Most Dodger fans are familiar with – and love – the beautiful sound of the organ being played at Dodger Stadium before games, after a strikeout, during the seventh-inning stretch, and during big moments in the games. But for the most part, what goes on during an average game for Dodger Stadium organist Dieter Ruehle isn’t exactly common knowledge.

…until now.

During last Saturday’s enormously successful FanFest event at Dodger Stadium, ThinkBlueLA had an opportunity to speak one-on-one with the 50-year-old Southern California native to get an up close and personal detailed account of what it is like to be the latest in the long and storied tradition of great Dodger Stadium organists.

For most, an average workday means heading out early in the morning and working from eight to five. It’s usually the same routine day in and day out. But for Ruehle, it’s different.

Very different. 

“An average day of work for a Dodgers 7:10 [p.m.] start would be arriving between 3 and 3:30, uncovering all the equipment, powering it up, getting a rundown, marking it up – marking my cues – so I’ll know when we’re doing Military Hero, who the National Anthem singer is,” said Ruehle. “All that’s done by 5-ish and it’s time to take a little dinner break

“After that, usually the anthem singer is brought up to the organ and we’ll rehearse together up here and then we’ll rehearse again with the singer on the field.

“Then I usually play a pre-game organ set and then it’s time to start the show – the [in-stadium] hosts, the videos – and then once that’s over, there’s starting lineups, National Anthem, and then ‘It’s time for Dodger baseball,’” he concluded, à la Vin Scully.

Ruehle is known for having a diverse repertoire ranging from Led Zeppelin to music from Disney’s Haunted Mansion, two of my personal favorite selections of his. This allows him to play different songs, depending on what’s going on in the game, that gets the crowd going, like ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes. 

“I guess it’s a gut feeling,” said Ruehle. “Sometimes something will come to me out of the blue, other times I’ll prepare – well, I prepare for every game, I make up a little playlist on my iPad – but sometimes I’ll stray from that if something happens and it just comes to me.”

Ruehle works with several people in the small area of the press box that encompasses the home of his equipment and the video room who all make the magic come together at Chavez Ravine.

“I love working with these guys, it’s a great crew to work with,” said Ruehle. “All the guys in the video room, [Dodger Stadium disc jockey] DJ Severe, [Dodger Stadium public address announcer] Todd Leitz, we all have a good chemistry and I think we’re all on the same page. We just want to do a good job and want the team to do well. We’re all big fans, for sure, big Dodger fans.”

On occasion, Ruehle also gets to interact with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“I’ve met Dave Roberts several times and I’ve met Justin Turner, but usually they’re on the field and I’m up here,” Ruehle explained. “Every once in a while, I’ll go down on the field for batting practice, just to kind of take it all in. It’s great when I go down and Dave Roberts recognizes me and he’ll run over and say ‘Dieter, how are you?’, reach his hand out to shake my hand.”

When told of this a little later during FanFest, Roberts said “I love Dieter Ruehle!”

In addition to these occasional greetings from Doc and JT, Ruehle has several favorite standout moments during his three seasons as the Dodger Stadium organist.

“One of my favorites is the Justin Turner walk-off home run to beat the Cubs in the [2017] NLCS,” said Ruehle. “That was so awesome! It was on the same day as Kirk Gibson’s home run. Here in the press box, it literally shakes because we’re on an overhang, just shaking. I have another moment that was really fun. 

“A few years ago, Yasiel Puig hit a ‘little league’ home run, it was an inside-the-park home run and he just kept running and running and running,” Ruehle said, while reliving the memory. “I forgot what was happening in the outfield, but they were mishandling it. That was pretty thrilling. All the walk-off wins, they’re always fun.

“Another of my favorite moments was in Game-3 of last year’s World Series,” Ruehle continued. “Not only was Max Muncy‘s 18th-inning walk-off a thrilling moment, but for me personally, four innings prior, getting to play ’Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ during the 14-inning stretch is a moment I’ll always remember from that marathon game that lasted seven hours and twenty minutes.”

In addition to these special moments, Ruehle has a favorite activity on the day-to-day as well. 

“The best part of working here? There’re so many best things. I’d have to just say playing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’. If I have to pick one best thing, yeah, that’s just always a fun time,” said Ruehle. “If we’re winning, or even if we’re losing, it seems like fans wanna get up and stretch. It seems to be a happy song to where people can sing along. That’s probably my favorite part.”

In addition to being the Dodgers organist, Ruehle has also been the Los Angeles Kings organist for the last 24 years. Granted, baseball and hockey are two very different sports, but Ruehle’s talents fit right in at the Staples Center as well.

“There’s the obvious differences: one is indoors, one’s outdoors; one’s hockey, one’s baseball,” Ruehle compared. “The crowds seem to be a little different. They’re both passionate. The timing’s different in that, in baseball, I know I’ll have a little more of a downtime before music’s required, whereas in hockey there can be a whistle at any moment.

“Whereas in baseball, I know if, say the visiting team is pitching, I don’t really play unless there’s a strikeout or if there’s a great play on the field, so I do need to pay attention,” he explained. “But once the pitch is made, let’s say it’s ball two, I know I’m going to have 10, 15, 20, 30 seconds ’til the next pitch, so I’m not on alert for those 30 seconds. I can take a breath when the catcher is throwing it back to the pitcher.”

With his experiences with both sports, Ruehle could – and should – be considered a valuable member of both teams that he plays for. He pumps up the crowd and players, who recognize his expert use of the keys and his uncanny gut feeling to play exactly the right song at exactly the right moment.

As with any member of the Dodgers, Ruehle has his own goals for the upcoming 2019 season:

“Just to keep it going, keep having fun, and keep an open mind about learning new things … and hopefully leading the guys on to another division title and take it from there.”

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