When pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, as they do for the Dodgers this weekend, it’s a pretty low-key affair. A few fans and media, a lot of joking and the sound of baseballs popping into catcher’s mitts.
But this year, in everybody’s head at the Dodgers facility, the unmistakable intro of Guns n’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle.”
That’s because Eric Gagne is back.
The Dodgers signed him to a minor league contract (meaning he has to earn his way on to the roster during Spring Traning).
It’s not going to be like old times — Gagne was out of baseball last year (unless you consider pitching in a Canadian indpendant league “in baseball.”). He is 34 (getting up there for a pitcher) and has a history of shoulder problems. Then there is the fact Gagne’s name came up in a steroid investigation, and the coincidence that his career came unraveled quickly, right when the MLB started increasing its testing.
Plus, the Dodgers pitching staff is pretty set. It’s very unlikely Gagne will make the opening day roster. It’s not like old times.
But it is still so much fun to relive those old times. Gagne set the major league record saving 55 games in a row. He was automatic, and he was the star. When at the start of the ninth inning, the bullpen gate would open and the loudspeakers at Dodger Stadium started to play the familiar refrain of “Welcome to the Jungle” the stadium came alive. It was like a scene out of he movie Major League. Nothing outside of a Manny Ramirez homer or two have made Chavez Ravine rock like Eric Gagne in the last couple of decades.
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And for that reason, there are a lot of Dodger fans rooting for Gagne to overcome the odds. And for the guitar riff of Slash and the voice of Axel Rose to once again echo through Dodger Stadium.
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