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LA Dodgers World Series parade: Live updates, highlights from title celebration

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LA Dodgers World Series parade: Live updates, highlights from title celebration

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champions again, and this time they get the parade the franchise never got when it last won baseball’s Fall Classic.

The Dodgers overcame a 5-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees, 7-6, in Game 5 Wednesday night to clinch their second World Series championship in four years. But their 2020 title came amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and public health protocols in effect in Los Angeles at the time prevented a parade from happening.

This year is different. The Dodgers were once again the best team in baseball and then backed it up in the 2024 postseason. Accordingly, the city of Los Angeles and the team have a huge celebration planned to commemorate this team’s accomplishments on Friday. It even includes a nod to Fernando Valenzuela, the franchise great who died right before the World Series began last month.

It’s setting up to be a memorable afternoon for Dodgers’ players and fans alike, as the team receives its long-awaited parade treatment from Los Angeles and a celebration ceremony at Dodgers Stadium afterwards. USA TODAY Sports will be chronicling all the best highlights and moments here.

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Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernandez was at the front of his doubledecker bus during the Dodgers parade moving to the music without a shirt on.

Dodgers teammate Shohei Ohtani was subsequently asked from atop his bus on the MLB Network simulcast whether he might take his shirt off at some point during today’s celebration.

“No,” Ohtani said immediately in English, bypassing his translator. “Never.”

Earlier in the interview, Ohtani expressed astonishment at the number of Dodgers fans in attendance along the parade route. The players are starting to arrive at Dodger Stadium for today’s sold-out celebration ceremony.

With Friday’s festivities occurring on Fernando Valenzuela’s birthday, the Dodger Stadium crowd made sure to pay tribute to the late pitching legend.

Actor Edward James Olmos took the mic and talked about Valenzuela’s legacy to Los Angeles and he started singing happy birthday before the rest of the crowd joined in. — Jordan Mendoza

Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty was acquired at the trade deadline to add depth to the pitching staff for the final push toward the postseason.

Flaherty pitched Game 1 and Game 5 of the World Series to help the Dodgers’ win their first title since 2020.

The right-hander will be a free agent this offseason.

“I love this city and I never want to leave,” Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty said from the parade on Spectrum SportsNet LA.

The Harvard Westlake alum grew up a Dodgers fan but mentioned that he had no idea just how much the team meant to the city of Los Angeles. Multiple players have stated that 2 million fans were expected out for the celebration today. — James H. Williams

Orel Hershiser, who helped pitch the Dodgers to the World Series championship in 1988 and is currently a broadcaster for the team, was seen at Friday’s parade in familiar if not nostalgic attire.

Hershiser was wearing the same sweater (or at least something eerily similar) that he wore to celebrate the Dodgers’ championship 36 years ago.

Hershiser’s fashion sense is certainly up for debate.

With the Dodgers players bringing their families along for the championship parade, star Shohei Ohtani made sure to bring his.

The slugger’s famous dog, Decoy, joined his father on the route. — Jordan Mendoza

The parade is underway as the buses move through downtown Los Angeles and we’ve already seen a candidate for the Dodgers player enjoying himself the most. Pitcher Walker Buehler was captured on camera atop his doubledecker bus using a beer bong while wearing the 1988 game-worn Orel Hershiser jersey he wore walking into Dodger Stadium for Game 1 of the World Series.

It was given to him by Hershiser, who won the 1988 World Series as a Dodgers pitcher and was laughing along during the MLB Network broadcast of the parade as this all played out. Hershiser declared he no longer needed or wanted the jersey back.

They’re having a lot of run in the streets of L.A. today.

WATCH: Walker Buehler chugs beer bong wearing Orel Hershiser jersey during Dodgers parade

The first Dodgers World Series championship parade since 1988 is being held on what would have been Fernando Valenzuela’s 64th birthday. The Dodgers legend, who was a member of that 1988 team, died last month and the team did not initially announce a cause of death or more details. Tributes came from far and wide during the World Series and they’ll continue for today’s celebration given the circumstances.

A memorial in Valenzuela’s honor is being filled with a new wave of messages – including Happy Birthday balloons – as fans flood Dodger Stadium for today’s celebration.

The Dodgers’ players, staff and their families are aboard doubledecker buses while on the parade route, and aerial coverage from the USA TODAY live stream of today’s events captured their departure from Dodger Stadium and impending arrival for the start of the parade. The streets are filled with Dodger blue at this point. Horns are beeping as the buses get closer to all the fans. What a scene.

LOS ANGELES — If the crowd at the parade in downtown Los Angeles wasn’t already a frenzy, just a few miles north, Dodger Stadium is already getting packed for the championship celebration. People started entering the parking lots at 8 a.m. PT and, in just one hour, long lines outside the stadium gates and stores already formed. — Jordan Mendoza

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Freddie Freeman had just won the World Series championship. He was voted the Most Valuable Player award. He sprayed champagne with his teammates. He embraced his father on the field. He hugged and kissed his wife and son. 

He was just about to return to the raucous clubhouse when he was asked about that harrowing, emotional time in late July, the one that nearly turned his life upside down. 

This had to do with Maximus, his 3-year-old son. Freeman had to leave the team for eight days in July. He seriously considered the possibility of not coming back until next spring. 

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The official start of the Dodgers’ World Series parade is still almost two hours away, but fans have already lined the streets around City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass indicated in a social media post Friday morning the city is expecting “tens of thousands” of people to come downtown for the day’s festivities and the first Dodgers’ championship parade since 1988. 

When is Dodgers World Series parade?

The Dodgers and their fans will celebrate the 2024 World Series title on Friday, Nov. 1, which is also Fernando Valenzuela’s birthday. The Dodgers’ legend died on Oct. 22 due to an undisclosed illness. The Dodgers last paraded in Los Angeles after winning the 1988 World Series.

What time is Dodgers World Series parade?

The Dodgers’ parade in downtown Los Angeles is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. local). Following the parade, a special ticketed ceremony at Dodger Stadium will begin at approximately 3:15 p.m. ET (12:15 p.m. local).

What will Dodgers World Series parade feature?

The Dodgers’ parade commemorating their 2024 World Series title will begin at Gloria Molina Grand Park on Spring Street in front of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Mayor Karen Bass will officially kick off the parade, according to the team, and it will then continue on a 45-minute route from 1st Street to Grand Avenue to 5th Street, culminating at the intersection of 5th and Flower Street. Dodgers’ players will be traveling atop double-decker buses.

The victory parade is free for fans to attend. The ticketed celebration at Dodger Stadium follows soon after the parade is completed. Team officials have indicated it is logistically impossible for fans to attend both events. Dodger Stadium parking gates will open at 8:30 a.m. PT, and stadium entry gates will open at 9 a.m. PT for the celebration ceremony.

How to watch Dodgers World Series parade

Both the Dodgers’ World Series parade and Dodger Stadium celebration will be broadcast nationally in their entirety on the MLB Network. MLB Network’s coverage will be simulcast on MLB.com, Spectrum SportsNet LA and other local television channels in Los Angeles. You can stream MLB Network through Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

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