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There are the great moments we saw, and then there are the great moments we feel we saw. We have heard about them, seen them, talked about them so often that we feel like we were there, even if we might not have been alive at the time.

For generations of Dodgers fans, Vin Scully was our historian, with words so memorable we feel as if we lived those experiences, so perfect fans repeat them to this day.

In 1965, for the Sandy Koufax perfect game: “There’s 29,000 people in the ballpark and a million butterflies.”

In 1988, for a walk-off home run by the hobbled Kirk Gibson in the World Series: “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!”

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In 1990, for the Fernando Valenzuela no-hitter: “If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!”

On April 25, 1976, for perhaps the only time in the 67-year career of the best broadcaster in baseball history, Vin Scully didn’t know quite what to say.

“There’s two of them,” Scully said. “All right.”

Two people had run onto the field at Dodger Stadium, in the middle of the game. That was not entirely unusual in the disco era. A woman nicknamed “Morganna the Kissing Bandit” hopped fences and interrupted games to smooch players.

But this was something unfamiliar. Tension was in the air. Three seconds of silence, then Scully resumed his narration, his voice flat for the first sentence, rising with incredulity in the second and with exclamation in the third: “I’m not sure what he’s doing out there. It looks like he’s going to burn a flag.

“And Rick Monday runs in and takes it away from him!”

“It just happened in 10 seconds,” Dodgers historian Mark Langill said. “Fifty years later, we’re still talking about it.”

It was the play that defined an already distinguished career. On Saturday, the 50th anniversary of the day he rescued the American flag, the Dodgers will honor Monday before they play the Chicago Cubs — the team for which he played on that day in 1976.

The flag itself — presented to Monday two weeks later by Dodgers general manager Al Campanis — will be on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, as America celebrates its 250th birthday.

Monday, who served in the Marine Corps reserves during his major league career, has used the flag to raise money for veterans and their families, but he never has loaned it for a long-term exhibition.

Seldom does a day pass without someone coming up to Monday to say thank you, or to shake his hand.

“It is nothing that he seeks out,” said Charley Steiner, Monday’s partner on Dodgers broadcasts for 22 years. “Whether we’re at Dodger Stadium or on the road somewhere, people will just come up and say hi.

“Every once in a while, we’ll get a ‘Follow me to freedom.’”

There was nothing flashy in the rescue. Monday leaned down, grabbed the flag without breaking stride, and delivered it to pitcher Doug Rau in the dugout. He returned to his position in center field, serenaded by a standing ovation.

Fred Claire, the Dodgers’ publicist at the time and later the general manager, sent word to the scoreboard operator to display a congratulatory message. When Monday came to bat in the next inning, the scoreboard read: “RICK MONDAY … YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY.”

Said former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley: “It’s one of the great moments in Dodger history.”

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That moment came courtesy of a guy wearing a Cubs uniform, but Monday grew up in Santa Monica and delivered his spontaneous commemoration of Flag Day in the year of America’s bicentennial.

“It all came together,” Steiner said. “The hometown kid, visiting from Chicago, doing what he did at that time in American history, it was just an unbelievable confluence of events.

“And then, lo and behold, he becomes a Dodger. And he has been a Dodger ever since.”

After the 1976 season, the Dodgers traded Bill Buckner to the Cubs for Monday, who played the final eight years of his career in Los Angeles. He was the first player drafted in the first-ever baseball draft in 1965, a two-time All-Star and 1981 World Series champion that might have been best remembered for hitting the home run that lifted the Dodgers past the Montreal Expos in the 1981 National League Championship Series.

Best remembered, that is, if not for the flag rescue that elevated him from a ballplayer to a hero.

“Whether you’re a casual fan or an avid fan, you know of that moment if you grew up as a fan in Los Angeles,” Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch said.

And beyond. Steiner, who was news director of a radio station in Hartford, Conn., that day, said Monday’s play instantly made headlines on the East Coast. President Ford called Monday after the game.

In 2006, the U.S. Senate formally presented him with a proclamation of appreciation. Two years later, President George W. Bush invited him to the White House.

The award-winning photograph of Monday swiping the flag, taken by James Roark of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, was lauded by Times columnist Jim Murray as “the most famous picture of its kind since the flag-raising at Iwo Jima.”

“It about as unique a moment in U.S. baseball history as there’s been,” Rawitch said, “and I think that’s probably why people connect to it.”

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, but that game was on the schedule. History, yes, but no surprise. Same when Bush threw out the first pitch during a World Series game in New York after 9/11.

The father and son that invaded the field at Dodger Stadium that day never have spoken publicly about why they did. But all was not well in America in 1976, in the aftermath of the unpopular Vietnam War and the presidential scandal that was Watergate, and beset by soaring gasoline prices amid crisis in the Middle East.

We hear echoes of all three themes today. In an Ipsos poll released this month, a majority of Americans said the country’s best days are behind us and said we are “splitting apart” as a nation.

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However, 80% said military veterans reflect “core America values,” including service and commitment to the greater good. And, among a list of icons that included the Statue of Liberty and the White House, respondents most often selected the U.S. flag as the one they associated most closely with America.

Perhaps Monday and his flag can help renew a sense of national unity, borrowing from the astonishment that pervaded Scully’s voice that day in 1976, once he finally figured out what was happening: “I think a guy was going to set fire to the American flag. Can you imagine that?”

It turned out to be a great call after all. In 2022, as soon as he learned Scully had died, Monday listened to Scully’s call one more time.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees finally got some home cooking going on Saturday, putting a beatdown on the Royals to the tune of 13 runs while Will Warren made it a worry-free day tossing seven innings and striking out 11 batters. Cody Bellinger slugged two home runs on the day, Ben Rice made it three straight days with a bomb, and Amed Rosario continued to earn his starting time with another homer to round out the long balls. Now the team sits a win away from a sweep that would turn the homestand overall into a decent one when it started off incredibly rocky.

While we wait for the finale to start up, let’s run through what’s in store for the day. Scott profiled Dom Hamel before he went up against his old organization in Scranton’s doubleheader yesterday, and Andrew goes over the latest scores from around the AL in the Rivalry Roundup. Nick wishes Scott Kamieniecki a happy birthday and goes over his Yankees career in the early ‘90s, Estevão looks around the AL landscape and sees some expected contenders floundering leaving a path to the top for the Yanks, and after the game John will have the weekly social media spotlight featuring plenty from Jackie Robinson Day.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals

Time: 1:35 p.m. EST

Video: YES Network, Royals.TV

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Questions/Prompts:

1. What do you make of Will Warren’s gem? Was it just a nice surprise, or will he find his way into the sixth and seventh innings more frequently?

2. Can Ben Rice make it four straight games with a homer?

SNY | John Flanigan: Will Warren dominated the Royals Saturday, holding them off the board into the seventh inning to continue an encouraging start. “The four-seam was really playing well,” Aaron Boone said of his second-year starter. “He got a lot of swing-and-miss, the changeup was good today too, I just think it was the overall mix — it was good to see him take that lead and run with it, really good job.” Warren has pitched to a 2.49 ERA through five starts, building on a campaign in which he finished eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting last year.

NY Post | Greg Joyce: The offense also played its part in making the win a rare comfortable victory. Cody Bellinger led the charge with two homers, as the lineup overall coasted to 13 runs. This outburst came against left-hander Noah Cameron, a particularly encouraging sign as the team had entered play with a .535 OPS against southpaws, second-worst in baseball.

ESPN | Jorge Castillo: Aaron Boone threw some cold water on anyone anticipating a rapid return from Gerrit Cole, who made his first rehab start on Friday against Double-A Somerset, indicating he will need “several more” rehab outings first, with a return expected by early June. “Nothing’s imminent here,” the Yankees manager noted. “We’ll be disciplined and make sure we take the right amount of time.” Cole threw 44 pitches across 4.1 innings, and his fastball was sitting around 95 mph. Carlos Rodón still appears ahead of Cole, even though he won’t begin his rehab until this week.

SNY | John Flanigan: Saturday’s rout was also a showcase for Ben Rice, who’s begun 2026 proving the predictive nature of analytics which indicated he was profoundly unlucky last season. Boone sat lefty-masher Paul Goldschmidt against the left-handed Cameron and the gambit paid off, with Rice crushing a 398-footer lefty-on-lefty to notch his third straight game with a home run. After the game, his OPS sat at 1.224, second-best in baseball.

NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Day games at Yankee Stadium have been kicking off a little later than in years past this season. At the request of several veterans, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees pushed their start times back from 1:05 to 1:35 with the goal of allowing more time for recuperation and preparation. The seemingly minor change has had a noticeable impact. “It’s a 100 percent improvement,” said Stanton. “For some guys, the extra sleep in their prep. For other guys, they use time here getting treatment. I like it. The extra half hour feels like an hour.”

Dan Wilson managed to shut down the Rangers just long enough.

The Mariners snapped a pair of losing streaks on Saturday. They entered the day having lost four straight games. They also entered the day having lost four straight to the Rangers, dating back to last week’s sweep in Arlington. With another strong start from George Kirby and some timely hitting to boot, the Mariners secured a 7-3 win, beginning what they hope is the slow climb from their hole in the AL West.

The offense finally had a few things go their way, racking up seven runs on 11 hits and three walks. They picked up five of their runs on hits that snuck through a drawn-in infield with the Rangers defending against a runner on third. They got another run on a towering solo home run from Luke Raley, his fifth of the season.

But it was Wilson’s bullpen management that caught my eye Saturday. It was pretty much flawless, despite increasingly tricky circumstances. Wilson and his coaching staff used nearly all their relievers, and seemed to perfectly pair each for the situation in the game.

Decision #0: Furious George Kirby

Bullpen management, of course, starts with the starter. Kirby took the mound for the fifth time this season and was solid once again. He pounded the zone with fastballs and expanded the zone with sliders — a strategy that’s helped him dominate this Rangers’ lineups in the past. It worked for the most part: Kirby got 14 whiffs on 51 swings (27%) and five strikeouts; he also got 12 grounders to raise his ground ball rate to a league-leading 60.2%.

But Kirby struggled with efficiency at times. He allowed seven hits, two walks, and frequently pitched with men on base. 

“I kind of feel like I wasted a lot of pitches, got in some deeper counts, forced a couple of those guys on,” he said after the game. 

There were a few tough-luck moments for Kirby. In the fourth inning, he gave up a hard single to put a runner on first with one out. The next batter ripped another hard grounder up the middle. This might have been a double play, but the ball instead hit Kirby in the pants and ricocheted into no man’s land for a single.

Kirby walked the next batter to load the bases with one out. He faced Ezequiel Duran, who took a 2-2 pitch just off the edge of the strike zone. Kirby, perhaps in equal parts desperation and frustration, challenged the called ball. ABS confirmed the ump’s ruling to work the count full.

In the past, Kirby might have unraveled after this series of misfortune. Instead, he ramped up and threw a perfect, 96 mph fastball up and in. Duran jammed a shallow fly out to center. Kirby then faced Kyle Higashioka, who hit a go-ahead homer off him last week, and got him to fly out as well. 

Kirby said he’s been working on his composure in these moments, where the game isn’t quite going his way. He said it’s about trying to stay in control, not do too much, and simply attack. 

“They just keep coming up, opportunities to get better and learn from it,” he said. “You just gather your breath, or just take a couple quick exhales, get yourself going to kind of get your body right for the moment you’re in.”

The only run Kirby allowed was a solo shot in the sixth inning. With his workload maxed out, a two-out single ended his day. Wilson turned to the bullpen.

Decision #1: Matt Brash gets an out

Matt Brash was the first reliever in the game on Saturday. He entered with a runner on first and two outs, with the Mariners up 3-1. The leverage index read 1.03.

The leverage index is a measure of how “on the line” a game is during an at bat, given the inning, score, outs, and men on base. Basically, it reflects the stakes of the game. Everything 0.85 and below is low leverage, and everything 2.0 and above is high leverage. The mushy middle is medium leverage.

The game was low leverage when Kirby began the sixth inning, with the Mariners holding a three-run lead and nobody on base. After the homer and single, the game progressed to medium leverage. The moment the game shifted from low to medium leverage, with Kirby at 96 pitches, Wilson turned to Brash — the Mariners’ second best righty reliever.

Now, one could argue this was maybe a better moment for Eduard Bazardo — the Mariners’ third best righty reliever — to face the Ranger’s nine-hole hitter in Higashioka. But had Higashioka reached base in any capacity, the game would have moved firmly into high leverage with the top of the order coming up. Given the minimum three-batter requirement, Bazardo would have been required to stay in the game, and the Rangers could have taken the lead before Wilson could make another change.

Instead, Wilson turned to Brash as contingency against a potential high-leverage spot. It worked. Brash threw just six pitches to dispatch Higashioka with a groundout, and the Mariners’ lead held.

Decision #2: Gabe Speier faces the leadoff lefties

The Mariners picked up another run in the bottom of the sixth, meaning they lead 4-1 in the top of the 7th. The game was back to low leverage.

Wilson turned to Gabe Speier, (arguably) his best lefty out of the pen to face the top of the Rangers’ order. One could argue maybe Wilson should have stuck with Brash after his quick work in the previous inning. But the top of the Rangers’ lineup — Brandon Nimmo and Corey Seager — are both very good lefty batters.

Wilson said that handedness matchup was the main consideration in turning to Speier. But he also noted the move keeps Brash available for Sunday’s game, which wound up looking quite prescient on a day where nearly every Mariners’ reliever pitched.

“I think we really felt with the lefties that that was Gabe’s inning, and he came out and did what he does. I think with our guys you also have to weigh rest. You have to weigh what’s tomorrow, and what’s beyond tomorrow. So all those things you have to throw in the hopper and come up with the best decision you can at that point. But yeah, we really felt like that was Gabe’s inning.”

Now, I’m not always a fan of thinking ahead in bullpen management. Wilson’s predecessor, Scott Servais, often espoused was (something to the effect of), “Win today’s game first,” when referring to bullpen decisions, and I generally agree with that. But this move was a good example of the range of considerations a manager faces when dealing with their bullpen. Wilson made the decision to sacrifice an arm in the game to get the better matchup while still saving an arm for the next game. It was a shrewd move that worked out given the context to that point.

But Wilson also got hit with a consequence of that decision: sometimes the bird in the bullpen just doesn’t have it. Speier struggled. He got Nimmo to strikeout but then walker Seager and later walked Jake Burger.

With the game back to medium leverage, Wilson opted for a fresh arm.

Decision #3: Break glass for Eduard Bazardo

Eduard Bazardo entered the game. He also wasn’t quite sharp, immediately walking Josh Smith to load the bases and progress the game to high leverage.

Maybe one could argue Wilson could have stuck with Speier and trusted him to escape, though I’m not sure I’d buy that after 24 not-great pitches. There’s also a case that Wilson could have gone with Jose Ferrer, though that would sacrifice the handedness advantage (Bazardo is a bit better against righties for his career).

I think this was probably the right move, and it wound up OK. Bazardo got Josh Jung to fly out to escape the jam he and Speier created. 

Decision #4: Sticking with Bazardo

The game remained 4-1 heading into the eighth, with the game back in low leverage. Wilson stuck with Bazardo to face the 7-9 batters in the Rangers’ lineup.

Again, there’s some question about whether Bazardo, having struggled with his command in the previous inning, was the best choice. But given Kirby’s abbreviated outing, the decision to save Brash for Sunday, Speier’s struggles, and the Mariners three-run lead with the bottom of the Rangers’ order coming up — and given Ferrer threw 20 pitches Friday — Wilson was out of medium leverage options.

Bazardo wasn’t quite sharp. He walked the leadoff batter to move the game to medium leverage. Then he got a fly out and a pop out to push the game back to low leverage.

With two outs, a runner on first, and Bazardo at 21 pitches, Wilson turned to the pen.

Decision #5: Jose Ferrer to face the leadoff lefties

Wilson went with Ferrer to face the lefties at the top of the Rangers’ order.

Again, maybe one could argue Ferrer should have been the choice to begin the inning. But given his workload the night and the situation in the game, Ferrer appeared to be something of a last resort. When the situation required that last resort, Wilson was ready.

Ferrer gave up a weak bloop single to Nimmo but got Seager to groundout to end the thread.

Decision #6: Cole Wilcox to close out the blow out

The Mariners scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to extend their lead to 7-1, effectively ending the game. Wilson turned to Cole Wilcox, who’s impressed early but is firmly a “low leverage” arm. It was the ideal spot to get him some work without much on the line.

Unfortunately, Wilcox quickly raised the stakes. He gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with one out. He got the second out with a sac fly to make the game 7-2. but gave up a double to make the game 7-3. Wilcox then walked the nine-hitter Higashioka to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate in Nimmo. 

Decision #7: Andrés Muñoz, the redeemer

Wilson turned to Muñoz with the game back in medium leverage. Muñoz had a rare meltdown in his last outing in San Diego, giving up five runs and eventually the game. He’s looked just off early in 2026 and has struggled with command over the last week.

But he looked sharp Saturday, quickly punching out Nimmo on four pitches to end the game.

Verdict

This was essentially flawless execution from Wilson in what wound up being a tricky game to manage. The game was rarely in jeopardy for the Mariners, who finally strung together some hits on offense, but it was very often in jeopardy of being in jeopardy. Wilson had manage a comfortable lead and a starter who couldn’t get through six innings and a trio of relievers who didn’t quite have it. He made seven correct — or at least “defensible” — decisions at each inflection point, and the Mariners held on.

“Those are the things you sort of try to walk through ahead of time and try to make a plan. And sometimes it doesn’t go to plan and you end up in a weird situation,” Wilson said after the game. “Definitely it’s been a while for a couple of guys in the bullpen. (Brash) hadn’t been out there in a while and (Speier), really, too. So it was nice to get those guys in the game and I thought they threw the ball well. Good to get them rolling. But you have to weigh all those things when you’re making decisions. We try to do that as much as we can ahead of time and then follow the plan.”

There’s not a single number to say whether a manager is making the right calls to the bullpen, but Saturday’s game outlined Wilson’s general strategy. He operates with a hierarchy of relievers and turns to them based on the “leverage” in the game. Presumably, the hierarchy and the leverage are set by the front office, and it’s Wilson’s job to execute that plan within the context of the game and season.

To his credit, Wilson has been very good at this in broad strokes. His best relievers, generally in rank order, have pitched in the biggest spots — this year and last year. Muñoz, for instance, was the highest-leverage reliever in the game last year. It’s also worth noting the Mariners got significantly more WPA from their bullpen in 2025 than their context-neutral performance would indicate. Remember, the Mariners pitching was something of a mess last year, with an injured rotation often exiting early, requiring a 2 1/2-man bullpen asked to pick up four or five innings each night. Wilson was often forced to punt games early rather than using a leverage arm to protect a narrow deficit in the fifth inning. But when the Mariners did hold a late lead, Wilson was ready with Muñoz and Speier (and eventually Brash) to the shut the door.

Of course, that changed in the ALCS when Wilson made the infamous decision to go with Bazardo over Muñoz, which wound up being the final note for the 2025 Mariners. But it was a rare mistake for Wilson, who’d threaded the needle with a below average pitching staff all season.

Again, there isn’t a single number to summarize whether Wilson or any manager is good at deploying relievers. For instance, last year I was able to say pretty confidently lthat the Mariners extreme dependence on pinch hitters wasn’t working (and I’m a bit disappointed to see so many pinch hitters again to start 2026). But it’s not as easy to say whether the Mariners are getting all they could out of their bullpen. As we saw Saturday, there are plenty of variables that change in real time, and relievers can be a bit finicky. Still, Wilson does seem to know who his best arms are and when to use them. Sometimes, it even works out.

It’s all about second chances when Trevor Bauer tugs on a Long Island Ducks jersey on opening night. 

After years of playing in Mexico and Japan, the polarizing “outcast” 2020 Cy Young winner returns to the mound in America for the first time since his bombshell 194-game MLB suspension in 2022 over sexual assault allegations, which the former Dodger has vehemently denied and was never criminally charged for.

“I don’t really think about image rehabilitation, because I think I have a fine image with the fans, baseball players, coaches, front offices, all that stuff,” he told reporters Saturday.

“My image is what it is. I don’t control my image.”

The highly anticipated outing will be Tuesday when the independent Atlantic League Professional Baseball team opens at home against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars — and fan response has been “outstanding,” according to Ducks president Michael Pfaff.

“We had a huge increase in ticket sales for opening night,” Pfaff said. “There were a few thousand tickets purchased around his start.” 

While a member of the Dodgers, Bauer was accused in 2021 of punching and choking a woman during sex, which he previously said was “wholly consensual.” 

He was initially given a 324-game suspension by MLB in April 2022, which was reduced after an appeal. 

“I felt like I’m kind of an outcast for a while now,” Bauer admitted.

The 35-year-old added that he’s “communicated with all 30 teams” in Major League Baseball, but “there are things that are completely out of my control” regarding a prospective return. 

“There’s no question about talent or effectiveness if I were to come back,” said Bauer, who added, “I think I’m a better pitcher in a lot of ways now than I was.”

Pfaff is hopeful that playing for the Ducks — a team that previously signed divisive pitcher John Rocker, among other star-caliber talents like Daniel Murphy — will be a pivotal step in Bauer’s redemption arc.

“This league has existed for 28 years to give players like Trevor the showcase that they deserve to get back to Major League Baseball or to get better opportunities in the game,” Pfaff said.

Crowds roared for the righty during a Saturday fan fest with spectators wearing Bauer jerseys from the Dodgers and his international teams. 

“Even just seeing people standing outside of the clubhouse before games start in spring training” has brought joy to the now stateside pitcher, who is eager to play in front of friends and family.

“I feel like he was kind of wronged,” said Erik Stanton, the dad of an adult daughter who was hoping to get Bauer’s autograph at Fairfield Properties Ballpark ahead of the spring training game. “I feel like some guys have done worse.”

Still, fan Cheryl Geller isn’t thrilled and said, “I look at him a little differently,” after her husband, Bruce, recently explained Bauer’s past to her.

California’s Joe and Stacy Green, a married pair on vacation in New York City, made an impromptu drive out to Islip after hearing Bauer would be showing his face.  He had mentored their son, Max Green, a former ALPB pitcher for the Lancaster Barnstormers.

Bauer remembered Max while briefly chatting with his parents near a bullpen entourage of supporters.

Stacy described Bauer as a “good guy,” and Joe said, “he’s been treated wildly unfairly.” 

Lindenhurst grandpa Vinny Moran added, “Hopefully he can get back in the major leagues.”

“He got railroaded out,” said Moran, who brought his daughter and two granddaughters to the ballpark Saturday and gladly would bring them back to see him play.

Bauer said he signed with the Ducks at the last minute, only to realize its new owner is a Texas Rangers-adjacent company, Rev Entertainment. He chalked up the connection to nothing more than “a cool fact.”

The focus for Bauer isn’t on any benchmark stats, but rather “to help guys” on the roster. 

“I want to be good in the clubhouse with teammates,” he said.

Bauer will also be filming a “Hard Knocks”-style day-in-the-life YouTube vlog throughout the season that will offer a behind-the-scenes peek at his day-to-day.

“I’ll be mic’d up for all the games,” he said, “so you’ll kind of get a really unique insight into what I’m thinking on the mound — and what I’m thinking afterwards.”

His presence hasn’t been a distraction to the team but instead a major motivator, manager Lew Ford said.

“It’s early, but I think the guys, we could feel there’s an energy,” Ford said. “We’re going to have some fun this year — and we’re going to win some baseball games.”

Ducks 26-year-old outfielder Matt Hogan is stoked to get to know his new teammate. 

“What can’t you learn from a guy like that? That’s a guy who’s been through it,” said the former White Sox minor leaguer from Plainview. “He knows pretty much everything you could possibly know about baseball. … I’ve had the chance to talk to him briefly so far, and he’s just a tremendous guy. He’s really nice. I look forward to getting to know him better.”

Bauer said he has no intentions of staying in the shadows, either.

“I’d love to get out into Long Island and see some baseball around the community that’s not here at the stadium, and just interact with fans,” he said.

“I feel a lot of happiness.”