[Nick Soulis]

Series #231



1977 Los Angeles Dodgers
Record: 98-64
Finish: Lost in World Series
Manager: Tommy LaSorda
Ball Park: Dodger Stadium
WAR Leader: Reggie Smith (6.1)
Franchise Record: 6-9
1977 Season Record: 1-2
Hall of Famers: (1)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/1977.shtml

1975 California Angels
Record: 72-89
Finish: 6th in AL West
Manager: Dick Williams
Ball Park: Anaheim Stadium
WAR Leader: Frank Tanana (7.4)
Franchise Record: 5-3
1975 Season Record: 4-0
Hall of Famers: (1)
https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CAL/1975.shtml
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Heaven’s Dugout — Pregame Show (Series #231)



Host: Bob Costas
Panelists: Vin Scully, Steve Stone, Dan Plesac, Brian Kenny

[Opening montage: Golden cornfields sway under a twilight sky. The camera cuts to vintage Dodger Stadium packed in 1977, then Anaheim Stadium in 1975 with Nolan Ryan on the mound. A booming voiceover: “Two California clubs. One stage in Iowa. A freeway rivalry reborn in the corn.” Theme music hits.]

Costas (smiling, leaning in):
“Welcome, everyone, to Heaven’s Dugout. Tonight begins Series #231, a uniquely California affair — the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers against the 1975 California Angels. You’ve got Lasorda’s big blue machine against Dick Williams’ gritty underdogs. To break it all down with me: the voice of baseball, Vin Scully… former All-Star and Cy Young winner Steve Stone… the ever-blunt Dan Plesac… and our resident number-cruncher and historian, Brian Kenny. Gentlemen, welcome.”

Opening Thoughts

Scully (soft, melodic):
“Bob, this is a tale of two ballclubs separated by just a freeway, yet a world apart in stature. The Dodgers — household names, an infield carved in granite: Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey. Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith adding the thunder. And across the way, the Angels, still trying to establish their identity, but armed with Nolan Ryan’s fastball and Frank Tanana’s curveball, they had the tools to scare anyone. This is a chance for the Angels to prove they were more than just neighbors playing second fiddle.”

Stone (leaning in, matter-of-fact):
“And that’s the key, Vin. Everyone remembers Ryan and Tanana, but people forget how deep the Dodgers’ rotation was. Don Sutton, Burt Hooton, Tommy John — that’s three guys who could be aces elsewhere. When you’ve got that kind of depth, it’s not just about stealing a game with an ace. It’s about consistency over seven. I don’t think the Angels have the horses to keep up after their big two.”

Plesac (chuckling, shaking his head):
“Steve, you pitchers always fall back on depth. Look, I love Sutton as much as the next guy, but this isn’t about the third or fourth starter — this is about who takes the ball in the spotlight. Ryan can throw a no-hitter in Iowa, and Tanana was devastating in ’75. If those guys get rolling, the Angels don’t need depth — they need four games. And I’ll tell you something: Bobby Bonds in that lineup? He can swing a series with one hot week.”

Kenny (animated, gesturing):
“Dan, that’s great TV, but history says otherwise. The ’77 Dodgers hit 191 home runs — tops in the National League. They had Reggie Smith with a 166 OPS+, Garvey driving in 115, and Dusty Baker mashing 30 bombs. That was unusual for Dodger baseball, but it tells us something: they weren’t just about pitching and defense. They could score in bunches. The ’75 Angels? Middle of the pack in nearly every category. Great arms, yes. But over the long haul, the numbers don’t lie — the Dodgers should overwhelm them.”

Spirited Back-and-Forth

Plesac (pointing across the desk):
“Brian, you can throw OPS+ at me all night, but games aren’t played on spreadsheets. What happens when Bonds hits a leadoff homer off Sutton? What happens when Ryan strikes out 12 and throws a two-hit shutout? That changes everything.”

Stone (interrupting):
“Sure, but then who pitches Game 3? Who pitches Game 4? That’s the problem, Dan — the Angels don’t have the depth to sustain that success. After Tanana and Ryan, you’re looking at guys like Dick Lange or Bill Singer against a stacked Dodger lineup. That’s not a fair fight.”

Scully (smiling, poetic):
“And yet, Steve, isn’t that the beauty of it? Baseball so often belongs not to the obvious star, but to the unexpected hero. Perhaps it’s a pinch-hit single into the cornfield shadows. Perhaps a journeyman reliever shuts down the mighty Dodgers in a jam. These Angels have lived their existence as the ‘other team’ in California. What a story it would be if here, in Iowa, they finally had their day.”

Kenny (cutting in):
“Vin, I love that imagery, but let’s ground this — the Angels finished 80–82 that year. They weren’t contenders. The Dodgers, by contrast, went to the World Series. If the Angels win this series, it’s one of the great upsets we’ve seen on this field.”

Legacy & Historical Significance

Costas:
“Let’s talk legacy. If the Dodgers win, it cements them as the juggernaut they were in the late ’70s. But if the Angels win…?”

Stone:
“If the Angels win, it’s validation. It tells us Ryan and Tanana weren’t just a two-man show — that club could rise to the moment. It would rewrite how we look at mid-’70s baseball in California.”

Plesac:
“And it would give the Angels fans something they’ve always wanted — to beat the Dodgers when it really mattered. Forget the standings, forget the payroll. This is bragging rights for Southern California.”

Scully (soft, reflective):
“And imagine, Bob — here in Iowa, where the game feels eternal, perhaps the Angels could find immortality too. That is the magic of this place. Nothing is impossible.”

Predictions

Costas (smiling):
“All right, time to put your names to it. Who wins?”

Scully: “Dodgers in six. But with a few unforgettable Angels moments along the way.”

Stone: “Dodgers in five. Too much depth.”

Plesac: “Angels in six. Ryan and Tanana make legends of themselves.”

Kenny: “Dodgers in five. The bats are too strong.”

Costas (closing):
“There you have it — a freeway rivalry transported to the cornfields of Iowa. The legends of ’77 and the hungry Angels of ’75, battling not just for a series, but for a place in the eternal conversation. First pitch is moments away.”

[Theme rises, cameras pan over the players loosening in the dugouts, the panel fades out to the cornfield twilight.]
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The Broadcast For this series will be done by Al Michaels and Tim McCarver.



Broadcast Booth — Series #231 Preview

Booth Team: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Tim McCarver (color analyst)

[Camera cuts from the panel to the booth overlooking the diamond. Fans are filing in, the cornfield glows in the fading light.]

Al Michaels (measured, clear):
“From the cornfields of Iowa, good evening everyone and welcome to the Field of Dreams. It is Series #231, and for the first time, we’ve got an all-California battle on this hallowed ground. The 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the most balanced and star-powered clubs of their era, meet the 1975 California Angels, a team remembered for its grit, pitching firepower, and the relentless arms of Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan. I’m Al Michaels, alongside Tim McCarver — and Tim, there’s no shortage of storylines here.”

Tim McCarver (animated, leaning in):
“That’s right, Al. For the Dodgers, you’re talking about one of the most famous infields in baseball history: Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey. Add Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith in the outfield, and it’s no wonder they hit more home runs than any other National League club in ’77. They’ve got depth in their lineup, depth in their pitching staff, and they’re built for the long haul.

But across the field — and make no mistake about it — the Angels are dangerous. Frank Tanana was electric in ’75, his curveball devastating hitters. Nolan Ryan? Well, when you talk about him, you talk about the possibility of dominance every time he takes the mound. And don’t sleep on Bobby Bonds — he was one of the game’s great power-speed threats. The Angels don’t have the same pedigree as the Dodgers, but they’ve got enough firepower to make this interesting.”

Michaels:
“And Tim, this is more than just a series between two ballclubs. It’s a chance for the Angels to step out of the Dodgers’ shadow, even here in Iowa. The Dodgers were a World Series team in ’77; the Angels were still trying to find their way. But that’s what makes this matchup so compelling: two clubs with very different legacies, meeting on level ground, in the corn.”

McCarver (smiling):
“Al, that’s what makes baseball timeless. You put them on the same field, on the same stage, and history doesn’t matter as much as who executes over the next seven games. And with these pitching matchups, we could see some real classics.”

Michaels (closing):
“We’ll find out soon enough. The Dodgers and Angels are ready, the crowd is set, and so are we. First pitch of Series #231 is coming up, right here on the Field of Dreams.”

[Camera pans across the diamond, catching Tommy Lasorda and Dick Williams exchanging lineup cards at home plate.]