Although Andre Ethier was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 2003, the entirety of his 12-year Major League career came with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ethier made his MLB debut in 2006, quickly became an everyday player and finished as one of the more beloved members of the organization.
Even as injuries limited Ethier on the field during the final seasons of his career, he remained a positive presence in the clubhouse and was touted by Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson and others for his impact.
In August 2018, the Dodgers held a retirement ceremony for Ethier at Dodger Stadium. He had hoped to continue playing beyond the 2017 campaign but an opportunity never materialized. Now a third year into retirement, Ethier is a regular guest on “Dodger Talk” with David Vassegh.
During this week’s show the former outfielder shared how Dodgers executive vice president and chief marketing officer Lon Rosen arranged for team photographer Jon SooHoo to take a photo from home plate that Ethier used to line his batting cage:
“Jon SooHoo, our team photographer, took a photo of the outfield wall from home plate. SooHoo took a photo from home plate, real high resolution photo, and then I had a vinyl wrap company blow it up and they wallpapered the entire wall in my batting cage to have the outfield wall, grand stands, tree and sky of Dodger Stadium.
“When my kids go out there or I get out there, I can still feel like I’m in Dodger Stadium. … I was lucky and fortunate enough to play in that stadium for 12 years, and I never want to forget it. That’s me being truthful, the honest, 12- or 15-year-old version of me.
“I didn’t know what Dodger Stadium meant to Angelenos and baseball. Now, getting to realize I played in that stadium and getting to see that view for I don’t know how many thousands of at-bats, being able to see that outfield wall, what you see is priceless. I never wanted to forget that.”
Ethier was a two-time All-Star, won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, and finished his career batting .285/.359/.463 while having appeared in 1,455 games. He retired with a Dodgers franchise record of 51 postseason games played, though that was broken by Yasiel Puig as he reached 58 in 2018.
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