Golden Opening Weekend on tap at Dodger Stadium

This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- Even as the Dodgers have turned their attention to taking care of business in the new season, there's a festive air about the ballpark as the team puts a bow on the eighth championship in franchise history.

One day after unveiling their 2024 World Series banner ahead of the home opener vs. the Tigers, the Dodgers are set to hold their ring ceremony before Friday night's game. The team is also expected to wear the special gold jerseys that were also the uniform of choice on Thursday.

Back in November, when the Dodgers paraded through downtown L.A. and kept the party going with another celebration at Dodger Stadium, the team and its fans were essentially celebrating two World Series championships. Los Angeles did not get a parade after the 2020 Fall Classic, which was played at a neutral site during the pandemic-shortened season.

The same is true for the ring ceremony. Although fans were in attendance when the Dodgers received their keepsakes in honor of their 2020 World Series victory, Dodger Stadium was far below its full capacity because pandemic restrictions were still ongoing.

Factor in the thriller of an offseason that the Dodgers had, plus the residual excitement from the season-opening Tokyo Series, and it should be an evening to remember at the ballpark.

"It was a huge offseason for the organization, for the club, and then you kind of go to Tokyo and get a chance to be received in Japan like we were," manager Dave Roberts said. "And all the while, our fans here are just watching in anticipation for us to come back here. There's just a lot of excitement and traction, momentum, whatever you want to say, with the Dodgers fan base. Our players feel it."

Friday's first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. PT, with the ring ceremony beginning at 6:15. Fans are encouraged to arrive early and be in their seats by that time. Both parking and stadium gates will open at 4:10.

Because the Tigers are in town, old friend Jack Flaherty -- one of the three traditional starting pitchers the Dodgers used during their title run -- will be able to receive his World Series ring in front of his hometown crowd. Flaherty is slated to start the middle game for Detroit, though, so he will likely not participate in the actual ceremony.

The Dodgers may have the only active position player with three rings on their roster -- that would be Mookie Betts, whose first came with the Red Sox in 2018 -- but this experience will also be completely new for several of the team's players. The most high-profile first-time World Series champ is Shohei Ohtani, but one of the most unexpected participants in Friday's ceremony might just be rookie reliever Ben Casparius.

Casparius had just 8 1/3 big league innings to his name when he was called to replace an injured Michael Grove on the NL Division Series roster, and he went on to play a big role in the bullpen, including serving as the opener in Game 4 of the World Series with the Dodgers leading 3-0.

Had someone told Casparius last year that he would go from being a late-season callup to receiving a World Series ring in the span of roughly seven months, he wouldn't have believed it.

"It's pretty cool, too, just the experience I had last year," said Casparius, MLB Pipeline's No. 14 Dodgers prospect. "Obviously, you take us and the Yankees, we're covering both coasts, two huge market teams, I think it helped me feel a lot more comfortable just going about our business and feeling part of the team, feeling like I have a role on the team.

"And I think that's just kind of eased the transition a lot, too, just in terms of how high-stakes everything was into, 'OK, now it's baseball again.'"

Despite his rookie status, Casparius is now practically a "seasoned veteran," Roberts joked. Good thing, because he's poised to fill a larger role in the bullpen this year, when the Dodgers have even loftier aspirations: becoming the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees (1998-2000).

In Thursday's home opener, Casparius preserved a two-run lead with a scoreless sixth inning in relief of Blake Snell.

During Spring Training, several Dodgers spoke about the importance of celebrating their title, but not to the extent that they're stuck in the past. If ever there was a clear time to turn the page, it's now. With the championship rings on their fingers, they can focus on adding to the collection.