You know how you meet somebody for the very first time and you immediately know that you like them; whether by premonition or instinct, or just a gut feeling?

I, along with a half dozen other media types, recently had the pleasure of meeting newly acquired Dodgers outfielder Steven Souza Jr. It was not a pleasure just because he is a seven-year MLB veteran with a career slash line of .232 / .322 / .415 / .738 and is a former third-round draft pick in 2007 by the Washington Nationals out of Cascade High School in Everett, WA, but because you can immediately tell that he is a great guy, whether by premonition or instinct, or just a gut feeling.

While with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017, Souza hit 21 doubles, two triples, and 30 home runs, with 78 runs batted in. And while his .239 / .351 / .459 / .810 slash line that season was nothing to write home about, it was abundantly clear that there was – and apparently still is – some pop left in his much-needed right-handed bat.

The Dodgers signed Souza to a minor league free agent contract on March 31, 2021, a mere seven days after the Houston Astros designated him for assignment. He was immediately assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers of the newly created Triple-A West League (formerly the Pacific Coast League). In the 22 games he appeared in with OKC, he slashed an impressive .279 / .444 / .603 / 1.047, with four doubles and six home runs in his 22 games with OKC. The problem, of course, is that there was no place to plug him into the Dodgers 26-man active roster.

…until they designated right-hander Nate Jones for assignment this past Wednesday and called up him up.

In his Dodgers debut that night in front of a sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd of 52,157, Souza went 1-for-3, with an infield single. He was also hit by a pitch in the bottom of the ninth, but was left stranded on base in the eventual 2-0 Dodgers loss to the Phillies.

But it’s what happened after Dodger Stadium had cleared out that warmed the hearts of those of us still in the Vin Scully Press Box. As groundskeepers began their postgame task of dragging and watering the field, Sousa, his wife Mikaela, and their four-year-old son Micah (and a precious young girl) came back out onto the field, where the kids ran around, clearly burning off pent-up energy.

It was a wonderful Kershaw-esque moment.

Well done, Steven. You have already won this longtime (old) Dodger fan over.

Play Ball!

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