There probably wasn't a single Dodgers fan who would have been more pleased to see The Blue Crew lost big in Game 1 of the World Series. than Conrado Contreras. You see, the 75-year-old man was happy to enjoy any An autumn classic in general.
A year ago tomorrow, a Zacatecas native suffered a heart attack and a minor stroke immediately after seeing his The Dodgers won Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees.. He spent three days in a medically induced coma at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and regained consciousness after hearing news from cheering nurses that the Dodgers had won the championship.
The avid baseball fan had no idea what they were talking about. His passion for sports was lost along with his memory.
When family members recounted the highlights of the 2024 championship during his rehab at Gardena's end-of-year clinic, the former carpenter would shrug and change the channel. When someone told him this Legendary Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela diesContreras swore he had just seen his fellow Mexican's pitch in the stadium.
It wasn't until the 2025 baseball season arrived that Contreras's mind began to truly come into focus. He watched games from his longtime home in unincorporated Florence-Graham and developed a newfound love for the Dodgers. But he was not as happy as before. Contreras followed his doctor's instructions to remain calm when the Dodgers lost, instead of cursing as he had in the past, and to quietly applaud when the team won, when previously he would have roared.
He is my sister Alejandrina's father-in-law. And I wanted to hang out with Don Conrado during Game 1 of this year's World Series, to experience fandom in all its mortality.
Wearing a flat-brimmed hat and a blue 2024 World Series champion Dodgers T-shirt, I caught Contreras as he entered my sister's home in Norwalk, holding onto a walker, with the help of Alejandrina's husband, Conrad. His father speaks slower than before and can no longer drive, but Contreras is back to being the same man his family knew: witty, observant and baseball crazy.
Schoolyard pitcher in his hometown Mount EscobedoContreras joined the Dodgers almost immediately after moving to the United States in 1970 to join his brother in Highland Park. He attended games every week, “when for $10 you could get two people into the stadium and you could also eat a hot dog,” Contreras told me in Spanish before the first game.
His stories from those years were impeccable. Don Sutton scores. The Cincinnati Reds are always “ready to play to the death.” Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell hit a home run at Dodger Stadium in 1973, “and we all just looked over our heads in awe.”
Contreras was such a fan that he took his pregnant wife Mary to see Valenzuela's field on the day in 1983 that Conrad was due to give birth because they were passing out T-shirts that read “I (Heart) Fernando” – an anecdote that stunned their son.
— What happened to the shirt? Conrad asked his mother in Spanish.
“I threw it away,” Mary, 61, responded.
“They would be worth a lot of money now!” he groaned.
“They were cheap! The color really faded quickly.”
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run during the seventh inning of Game 1 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays at the Roger Center on Friday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays won 11–4.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The family continued to attend games while Conrad was a teenager, but stopped “when even the birds couldn't afford it,” Mary said. Conrad, 42, believes the last time he went to a game with his father was “at least” 20 years ago. But they regularly watched the games on TV. It was he who performed CPR a year ago that saved his father's life.
“He walked around the house angry the whole game,” Conrad said.
“No, well, Roberto pissed me off,” replied Conrado, the nickname of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But I can’t be angry anymore.”
I asked how he thought the series would go this year. He mentioned Shohei Ohtani, whom he called constantly. Japanese in a respectful tone because, well, his memory might be fuzzy.
“He hits too hard, but when he hits, he hits. If he plays like that, they win the series. But if Toronto hits, forget about it.”
Another pregame question that too many liberal Latino Dodgers fans are agonizing over right now: Is it ethical to root for a team? considering they weren't very active in opposing Donald Trump's deportation campaign and owner Mark Walter invested in companies that profit from it?
“Sports shouldn’t get involved in politics, but all sports owners agree.” deceptionHe said, using a nickname I've heard quite a few. ranch libertarians use for Trump. He shrugged.
“So what should we do? migration from the stadium”, meaning failed June attempt by federal agents enter the stadium parking lot. “If the team had allowed this to happen, it would have been a huge problem.”
Mary showed no such sympathy. “Latinos shouldn't let the Dodgers go so easily. But when Latinos give up, they give up.”
It was game time.
Conrad wore a gray Dodgers road jersey to match his black team cap. My sister, for some reason a follower of the Angels, wore T-shirt Kike Hernandez “because he supports immigrants.”
“The only good thing about the Dodgers is that they don’t win with gringos,” said Mary, who doesn’t really care much about baseball because she thinks it’s boring. “It's someone [Ohtani] whoever doesn’t want to speak English wins for them.”
Her husband smiled.
“Let's see if Mary gets into baseball.”
“It will be real miracle,” she snapped.
Contreras rubbed his hands with joy when the Dodgers went up 2-0 in the top of the third inning, and just frowned when the Blue Jays tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as we enjoyed a run out of Taco Nazo. “His anger comes in waves, it's a journey,” Conrad said. “He's calmer, but angry»
“WHO?” Conrado was unperturbed.
When Dodger starting pitcher Blake Snell left the game with the bases loaded and no team in the bottom of the sixth, Contreras shook his head in disgust but kept his voice calm.
“That's what pisses me off. They should have taken him out a long time ago, but Roberto didn't. That's what I was afraid of. When Toronto advances, they advance. They won't stop until they destroy it.”
Of course The Blue Jays walked nine times this inning.including catcher Alejandro Kirk's double blast that sparked the Jays' initial rally a few innings earlier.
Earlier in the game, Alejandrina told Conrado that Kirk was from Tijuana. Pride in his shared roots, though separated by generations, slightly hurt his home run, leaving the score a humiliating 11-2.
“Thank God he’s Mexican,” Conrado told his son, patting him on the knee. “That’s all we have left” to enjoy the game.
An inning later, Contreras began to feel dizzy. His sugar levels were elevated. Mary took off his jacket to fix his insulin device. My sister's corgi, Penny, jumped up on the couch and lay on his lap.
“They know when someone is sick, right?” He didn't tell anyone before scratching Penny's tummy and cooing, “You know I'm sick, right? I'm sick!”
When the “massacre” finally ended, Contreras continued to philosophize.
“It’s incredible that I can see this. But I'm still place. My legs hurt, my memory is not what it used to be, my sense of balance is gone. But there are the Dodgers. But they need a win.”
Conrad went into the bedroom to get his father's walker.
“Do you want a Toronto shirt right now?” he joked.
The father watched silently. “No, this will give me another heart attack.”
