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This Week in Freudenfreude: Fires, Meet Water Bearer

This week, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner gave an interview that was somewhere between "tacky" and "insulting." Engaging in a line of carping that is popular among baseball fans these days, he lamented how much money the Los Angeles Dodgers have laid out in salaries in the past year or so, adding "It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing."

Certainly, it is not fun for fans of lesser teams (say Z, a fan of the Angels) to watch the Dodgers seemingly snap up all the best players. That said, an honest broker has to admit that while the team has certainly benefited from its financial largesse, it has also benefited from building a top-notch organization that players want to play for. That's how they got Shohei Ohtani, who took a steep discount to play for the boys in blue. That's also how they got Roki Sasaki, who, under MLB rules, would have earned the same salary regardless of the team he chose.

Meanwhile, Steinbrenner seems to forget—or, probably more accurately, hopes listeners will forget—exactly who he is. He is the owner of the New York freaking Yankees, which is the fourth-most-valuable sports franchise, and most valuable baseball team in the world, at $7.55 billion. The team brings in nearly $700 million in revenue a year. If the Yankees wanted to compete financially with, well, any team, they have the means to do so. It is not the Dodgers' fault if Steinbrenner chooses not to do so.

We note all of this as prelude to the actual focal point of this item, which is indeed the Dodgers. They are the water bearers referred to in the headline—not literally, perhaps, but metaphorically. For those unfamiliar with Los Angeles geography, Dodger Stadium is located on a fairly tall hill, just north of downtown. That means that the recent fires did not quite threaten the stadium, although they came pretty close. Certainly, anyone who was working in the stadium would have been able to see some of the conflagration as it was underway. On top of that, the team is a big part of the fabric of Los Angeles culture, on par with the Los Angeles Lakers, and far exceeding any other sporting concern (oh, and Lakers legend Magic Johnson is a part-owner of the Dodgers, and so has his toes in both of those ponds).

In view of all of this, the Dodgers have responded to the fires, and the need to rebuild, in remarkable fashion. Team leadership, including Johnson and Dodgers chairman Mark Walter, have formed an organization called LA Rises, which will coordinate corporate philanthropy directed toward rebuilding efforts. The team has also used Dodger Stadium as a hub, at which goods needed by families (food, clothing, baby strollers) are distributed. The Dodgers are also going to host a number of benefit events, to raise funds. And the team's leadership has committed to donating a minimum of one hundred million dollars to recovery efforts.

In short: Way to go, Dodgers. The team has a reputation for being civic-minded, and is certainly living up to that. Meanwhile, anytime they make the World Series in the next five years (which they will probably do more than once), only fans of the opposing team are authorized to root against the Blue Crew.

Have a good weekend, all! (Z)



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