clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Dodgers spring training Day 1 notes: Avocados, tricycles, numbers, airlines & more

By Eric Stephen
Manny Mota's tricycle is a spring training staple.
Manny Mota's tricycle is a spring training staple.
Photo: Eric Stephen | True Blue LA

PHOENIX -- All 34 pitchers and six catchers reported to Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch on Friday, marking the official start of camp, with the first workout coming on Saturday. Here are some notes from the first day of Dodgers camp.

Yasmani Grandal is doing well after offseason surgery on his left shoulder, reporting no issues entering the spring.

"Talking to him yesterday, he’s done a lot of catching work, swinging the bat. He feels great," manager Dave Roberts said. "So I think he’s kind of where he would expect to be at this time of year."

Position players aren't scheduled to report until Wednesday though several are already in camp. One is newcomer Micah Johnson, whose left hand was bandaged up, the result of needing four stitches after cutting his finger while attempting to cut an avocado. But it appears Johnson ultimately got the better of his green nemesis, tweeting out a picture of an eaten avocado with the caption "Last laugh." (since deleted, for some reason)

Louis Coleman will wear number 62 with the Dodgers. In case you were wondering, the only available numbers between zero and 83 right now are 0, 00, 69 and 70.

Andre Ethier had his number 14 retired by Arizona State on Friday night before their baseball season opener, in a ceremony with former teammate and current Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Both threw out ceremonial first pitches.

The Dodgers on Friday announced a new partnership with Emirates, the new official airline sponsor of the club. The deal includes home plate signage and a new Emirates Lounge hospitality space at Dodger Stadium, and the Dodgers will sponsor the Dubai traveling Little League All-Star team, now renamed the Dubai Dodgers. But perhaps most notably, Emirates will also have signage on the foul poles, the first time the Dodgers have had such sponsorship.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times was at Dodger Stadium on Friday for the press conference announcing the partnership with Emirates, and snapped a photo of the new expanded netting behind home plate, stretching from dugout to dugout, including in front of the Dodgers ownership seats here:

More From True Blue LA