The Los Angeles Dodgers organization is not only one of the most historic in baseball, but all of sports.
In addition to winning six championships, the Dodgers have had some of the best players in MLB history wear their uniform, and also paved the way for minority athletes in all sports when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Players all throughout the league are aware of what it means to put on a Dodgers uniform. In a recent interview on “Lunchtime With Roggin and Rodney” on AM 570 LA Sports, Adrian Gonzalez explained why players view it as so special:
“It’s definitely at the top of sports and franchises and fanbases. I’ve talked to many people in other sports as well, and there’s only a few franchises in every sport that are considered that historic, that privilege to wear the jersey and play in front of that crowd type of team, franchise or city.
“From a historical perspective, you can go all the way down to the beginning. I think things that are in front of us on a yearly basis like Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and for me, being a Mexican, Fernando Valenzuela. You go on and on and on, there’s so many people and great players and historical moments that have happened in a Dodger uniform. Just being able to wear that jersey is an incredible feeling. Being able to play in a stadium that holds so many people and literally the stadium rumbles when the crowd is going crazy.
“I know that whenever I came as a visitor, that was one of the things I always talked about. When the crowd gets going, it’s an incredible atmosphere. Being able to play in front of that atmosphere is one of the best experiences in sports. It’s just incredible.”
Gonzalez played for the Dodgers from 2012-17 after being acquired in a blockbuster trade from another historic franchise in the Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers won five consecutive National League West championships while Gonzalez was with the team and he was named an All-Star once in addition to winning a Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger.
Unfortunately for Gonzalez, he was marred by injury when his time with the Dodgers came to an end. The team included the veteran first baseman in a December 2017 trade with the Atlanta Braves, who subsequently released Gonzalez.
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