Dodgers to Officially Cut Ties with Raptors

In expected news, the Los Angeles Dodgers will reportedly cut ties with Ogden Raptors (Rookie-level, Pioneer League), as part of the downsizing scheduled to take place across the minor leagues for the 2021 season.  Read more here.   Read more local news here.

Drone Footage of Dodger Stadium Renovations

No games yet, but you can check out the most-recent drone footage of the Dodger Stadium renovations on YouTube, courtesy of John Kay. Read more here.

Dodger Stadium to Get $100-Million Makeover Before 2020 MLB All-Star Game

The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday unveiled plans for a $100-million renovation of Dodger Stadium that will provide a new center field plaza as well as elevators and bridges that will connect the outfield pavilions to the rest of the stadium.  The project is expected to be completed in time for next season and the 2020 MLB All-Star Game at the historic ballpark.  Read more and view 7 renderings here.

New Ballpark Talks in Topeka

The City of Topeka (KS) could be cheering on its own minor league baseball team soon.  During their latest monthly meeting, the Topeka and Shawnee County Riverfront Authority discussed ways to tie the Riverfront, Downtown, and Noto together, including a new ballpark.  Read more here.

Dodger Stadium is Cooperstown West?

Dodger Stadium is crawling with history (we’ll skip over last night’s history) — in the halls winding around the home and visitor locker rooms, on the concourse outside the press box, lining the walls of the press box itself, on the retired number plaza with the astounding view . . . it goes on and on.  Read more here.

Comparing the 2018 World Series Ballparks

As the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox prepare to meet in Game 1 of the 2018 MLB World Series on Tuesday, Joe Mock from BaseballParks.com has posted his annual comparison of the two ballparks we’ll see in this year’s Fall Classic.  Read more here.   View World Series game schedule here.

An Interview with Ballpark Designer Janet Marie Smith

Ballpark designer Janet Marie Smith is known for her work on the design and construction of Camden Yards, her role senior vice president of planning and development for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and overseeing the preservation and expansion of Fenway Park from 2002-2009.  Now she’s working along side former Boston Red Sox executive Larry Lucchino planning the site for the future Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A, International League).  Read more here.

Dodgers Introduce New Food Items for Post-Season

When the postseason comes, many forget the stadiums hosting the games revamp their food menu to keep things fun during the month of October. And this time around, the Dodgers did not disappoint. New items include Mac and Cheese Hot Link Burrito, Carne Asada Base Bowl Nachos, Peach BBQ Bourbon Wings, Meat Lovers Pizza, and Rib Bundle. Read more here.

Mac ‘n’ Cheese Hot Link Burrito

Billie Jean King Joins Dodgers Ownership Group, Team Hosts Great Live Party Today

Billie Jean King has gone back to her roots in becoming part of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership group.  The tennis great first became enamored with the team when it arrived from Brooklyn in 1958.  Read more here.  In other Dodgers news, the La Gran Fiesta Viva Los Dodgers festival Saturday will celebrate the contribution of Latino players and fans to baseball through live music, giveaways and family friendly activities.  Read more here.

Elon Musk Talking Underground Transportation to Dodger Stadium

Elon Musk‘s company, The Boring Company, is proposing to build Dugout Loop, a zero-emissions, high-speed, underground public transportation system from the Los Feliz, East Hollywood, or Rampart Village neighborhoods (“western terminus”) to Dodger Stadium.  Read more here.  View car design and map here.

Dodgers to Host 2020 MLB All-Star Game

Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred will reportedly be at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday for a noon news conference to announce that the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the 2020 All-Star Game, the first time since 1980 that the team has hosted the mid-summer classic.  Read more here.

Holman Stadium Celebrates 65 Years

On March 11, 1953, Brooklyn Dodgers President Walter O’Malley stood at home plate to open the newly constructed, 5,000-seat stadium at Dodgertown, named for local businessman and Airport Director Bud Holman.  Read more here.

Dodgers Unveil 60th Anniversary Patch

The Los Angeles Dodgers will commemorate their 60th anniversary in Los Angeles with a special patch that the team will wear on the right sleeve of their jersey throughout the 2018 season.  Read more and view previous anniversary patches here.

Comparing the World Series Ballparks

As the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros prepare to meet in Game 1 of the 2017 MLB World Series on Tuesday, Joe Mock from BaseballParks.com has posted his annual comparison of the two ballparks we’ll see in this year’s Fall Classic.  Read more here.  View World Series game schedule here.

2016 Most Influential Canadians in Baseball

The annual list of the 101 most influential Canadians in baseball has been released.  A few notables include Farhan Zaidi, general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at #4,  John Ircandia, managing director of the Okotoks Dawgs (Summer Collegiate, Western Major Baseball League) at #18, and Jim Swanson, managing partner of the Victoria HarbourCats (Summer Collegiate, West Coast League), making his debut on the list at #76.  Read more here.

John Ircandia, Okotoks Dawgs

Quakes, Dodgers Extend PDC

PRESS RELEASE – The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are pleased to announce that they have agreed to a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Dodgers on their Player Development Contract (PDC), keeping the Quakes and Dodgers as partners through 2018.

OKC, Tulsa Extend PDCs with L.A. Dodgers

PRESS RELEASE – The Oklahoma City Dodgers and Los Angeles Dodgers announced today they have extended their Player Development Contract for two years. The extension keeps the OKC Dodgers as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate through the 2018 season.

Janet Smith on San Antonio Ballpark: Take Time, Do It Right

If San Antonio leaders want to hit one out of the park with a proposed downtown stadium, they first need to determine what type of development they want around such a new stadium, and how much investment they can expect to attract to a given site, so says big league architect and urban planner Janet Smith.  Read more here.

San Antonio Gets Ballpark Advice from L.A. Dodgers

L.A. Dodgers executive Janet Marie Smith and El Paso city manager Joyce Wilson were in San Antonio Tuesday to speak at a luncheon with local architects and tour potential sites for a new ballpark that would lure the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Triple-A, Pacific Coast League) to downtown.  Read more here.

Dodgers Dedicate Vin Scully Avenue

About 200 Los Angeles Dodgers fans clad in the team’s signature blue descended on Chavez Ravine this week to commemorate the newly named Vin Scully Avenue.  Read more and view photos here.

Concerts Coming to Dodger Stadium

The Los Angeles Dodgers have formed a partnership with entertainment executive Tim Leiweke and music industry veteran Irving Azoff to attract major bands to Dodger Stadium.  Read more here.

Dodgers to Honor Jackie Robinson with Statue

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Tuesday that, sometime in 2016, a likeness of Jackie Robinson would be the first statue ever to appear at Dodger Stadium. The artist Branly Cadet, a former Brooklyn resident, will sculpt a statue between 9 and 10 feet tall of Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s modern color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.  Read more here.  More from the Dodgers here.

Dodgers Raise Parking Prices (Again)

In a news release announcing the start of single-game ticket sales, the Los Angeles Dodgers tucked this sentence into the last paragraph: “Parking at the gate day of game is $20.”  The price for the same parking was $15 last year and $10 in 2013.  Read more here.  Thanks to Joe Mock for the link.

Tradition of Live Organ Music Carries On at Dodger Stadium

As fans filtered into Dodger Stadium Saturday night for Game 2 of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, they were treated to an assortment of music over the speakers, including traditional live organ music played by “Nancy Bea.”  Read more here.

RedHawks Sold, Team Becomes Dodgers Affiliate, Ballpark Improvements Announced

PRESS RELEASE – Mandalay Baseball Properties, LLC, owner of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, has reached an agreement to sell the franchise. The new ownership group will be a partnership between Mandalay Entertainment Chairman and CEO Peter Guber and other current principals of Mandalay Baseball Properties, and the

Ballpark Quirks: Dodger Stadium’s Chavez Ravine Location

In a series called “Ballpark Quirks,” Sports Illustrated takes a look at the distinctive features and oddities that make up each of MLB’s 30 parks. Up now: Dodger Stadium’s Chavez Ravine location.  Read more and view photos here.

It’s $15 Million for Dodger Stadium Beating Victim

A jury on Wednesday found the Los Angeles Dodgers negligent in a 2011 assault on a fan in their stadium parking lot that left him permanently disabled, ordering the team to pay some $15 million in civil damages but clearing the former club owner of liability.  Read more here.

Spring Training Ballpark Debt

As MLB teams head home shortly from spring training to prepare for their regular-season openers, a lack of development and uncertain funding from the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority could leave Glendale and Goodyear (AZ) in tough financial spots after backing the construction of new spring-training ballparks.  Read more here.

Watch Nifty Time-Lapse Video Showing Conversion of Sydney Cricket Ground to Baseball (See Game Schedule Too)

The MLB Opening Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney (AUS) on March 22 and 23.  You can watch a cool time-lapse video here showing the conversion of the facility’s playing surface from a cricket field to a baseball field.  Go to mlbsydney2014.com to learn more about the Opening Series.  Below is the schedule:

MLB Makeover for Sydney Cricket Ground

Starting Friday, the Sydney Cricket Ground will begin its 20-day transformation into a baseball field in preparation for Major League Baseball’s Opening Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks on March 22 and 23.  Read more here.

Preparing Sydney Cricket Ground for Opening Series, MLB Facebook photo

More Enhancements Coming to Dodger Stadium

The Los Angeles Dodgers have unveiled more upgrades coming to Dodger Stadium, including expanded entries, new concessions, and a bullpen overlook.  Read more and view list of seven planned upgrades here.  View aerial map here.

Rendering of 2014 Dodger Stadium Enhancements, Los Angeles Dodgers Facebook page

Busted Bear Leads to Dodgers Mascot Talk

A man dressed in a bear costume jumped on the visiting dugout at Dodger Stadium during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, which earned him a six-month ban from the ballpark.  It also spurred a little talk about whether the Dodgers should have a mascot or not.  Read more here.

Magic Johnson Bobblehead Sept. 12 at Dodger Stadium

The first 50,000 fans through the gates at Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Sept. 12 will receive a bobblehead of team co-owner and former NBA superstar Magic Johnson.

MLB Coming to Sydney (AUS) Cricket Ground

Major League Baseball is coming to Sydney, Australia, as the Los Angeles Dodgers will play a two-game  opening series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in March 2014.  Read more here.  Thanks to Graham Knight for the posting the story on Facebook.

NHL Game at Dodger Stadium Confirmed

The first regular-season NHL game scheduled for an outdoor venue in a warm-weather city has been finalized, as the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks will face off at Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, on Jan. 25, 2014.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

A Reds Honorary MVP, A Navigators Team IMPACT Player, and a Wounded Warrior Gets a Baseball Card

We don’t usually post links to human interest articles on this site, but we decided to share with you a few heartwarming stories out of Cincinnati (OH) (here), Lynn (MA) (here), and Los Angeles (CA) (here).

NHL’s Ducks, Kings to Face Off at Dodger Stadium

Details are still being negotiated, but there are plans in the works to bring the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks to Dodger Stadium to play a regular-season game on Jan. 25, 2014, using portable rink and refrigeration equipment provided by the NHL.  Read more here.  Thanks to John Cerone for the link.

Mr. Ebbetts and His Ballpark

Bob McGee from the New York Times takes a look at Charles H. Ebbets and the ballpark he build in the Flatbush neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  This year is the 100th anniversary of Ebbets Field, which opened in 1913.  Read more here.

Dodgers Prepare to Unveil $100M in Stadium Upgrades

The Los Angeles Dodgers are racing to complete $100 million in renovations to Dodger Stadium in time for Opening Day on April 1 against the San Francisco Giants.   Read more and view photos here.

Despite Hefty Renovation Spend, Dodgers Leave Door Open to Move

It must be a slow news day over at the Los Angeles Times.  Brace yourself.  While the  Los Angeles Dodgers are pumping $100 million into Dodger Stadium to make it viable for at least the immediate future, team owners refuse to say that they are absolutely committed to the historic ballpark for the long haul.  Read more and view construction photo here.