Tim Rogers
The Dodgers Fan Fest of 2023 is in the books. It was quite a day as the big news was the announcement that the Dodgers are going to retire Fernando Valenzuela‘s number 34 in August.
#Retire34 Is Retired
For many years the Dodgers have wanted them to retire the number of Fernando Valenzuela. Stan Kasten made the big announcement on February 4, 2023.
Although we are a prospect site, this is news that will ripple through the organization as the man who changed Dodger baseball in Los Angeles is getting the required recognition. In my opinion, he was such a game-changer that he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I wrote about it in November 2018 for Dodgers Nation.
New Additions to Dodgers 2080
Earlier in the week we added Steve Douglas to our staff. At Fan Fest, we finalized bringing on Baseball Gail. These are two great additions to our staff.
Prospects Galore
There were many opportunities to interact with some of the top prospects of the Dodgers farm system. Diego Cartaya, Miguel Vargas, Ryan Pepiot, Michael Busch, André Jackson, and Michael Grove we available for either autographs or selfies.
I had a couple of brief chats. With Michael Grove we spoke about his possible role with the Dodgers and, as expected, he is ready to do whatever the Dodgers ask of him. I met Michael Busch for the first time as I asked him about playing left field. The man just wants to get in the lineup. Both of these Michaels are ready to do what it takes to play at the big league level. They are talented and ready to go. It is just a matter of them getting the opportunity.
New Guys
Some of the bigger additions were also at Fan Fest including Noah Syndergaard and Miguel Rojas.
Some of the news later in the day was learning that the Dodgers had signed Miguel Rojas to a 1-year extension with a 1-year option for 2025.
Final Thoughts
It was great that Fan Fest was able to return after being canceled in 2021 and 2022 with a modified version in 2020. Seeing all the fans get together to kick off the new season is always a blast. Spring Training is less than two weeks away!
My favorite part of the day in which I got to play a small part:
