It’s rare that anyone gets to see something like this, but the Dodgers Media Network filmed Joe Torre and Don Mattingly before the Sept. 17 news conference announcing Torre’s passing of the torch as Dodger manager to Mattingly.

From the clubhouse, the pair walked into an elevator that would eventually take them to the Stadium Club, where the media were expecting a big announcement.

Mattingly rubbed his stomach and said, “Excitement.”

Mattingly and Torre sat in the Hollywood Room events suite, adjacent to the Stadium Club as reporters, cameramen and photographers waited for them. For a little while they sat alone, talked shop and watched as the Dodgers prepared on the field for that night’s game.

Torre, who owns the most wins in Major League postseason history and is fifth on the all-time wins list, said he felt like the Dodgers needed another voice.

“It’s a little easier to do this because I’m leaving them in good hands over here,” he said, looking at Mattingly.

Torre has had one of the most legendary managerial careers in baseball history, and what he did with the Dodgers added to that. He guided the team to back-to-back division titles in 2008 and 2009, the first time that had happened since 1977 and 1978. As the Dodgers struggled in 2010, he decided it was time to leave the job in someone else’s hands. Turning 70 years old was another sign.

“I managed a lot by instinct and I think this is a lot of instinct too that I’m making this decision,” said Torre.

Mattingly said he had mixed emotions about the day.

“For me, this is kind of double-edged,” said Mattingly. “Exciting that it’s something I’ve been aspiring to do and work for that opportunity, but also seeing Joe kind of going in a little different direction is tough.”

The pair has been coaching together since Mattingly joined the New York Yankee staff in 2004. Now it’s Mattingly’s time.

“Not yet,” he said when Torre referred to him as “skipper.”

During the news conference, Torre had a message for the Dodger fans.

“I heard Los Angeles was laid back, but I can say the time I’ve been here, they made me feel welcome here, but I sense so much passion that has come out of this stadium that was very, very special,” said Torre. “I know the players have really fed off that so I’m certainly going to miss the fans out here who have been so loyal to us during the time I was here and before that.”

John Lindsey’s life is a baseball movie. He is a symbol of what happens when you never give up on a dream.

 

After 16 seasons of riding buses in the minor leagues, living out of a suitcase and seeing others get their chances, Lindsey’s perseverance paid off.

 

First Major League at-bat, then first start, then first hit. For Lindsey, it must have felt like a lifetime.

 

“It’s truly a blessing to be out here,” said Lindsey. “I know where I’m coming from and where I’ve been to get here. So I’m just enjoying it. I believed it would happen sooner or later.”

 

Lindsey got the call that he would be brought up to the Dodgers on Sept. 5 by Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti. Prior to that, the 33-year-old first baseman played 1,571 games in the minor leagues.

 

The journey began in 1995 after he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies. Some 15 years later, he finally stepped into the batter’s box.

 

On Sept. 9, in front of family and friends, he pinch-hit in the top of the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. He flew out. Two days later in Houston, he got his first start and went 0-for-3. On Sept. 12, he finally got that first hit. Pinch-hitting again against the Astros, Lindsey singled in the fifth inning.

 

“It was awesome,” said Lindsey. “It was a breaking ball, and I saw it. I wanted to be ready when I got something to hit, and it was there and I put a good swing on it. It fell in for me.”

 

It wasn’t a home run or a game-winning hit — the kind of thing you’d see in a movie — but it was real. And finally, after everything he’s been through, his dream became reality.

Hanging out in the hardware store doesn’t sound appealing to Dodger Hall of Fame Broadcaster Vin Scully. He recalled the 1994 baseball strike and how bored he was sitting at home. That thought was one of the reasons the Scully decided that he would come back for an unprecedented 62nd season.

 

“It wasn’t one of those things where you lose sleep at night, but you do think, ‘What do I do if I don’t do this?'” said Scully. “And I remember my mom and dad back in New Jersey, they would look out the window and guess whether they were going to see a Ford or Chevy go by and I used to think, ‘Whoa.’ And during the strike back in ’94, I’d play golf every day and that got old. Then I’d go and have lunch with people and that got old. And then I found myself spending an awful lot of time in the hardware store looking at nuts and bolts and screws and that was on my mind and I thought, ‘Not yet. As long as you feel the way you feel, not yet.'”

 

He will continue to call all Dodger home games and road games against National League West opponents.  His 61 years of service with the Dodgers is the longest tenure of any broadcaster in sports history. There was speculation, though, that the beloved broadcaster would not return next season.

 

“There was a story in the paper that said, ‘Only Scully knows,’ but that’s incorrect,” said Scully. “Only God knows just how long I’ll continue to work. But I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be with the Dodgers for all these years. It’s a marvelous organization. The game of baseball I love with all my heart and soul and I found in the deep recesses of my mind that I did not want to sever the relationship.”

 

Scully began his baseball broadcasting career in 1950, and since then has gone on to call three perfect games, 19 no-hitters, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star Games. He was also at the microphone for Kirk Gibson’s miraculous Game 1 walk-off home run in the 1988 World Series, Hank Aaron’s record-setting 715th home run, Barry Bonds’ record-

breaking 71st, 72nd and 73rd home runs and the record-breaking scoreless-inning streaks of Dodger greats Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser. In 1982, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

“I’ve had a love affair with this game since I was I guess 8 or 9 years old and I tried to play it and I realized how hard it is to play it on the level the Major Leaguers play,” said Scully. “And I’ve been intrigued by their abilities, that plus the love of the game still produces goosebumps and I think that might be my thermometer. Every time there’s a good play — the other night when the kid at second base threw the ball to first behind his back I had goosebumps like it was the first big league game I’d ever seen. And I went home thinking, ‘Holy mackerel, it’s still deep inside of me, this love for the game.'”

Since July 17, no starting pitching staff in baseball has been better than the Dodgers’ starting five. The Dodgers have the lowest ERA by starters in the big leagues since that point at 2.48. They’re almost a half-run better than the Oakland A’s at 2.83. And at different times during that stretch, each Dodger pitcher had his stellar moment.

 

The best of the bunch has been Chad Billingsley, who over six starts during the last month has a 1.34 ERA. Ted Lilly is close. The Dodgers acquired the left-hander at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 1 and in three starts for the Dodgers, he went 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA. Hiroki Kuroda has been close as well, with a 2.60 ERA.

 

Vicente Padilla had a run of four games where he had a 1.04 ERA, highlighted by a shutout of San Diego on Aug. 4. Take out one rough outing by Clayton Kershaw, and he has also given up and averagea of less than two runs per game.

 

Billingsley, Lilly, Kuroda, Padilla and Kershaw have held opposing teams to two runs or less in 20 of the 26 games they started after July 17. Those five pitchers have gone at least six innings in those 26 starts 22 times with Kershaw, Billingsley and Lilly going at least six innings in all their starts since July 17.

 

To top it off, two Dodgers in the bullpen have also been stingy. Through his first 12 games since July 17, Hong-Chih Kuo had a 0.71 ERA and Kenley Jansen hadn’t allowed an earned run in his first eight games.

Ah, the ’80s. MTV. Miami Vice. Mike Marshall.

The Dodgers were a big part of the Decade of Decadence and we celebrate it with ’80s Night at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 6.

Sure, they won two World Series in the 1980s — 1981 and 1988.

But check out these 1980s facts.

 

They opened up the decade in 1980 with the following starting lineup:

1.    Davey Lopes – 2B

2.    Rudy Law – CF

3.    Reggie Smith – RF

4.    Steve Garvey – 1B

5.    Dusty Baker – LF

6.    Ron Cey – 3B

7.    Derrel Thomas – SS

8.    Steve Yeager – C

9.    Burt Hooton – P

 

They closed out the decade in 1989 with this lineup:

1.    Willie Randolph – 2B

2.    Alfredo Griffin – SS

3.    Kirk Gibson – LF

4.    Eddie Murray – 1B

5.    Mike Marshall – RF

6.    John Shelby – CF

7.    Jeff Hamilton – 3B

8.    Mike Scioscia – C

9.    Tim Belcher – P

 

Six players who were on Dodger Opening Day lineups in the 1980s have gone on to manage in the big leagues — Baker, Lopes, Scioscia, Russell, Gibson and Randolph.

 

In 1989, the Dodgers played two 22-inning games – June 3 in a 5-4 loss to Houston and Aug. 23 in a 1-0 win against Montreal. The June 3 game went seven hours and 14 minutes.

 

The highest single-season batting average of the ’80s belongs to Pedro Guerrero, who hit .338 in 1987. Guerrero’s 33 home runs in 1985 was also the top number of the decade.

 

In 1986, Fernando Valenzuela pitched 20 complete games. That was the last time a Major League pitcher threw that many complete games. Valenzuela’s 242 strikeouts that year were also tops of the ’80s for the Dodgers.

 

Orel Hershiser’s magical 1988 featured 23 wins. It was the highest total by a Dodger in 22 years. No Dodger has come within three victories of that total since 1988.

 

There was one Dodger no-hitter in the decade — Jerry Reuss tossed one against the San Francisco Giants on June 27, 1980. Yet there were 11 Dodger one-hitters during the decade, the most in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

 

In 1980, Duke Snider was inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 1982, Vin Scully was inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 1983, it was Walter Alston’s turn. Then in 1984, Don Drysdale was inducted.

Remember when your parents took you to the Dodger game and your ticket was just $5?

 

Probably not because they were paying. But now you can know how they felt.

 

Beginning July 19, with the purchase of every adult ticket on the Field or Loge Levels, kids 14 and under are just $5. That includes some of the best seats in the house, even behind home plate. Two hours prior to each home game, families can purchase up to two $5 kids tickets per paying adult at the Dodger Stadium Box Offices. The promotion will be available for every remaining home game, based on availability.

 

So as the pennant race heats up and the Dodgers charge toward their third straight National League West title, Jonathan Broxton might be making saves, but you will be saving money.

 

Opponents four times in the World Series, Steve Garvey and Reggie Jackson have a lot of history together. They have so much that when they get together, after normal pleasantries, the good-natured barbs start.

 

“We gave each other a kiss and I patted his hip to see if it’s still sore from the World Series game when he accidentally couldn’t get out of the way,” said Garvey, who was referring to Game 4 in the 1978 World Series when a Bill Russell throw ricocheted off the right hip of Jackson and away from the first baseman, who was waiting to complete the double play. The Yankees won that game and eventually took the series, 4-2.

 

But 32 years later during the recent Interleague series between the two teams, it was all smiles and reminiscence about the rivalry, which has pitted the Dodgers and Yankees against each other a MLB-high 11 times.

 

 “I think it’s great to see the Dodgers and Yankees, enjoy it, see all the people and those uniforms run onto the field,” said Jackson. “

 

“The Dodgers and Yankees have arguably the two greatest histories in baseball,” said Garvey. “And every time we played it was special. Dodgers and Yankees in a World Series – it doesn’t get any better than that. Something was always happening. And when it was all said and done, the best team won.”

On a sunny Saturday in June that saw  World Cup action, Tiger Woods going low at Pebble Beach and Laker faithful basking in the glow of their 16th World Championship, more than 150 true blue Dodger fans were nestled in a hotel ballroom and wouldn’t have traded places with any sports fans in the world.

The scene was a gorgeous morning in Boston’s Back Bay section of town, where the Dodgers were about six hours from taking on the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the second consecutive day. The Dodger contingent were on a once-in-a-blue moon (no pun intended) trip booked through DODGERLIFE to see three games at Fenway Park and take part in several special experiences together.

 

The disappointment of a Friday night loss quickly turned to group optimism on this beautiful day and why not?  This trip had sold out prior to Opening Day and no blue clad reveler was going to let one loss put a damper on a baseball experience that they will tell stories about to their great-grandkids.

 

Brunch had already been piled on the plates and upon entering the ballroom, the ding and scrape of forks, the slush of ice water and scattered conversation immediately turned to an audible gasp and then a roar as Dodger Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda bounded down the stairs and into the room.

 

Tommy wasn’t alone as award-winning Dodger broadcaster Steve Lyons and catcher A.J. Ellis joined the crowd and all three took their place on the dais in front of the room. Many of the fans were sporting their Mannywood T-shirts, handed out to them as they entered brunch (of course, Manny would homer later in the day). However, all the fans showed true appreciation to Ellis for sharing his time, despite having to get ready to play in a few hours.

 

Lyons had the crowd alternately laughing and cheering as he led a spirited question-and-answer session that brought out the best in both Lasorda and Ellis. Tommy is one of the most sought-after speakers in the country, but A.J. more than held his own with the living legend. When the fun had ended, every fan lined up for autographs and photos with all three and the grins were as wide as the Green Monster.

 

Later that afternoon, DODGERLIFE selected 10 loyal season ticket holders to watch batting practice with their feet on the hallowed dirt of Fenway Park. On Sunday, all of the fans on the trip bonded together and wore the Mannywood T-shirts for the ESPN Sunday night game. Not a bad wardrobe choice as they were shown on TV and mentioned on the national broadcast!

 

DodgerTalk co-hosts Ken Levine and Josh Suchon were so impressed with the trip, that one lucky fan got to detail his experience for the duo on KABC 790’s DodgerTalk. 

 

Simply put, an amazing time was had by all and the Dodgers want to thank all of those who participated in truly turning Beantown into Dodgertown, Boston.

 

For more details on upcoming DODGERLIFE events, be sure and go to dodgers.com/dodgerlife.

The two-time defending NL West champion Dodgers or LSU? That’s the choice 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher Zach Lee has to make.

 

Lee is highly touted in two sports. He entered the draft rated as the 14th-best right-handed pitcher and 29th overall draft-eligible prospect by Baseball America.  Yet he was also rated as the No. 21 quarterback in the country by the top recruiting website scout.com.

 

The Dodgers grabbed the hard-throwing Lee with the 28th overall pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of McKinney High School in McKinney, TX.

 

The 195-pounder won 11 games as a senior with a 2.15 ERA and 90 strikeouts. The scouting report on the 18-year-old says that he has three above-average to plus pitches he can throw for strikes.

 

“We are happy to have selected such a fine competitive young man and athlete such as Zach,” Dodger Assistant General Manager, Scouting Logan White said. “He has a chance to be a quality Major League pitcher.”

 

Lee signed a letter of intent to play quarterback for Louisiana State University — perennially one of the top college football teams in the country. He passed for 2,565 yards with 31 touchdowns and for over 400 yards.

 

This marks the fourth time in five years that the Dodgers used their first-round pick on a Texas pitcher. In 2006, the Dodgers selected Clayton Kershaw seventh overall out of Highland Park High in Dallas. In 2007, Chris Withrow was drafted 20th overall out of Midland Christian High in Midland. Last year it was Aaron Miller, who was taken 36th overall from Baylor University.

He’s got the same sideburns.

 

The same lean as he gets the sign.

 

So what does Jonathan Broxton think of his bobblehead, which will be given out on June 8 to the first 50,000 fans in attendance when the Dodgers play the Cardinals?

 

“It’s pretty close. I think it’s going to be pretty cool to see,” said Broxton.

 

Broxton said he has only seen black and white photos of the bobblehead. He said this is a great way for fans to get closer to the Dodger closer.

 

This is the second of four scheduled Dodger bobbleheads given out at Dodger Stadium this year. On July 20, a James Loney bobblehead will be handed out when the Dodgers take on the Giants. A Matt Kemp bobblehead will be given out on Aug. 17 when the Dodgers host the Rockies.

 

“I think it’s pretty cool whoever they make it of. I think the players like it,” said Broxton.

 

Broxton said he’s sure people back home will be asking him for some. As for him, he’s not grabbing one for himself, but for his son, Jonathan Brooks, who will be celebrating his first birthday on June 11.

 

“I’ll probably put some in the room for my kid for when he grows up,” he said.