What a game last night! It had it all. Mostly, it showed what hard work, a collective effort, good management and teamwork can accomplish.
If anyone wants to understand what Los Angeles is all about, they only need to look at those 18 innings in Game 3 of the Dodgers’ 6–5 World Series win over the formidable Toronto Blue Jays.
The pace of recent national and world events has led to spinning heads, but for many who either watched in real time or woke up with the news of the amazing finish, baseball seems to remind us of something good, fun and seemingly simple — at a time when nothing seems that way.
Character and leadership that Los Angelenos know of the Dodgers were displayed in front of the world. It was a time to be proud!
Management Leads, Success Follows
Signs of unity that have been hallmarks of the Dodger baseball family were on display last night — most visibly, the team wore Alex Vesia’s No. 51 jersey on their caps. Doing so was a collective gesture to support Alex, who was on leave due to a “deeply personal family matter” involving his wife, Kayla, who is pregnant. The Dodgers’ management chose not to place Vesia on the Family Medical Emergency List, so that issues relating to official roster obligations and deadlines would not kick in, and Vesia could just focus on his family.
Freddie Freeman, who scored the game-winning run, became the first player in MLB history with multiple walk-off homers in a World Series. That may not have happened if management hadn’t put Freeman on the Family Medical Emergency List in 2024, allowing him to fly home to Los Angeles and miss an important multi-day away series after his 3-year-old son was hospitalized with a serious illness.
And perhaps the greatest player in the game, Shohei Ohtani, would not be the double threat on the pitcher’s mound and batter’s box if Dodgers’ management didn’t work with the MLB to establish new rules that allowed Ohtani to perform the dual roles without restrictions. Ohtani made it to base nine times last night — breaking another postseason record.
Los Angeles Is for Champions — LAXPD Leadership Should Be, Too
“The Dodgers made history last night — LAAPOA knows a cohesive, supportive team when we see it,” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain says. “It starts at the top, and it goes the whole way to the newest person joining the roster. I have long admired the logical, common-sense approach of Dodgers management and its ownership that permeates throughout their team leadership and lineup and makes for champions on and off the field. When respect and solidarity go both ways, all goals can be achieved — even winning Game 3 in the World Series when you are two runs down and need to go to 18 innings. The world is watching us — it’s finally watching Los Angeles for something positive. More will come with the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028. Much more.
“LAXPD needs leadership. We have the rank-and-file talent. But our bench needs to be filled. We need backup. We need leadership — not a ‘got ya’ chief. We need backing. We are in the game already — but our coach is MIA. Literally and figuratively. We need a winning leader because we are winners. Los Angeles is for winners. Last night proved it. Keep making it happen, Dodgers. Let’s make it happen at LAXPD, too.”
Founded in 1982, the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA) represents the sworn police officers of the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Municipal Police and the Los Angeles Park Rangers assigned to protect and serve Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and the city of Los Angeles, and provide emergency medical services, law enforcement and wildland firefighting in the open space parks and throughout the city of Los Angeles. For more information on LAAPOA, please visit LAAPOA.com.
