The first pitch of the highly anticipated World Series matchup between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for tonight at 8:08 p.m. ET.
Alex Verdugo will put on pinstripes this evening, but the Yankees star’s jog to the Dodger Stadium outfield will likely bring back memories of his time with the Dodgers.
Verdugo made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2017. By all accounts, Verdugo’s three-year run with the Dodgers was successful. But the team included him in a trade that sent him to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Mookie Betts in 2020.
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New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo on the field during a workout at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Oct. 24, 2024. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
“I was upset. I was pretty clear I didn’t want to go anywhere,” Verdugo told reporters Thursday. “I understood it from a business aspect and all that, but I was pretty hurt by it.”
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Looking back on how things transpired a few years ago could provide Verdugo some extra motivation for the World Series.
“You want to win, and you want to kind of show them, ‘Hey, you guys got rid of me, and maybe it wasn’t the right decision,’” he said.
While Verdugo has competed against the Dodgers multiple times since the trade, Friday night’s game will be his first with a visiting team at Dodger Stadium.
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Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Alex Verdugo hits a double in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colo., July 31, 2019. (Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports)
Verdugo acknowledged he will have mixed emotions Friday.
“It’s special to finally get back here, to play in front of this crowd,” he said. “This fan base showed me nothing but love. … It’s going to feel good to come out here, play in front of the Dodgers crowd again. Just feel that atmosphere. That was one thing about playing here.
“I go through this in my mind a few times. Part of me wants to get a little bit of, ‘Hey, man, welcome back,’ and then it’s like, ‘All right, it’s the World Series, we’re going to boo you.’ We’ll see. At the end of the day, I still love this palace. Nothing is going to change that — that feeling when I was here.”
New York Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo answers questions on media day prior to Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Oct. 24, 2024. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)
After a four-year stint with the Red Sox, Verdugo landed with the Yankees in December.
Verdugo overcame a sluggish September and has played well lately. He expressed appreciation for the Yankees sticking with him during his struggles and credited manager Aaron Boone for giving him the confidence he needed.
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“Obviously, for me, I thought it was the right decision,” the 28-year-old Verdugo said. “For [Boone] to kind of stick with his guys and go with experience was big for me. He gave me the confidence I needed to come through, get a couple of big hits here and there and a couple of key RBIs.”
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