Blue-shirted fans swarmed through Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, but there was a group that clearly stood out from the rest. Sporting blue t-shirts that declared “Biola loves the Dodgers,” the crowd in the right-field bleachers had enough enthusiasm to make the wave travel around the entire stadium.
1,700 Biola supporters bought tickets to Dodger Day, a chance to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks and to see Biola’s new president, Dr. Barry Corey, throw the first pitch.
Along with the ticket came the blue Dodger Day t-shirt, a red visor with the centennial logo on it and all-you-can-eat Dodger dogs, drinks, popcorn and nachos. “It was good this year,” senior SOS leader Andrew Bucek said. “It was fun to have a good turnout.”
The entertainment began at 12:30 p.m. with Hapkido performances by martial arts students of all ages. Several studios that teach the Korean martial art brought their students and did flips and fights for the early crowd.
President Corey was given the privilege of throwing the ceremonial first pitch of the game. The pitch was a little high and to the right, but made it all the way to the glove of his extremely tall catcher.
“I was so nervous and didn’t want the ball to dribble to home plate, so I sort of overcompensated,” Corey said. Corey expressed gratitude for his post-major league catcher.“Otherwise I would have hit the lady who was supposed to sing the national anthem, and I would have had to sing too,” Corey said. “And that wouldn’t have been good.”
However, Corey’s slightly off pitch didn’t disappoint Biola fans at all. The cheering and screaming from the Biola section of the bleachers was deafening, and Corey turned to the Biola section and waved.“It was a surreal big-league feeling on the field, with my name announced, my picture on the Jumbotron, and the fans cheering,” Corey said. “It was an incredible moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Corey’s son Anders was also allowed to go onto the field with his father to witness the pitch. While on the field, he picked up a handful of dirt that he later put in a plastic bag and labeled “Dodger Dirt” to have as a memory.
The day will be remembered by many Biola students, parents and alumni as one of the hottest days they have experienced at the ballpark.“The heat was really bad,” freshman Taylor Walpus said. “I left for three innings to stand by the fan.”
Bucek took part in the traditional painting of the chests of freshman males. He painted the freshmen and had an exclamation point on his own chest. However, he was disappointed to find out that the heat had gotten to him. “It was so hot, and I was shirtless for long enough that the area where my chest was not painted is now more tan than the area that was painted,” Bucek said.
The heat seemed to have gotten to some fan’s heads as well. A man wearing a straitjacket and baseball cleats ran out onto the corner of right field in the bottom of the sixth inning and ran across the entire field, finally being tackled in front of the dugout on the third baseline after eluding at least seven security guards on the field. The man was handcuffed and escorted off the field.
The man has not been named and his fate is unknown; however, according to the Los Angeles Dodgers Fan Code of Conduct “… fans must not go onto the field, throw objects onto the field or interfere with balls in play. Violation will result in immediate ejection and/or arrest and prosecution.”
Despite the heat and the Dodger loss of 6-1, the game was an overall success. The freshmen SOS students enjoyed the experience even though they may not have necessarily wanted to root for the Dodgers. “I thought it was pretty good,” freshman Rachel Young said, “but I like the Angels better.”
