The Dodgers were one victory last fall from preempting the following sentence: It has been 30 years since the Dodgers last won the World Series.
But a championship always is worth celebrating, and so the Dodgers announced Thursday that Kirk Gibson would throw out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day.
"We're going to be able to help a lot of people," Gibson said in a statement.
In Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Gibson hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history, hobbling to bat to deliver a pinch-hit, walk-off home run off Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley, and spawning an immortal line from Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully.