With an empty Dodger Stadium as his production set, Bryan Cranston reprised his role as Major League Baseball's ultimate hype man.
A year ago, Cranston starred in the league's preseason video that emphasized the league's new rules like the pitch timer but this time, it is about players achieving their dreams.
Cranston, who is from Canoga Park, Calif., is a huge fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and filming at Dodger Stadium is always magical for him.
"This is my Citadel," Cranston told MLB.com. "This is where I feel happiest, ever since I was 6 years old coming here in 1962, when it opened. I've grown up with this place. It means something to me.
"When I die and I'm cremated, I want my wife to figure out how to drop the ashes on the pitcher's mound or home plate," he said with a smile, amused with the idea. "Just thinking about that, it'd be cool, the image of that. Listen, I hope that doesn't happen too soon, but it would be a nice, nice place to be."
Adrian Garro of MLB.com described Cranston as "enthusiastic" throughout the shoot and was reflective of his personal interest in the subject matter and answered questions about the Dodgers' upcoming season.
He's excited to Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Dodger Stadium, but a couple of others have piqued his curiosity.
"Tyler Glasnow, I'm curious to see if he's able to stay healthy," Cranston said. "Teoscar [Hernández] is someone I'm curious about as well."
With all his visits to Chavez Ravine, Cranston told a story about one specific moment that stood out above the rest which he believes was around Oct. 5, 1980.
"It was the last game of the season, the Dodgers had to win against the Houston Astros in order to force a tie. It was a must-win game, and it was also Fan Appreciation Day.
"My brother, my friend and I were sitting in the seats here. We had three seats in the Loge section, I think. The Dodgers won the game, a close game, we're very excited. We went to get in line to get tickets for the next game, the one-game playoff against Houston to see who would advance. While we're in line, they're starting to do the raffles for various prizes.
"They go, 'And now we have a brand-new truck, the winner is in Loge section 37' -- and we gasp, because it was my brother's ticket.
"My brother won a truck from that game. He drove it for a long, long time."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University ... Read more
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