Initially, he’s blind. Second, he’s a lifelong Dodgers fan who remembers going to sleep to the sound of the video games on the radio.
Weaver is to not be confused with Yankees nearer Luke Weaver, whose star has risen this yr as he mows down batters and screams on the mound. This Luke Weaver is only a man.
Dodgers followers like Weaver with namesakes on the Bronx Bombers are in a little bit of a pickle this fall, caught between the crew they assist and the American League stalwart whose title they share. Fandom appears to win out.
“I hope he gets destroyed in the World Series,” Weaver informed The Instances. “I wish him well. I wish him a good career. But you know, I hope he has four blown saves in the World Series.”
Weaver, who lives in Palmdale however used to reside half a mile from Dodger Stadium, is a retired messenger who delivered presents and checks to celebrities earlier than going blind 12 years in the past. He nonetheless listens to Dodgers video games on the radio and helps his favourite crew, even when he can’t watch them play anymore. About seven years in the past, he heard a few participant within the league along with his title and acquired a bunch of Luke Weaver playing cards.
“I think he pitched for the Diamondbacks back then, and I got all his baseball cards in case he became famous,” Weaver mentioned.
Clay Holmes, a lifelong Venice resident, hasn’t performed a lot baseball since his time as a catcher for Palisades Excessive College final century. Not like the aid pitcher for the Yankees, this Clay Holmes is pulling for the Dodgers to deliver the Commissioner’s Trophy again to Los Angeles.
Angeleno Clay Holmes kind of understands what it’s prefer to be knowledgeable athlete — he dietary supplements his earnings enjoying aggressive poker — although he says he doesn’t actually break a sweat doing it.
If the Dodgers are down 6-5 within the ninth inning, would Holmes thoughts if his namesake is available in and will get knocked round a bit?
“I would have no problem with that if it meant a Dodger victory,” he mentioned.
Actually, on the diamond, Clay Holmes needs Clay Holmes nothing however the worst.
“Shohei, Mookie, Freddie. I hope they bring in a couple runs and have a walk-off [game-winning hit] off him,” he mentioned.
The state of affairs is a bit totally different for Aaron Decide — not the record-setting Yankees slugger, however the Dodgers fan who served within the U.S. Air Drive.
“Intramural Air Force softball really prepared me for the big leagues,” he mentioned.
Decide is from Montana, a free agent relating to selecting a serious league crew to root for. His father traveled to Los Angeles when Decide was a baby, so Decide determined to be a Dodger fan.
“It was Steve Garvey when I was a kid,” he mentioned. “I would have been playing T-ball or Little League then.”
About as soon as a month Decide will obtain a remark from a waiter or a cashier who seems to be at his bank card and notes that he has the identical title as the massive leaguer.
“It’s never annoying. I just kind of laugh it off,” he mentioned.
More durable are the texts and telephone calls he will get from children who suppose they’ve reached the 2022 American League MVP, solely to comprehend they’re connecting with a distinct Aaron Decide.
“I get calls from kids in New York and Jersey asking if I am No. 99. I have to let them down easy,” he mentioned.
Although he’s rooted for the Mariners and the Phillies in intervening years, this yr he’s backing the Dodgers within the World Collection. However he’s nonetheless wishing his youthful namesake properly.
“I am wishing him a great Series. I know he’ll play his best. He’s a great player and leader. I do hope the Dodgers prevail, but I won’t say, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope the Yankees lose.’ I think they’re both great teams.”
Anthony Volpe — not the Yankees’ younger shortstop — can also be rooting for the Dodgers, although he lives within the Bay Space.
“Yes, I’m aware there is a player on the Yankees that has my name,” he mentioned. “But I’m a Californian, so I’m rooting for the Dodgers.”
“I can root for Volpe individually but the Dodgers as a team,” he mentioned.
Volpe famous that the title is just not terribly unusual amongst Italian People. It means “fox” in Italian, mentioned Volpe, who has twin citizenship in America and Italy.
Volpe’s pals prefer to ship him photographs of the TV at a bar along with his title below a picture of the baseball participant. Or they’ll ship him a photograph of a Jumbotron on the sport if Volpe is enjoying.
Decide hears the teasing from household.
“My kids will call me and say, ‘Hey, I see you hit a home run today. Nice job.’”
