Arellano: He's Just Happy To Root For The Dodgers Again After Almost Dying During The Last World Series - Beritaja

There was about apt nary Dodgers instrumentality much grateful to spot the Blue Crew suffer severely successful the opening crippled of the World Series than Conrado Contreras. See, the 75-year-old was happy to bask any Fall Classic astatine all.

A twelvemonth agone tomorrow , the Zacatecas autochthonal suffered a bosom onslaught and mild changeable successful the moments aft seeing his Dodgers triumph Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. He spent 3 days successful a medically induced coma astatine St. Francis Medical Center successful Lynwood and regained consciousness to news from jubilant nurses that the Dodgers had won the championship.

The lifelong shot instrumentality had nary thought what they were talking about. His passion for the athletics was mislaid on pinch his memory.

When family members put connected highlights from the 2024 title during his rehabilitation astatine a session successful Gardena passim the extremity of the year, the erstwhile carpenter would motion and alteration the channel. When personification told him that legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela had died, Contreras swore that he had conscionable seen his chap Mexican transportation astatine the stadium.

It wasn’t until the 2025 shot play came on that Contreras’ mind began to genuinely rebound. He watched games from his longtime location successful the unincorporated Florence-Graham vicinity and learned to emotion the Dodgers anew. But he didn’t cheer for illustration before. Contreras followed doctor’s orders to enactment calm erstwhile the Dodgers were losing alternatively of cursing for illustration the past and softly applaud erstwhile the squad was winning erstwhile he would’ve antecedently roared.

He’s the father-in-law of my sister Alejandrina. And I wanted to bent retired pinch Don Conrado for Game 1 of this year’s World Series to acquisition fandom successful each its mortality.

Wearing a flat-brimmed fedora and a bluish Dodgers 2024 World Series champion, I caught Contreras conscionable arsenic he was entering my sister’s Norwalk location holding connected to his walker pinch the thief of Alejandrina’s husband, Conrad. His begetter talks slower than he utilized to and can’t thrust anymore, but Contreras is erstwhile again the aforesaid man his family knows: witty, observant and baseball-crazy.

A schoolyard pitcher successful his hometown of Monte Escobedo, Contreras fell successful pinch the Dodgers almost arsenic soon arsenic he migrated to the United States successful 1970 to subordinate a relative successful Highland Park. He utilized to be games each week “when $10 sewage 2 group into the stadium and you could besides eat a basking dog,” Contreras told maine successful Spanish earlier Game 1 began.

His stories from those years were immaculate. Don Sutton throwing a shutout. The Cincinnati Reds ever “ready to play to the death.” Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell hitting a location tally retired of Dodger Stadium successful 1973 “and each of america conscionable staring supra our heads successful awe.”

Contreras was specified a instrumentality that he took his pregnant woman Mary to watch Valenzuela transportation connected the time successful 1983 that Conrad was owed because they were giving retired “I (Heart) Fernando” T-shirts, an anecdote that near their boy flabbergasted.

“What happened to the shirt?” Conrad asked his mom successful Spanish.

“I threw it away,” replied the 61-year-old Mary.

“They’d costs a batch of money now!” he groaned.

“They were cheap! The colour really faded fast.”

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way subordinate Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run location tally during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series betwixt the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays astatine Roger Centre connected Friday successful Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays won, 11-4.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The family continued to be games done Conrad’s teenage years but stopped “when moreover the birds couldn’t spend to attend,” Mary said. Conrad, 42, thinks the past clip he went to a crippled pinch his dada was “at least” 20 years ago. But they regularly watched games connected television. It was he who administered the CPR a twelvemonth agone that saved his dad’s life.

“He was stepping about the location angry each that game,” Conrad said.

“No, well, Roberto was making maine mad,” Conrado replied, his nickname for Dodgers head Dave Roberts. “But I can’t get huffy anymore.”

I asked really he thought this year’s bid would go. He mentioned Shohei Ohtani, whom he kept calling el japonés in a respectful reside because, well, his representation could beryllium fuzzy.

“He strikes retired excessively much, but erstwhile he hits it, he hits it. If he plays for illustration that, they triumph the series. But if Toronto hits, hide it.”

One much mobility earlier crippled time, the 1 excessively galore wide Latino Dodgers fans are belly-aching complete correct now: is it ethical to guidelines for the team considering they haven’t been excessively vocal successful opposing Donald Trump’s deportation run and proprietor Mark Walter has investments successful companies that are profiting from it?

“Sports shouldn’t get into politics, but each sports owners are pinch Trompas,” he said, utilizing a nickname I’ve heard much than a fewer rancho libertarians usage for Trump. He shrugged.

“So what’s 1 to do? They kept la migra out of the stadium,” referring to an unsuccessful June effort by national agents to participate the stadium parking lot. “If the squad had allowed that, past there’d beryllium a immense problem.”

Mary wasn’t arsenic sympathetic. “Latinos shouldn’t fto the Dodgers disconnected truthful easy. But erstwhile Latinos surrender, they surrender.”

It was crippled time.

Conrad slipped into a grey Dodgers distant jersey to lucifer his achromatic squad cap. My sister, an Angels follower for immoderate reason, wore a Kiké Hernández T-shirt “because he stands pinch immigrants.”

“The only bully point about the Dodgers is that they aren’t winning pinch a gringo,” said Mary, who really doesn’t attraction overmuch about shot because she finds it boring. “It’s personification [Ohtani] who doesn’t want to speak English who’s winning it for them.”

Her hubby smiled.

“Let’s spot if Mary gets into baseball.”

“That’ll beryllium the real miracle,” she snapped back.

Contreras rubbed his hands successful glee arsenic the Dodgers went up 2-0 successful the apical of the 3rd and simply frowned erstwhile the Blue Jays tied it successful the bottommost of the 4th while we were enjoying takeout from Taco Nazo. “His anger comes successful waves, it’s a trip,” Conrad said. “He’s calmer but se enoja.”

“Who?” Conrado deadpanned.

When Dodger starting pitcher Blake Snell near the crippled pinch the bases loaded and nary 1 retired successful the bottommost of the sixth, Contreras shook his caput successful disgust but kept his sound calm.

“This is what gets maine mad. They should’ve taken him retired agelong ago, but Roberto didn’t. This is what I was acrophobic of. When Toronto get on, they get on. They won’t extremity until they destroy.”

Sure enough, the Blue Jays erupted for 9 runs that inning, including a two-run blast by catcher Alejandro Kirk, who had sparked the Jays’ first rally a fewer innings earlier.

Earlier successful the game, Alejandrina had told Conrado that Kirk was a Tijuana native. The pridefulness successful shared roots, albeit generations apart, took a small spot of sting disconnected his location run, which made the people a humiliating 11-2.

“Thank goodness he’s Mexican,” Conrado told his son, patting his knee. “That’s what’s near for us” to beryllium happy about the game.

An inning later, Contreras began to consciousness woozy. His sweetener level was elevated. Mary took disconnected his overgarment to hole his insulin device. My sister’s corgi, Penny, jumped onto the sofa and laic connected his lap.

“They do cognize erstwhile personification someone’s ill, right?” he said to nary 1 earlier scratching Penny’s tummy and cooing, “You cognize I’m ill, right? I’m ill!”

When the “massacre” yet ended, Contreras remained philosophical.

“It’s unthinkable that I’m capable to spot this. But I’m still malo. My feet hurt, my representation isn’t what it utilized to be, my consciousness of equilibrium isn’t there. But there’s the Dodgers. But they request to win.”

Conrad went to the chamber to drawback his father’s walker.

“Do you want a Toronto garment now?” he joked.

His dada stared silently. “No, that would springiness maine different bosom attack.”