The situation unfolding in the Southland is a once-in-a-lifetime possibility, and although looking ahead is considered taboo, with the Angels and Dodgers both prospering early in their post-season runs, it is hard not to dream.
The table is set for the MLB League Championship Series with the Angels and Dodgers each earning a spot in the four-team field, creating the potential for a first-ever Freeway World Series.
“I think it is great for the state of California, especially since it is in L.A.,” said diehard Angels fan and LBSU student Mike Iacano.
The Dodgers and Angels have never reached the League Championship Series in the same season; however, both clubs will face formidable opponents on their path to a title.
The Dodgers will square off with the Philadelphia Phillies in a rematch of last year’s NLCS in which the eventual World Series champion Phillies came out on top in five games.
“I would love to see a Dodgers-Angels freeway series, mainly because I missed the last Dodger Championship by two months, and I think it would be great to introduce SoCal baseball to the entire world,” LBSU Dodgers fan Derek Watts said.
The Dodgers overwhelmed the highly-touted St. Louis Cardinals despite having to go against Cy Young front-runners Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.
They took command of the series in Game 2, thanks in part to an error-induced two-out rally in the bottom of the ninth that resulted in two runs and a game-winning single from pinch-hitter Mark Loretta.
The Angels are matched up with the New York Yankees, who totaled an MLB-leading 103 wins during the regular season.
The Halos’ success in the first round was predicated on quality starting pitching, a large portion of which came courtesy of Jered Weaver, a former Dirtbag at Long Beach State.
Weaver received guidance from pitching coach Troy Buckley, who returned to the team this year after serving two years as the coordinator of minor league pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Weaver went 15-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 213 strikeouts in 2004.
The Angels clinched a spot in the ALCS courtesy of a ninth inning two-out rally of their own. Trailing 6-4 in Game 3, Bobby Abreu doubled with runners on first and second plating Eric Aybar and igniting a three-run rally. Vladimir Guerrero then delivered what would prove to be the series clinching two-run single with the bases loaded.
The only World Series staged in California between local adversaries was in 1989 between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants. The matchup was dubbed the “Bay Bridge Series” and the A’s swept their Bay Area counterparts in four games.
The series is most remembered for the devastating Loma Prieta Earthquake, which occurred on Oct. 17 at the beginning of Game 3 and caused a 10-day delay in action.