Wildest moments at Dodgers ring ceremony
Griffey, Ichiro, and gold-trimmed uniforms
After 32 years, an almost Buffalo Bills-esque run of almost-there championship fruitlessness and a World Series played at a neutral site, the Dodgers finally got to celebrate their 2020 World Series championship in Los Angeles in front of their fans. It was an emotional event as the banner was raised up the flagpole, and 2020 got attached to the balcony overhang. Then the Dodgers went out and beat the Nationals, 1-0.
Now, do you think there was a single dry eye in the house when Clayton Kershaw got his ring?
But, as with all things done in Los Angeles, this was a star-studded affair as the Dodgers players got video greetings from their favorite players. And if there is one thing we know from watching Hollywood awards shows, it's that things get weird when the stars come out.
Here are the seven oddest, funniest, and best moments from the big Dodgers party:
1. Bronson Arroyo serenades Walker Buehler
Thousands of years from now, aliens will unearth this video and ask themselves, "What in the world is going on here?"
Arroyo is well known for his love of cover songs -- the former frisbee-tossing pitcher once released an entire record of them. So, it's not a surprise that he would come out singing a song. But the fact that he gave Buehler such a remarkably dramatic introduction and then launched into an alt-rock version of Oasis' "Wonderwall," well, let's just say that it felt a little like the end of "Say Anything."
2. Ichiro is begging for a ring
There may not be a baseball player whose life revolves around baseball quite like Ichiro. From his legendary custom workout machine to the fact that he was still taking batting practice even after he had become a coach to his recent stint as a high school coach, Ichiro is baseball.
But one thing forever eluded the international hit king: A World Series ring. So in his video for Edwin Ríos, Ichiro had but a simple request: Give me yours.
3. Ken Griffey Jr. makes a face
Griffey filmed his video for Joe Kelly in the most humblebrag way possible: He shot it while seated in front of a trophy case just bursting with Gold Glove Awards. Though, to be fair, I'd imagine that most of the Griffey house is covered in either Griffey merch -- like when he had his own chocolate bar -- or trophies he's won. Probably not a lot of empty wall space around.
But that wasn't even the best part. No, that was when he mimicked Kelly's, uh, viral moment from last season with his own pouted lip.
4. Will Clark gets cheered by Dodgers fans?
Clayton Kershaw is about as Texas as it gets. So, it makes sense that he grew up idolizing Will Clark.
While Kershaw may have associated The Thrill with the Rangers, most Dodgers fans only think of him as their arch nemesis from the Bay. So they were presented with an odd choice on Friday afternoon: Do they cheer for their hated rival, or risk booing and upsetting their ace? Hard choice.
5. Cody Bellinger is forgotten
Sure, he's an MVP Award winner, a beloved meme superstar and has appeared in a video game, but if Bellinger ever needed an ego check he got one today: Bellinger was skipped over during the announcements, and so waved to the crowd after David Price was introduced.
6. Max Muncy's kicks
There was one person whose presence was sorely missed and that was legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who passed away in January. So, Muncy made sure that he paid respect to the all-time great by wearing a pair of special shoes in his memory. The kicks feature Lasorda's face, the L.A. skyline, and Lasorda's iconic quote: "I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky."
7. Dodgers ... gold?
While the Dodgers experimented with lots of uniform designs in their early days in Brooklyn -- even wearing green jerseys in 1937 -- they've had a remarkably consistent look since moving to the West Coast and swapping out the "B" on their cap for the interlocking "LA"
Well, they made one change on Friday, adding some gold trim around the Dodgers script to help remind everyone just who is the reigning champs.
I guess this is a slightly less ostentatious way to do it than wearing "World's Champions" jerseys.