Dodgers will honor Jaime Jarrín on Saturday at Dodger Stadium

Sep 30, 2022 - 12:04 PM

Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H0WSgU3blLyAGPvPfo_fkIeXz4o=/0x0:8001x4501/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71434955/usa_today_19104162.0.jpg" />

Only home games remain for the Dodgers, at least until October 14, the date of Game 3 of the National League Division Series. On Saturday, before the second game of a six-game series against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will honor legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, who is retiring after 64 seasons behind the microphone.

Saturday’s pregame ceremony will include Jarrín’s broadcast partners Fernando Valenzuela and Pepe Yniguez, plus Edward James Olmos and a few city and state officials. Stefan Jarrín, Jaime’s grandson who played second base for parts of two years (2011-12) in the Dodgers minors, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Jarrín announced last September that 2022 would be his final season calling games, saying, “Doing baseball has been a vacation for me, not work.”

Though he’s called only home games the last few seasons, Jarrín was in San Diego this week, honored by the Padres before Tuesday’s game, the welcoming party including Padres chairman Peter Seidler, grandson of longtime Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley.

Jarrín’s career with the Dodgers began in 1959, their second year in Los Angeles, so he’s been around for so many indelible moments in franchise history.

Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times profiled the 86-year-old icon ahead of his final series on the job, a comprehensive piece with plenty of great stories. Among them was this sweet note:

The best memories on the job, Jarrín said, were cultivated during those days on the road. He recalled the times Lasorda would call him in the wee hours of the morning, after a tough loss, to accompany him on long walks. The two would stroll through the streets of National League cities at dawn.

Castillo reported in the story that Jarrín, who has not called road games since 2019, will be with the team for their entire postseason run.

Links

• Jon Weisman’s chapter on Jarrín from his ‘100 Things Dodgers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’ book was excerpted this week at Variety.
• Julio Urías ditched his windup in favor of pitching from the stretch late in the 2020 season, and has since reeled off an impressive two-year run that this year has him leading the National League in ERA. Teammates and coaches alike marvel at the left-hander’s consistency in this Fabian Ardaya profile of Urías at The Athletic.
• In a survey of over 200 major league players from writers at The Athletic on various postseason topics, nearly 40 percent picked the Dodgers to win the World Series this year. Said one anonymous player: “Dodgers don’t have any holes, complete from pitching, hitting, defense, they can do it all.”
• After following two 106-win seasons and a .717-win-percentage championship year with a season of 107 wins and counting, the Dodgers get their due from Craig Calcaterra at his Cup of Coffee newsletter: “It’s crazy to say in this day and age that any sports accomplishment is under-appreciated, especially with a team with a huge city like L.A., but I honestly do not think we appreciate what the Dodgers have done these past several years as much as we should.”
• With five of six divisions already decided with a week remaining on the schedule, and hardly any races that matter, MLB expanded playoffs turned the regular season into a snoozefest, says J.P. Hoornstra at the Orange County Register.
• The Dodgers have excelled in several areas this year, but especially so on high-velocity pitches, visualized by Mike Petriello at MLB.com: