Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Doesn’t it feel like Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes were released last season? No, that was this season.
Ask Jaime Jarrín
We received many questions for Jaime Jarrín, who was kind enough to take time out of his day to answer some of those questions. Deputy sports editor Ed Guzman conducted the interview by phone. Because Jarrín was the longtime Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, it seemed appropriate for a couple of the questions and answers to be in Spanish. In the case of multiple people asking the same questions, the person who asked the question first gets credit for the question. Questions without a name were asked by Guzman.
From Virgilio Del Rio: How did you prepare to become a sports broadcaster?
Jarrín: Well, before becoming a sports broadcaster, I was a newsman. I used to write news, I edited news, that was my experience. Sportscasting, I learned that when I came to this country. But back home, for four years, I was a newsman writing news, editorials and things like that.
(Follow-up question from Guzman): Once you were a broadcaster here in the States, did you ever want to broadcast games in English or were you always just focused on doing it in Spanish?
Jarrín: I always wanted to do it only in Spanish. I never really wanted to go into English-language because I thought that it was my duty to do this in Spanish. So I’m very proud to have done it all in Spanish.
From Jerry Smith of Los Angeles: You called the “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. What was that like?
Jarrín: It is my greatest experience doing sports because the atmosphere in Manila was unbelievable. I was there for I think it was two days before the fight and it was like a carnival there. Muhammad Ali was walking the streets around the arena, you know, promoting the fight and signing many things. And he was a great, great promoter. So it was unbelievable. And the day of the fight, it was so hot, so rainy, and the fight was held at 10 o’clock in the morning (to accommodate the international viewing audience). It was really a great, great experience.
From Alex Andrade of Paramount: How difficult or easy is it to switch from calling boxing versus calling a baseball game?
Jarrín: Well, it’s totally different. In boxing, I was the blow-by-blow announcer. So I didn’t have time to do commentary. Besides, I had a commentator with me, Mr. Cuco Conde, who was a very famous boxing promoter in Cuba.
So in my case, I just narrate the fight. In boxing, you have to follow the action through the blows that are thrown by the fighters. In baseball, you have time to describe what’s going on, you have time for anecdotes, important dates and things like that.
From Mark Layne: Do you have a favorite story about Vin Scully?
Jarrín: I was very fortunate. It was a privilege to spend so much time with him because on the road we were always together, having lunch together, then dinner at the ballpark. Same thing here in Los Angeles. We always had dinner together before the games. And to see how nice he was with everybody; he never refused to shake hands with anybody; he never refused to take a picture with anybody. He was very, very special. As a baseball announcer, as a sports announcer, he was the best of the best of all time. But as a human being, he was exceptionally beautiful.
Something very special I have to mention is the fact that when my wife passed away six years ago, he was the first one to call me and he talked to me for about 20 minutes. It was the most beautiful call I ever received.
The way that he talked about my wife, about our friendship, the way that he handled the language, his intonation, his delivery on the phone. It was really, really something very, very unique that I will never, never forget. Very touching.
Very touching.
From Paul Aist of Ventura: In your opinion, did Tommy Lasorda shorten Fernando Valenzuela’s career by overusing him?
Jarrín: In a way, probably, but it was because Fernando wanted to stay in the games. He used to tell me, “Jaime, when I start something, I like to finish that. And when I start a game, I want to finish that.” So I’m sure that Lasorda wanted to take him out earlier in many games, but he insisted on staying on.
The Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony is later this month for the newest class. What do you remember about your induction into the Hall of Fame in 1998?
Jarrín: I remember very well the phone call that I received from the head of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Around 8 o’clock in the morning, I got a telephone call. They told me, ‘Please, Jaime, be around a telephone because probably you are going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.’ And the telephone rang at around 9:30 in the morning. And it was the head of Cooperstown. And he said, ‘Jaime, it’s my pleasure to let you know that you have been selected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year along with Don Sutton and Larry Doby.’ You can imagine how excited I was.
My wife, Blanca, was standing there next to me near the phone. And she saw my face, my reaction, and she started crying. And that was really something very, very special, something that is in my heart for the rest of my life. It was very emotional. It was very, very incredible.
And then the ceremony in Cooperstown is something very unique, very special. I would say that before the ceremony, they put you with all the Hall of Famers in a room. And there were about, I would say, 25, 28-30 Hall of Famers. And to be there among them, it was, to me, like being in heaven. I couldn’t believe that I would be there next to Henry Aaron, next to Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax and Tom Seaver and all those Hall of Famers. It was something special, and that changed my life. Because before that, I was one of the many, many announcers doing baseball. But after the Hall of Fame, owners of the different ballclubs, GMs and people like that, they would look for me to take a picture, to shake my hand, to introduce themselves. So really, it was a turning point. Fantastic.
How much do you watch this year’s team?
Well, I follow every single game on TV. When I go to the ballpark, I go to the field, I go to the clubhouse, I say hello to the ballplayers. Then I go to the press box because I like to see the writers because they were so nice with me, English or Spanish. They wrote beautiful things about me, about my career. I like to see the employees at the press box. Then I stay for three, four or five innings and come home. So it’s perfect. The perfect combination. But I follow the team through TV when I am not at the ballpark, yes.
¿Qué opina usted sobre el pitcheo del equipo de esta temporada?
El pitcheo deja mucho que desear debido a las lesiones. Los Dodgers durante el invierno fueron en busca de verdaderos ases del montículo y lograron contratar a varios de ellos. Pero dos de ellos han estado lesionados todo el tiempo y eso ha desbalanceado completamente el desempeño del equipo de lanzadores.
Debido a las lesiones, también hemos tenido prácticamente cada juego en que los abridores únicamente lanzan tres o cuatro innings, máximo. Y eso ha minado mucho la fortaleza del bullpen. Y el bullpen se ha visto dismal en verdad, en lo que a potencia se debe debido al uso cotidiano prácticamente de todos los días.
Espero que en este descanso los Dodgers logren consolidar el excelente elenco de lanzadores que necesitan para poder llegar y ganar la Serie Mundial.
Hemos escuchado el cuadrangular de Kirk Gibson en la Serie Mundial en la transmisión de Vin Scully, y también en el relato de Jack Buck. Pero uno no puede encontrar el relato de ese jonrón de usted o de René Cárdenas. ¿Por qué no hay modo de escuchar ese relato?
La simple respuesta: porque en aquel entonces, lamentablemente, la estación de radio y los mismos Dodgers no se preocuparon en guardar las transmisiones. No tenemos ninguna, ninguna grabación de ninguno de los juegos de los Dodgers hasta hace pocos años. Es un misterio, en verdad. KWKW y KTNQ, las dos emisoras que estuvieron con los Dodgers en esos años, no se preocuparon en mantener grabaciones de eso. Y por eso es que no existe absolutamente nada en lo que respecta a nuestras transmisiones. Es una lástima, en verdad, pero es la realidad.
From Bruce Campbell of Los Angeles: Your wife, Blanca, died in 2019. What would you want people to know about her?
Well, you know, it was such a heavy blow to myself and my family, my two sons, Jorge and Mauricio. What can I tell you? She was such a beautiful person. She was so supportive of me. All the accolades that I have gained is thanks to her because she was behind me all the time. She never complained about my being absent because I used to travel with the Dodgers and sometimes, road trips took 16 days, 19 days. And she was so generous with people and everything.
The Jaime and Blanca Jarrin Foundation has expressed a desire to uplift underserved students by awarding scholarships to those pursuing careers specifically in law and journalism. Why those two areas?
Jaime: Jorge can answer that because he is on top of everything. He can express very well the goals of the foundation. I was very pleased when Jorge and Mauricio, along with my three grandsons, joined forces to create a foundation in order to preserve the image and the name of my wife, Blanca, who was a very generous person. So I was delighted when they told me about the project. And now, I just try to help my family as much as possible. Jorge and the rest of the family work very hard in trying to create the funds that we need for the scholarships.
Jorge Jarrín, Jaime’s son, who sat in on the interview: That’s easy, actually. You know, when we started this foundation in honor of my mom, in the back of my mind, I also knew the importance, as my father was nearing the twilight of his career, looking for a way to maintain and uphold the legacy that he has created as an immigrant coming to this country. You know, he knows the trepidation and the fear that comes naturally to an immigrant coming to a nation where he doesn’t necessarily really speak the language, doesn’t really know a lot of people, is looking to establish roots so that he can, in turn, he or she, in turn, can bring their family so that they can create a better life. So, that’s that legacy.
And when my mom passed away, I thought, this is the way to do that. Speaking selfishly for a moment, this is a way to accomplish two things. To honor the memory of my mom who created such an environment for us growing up that we never felt neglected. We never felt that we missed out on anything because my father was gone all the time. And there was no guilt. There was nothing negative along that line.
And so, knowing that my father, at this point, had been speaking to Latino homes for 60-plus years, I know how people react when they see my father for the first time, when they talk to him, when they have a chance to meet him in person. Because he represents, for many, their childhood growing up, their relationships with their parents, their grandparents, aunts and uncles. He gave them that commonality of which they can talk about together.
So, knowing that impact that he has on people, we thought it’s one thing to give scholarships. But for a lot of Latinos, to get a scholarship from Jaime Jarrin is even more special. We call them the Jarrín Scholars.
And the reason we did journalism, to get back to your original question, journalism and law, two reasons: The journalism honoring the career that my father chose to create, the path that he took. And the law, because we have been fortunate in addition to the Los Angeles Dodgers to have a long and steady career as a spokesperson for Los Defensores. Los Defensores is an organization, it is a cooperative legal marketing firm that represents a network of Spanish-speaking attorneys who are there to help people, Latinos, who don’t know the language well, who are intimidated, who may be undocumented.
But there are certain rights that they’re entitled to under the law, under the Constitution. And we try to empower Latinos to speak up for themselves, to not be afraid, to not be intimidated. So my father has had a 40-year career of being the voice of Los Defensores, too. So it only made sense that because of our association with Los Defensores that we also single out law because overall, we’re seeking to help those who are eventually going to be making decisions that affect us as a community and as a society. We want to empower them, we want to help them to be the best that they can be. Unfortunately, you look at for example the state of California, 49% of which are Latinos, and yet less than 3% Latinos pass the bar examination to become attorneys.
Less than 6% of the attorneys in the United States are Latinos. Yet it doesn’t reflect the numbers of our community in terms of its makeup of demographics, so there’s something not right here. And we’re trying to get those in a four-year college the help that they need, not only financially but because I’ve had students say to me: you saw me, you recognized me, and you’re willing to invest in my future. Because that’s what it is, it’s an investment and it’s a validation that we see them, we recognize them, we want to support them. That’s it in a nutshell.
—Thank you to Jaime Jarrín for taking time from their day to answer reader questions. The Jaime and Blanca Jarrín Foundation are having “Wine Night at the Ravine,” at the centerfield plaza in Dodger Stadium on Aug. 19. For more information and tickets, click here.
Next time
We’ll talk about Mookie Betts and the Dodgers continuing to scuffle (if they still are). Betts was benched Saturday to get a mental reset, then was moved to the leadoff spot Sunday, with Shohei Ohtani moving to the two spot. It has been a tough stretch. They score six runs, the opponent scores seven. But if they hold the opponent to two runs, the Dodgers score just once. When they hit well they don’t pitch, when they pitch well they don’t hit. And they don’t field well most of the time. Freddie Freeman was hit on the wrist by a pitch Sunday and had to leave the game. X-rays were negative, according to the Dodgers, but a wrist injury isn’t good for hitters.
Luckily for them, the Giants are playing worse, and the Padres are playing just OK.
Up next
Monday: Minnesota (David Festa, 3-3, 5.25 ERA) at Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani, 0-0, 1.00 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Tuesday: Minnesota (Simeon Woods Richardson, 5-4, 3.95 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 8-7, 2.59 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Wednesday: Minnesota (Chris Paddack, 3-9, 5.14 ERA) at Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 1-1, 3.10 ERA), 1:10 p.m., Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
Pitching injuries continue to be an issue in MLB. How it’s impacting pitchers at all levels
Is there a way to mitigate pitching injuries? The Rays (and Dodgers) may shed some light
New mural at Dodger Stadium honors Fernando Valenzuela
Dave Roberts gives Mookie Betts a day off as season-long slump continues
‘As lucky as we could be.’ Dodgers’ Max Muncy already recovering better than expected
Shaikin: Why the small-market Milwaukee Brewers might be America’s team
Four major questions the Dodgers face in the second half of the season
And finally
The Dodgers retire Fernando Valenzuela‘s number. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
