Page 4 August 10, 2017 TORRANCE TRIBUNE TerriAnn in Torrance The Magical Dodgers Season: One for the Books By TerriAnn Ferren It’s the bottom of the eighth with two outs, one man on base and the Dodgers are behind by two and the rookie phenomenon Cody Bellinger comes to the plate. The wide eyes of the fans can’t even glance away from the batter because this year they know, at any moment, the comeback Dodgers could roar from behind and win the game. That is the kind of magical season it has been so far. I asked a few Dodger fans what they think about the team this year and, not surprisingly, everyone had an opinion. “Ever since I have been following the Dodgers since I moved out to California in the very early 1970s, there has never been a season like this. This is unbelievable. They just keep winning and winning. It is really incredible. It is really one of the most exciting baseball seasons that I can remember,” said South Bay resident Ronnie. He went on to tell me that the last time he remembers being this excited about a season was when he was a boy in New York watching the Yankees win all the time. He said this season reminds him of the time when he was a kid when baseball was exciting and the “stuff dreams were made of.” He told me he expects the Dodgers to win every single game. Then I asked him if he thinks the Dodgers will be in the World Series and he said he didn’t know. Because the way the World Series teams are chosen now, Ronnie can’t be sure. He remembers when the teams were chosen--one from the American League and one from the National League--and because they had won the pennant in their league, they were destined for the World Series. “It’s so confusing this whole playoff thing. When I was a kid, the team that won the most games won the pennant and went to the World Series. It’s not that way anymore. You have to go through all these playoffs. A couple games here and there can decide and it negates the entire season. It doesn’t matter that you win 100 or 110 games in the season. It all comes down to these playoff games and I don’t think it is fair. Baseball has really changed,” said Ronnie. He told me that he liked the way the teams were selected for the World Series before the change. I asked another avid baseball fan and Torrance resident Kris Lynch what he thought about this year’s Dodgers season and he told me, “They are breaking records left and right. And I would say they are one of the best, and the top five of all time since the Dodgers have been in existence, like 120 years. And I would say the top three this year, they are doing so well.” I asked Kris if he thinks the Dodgers are going to go to the World Series and he said, “Yeah, I said that back in February.” Then I asked famed Dodger fan and Torrance resident Carolyn Weyant about her thoughts on this year’s Dodgers team and to what she attributed the success of her boys in blue, as she calls them. “The Dodgers are electrifying and as Vin Scully would say, they are ‘magic.’ Their success begins with our fantastic manager Dave Roberts, his coaching staff, and continues with each and every member of the team, especially the ‘new kids’ and ‘The Silver Fox’ [Chase Utley] who have all stepped up to the plate. We have the best pitcher in baseball [Clayton Kershaw] and the best closer in the National League [Kenley Jansen].” Asking if the Dodgers will go on to the World Series this year was like asking a Dodger staff member what they thought. Carolyn knows the Dodgers inside and out and I consider her analysis brilliant. She listed eight reasons the Dodgers will advance: 1. At the time of writing this (July 30), the team had 74 wins and 31 losses, which equals 42 games over .500, and they are 13 games ahead of the second-place team in the standings. Remember that each win equals plus one-half game in the standings. 2. They have 11 (or 12) series wins so far. 3. They have 31 come-from-behind wins so far. 4. Justin Turner (third base) has the best batting average in the majors! 5. They have nine walk-off wins so far (even including one walk-off walk). 6. They had won 39 of their last 44 games. 7. Six Dodgers (three first-timers, one seventh-timer, and two second-timers) participated in the All-Star Game this year, with one who also participated in the Home Run Derby and climbed to the second round. 8. Rookie Cody Bellinger (All Star Game/Home Run Derby) had hit 28 home runs so far--first rookie in the majors to do so, and has already hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, home run) in a game. Wow, when I asked Carolyn for specifics, she gave them to me in spades. The woman knows her baseball! Carolyn told me she is delighted that the MLB (Major League Baseball) finally wised up and changed the policy so the league that wins the All Star Game will not have home field advantage in the World Series. I asked Carolyn about the Wild Card games and hearing her answer was interesting. “Even though having the Wild Card gives me more baseball to watch, I have never been a fan of the Wild Card. I want to go back when only the teams in first place at the end of the season play off for who in the National League and the American League will play in the World Series,” she said. Well, that opinion echoes from nearly everyone and I found it unanimous among baseball aficionados. This Dodger baseball season definitely deserves the word “magic,” as Vin Scully and Carolyn Weyant would say. These days, when the Dodgers are playing, I visit friends’ houses because I don’t have cable and can’t watch the games, except for the few broadcast on regular television. But I am excited about the team winning and anxiously wait for the end of the season, fingers crossed, for a Dodger entry into the World Series. Can’t wait! Go Dodgers! • Opening Day 2017. Carolyn Weyant on the Jumbotron in Dodger Stadium. Construction Training from page 2 comes word the Los Angeles Clippers and their owner Steve Ballmer plan to build his team its own arena nearby in Inglewood, adding to the South Bay’s pro sports presence. The basketball arena, which Ballmer says would be built near Century Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, could seat 20,000 fans and be finished in time for the 2023 season, according to published reports. Southern California is the epicenter for the construction boom that is raising workers’ take-home pay as union and non-union tradespeople find themselves and their skills in demand again. The building boom has created a labor shortage, which the construction industry says could be alleviated by more emphasis by local school officials on career and technical training programs. Jobs at construction sites offer good salaries and require only a high school diploma or the equivalent to land them. A national building trade recently called on lawmakers and labor and education officials to address the shortage of qualified construction workers by funding and reinvigorating career and technical education programs. “It is time for elected officials to get the word out to students that construction offers high-paying jobs with upward mobility,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer for the Associated General Contractors of America. With more major building projects in the pipeline in the Los Angeles area, his group is worried that high school and middle school students aren’t aware of the career opportunities in carpentry, plumbing, electrical, concrete and other skilled labor for home and commercial construction jobs. The Apprentice Readiness Program at Southwest College is designed to help entry-level workers overcome barriers to employment, including lack of transportation or past troubles with the law. Other barriers to full-time employment will be addressed, such as lack of a high school diploma or GED, childcare, homelessness, and an inability to afford tools. The HireLAX Apprenticeship Readiness program will prepare a diverse group of local community members for placement into union apprenticeships, according to its organizers. Once hired, the recruits will continue to receive training both on-the-job and in the classroom, while earning prevailing wages and receiving health and retirement benefits. South Bay residents interested in the mandatory program orientation and registration on August 19 should contact Christina Watkins at (424) 646-7192, or email her at cwatkins@lawa.org. More information is available at http://lawa.org/welcome_lawa. aspx?id=2398. • Score BIG With DISH Deals! 190 Channels Now only ... $49./99 mo. for 24 months ADD HIGH-SPEED INTERNET $14./95 /mo. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply. FREE PREMIUM CHANNELS FREE INSTALLATION For 3 months. HBO Included At No Cost! Now, for a limited time get America’s most popular premium network, a $180 value, included for 12 months when you purchase a qualifying Dish Network TV package! 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