Dodgers News: Diamondbacks, Umpires Complain About New Dodger Stadium Lights After Opening Day
The Dodgers have been very excited to debut their new lights for the 2023 season. The team added LED lights all around the stadium, and are able to have a lot of fun turning them on and off and doing different light shows throughout the game.
While the lights are supposed to add another layer of fun to the fan experience, not everyone was exactly a fan of them.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were quick to complain about the lights following their 8-2 defeat on Opening Day. They felt that there were two instances in which the light show should not have occurred — on Will Smith’s RBI single in the 5th inning, and while Diamondbacks reliever Carlos Vargas was warming up for his 8th inning appearance (per Jorge Castillo of the LA Times).
“I wasn’t too pleased about that,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s the first game for everybody. Hopefully they figure it out. I’ll definitely bring it up with my group here in the front office here and just see what they think about doing. I don’t think anything was done maliciously. I just think they hit the wrong button at the wrong time and they need to be better at that.”
As for the other incident, the Dodger Stadium crew seemed to turn the lights on a little too early after Smith hit the go-ahead RBI single in the 5th inning. Take a look for yourself:
The opposing pitcher on the mound at the time, Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, was a little confused about how they were allowed to flicker the lights in the middle of a play.
“Is that like scheduled? Is that a thing that they’re doing?” Gallen said. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen that before. I was kind of shocked. I mean, it doesn’t seem like it would be something that MLB’s going to allow. I did notice that. But, I mean, it is what it is. It seems like it might be a disadvantage. The ball’s coming back in the infield and it’s dark out there. I mean, it’s the home crowd, they’re going to do what they can for the advantage. We’ll see what happens with that.”
Jorge Castillo, LA Times
Smith acknowledged that “they were celebrating a little too early” there, but, overall, the Dodgers seemed pleased with the light shows. Manger Dave Roberts sure seemed to like them.
“I loved them,” Roberts said. “The lights were amazing. In the middle of a play, we got a little aggressive with the dimmers. But better them than us. … I guess there’s another advantage to playing at Dodger Stadium.”
Jorge Castillo, LA Times
I have to assume the league is going to very quickly crack down on this, and talk to the Dodgers about when they’re allowed to use the light shows, and when they’re not. But after one game, everyone is talking about the new Dodger Stadium lights — and that has to be exactly what Stan Kasten and the front office was hoping for.
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