Mookie Betts earns the cheers fans waited to give him on Reopening Day
by Rowan Kavner
A clip of Hall of Famer Vin Scully played on the DodgerVision boards encouraging those in attendance to join him for “It’s Time For Dodger Baseball.” Tens of thousands of fans obliged after listening to Clayton Kershaw address the crowd and country star Brad Paisley sing the national anthem. For the next nine innings, it didn’t get any quieter Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.
The crowd’s roar brought a different type of ring, with the crescendo of cheers growing louder as each inning and hour passed on Reopening Day at Dodger Stadium. The stadium had long ditched the cardboard cutouts of last season for the real thing, but Tuesday marked another giant leap forward as 52,078 fans — the largest crowd to watch a U.S. professional sports league game since the start of the pandemic — packed the house for the stadium’s first full-capacity game since 2019.
Many of them wore Mookie Betts jerseys but had never seen the prized 2020 acquisition play in person. He gave them a performance to remember in a 5–3 win against the Phillies.
“I’m just happy and thankful we finally got this day,” said Betts, who sparked the loudest cheers of the night with a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning before adding to the lead with an RBI single an inning later.
For the first 33 home games of the year, an average of 15,986 fans graced a reduced-capacity Dodger Stadium. Prior to Tuesday, the Dodgers’ previous high attendance for a game this year was 20,220. As grateful as players were to get any fans back this season, Tuesday served as a reminder of what Dodger Stadium feels like when it’s fully rocking. It was the latest step in a return toward normalcy.
“Reopening Day” looked and felt a lot more like an Opening Day — from the pregame ceremonies to players lining up down the baselines to start the game. The Dodgers even wore their special-edition gold-trimmed jerseys and caps celebrating last year’s championship to mark the occasion. Little moments, from an actual first pitch on the field to “Let’s Go Dodgers” chants, seemed a little more appreciated.
“I’ve said it a million times, we have the best fans in baseball,” said Justin Turner, whose bobblehead was given out before the game. “When it gets loud in Dodger Stadium, it’s like no other place.”
The Dodgers provided reasons to cheer throughout the night.
Will Smith put the Dodgers ahead to start the game on a run-scoring force out in the first inning. When Andrew McCutchen answered with a home run off Julio Urías an inning later, Zach McKinstry put the Dodgers back ahead with an RBI double. After starting 2-for-23 in his return from the injured list, McKinstry has five hits in his last 10 at-bats.
As much as the crowd enjoyed recapturing the lead, they shared an even greater appreciation for the next run on Urías’ second double of the year and his eighth RBI of the season, which leads all Major League pitchers. He has knocked in runs in each of his last five starts.
Again, the advantage would be short-lived. The Dodger defense committed three errors on the night, including two in a game-tying two-run fifth inning for the Phillies. Urías departed in a tie game after 5 2/3 innings to an ovation from a crowd looking for any reason to revel.
The blunders threatened to dampen the party, but Betts ensured they wouldn’t with his late-inning heroics. He said he stopped to take in the sound of all the fans in attendance the first couple innings before tuning out the noise and getting “back to business.”
His seventh inning homer, and the victory it catalyzed, sounded different than any of the Dodgers’ first 40 wins of the year.
“Our fans, as far as full capacity, haven’t had a chance to watch him in person for quite some time,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Most fans haven’t had that chance. For them to get here, you hope your superstar player performs. A go-ahead homer, it was a big jolt. The dugout felt it. The fans felt it.”
