Prior to Wednesday’s much-anticipated game between the Dodgers and Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium, the Dodger faithful were treated to a mysterious opportunity. The player’s spouses teamed up to sell Mystery Bags to fans to benefit the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.

The LADF, as it is known, was founded in 1995 by former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley. With new investors in 2012, the goal was to grow the 501(c)(3) charity. Their slogan became “Bigger than Baseball” to match their mission of expanding throughout Los Angeles.

Fans had the option to purchase autographed baseballs before the game at two locations – one in the Left Field Plaza and the other in the Centerfield concourse. Mystery Bags could be purchased individually or as a bundled set, with all proceeds benefiting the foundation.

If people were anywhere near either location, they would have seen fans excitedly opening their Mystery Bags. You could sense the joy, as fans took photographs, chatted, and shared whose signed baseballs they ended up with.

Each ball came with a Certificate of Authenticity and autographs included current Dodgers players and coaches and former Dodgers legends. Some (very lucky) fans were shocked to find out that their Mystery Bag balls had been signed by just-acquired starting pitcher and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, who made his Dodgers debut that very night.

As is always the case, the Mystery Bags sold out quickly. Some fans purchased them for themselves, others for family or friends There were even some who purchased Mystery Bag balls to be used as raffle prizes as fundraisers for local sports programs.

Regardless of their reasons, at the end of the day, it was for a good cause. It also allowed fans a rare opportunity to meet the spouses of Dodger players and alumni. and, as you might expect, cellphone cameras were busy with fans taking and sharing photos of their new treasures with others.

…and to top it off, the Dodgers ended up beating the hated Astros by a score of 7-5 to split the brief two-game series!

Just another day in the life of the Dodgers and their faithful fans.

Let’s Go Dodgers!

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