My dad died almost exactly two years ago. He was an attorney before being appointed as an Admin Law Judge by Pete Wilson, and a whole bunch of his work was in LA. So even though I grew up in Sac, in summers I'd frequently go with my dad to LA for those trips, and most of those would include a Dodger game. Probably did a half dozen of those between 1986 and 1991.

My bro who was five years older than me was my second hero and he came on a few of those same trips. Dodger dogs and Chavez Ravine were epic.

And such a stark contrast to the freezing concrete confines of Candlestick where I had my other baseball experiences. Also, in blue and white, the Dodgers wore the Lord's colors.

In 1988 my parents were out of town for a conference on Oct 15 and my bro - then 18 proposed driving us down to LA and try to get tickets. We didn't fully factor how difficult that was going to be but ended up at some relatives in Glendale watching the Gibson HR in Dodger town and that adventure of getting down there is the last clear recollection I have of my bro (who was bipolar and took his life almost to the day, one year later) having pure fun and joy in doing something.

So since I get asked why I'm a Dodger fan from Nor Cal, that's why. The Giants and their Halloween color unis can suck it.