the fans of L.A. — the amazing fans we have — bringing this trophy home and celebrating it with them and [2020] we didn’t get the chance to do it. To do it now is everything.” – Andrew Friedman
He was referring to how the Dodger first baseman’s three-year-old son Max was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome — a rare neurological condition where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves. Max spent eight days in the intensive care unit on a ventilator before being discharged. Freeman stepped away from baseball for nine days to be there for Max. Freeman told ESPN that Max had to relearn “how to do pretty much everything.” Freeman’s wife Chelsea told “Good Morning America” that Max is “doing much better” and is in physical therapy. Max and the rest of Freeman’s family were at Yankee Stadium for the World Series-clinching game 5.
Some Jewish Dodgers fans have wondered whether Freeman is Jewish — he’s not. But Dodger fans will certainly remember where they were when he smacked the game-winning grand slam home run in Game 1 of the World Series.
When the Dodgers’ victory parade makes its way through Downtown L.A., expect to hear the song, “I Love L.A.” by Jewish songwriter Randy Newman on repeat. The song is played at Dodger Stadium after each home victory.
Jon Fischer, a Jewish lifelong Dodgers fan, saw much symbolism in the victory.
“Winning this game two days after Fernando’s passing felt surreal, almost like he was watching over us,” Fischer said. “This parade celebrates the Dodgers World Series Win against the New York Yankees. It will take place on Friday, November 1, which is also Fernando Valenzuela’s Birthday. Fernando died just two days before the start of the series.” To honor Valenzuela, the Dodgers painted the pitcher’s mound with his number #34 for each home game … Rest in peace Fernando ‘El Toro’ Valenzuela and thanks for watching over our Dodgers during this World Series.”
Max Rosenblum, a Jewish writer in Los Angeles reflected on how much of a long-time coming it had been for this Dodgers World Series victory, especially with the last title coming during the abridged, limited-attendance pandemic season.
“I’ve probably seen the Kirk Gibson 1988 walk off highlight a thousand times, but that had happened months before I was born. I wanted to see them win a World Series in real life. In the 2000s, the Dodgers had good teams, but couldn’t get through to the World Series. In the 2010s, the teams were even better, but still no World Series appearances until 2017. I was traveling abroad at that time and remember I fell asleep with the ESPN app open, waking up at 5:00 a.m. to see the Dodgers had lost to the Astros in a decisive Game 7. The next year also spelled defeat against Boston. In 2020, the Dodgers won the World Series in the shortened Covid season, but as a fan, it always felt incomplete. And with postseason collapses in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, it started to feel like it wasn’t destined to happened. But today, the Dodgers are champions. Congrats to the team and all the fans. This one hits differently.”
The celebration is already in order. The “D” in the Hollywood sign was lit up in blue in honor of Los Angeles’ beloved baseball club.
Ken Levine, a writer and actor, celebrated with a simple nod to the team’s nickname from their Brooklyn days.
“Dem Bums did it!” Levine said, referencing the Brooklyn Dodgers’ nickname, the Brooklyn Bums. “I’m sure Vin Scully would have said, ‘there’s only one team that could have won in such a crazy fashion and it had to be the Dodgers.’”
The victory parade began Friday, November 1 at 11:00 am near Los Angeles City Hall — on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday.
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