The latest iteration of baseball’s Evil Empire assembled under cool, cloudy skies at Chavez Ravine on Saturday, with two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, the centerpiece of the Dodgers’ $1.185-billion winter spending spree, headlining the marquee for the team’s fanfest event.
Some 25,000 blue-and-white-clad fans screamed and chanted Ohtani’s name, along with those of stars Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, two of the other high-priced baubles boosting the team’s $307.5-million payroll, the excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season clearly evident among Southern California’s faithful.
For the rest of the country and those jilted fans in Toronto, where many thought Ohtani was headed before choosing the Dodgers in mid-December?