LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: A general view is seen as fighter jets fly over stadium during the National Anthem before the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES — The echoes of last October’s triumph still reverberated through Chavez Ravine as the Los Angeles Dodgers kicked off their 2025 home slate in the most Hollywood way possible.
The pregame festivities began with a blue carpet that stretched all the way from center field to the infield, a royal procession for the reigning champions. Fireworks cracked, smoke billowed, and the stars—both on and off the field—delivered a spectacle that was as much a celebration as it was a baseball game.
The Dodgers, fresh off their 2024 World Series victory, made sure Opening Day at Dodger Stadium felt like a coronation.
Following the player introductions, Ice Cube, a lifelong Dodgers fan and LA icon, made his entrance in a vintage Dodger blue convertible, the 2024 Commissioner’s Trophy gleaming beside him in the passenger seat like a prized passenger.
With the crowd already at a fever pitch, two F-15C aircrafts from the 144th Fight Wing in Fresno, California and two F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the 63rd Fighter Squadron of Luke Air Force Base in Arizona screamed across the sky as Josh Groban delivered a stirring rendition of the national anthem, shaking the stadium with a sonic boom of patriotism and nostalgia.
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Then came the moment that felt like it was scripted in the stars.
Kirk Gibson, the MLB MVP for the Dodgers in 1988, took the mound for the ceremonial first pitch, his presence alone enough to send chills down the spines of Dodger fans.
His target? Freddie Freeman, the man whose walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the Yankees mirrored Gibson’s legendary shot from Game 1 in 1988. As the two embraced at home plate, the symbolism was undeniable: a passing of the torch from one Dodgers legend to another, bound by history, pain, and postseason glory.
The festivities weren’t over. Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, and the rest of the Dodgers ownership group hoisted the towering 2024 championship flag in center field, a banner that will cast its shadow over the grass all season long.
In right field, first responders from the Los Angeles and Pasadena fire departments unveiled the latest addition to the Dodgers’ championship plaques—a reminder of both triumph and the resilience of a city that endured its share of battles beyond baseball.
With the past honored and the present celebrated, it was time to turn the page to the future. On the mound, Blake Snell made his Dodgers debut, the two-time Cy Young Award winner showing flashes of the dominance LA expects from him. He battled through five innings, surrendering two runs but keeping the game within reach.
Shohei Ohtani, the global phenomenon, electrified the stadium with his first home run of the 2025 season at Dodger Stadium, an opposite field shot that sent the crowd–including the celebrities in attendance–into a frenzy.
When the smoke from the fireworks dissipated, the Dodgers once again walked off the field victorious. Improving to a perfect 3-0 on the season, the first time a defending champion has started their title defense undefeated through the first three games since the 2001 New York Yankees–the last team to repeat as World Series champions.
Snell earned his first win with the Dodgers, and as the players walked off the field, the echoes of victory–both past and present–lingered. The Dodgers aren’t just defending champions; they’re a force, a dynasty in motion. And on this night, Opening Day wasn’t just about beginning a new season. It was about reliving the magic, honoring the legends, and proving that, in Los Angeles, the drama is always bigger, the stakes always higher, and the moments always unforgettable.
