10 years…

Josh Lindblom (2010)

March, 2010, Joe Torre led the Los Angeles Dodgers to visit Taiwan and the team was scheduled to play 3 games against team CPBL(Taiwan's professional baseball league). It was Dodgers’ second visit to Taiwan. Tommy Lasorda, Pedro Martinez, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza were all with the team in the 1993 Dodgers friendship series. Since then, I have been enamored with the Dodger baseball.

As a lifetime Dodger fan, watching Dodger baseball is my favorite. However, I never watched a live Dodger game (I only watched 1993 friendship games on TV) that time. Since the Dodger game was announced in the early 2010, I was truly looking forward to seeing the Dodgers play in Taiwan. Even the team might not be as “entertaining” as the team 1993.

The 1993 Dodgers friendship series was in late October. It was off-season and the main objective was to open the door to the Asia market. The Dodgers were in full-squad, coaching staffs led by Lasorda, 25-man roster and the voice of the Dodger baseball, Vin Scully. The 1993 friendship series was very impressive and it was the first time that I heard “Major League Baseball.” Once in a while, when I think of that 1993 Dodgers in Taiwan, my first word is always “WOW.” Can you imagine 3 HOFers (Tommy Lasorda, Pedro Martinez and Mike Piazza) in the team?

Things were a little bit different in 2010. Because the games were in conflict with the spring training, most notable players such as Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were unable to make the team.

Manny Ramirez (No.99)

When I read the news in early 2010, there were not many “well-known” names on the Dodger roster for this MLB Taiwan series, I only knew James Loney at that moment. By the way, Kenley Jansen was on the roster, but he just began his career on the mound and hadn’t played in the big league yet. Nonetheless, things changed dramatically when Manny Ramirez said “Yes.” Many fans were crazy after hearing that Manny would be playing with the Dodgers in Taiwan.

There were supposed to be 3 games, but the second game was cancelled due to rain. Unfortunately, the ticket I bought was for that game. So my first Dodger game didn’t happen as planned. However, I got a baseball signed by Josh Lindblom and Eric Stults. For me, that was pretty good. I was fine to only see the Dodgers.

10 years later, Josh Lindblom is now with the Brewers and Kenley Jansen is the only one who is still with the Dodgers. They are only 2 players who still play in the MLB. I again read several lists of 2010 Dodgers prospect, Josh Lindblom was a top-5 and Jansen wasn’t even in the top 10.