From Brooklyn to L.A., Dodgers have had scandal, BDSM, and more drama

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Since their beginnings in Brooklyn in the 1880s, the Dodgers have been one of baseball's most legendary teams.

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Although the Dodgers (Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson) were the first team to integrate baseball in 1947 and were the inspiration for one of the greatest books about the game, Roger Angell's 1972 Boys of Summer, they had their moments of shame.

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And now, away from their blue-collar roots at legendary Ebbets Field at 55 Sullivan Place in Brooklyn, New York, the Dodgers hope to repeat their 2024 World Series victory.

The problem is that they will face the underdog Toronto Blue Jays starting Friday at the Rogers Centre.

Here are some of the Dodgers' biggest scandals.

LION LIP

411: Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo “Lip” Durocher loved women, baseball and gambling, in that order. In 1947, Commissioner Albert “Happy” Chandler couldn't look away any longer and suspended Durocher for his alleged gambling activities and for allowing unsavory characters to fraternize with his players. Durocher won the World Series with the Dodgers against the hated New York Giants in 1954.

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NOTE: It was Durocher who defended Robinson, telling his disgruntled players, “He's coming.”

Original Sin 1.0

411: Either Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley saved baseball by moving his team out west in 1957, or he was a money-hungry fraud who brutally broke the hearts of his Brooklyn fans. There are good arguments on both sides.

Original Sin 2.0

411: The site of Dodger Stadium is now known as Chavez Gulch. Built in 1962 and now located at 1000 Vin Scully Avenue, the team doesn't like to discuss the past. The area used to be a collection of neighborhoods—La Loma, Palo Verde and Bishop—that were home to a thriving Mexican-American middle class. And then, in the name of urban renewal, bulldozers showed up, tearing the guts out of the area. The land was given to Walter O'Malley.

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IMPRIORED CROSSES

411: Hard to believe, right? But in June 2011, the Dodgers could barely make payroll because the owners, Jamie and Frank McCourt (not the authors of the sad Irish tales), were broke. MLB had to step in and appoint a supervisor. When McCourt bought the team in 2004, he named his wife as general manager. However, the couple used the Dodgers as a piggy bank to finance their lavish lifestyle. Even their children were on the payroll, and to make matters worse, they were ripping off Dodgers charities. And then they divorced and the team filed for bankruptcy. The team was then sold for $2.15 billion.

SIGN THEFT?

411: Hey, in 2017, EVERYONE cheated by stealing signs. The Yankees, BoSox and mostly the Astros with their dumpster antics. However, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at 2023 spring training that an investigation found there was no cheating on the part of Los Angeles during the 2018 campaign.

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CUBAN MYSTERY

411: What happens when you mix a young Cuban ballplayer with a fourth-grade education with a small army of available women? Bad. News. Ex-Dodger Yasiel Puig has been charged by the feds with illegal gambling (racism, he says), as well as reckless driving in several cases. In 2022, he settled a lawsuit with a woman who claimed Puig raped her during a 2018 Lakers game. Reports in 2021 showed that Puig had settled another lawsuit with two women who claimed he sexually assaulted them.

BDSM BASEBALL

411: Former Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer was placed on ice in July 2021 after a baseball fan accused the hurler of twice assaulting her during rough sex at his Pasadena mansion. Her story was not confirmed, and prosecutors filed charges. Bauer signed a $102.5 million contract with the team. He currently plays for the Nowheresville Knights.

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

411: Dodgers hurler Julio Urias was arrested twice in four years for domestic violence incidents, prompting a 20-game suspension in 2019. Urias was arrested again after another alleged argument with his wife. In 2024, he pleaded “no contest” to one battery-related domestic misdemeanor charge as part of a plea deal in which other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to 36 months' probation and 30 days' community service, and was ordered to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counselling. The Dodgers decided they were done with him.

GOROK?

411: MLB has launched an investigation into allegations of illegal gambling and theft involving Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara was released from the team following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker. The IRS also confirmed that Mizuhara and Matthew Boyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation.

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