The baseball gods are smiling upon the Los Angeles Dodgers this year. And I am doing a little extra to make sure that this continues.
The Dodgers' last World Series Championship came in 2020. You all remember the year: a season cut short due to COVID-19 policies; early-round playoff series played with cardboard cutouts in stadium seats; a World Series played in a sparsely-attended, socially-distanced, and sterile Globe Life Field in Texas; the culmination of an amazing 13 playoff victories in the postseason--in fact, the most postseason victories ever in one season, until last year, when the 2023 Texas Rangers matched the feat. 2020 was a weird time, with us all watching this postseason play out at empty stadiums, cheering for our Dodgers but also saddened that we couldn't be there in person.
I wanted to feel this postseason, though. So I started a tradition: after every playoff victory, I would go jump in my pool to celebrate the victory.
This routine got to be known in my neighborhood. It was already well-established that I am a huge Dodgers fan. But the post-game plunge became known as well. And when it culminated with the final World Series Game 6 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, I uttered screams of joy from inside, revelled with my family nearby, had a couple of tears fall, and then, about 15 minutes after the final pitch was thrown, I ran outside to jump in my pool.
Amazingly, one of my neighbors across the street came over to our side gate, and, along with his two small boys, watched me jump in. They had been waiting there for 15 minutes, knowing I would plunge. And they were stoked for me, as well as the crazy sight of a grown man jumping into a freezing cold unheated pool at almost 10pm on a late October night.
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Fast forward to the 2024 MLB Postseason. I went to NLDS Game 1, and saw a great comeback victory for the Dodgers over the Padres, reversing the momentum with Shohei Ohtani's three-run HR in the second inning, tying the game en route to a 7-5 victory. I wore my Rotowear Shohei Ohtani shirt and everything, and I was ecstatic.
When I got home, I took off the shirt--not washing it--and then went to bed.
I didn't jump in the pool.
Then came Game 2. I put the same shirt back on, and went to the game along with SoSG Orel. That game's outcome was not favorable. In fact, the game itself was pretty miserable all around, offset by the great company and the fact that the later innings just got laughable as the score got out of hand.
I came home, dejected. Of course, the first thing I did was I throw that shirt in the wash.
And then the next morning, I realized--I had not jumped in the pool after the NLDS Game 1 victory.
The baseball gods must have been mad.
Freaked out, I jumped in the pool on the evening of October 7, the off-day. I made some extra noise so the baseball gods would know I was contrite, and apologized for my indiscretion. But the baseball gods were still angry, allowing the Padres to win NLDS Game 3.
I vowed to jump in the pool for every Dodgers postseason victory. I was sorry I had lapsed after NLDS Game 1.
Remember, at this stage of the series, on October 8, down 2-1 in the NLDS to the Padres, the Dodgers had only a 26% chance of winning the NLDS, not to mention a mere 9.4% chance of winning the World Series.
NLDS Game 4 was a high-leverage bullpen game that Dave Roberts managed perfectly, and the Dodgers won 8-0 in hostile territory at Petco Park. The baseball gods were giving me another chance.
But here was the problem: I flew on Thursday morning to the east coast for a quick weekend trip. How was this plunge thing going to work now?
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On that Friday, October 11, back on the east coast, I had driven six hours that day across two states, spanning two separate appointments with my family and fighting some horrible traffic along the way. The seasons were definitely changing back east, with leaves turning colors and crisp winds roaring through town, blowing leaves everywhere. By the time we had made it to our hotel in Connecticut late that evening, it was already the seventh inning of NLDS Game 5, and the Dodgers were precariously nursing a 1-0 lead. My wife stayed up in the hotel room with me, while my kid went down to the hotel gym to get in a treadmill run.
Those final three frames were torturous. When Teoscar Hernandez homered in the bottom of the seventh, the 2-0 lead felt a bit safer, even though Padres pitcher Yu Darvish had largely kept the Dodgers at bay all game. The two solo home runs Darvish gave up, though, were enough for the Dodgers to earn the hard-fought 2-0 victory, clinching the NLDS series victory at home, in front of rabid Dodger fans.
And now, it was my turn to celebrate.
Step one was to run to the hotel bar, which was closing by now. I cajoled the bartender to pour me a pint of beer--and wouldn't you know it, they had Elysian Space Dust IPA on tap. Elysian! This was a sign from the baseball gods, indeed. I brought the beer back up to my room and set it by the television for a second, while the post-game show played in the background on the television.
Now for the hard part. It's around 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside and windy here in Connecticut. And for this night, we had selected a hotel that was probably the least-luxurious stay of our weekend, because we had to be out early the next morning and it was just a quick overnight stop. But strangely, this hotel was equipped with an indoor pool! However, the pool was closed at this hour, so I had to explain to the overworked / understaffed front desk operator that I really needed her to open the pool for me so I could quickly jump in the pool. When I explained that my actions reflected a pact with the baseball gods and in celebration of the Dodgers' victory, she obliged.
The clerk unlocked the door to the pool area and I thanked her, then I stripped down to my boxers and did a quick jump in the pool. It was cold, but not nearly as cold as it would have been if it were an outdoor pool. My kid, running on the treadmill in the gym next to the pool, was trying to figure out what the hell I was doing, but ended up just laughing as he realized I was going for a celebratory plunge.
And oh man, that jump in the hotel pool that evening felt EXCELLENT. As did that ice-cold Elysian Space Dust IPA, back in the hotel room.
I toasted the Dodgers' victory in the 2024 NLDS. And it was good.
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For the 2024 NLCS against the Mets, I was back at home and faithfully plunged after every one of the Dodgers' victories: Game 1 (Sunday, October 13), Game 3 (Wednesday, October 16), Game 4 (Thursday, October 17), and Game 6 (Sunday, October 20). Each time, it is wonderfully refreshing (actually, it's a little crisp). It's cold outside, and pretty eye-opening jumping into the pool, but I happily send post-plunge photos to my Dodgers-crazy family on our text thread.
And I NEVER take for granted the opportunity to even be in a position to jump in the pool. I'm very grateful.
And I hope that I can continue this celebration ritual in the 2024 World Series.
I stand ready to plunge again.
Let's go, Dodgers!
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Some past SoSG superstitions:
2 comments:
Love it Saxy. Keep up the good work!!!!
This is what baseball fandom is all about. Our crazy superstitions that we keep up, even though we know they are crazy. I'm all for it!
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