Photos: Fans roll to Dodger Stadium ‘drive-in’ for NL Championship Series

Did you hear those cheers at Dodger Stadium as Justin Turner slugged a first-inning single on Monday night, Oct. 12?

Not this time. Those were hundreds of car horns.

In this strangest of Major League Baseball seasons, hundreds of True Blue fans rolled into an impromptu drive-in to to watch as the Dodgers opened the National League Championship Series far away at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

There would be no world-famous Dodger Dogs, no ice-cold beers, no chance to catch a foul ball from a favorite player.

Nonetheless, this week fans are paying $75 to come to the stadium for a drive-in viewing party on 60-foot screens in the stadium parking lot. Instead of the public address system, a broadcast via the vehicles’ FM radios provided the play-by-play.

This is truly socially distanced devotion, Southern California style.

“We have the best fans in baseball, and the support of Dodger fans has meant so much to us this year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said in a press release. “We wish we could be playing in front of 56,000 fans at Dodger Stadium Monday, but we’re excited that the Dodgers have created a safe way for the community to come together and hopefully cheer us on to the World Series.”

Cars, trucks and vans flying Dodger flags and banners filled the lot. With no concessions available, fans were encouraged to bring their own refreshments — though alcoholic libations were not allowed.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, fans were not allowed in most major league stadiums for the shortened baseball season. The Dodgers won their eighth straight National League West title, playing in front of cardboard cut-outs of their usual loyalists with canned fan chatter and cheering piped in for “atmosphere.”

Mirroring the NBA’s one-site “bubble,” MLB officials opted to play each playoff series in a single city to limit travel and potential exposure to the virus. L.A. got to open the playoffs at home, but they won’t be back at Dodger Stadium, even if they advance to the World Series, which will also be played in Arlington. Hope the BBQ is really good.

LA fans are hopeful that the Dodgers will end their World Series drought in 2020. The Blue Crew last won baseball’s world championship in 1988. They’ve advanced to two straight World Series, but lost both.

So instead of gladly ponying up a small fortune for playoff tickets, LA’s title-famished fans filled their tanks, packed their snacks and headed for Chavez Ravine.

If you’d like to join the party during the rest of the NL series, admission is $75 per car and must be purchased in advance online at Dodgers.com/DriveIn.

Parking gates will open for the Dodger Stadium Drive-In one hour prior to game time, team officials said.

No outdoor seating is permitted, and social distancing and mandatory face coverings will be enforced should fans need to access restrooms, which will be sanitized regularly.

And, of course, make sure your vehicle’s horn is functioning.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Source: Orange County Register