It is less than 24 hours until the first Spring Training game of 2009, and a little over a month until my first visit of the year to Dodger Stadium for the exhibition game vs the Anaheim Angels! So I figure I will take this opportunity to tell you a little about my love for the Dodgers.

The first thing to set me on the path to being a Dodgers fan was in Elementary School reading the book Thank You, Jackie Robinson. Baseball had always been my favorite sport, and since I couldn’t play it worth a lick, I wanted to be a stat encyclopedia just like the main character in that book. I never achieved that goal, but that was the beginning. The World Series victory in ‘88 solidified the Dodgers as my team. Even though I was an Orange County kid, the Angels just didn’t have what the Dodgers had. The first Major League Baseball game I can remember attending was a Dodger game. Although I mostly only remember it because of the trouble we got in for throwing pop n snaps we had bought on Olvera Street before the game, and it being the location of my first ever celebrity sighting (one of the kids from Home Improvement.) And even though I didn’t become a true baseball fan until recent years, The Dodgers have always stuck with me. From Orange County, through my move to Brooklyn, and then back to my current home and most logical place to be a Dodger fan - Los Angeles.

So welcome to my Dodgers blog. I might be a little slow getting going but once the season starts (or as soon as we sign Manny) You’ll be getting a constant barrage of Dodgers.

Your pal,
~Ben