The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Opening Day. After their dominant Tokyo Series against the Cubs, they picked up where they left off on banner night in LA. The Dodgers returned home to honor their World Series team, series MVP Freddie Freeman, and 1988 hero Kirk Gibson. Dave Roberts spoke about the moment between the first basemen, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
“I thought the ceremony was fantastic,” Roberts said, “a beautiful day, acknowledging what we accomplished in 2024. I thought the fans were really into it. The presentation with Freddie meeting Gibby, I thought Gibby throwing out the first pitch was fantastic.”
Freeman hit the first-ever walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series. It was akin to Gibson’s home run in 1988, which won Game 1 for the Dodgers over the Oakland Athletics. Fox Sports and Dodgers home announcer Joe Davis capped the moment then with “Gibby, meet Freddie!” He returned to that line on Friday.
The Dodgers also wore gold-trim uniforms, which have become an Opening Day tradition for the defending champions. Roberts said, “Every day is special in its own right, but having these gold hats and uniforms, we nailed it.” The Dodgers are expected to wear gold on Opening Day again next year after an insane offseason.
The Dodgers open a season full of expectations
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Three games into 2025, the Dodgers are 3-0 and all of their wins have been impressive. The Cubs showed on Opening Day that their offense can be elite, but were stifled in Japan. And when they came back to California, Teoscar Hernandez took Tarik Skubal deep to secure the win.
Hernandez is just one of the many players the Dodgers signed this offseason. With Shohei Ohtani’s contract mostly deferred, they were able to bring back Kike Hernandez, Clayton Kershaw, and Tommy Edman. They added Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, and Michael Conforto, just to name a few. The Dodgers are loaded and ready to make another deep run,
Before winning the World Series last year, there were a lot of questions about the Dodgers’ playoff woes. Their one World Series since 1988 did not come in a 162-game season. They had lost two World Series, in 2017 and ’18, and multiple times in the NL playoffs. But they stopped those conversations in their tracks last year and now can become the next great baseball dynasty.
The Dodgers and Tigers continue their series on Friday.
