“You might ask yourself, where can I go in the vast city of L.A. and have a good time? Well, if you have $6 (or a press pass like I did), you can go to a Dodger game.
As soon as my father and I walked into Dodger stadium, the fresh scent of Dodger dogs and hot buttery popcorn took control. In a trance, I began to walk over to the concession until my father and Matt Bennett (coordinator of community affairs) hollered to me, COME OVER HERE.
We arrived before the game started and Matt showed us around the stadium. The place is drop-dead gorgeous. The field is absolutely perfect. The grass is green and cleanly cut. The dirt is cocoa brown, with foul lines straighter than rulers and whiter than snow. If it’s a night game, sit in the outfield and you’ll see an incredible sunset. Or sit near the home plate and look out on a long row of tall slender palm trees outlining the stadium and behind that, rolling hills.
I got to sit in the press box.It’s somewhat like a prison or dungeon where they enslave journalists and their PCs so they can write their stories. The press box is also home of the organist, public announcer, score board table and the radio and television play-by-play announcers.
In the press box there’s something else that you won’t find any where else in the ball park—a restaurant. The food is good. You have a choice between a Dodger dog or prime rib with baked potato, string beans and pasta. I had both.
By the fifth inning almost everybody had already written their stories. They just leave a spot in case the score changes, and send it into the newsroom. But if a big change happens at the last minute, they have to change the whole thing. Some of the guys in there travel with the team; it’s sort of like a league of their own.
Someone sitting behind me asked what did Eric Karros do the last time he was up to bat. I turned around and met Jim Hill of CBS sports. I also met two Dodger broadcasters, Rick Monday and Ross Porter (Vince Scully was sick) and “Sweet” Lou Jones, a Dodger player of the sixties.
If you ever find yourself bored at home, don’t stay home and watch the game on TV. Come on out and join the Dodgers in a game. “
