When the Dodgers first announced that they would be kicking off their 2014 season against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Sydney, Australia late last year, a lot of fans (both Dodgers and Dbacks) thought that the idea was, well, dumb.

First and foremost, very few Dodgers and Dbacks fans will be able to attend the two-game season opener because of the time away from work and family, not to mention the $1,400 airfare, 15+ hour flight and food and lodging expenses for a week. But even though “The Rumble Down Under” (as Dodgers manager Don Mattingly once called it) will have only a relatively small number of actual Dodger fans in attendance, the rest of us can find solace in knowing that Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully will be calling the games on SportsNet LA and that there is a very good history between the Dodgers and the Aussies.

Although the first connection between the Dodgers and Australia occurred during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, it would not be realized until 52 years later. During those 1956 Olympics, an exhibition baseball game was played between an Australian National team and a team from the U.S. That single exhibition game, played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, drew a crowd estimated at 114,000 – the largest crowd to ever witness a baseball game.

A record 114,000 fans witnessed an exhibition baseball game between an Australian national team and a team from the U.S during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. (AP photo)

The incredible record set at the game in Melbourne was eclipsed on March 29, 2008 when a crowd of 115,300 witnessed a pre-season exhibition game between the Dodgers and the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox – hence the first Dodgers-Australian connection.

On March 29, 2008, 115,300 fans witnessed an exhibition game between the Dodgers and Red Sox at the L.A. Coliseum eclipsing the 52-year-old record set during the 1956 Olympics. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The second connection (which actually occurred prior to that March 2008 exhibition game) happened during yet another Olympics – the 2000 Summer Games held in Sydney, Australia. During those Games, baseball was an official Olympic event, as was Women’s Softball – which have both since been removed from the Games. Under the leadership of Dodgers Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, Team USA swept the highly favored Cuban team in four games to win the Gold Medal. And though Lasorda has two World Series titles and is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame (class of 1997), he cites leading Team USA to the Gold Medal in Sydney, Australia as his greatest career accomplishment.

Lasorda can’t hold back the tears as Team USA collects their Gold Medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Legendary USC baseball coach, the late Rod Dedeaux who managed Team USA during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, stands next to Lasorda.
(AP photo)

So with the Dodgers-Australia connection dating back as far as 1956 and again in 2000 and 2008, it only stands to reason that the 2014 season opener between the Dodgers and Dbacks at the newly renovated Sydney Cricket Ground tends to favor the Dodgers.

The famous Sydney Cricket Ground will host the 2014 opening series between the Dodgers and Dbacks. The stadium is currently undergoing a $193 million renovation in preparation for the historic series.
(Photo courtesy of skyscrapercity.com)

Come on boys – Just win baby!