CHAVEZ RAVINE, Calif. — Playoff baseball has arrived at Dodger Stadium for the eighth straight season.
But for the first time, the division series will not be hosted by the Dodgers, but rather the Oakland A’s and the Houston Astros.
What You Need To Know
- Dodger Stadium will host the ALDS this week as a secure bubble location
- The Oakland A's and Houston Astros will be the teams occupying the stadium
- MLB used the Dodger Stadium crew and hired local workers to help make it a neutral site
- Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be playing in a Texas bubble for the NLDS
Jeremiah Yolkut is the man overseeing the stadium’s Major League Baseball takeover. With the help of the Dodgers' crew, MLB has hired local workers to help transform the stadium for Houston and Oakland.
“We have several companies in the mix now that are putting people to work, that maybe didn’t have a project, because we’re coming to town,” said Yolkut.
Some of the most iconic images of the stadium have been changed, from the top of the dugout to the classic outfield wall, which was taken down in order to put up new playoff signage.
But the beauty of Chavez Ravine remains. When it came to choosing bubble sites for the playoffs, Dodger Stadium was a no-brainer.
"It’s one of our iconic ballparks and treasures of the game,” said Yolkut. “Southern California in general, as well as the two venues in Texas — between the weather, and obviously the venues in Texas having roofs — it really assures that we can get the games in.”
DJ Severe has been used to playing only for Dodger players for 10 years. He now has to learn how to play for two new teams and what they like.
“I want to make sure that their rally songs that they have, and their batting songs they listen to is as normal for them as possible,” he said.
But this includes playing for the Astros, who have been trolling on social media, as a reminder they won the World Series in this very stadium.
“I will be a gracious host in my house to whoever is here. I got a job to do, and they made it. They made it back to the dance,” DJ Severe continued.
None of that is Yolkut’s concern. He just wants to make sure baseball crowns a champion with a coronavirus-free playoff.
“Create zones within the ballpark that only tier-one and tier-two personnel, that are sort of in the bubble, are operating in," he said.
The bubble-secure zone away from the ballpark includes a hotel in Pasadena and a safe busing system, where the players don’t even have contact with the drivers.