Fans bracing for an Astros return
First series with a crowd vs. Houston since controversy
A Dodger fan named Javier Gonzalez posted a picture to a Facebook group on Monday of his latest Amazon purchase: Two Tshirts he and his wife are planning to wear to today’s game against the Houston Astros.
One shirt features a trash can surrounded by the words “Bang Bang Changeup.” The other features a baseball bat hitting a trash can, with the words “Swangin & Bangin.” A commenter asked where he could get the T-shirts too. He was planning to attend Wednesday’s game.
T-shirts are a relatively minor concern for Dodger Stadium security with the Astros coming to town.
Since the last time fans were allowed to watch a Dodgers-Astros game in person, in August of 2018, a cheating scandal tarnished the Astros’ 2017 season, which culminated in a seven-game World Series victory against the Dodgers. The scandal inspired an investigation by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, multiple suspensions, two
books, a serial podcast, and a minor kerfuffle between the players when they met last year in Houston.
While the Dodgers’ players might have had time to resolve their angst in person, it’s a different story for fans.
“I think that our fans have waited a long time to have these guys at our place,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Last September, when the Astros visited Los Angeles for an interleague series amid pandemic-era restrictions, fans were prevented from entering Dodger Stadium. Instead, they brought chairs and megaphones and trash cans and waited outside the stadium entrance for the team bus to arrive before voicing their feelings.
A Dodgers spokesperson declined to comment on the expected security presence in the stadium for this two-game series, citing company policy. The area where fans congregated outside the main entrance is not private property but rather maintained by the City of Los Angeles.
Now that stadium capacity has returned to normal across the country, many fans have been willing and able to voice their displeasure whenever the Astros come to town.
In May, when the Astros visited Yankee Stadium for the first time since news of the cheating scandal broke, a scene emerged.
Private vendors sold foam fingers with the words “steal this sign” printed on them – and the middle finger, not the index finger, extended. Astros players were booed and heckled from the beginning of batting practice until the end of the game. Videos circulated of a fan who was apparently ejected after standing atop a guard rail in left field, yelling at the Astros while making an obscene gesture.
Unlike the Yankees, the Dodgers awoke Monday with a good chance of seeing the Astros in the playoffs. They’re 64-43, the second-best record in the National League. Houston is 64-42, tied for the best record in the American