The Dodgers would go two and four against their nearest rivals, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks but would start the month with a sweep of Atlanta and end the month with a sweep of the Mets. They would run a record of 16-10 for the month of May and a hold of first place in the National League West. We weren’t in the dog days of the summer season but the drone of game after game, day after day, had set in.

However, Shohei was providing daily excitement, and, despite the long season, it seemed as if something different and fun happened every game. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on the Dodgers, with their massive payroll and recent history of failing in the playoffs but the regular season still provided joy. Joy was there, albeit, for true Dodger fans, with trepidation.

Rumors were beginning to circulate about the Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela. As one of the Spanish voices of the Dodgers radio network, he’d maintained a vital presence in the Dodger world, and even had his number retired in 2023, the first Dodger to have his number retired who was not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2024, he started to lose weight, and it was obvious something was amiss. His public appearances, outside of calling games, had dwindled. He still remained an announcer but was leaving the games earlier and earlier.

Freddie Freeman started slow, as quiet rumblings about his age started to creep up. He suffered an early season rib injury that limited his usual perfect swing. Never a complainer, he fought through it and even though he didn’t provide his normally huge numbers, he still provided pop in the middle of the lineup.

The Dodgers were sitting in first place in June, and another playoff appearance seemed inevitable. Still, there was a cloud hanging over the team and the abject joy of spring training hadn’t translated as the season began to take on the looks of a household chore.

****

Rolando took the passing of his beloved brother, Plinio, very hard. He had reached the age of ninety-one, so the passing of friends and contemporaries, though difficult, had become a manageable ordeal. This was different. He was holding on, with all of his strength, to maintain his mind and body but this almost felt like a step too far.

There were many things my dad and I enjoyed together. Yes, Rolando Eats and me cooking for him had become a thing, but he enjoyed even simpler aspects. He loved Jeopardy. If the Dodgers were not on and I was home with him, we would sit and watch Jeopardy. It was a nightly thing, and it was our version of ‘nerding out.’ There’s something special about sitting with a very smart person with ninety years of knowledge and listening to them call off answer after answer. I consider myself an intelligent human, but Rolando had the goods on me when it came to Jeopardy. Sadly, as the years passed, he called out the answers less and less; I liked to think he was giving me a chance to sound smart.

The TV show MASH was also a staple. I believe I’ve seen every episode of MASH at least ten times. It was on at all times in my house growing up and when Rolando moved to California, it was on daily at our house again. Over the years, Heather would also become entangled in our triumvirate of viewing. The three of us watching MASH, Jeopardy and the Dodgers. I’m glad I can still enjoy watching the Dodgers because we’ve not been able to sit down and watch either Jeopardy or MASH since last July.

The thing he most liked to do was tell and listen to stories. We are a family of story tellers. I am a storyteller. My dad was and his father was before him. The act of telling stories is a passing of oral history down from one generation to the next. Most Native American tribes didn’t have a written history; they passed down the story of their people verbally. The natives of Central America were of the same kin and somewhere down the line, the art of storytelling and its history passed to our grandfather, Arturo.

My dad would relay the stories grandfather told him, to me, as a kid and as an adult. I can remember hearing stories of the Mexican Revolution, the reason why he became a minister and stories of his youth. My dad would tell me the tale of why his dad would wake up at 5 AM everyday (it was because his father would wake him with a freezing bucket of water, if he did not). I was also told the story why he wouldn’t eat Tacos de Cecina (it had to do with a firing squad and an unfortunate splattering of brain matter).

Now, who’s to say the exactitude of all of these stories. One should never let fact or truth get in the way of a fine tale, but the lessons and the history remains solid. The actual truth is that once something happens, it becomes open for interpretation and the story evolves and grows over time. A story is as solid as the wielding of that tale and that is who my dad, my grandfather and I are and were, wielders of tales.

After the passing of Plinio, dad began to think back on his days and tell more stories and some of the stories, I had not heard. And believe me, I’d heard a bunch. He was going through a catharsis, an exploration of who he was and had been and, in his examinations, he became flooded with memories. So, my dad and I would watch Jeopardy, then MASH and then the Dodgers and he would tell stories of a bygone time and make it so real and riveting, it was as if I were there and could touch the hand of a younger Rolando.

Two weeks after my Uncle Plinio passed, my dad completely lost all of his hearing. He was unable to hear anything, and his words became difficult to decipher. There were no more tales to tell. Only communication to survive. We had reached a difficult juncture with no understanding of how to move forward.

****

On May 31st, 2024, the National League West Standings were as follows:

LA Dodgers 36-23

San Diego 31-29 5.5

San Francisco 29-29 6.5

Arizona 25-32 10.0

Colorado 21-35 13.5

The Dodgers had a solid grip on first. The next month of the season would be an important one, just as the next month in our lives would be, as well. We watched the games, and my dad with hope, as we did our best to steer clear of fear.

This is Part 6 of the series, Fernando, Freddie, Rolando and Me. There will be a short hiatus of this series until June. Also, we are proud to announce the July 30th release of Kevin R. Andrade’s novel, Ten to the 405. We will have updates on release and pre-purchasing of the book as we receive updates.