When the Dodgers recorded the final out of the 2024 World Series on Oct. 30 against the New York Yankees, it was an emotional victory for players, coaches, staff, and fans.
But there were other winners that night, namely Catholic school students.
Thanks to a friendly wager made between Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan on Oct. 25 before Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium, more than $20,000 was raised using the site baseballunites.com, to benefit Catholic school students in both cities’ archdioceses.
Having their team win the World Series, the LA Archdiocese will receive 60% of the funds raised, which will go toward the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles. But don’t feel too bad for Yankee fans: their archdiocese will still receive 40% of the funds to benefit the New York-based John Cardinal O’Connor School.
The Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles provides tuition assistance to needy students attending Catholic schools in the LA Archdiocese. The John Cardinal O’Connor School in New York provides a Christ-centered, language-based curriculum for students in grades 2-8 who have learning disabilities, speech impairments, or learning differences.
Archbishop Gomez and Cardinal Dolan had also wagered regionally beloved treats: New York-style bagels and some sweets from Randy’s Donuts. Dolan is expected to deliver the bagels to Gomez during the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Fall Plenary Assembly on Nov. 11-14 in Baltimore.
“What a great World Series,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Not only because the Dodgers won. Certainly, that was great. But it was also just fun to watch, both teams played such good baseball every night. So, thank you to all the players, and a special thank you to everyone who supported our Baseball Unites campaign to help Catholic schools. I’m looking forward to some New York bagels. Go Blue!”
“Congratulations to the Dodgers on a great season and World Series and to my brother, Archbishop Gomez, and I hope he enjoys his bagels,” Cardinal Dolan said. “Even more, my thanks to all who participated in our Baseball Unites campaign in support of Catholic education and our great schools. That makes us all winners, especially our kids.”
The World Series also featured two prominent players who had ties to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher who started Game 1 and the title-clinching Game 5, was a middle-school student at Incarnation School in Glendale. Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees’ powerful designated hitter, graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks — where he was better known as Mike — before being selected in the MLB Draft.
The Dodgers’ World Series win was the team’s first full-season championship since 1988. The team won the World Series in the COVID-shortened 60-game 2020 season. Hundreds of thousands of fans lined up in downtown Los Angeles and at Dodger Stadium for a championship parade on Nov. 1.
That day also would’ve been the 64th birthday for Dodgers legendary pitcher and broadcaster Fernando Valenzuela, who died on Oct. 22 shortly before the World Series. Valenzuela was scheduled to have his funeral at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Nov. 6.
To learn more, visit baseballunites.com.
