The surprising Irish connection to baseball's LA Dodgers

October 29, 2025

The LA Dodgers are currently battling it out with the Toronto Blue Jays for the right to be the 2025 World Series champions. But did you know the famous baseball franchise has historic links to Ireland?

The Dodgers and the Blue Jays are currently tied 2-2 in the seven-match series, with game five set to be played on Wednesday night/midnight UK/Ireland time.

The Los Angeles side have won baseball’s biggest prize eight times and won the 2024 edition of the World Series, while their Canadian opposition are in their first World Series in 32 years and have two titles to their name after back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.

There are many Dodgers fans in Ireland. And they’ll be hoping that the franchise claims a second World Series in a row.

The franchise has tuned into the Irish diaspora in America and around the world, especially when St Patrick’s Day comes around, and has even released themed jerseys and merchandise to coincide with the festivities every March, alongside a number of players with Irish backgrounds that have played for the baseball outfit.

In fact, the Dodgers would be a good choice to play in Ireland if the MLB ever decide to follow what they did in London and play a game in Ireland.

LA Dodgers’ Irish connection goes back over 100 years

The Dodgers began in Brooklyn in 1883 and were founded by Charles Byrne and his brother-in-law Joseph Doyle, both sons of Irish immigrants. At that time, baseball was filled with Irish-American players and fans; the Irish made up nearly half of all professional ballplayers by the 1890s. For the working-class Irish communities of Brooklyn, baseball was both entertainment and a symbol of upward mobility. Back then, the team was known as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and later the Dodgers, which it remains today.

The franchise’s most famous Irish connection came through Walter Francis O’Malley, the man who took the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. O’Malley, whose great-grandfather emigrated from County Mayo, became part owner of the team in the 1940s and gained full control in 1950.

As an Irish-American businessman and visionary, O’Malley made one of the boldest moves in sports history. Facing ageing facilities and limited space in Brooklyn, he relocated the team to Los Angeles in 1958, which brought Major League Baseball to the West Coast for the first time. The move transformed both the Dodgers and the sport itself, expanding baseball’s reach to new audiences and forever changing its geography.

Dodgers’ star is in the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame

Dodgers legend and former star first baseman during the 1970s and 1980s, Steve Garvey, has also embraced his Irish heritage openly. His family traced its roots to County Cork, and Garvey has been active in Irish-American circles, including the Irish American Baseball Society and the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 2019.

Garvey has spoken about how his Irish background shaped his discipline, humility, and focus on family values. He’s also participated in Irish heritage events and celebrations, particularly those connecting Irish culture and American baseball.

While the iconic Irish-American voice of baseball, Vin Scully, who broadcast Dodgers games for an astonishing 67 seasons, always spoke of his Irish roots through his Cavan mother and his father’s Irish background. Many compared his commentary style to Irish storytelling and poetry.

There are no Dodgers players with known Irish heritage in the current squad, so it remains to be seen who the next Irish-American Dodger will be.