Dodgers fans were ready to celebrate the second Walker Buehler struck out Alex Verdugo for the final out of the World Series,

They were also ready to spend — and they did so more than any other fan base of a title-winning team in at least 10 years.

After clinching their eighth World Series title with a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday night, the Dodgers set a Fanatics sales record for first-hour sales of a team’s merchandise, across any sport, after claiming a championship.

The statistics are based on the amount of money spent on all merchandise, including jerseys, T-shirts, collectibles and more. Fanatics has been the official online sportswear retailer for most North American sports leagues — including MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA and NHL — for more than a decade.

The Dodgers beat the sales record they set in 2020, after they won their first World Series title since 1988. Over the first 12 hours of sales following Wednesday’s game, Fanatics said, sales of Dodgers merchandise are up 20% from four years ago.

The company also released the top five Dodgers players in merchandise sales since the World Series ended. The name at the top of the list is no surprise — Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani, who signed with the Dodgers in the offseason and was making his first postseason appearance after spending the first six years of his MLB career with the Angels.

First baseman and World Series MVP Freddie Freeman was No. 2. Playing through a serious ankle injury that limited his availability earlier in the playoffs, Freeman became the first player to hit a walk-off grand slam in the World Series. He hit a home run in each of the first four games of the series and drove in a record-tying 12 runs overall.

The top five was rounded out by right fielder Mookie Betts, rookie pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who did not pitch during the postseason because of a toe injury.

Search giant Google wants people to use its navigation app for more than just finding directions and avoiding traffic.

The tech giant is adding generative AI features to Google Maps so people can easily get recommendations for places to go and activities to do.

With 2 billion people using Google Maps every month, the company envisions people also will turn to the navigation app for inspiration, executives said at a press event at the company’s Street View Garage in Palo Alto on Wednesday.

Miriam Daniel, vice president and general manager of Google Maps, said the search giant has the ability to combine billions of pieces of information the company collects about the world and user reviews with generative AI.

“When we bring all this together, we will transform the way users interact with maps,” she said.

Rather than just finding directions or asking Google Maps to find the nearest gas station, users will be able to type out queries such as “things to do with friends at night in Boston” and get answers through the app. Curated with the help of Google’s generative AI chatbot and model known as Gemini, users then will see results that may include speakeasies or live music. Once the user taps on results for a business, for example, they’ll see a summary of reviews by users in addition to photos and videos of the place.

The AI-powered tools are rolling out this week on Apple and Android devices in the United States.

Google’s latest AI-powered updates underscore how the tech giant is responding to challenges to the company’s dominance in search. As the battle for the future of search heats up, the rise of AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can quickly summarize search results has the potential to reshape how people find and sift through information online.

Tech companies such as Meta, Apple and Microsoft have been responding to this change by infusing more generative AI tools into their products.

Google is no exception. At the company’s press event, a giant Google Map location icon, a blue Rivian vehicle and Google’s Street View cameras used to capture images of various locations filled the space.

As tech titans gather a trove of data about their users to power new generative AI tools, concerns about privacy, misinformation and copyright are some of the top issues companies have had to address.

Google also has faced scrutiny from regulators on its power over people’s lives, with a federal judge ruling in August that the company has an illegal monopoly on the online search market.

Daniel said when Google Maps provides users answers to their questions, the company isn’t using individualized information to provide personal results but contextual ones. For example, if a user asks Google Maps for things to do this weekend and it’s October, some of the suggestions might include seasonal activities such as pumpkin picking and going to a haunted house.

“We really take this seriously in making sure we’re using generative AI responsibly,” she said.

Google also is testing more AI-powered tools in another one of its popular navigation apps: Waze. Users will be able to tap a reporting button and tell the app that there’s a car accident ahead simply by speaking. Waze also will alert users when they’re near a school zone so they can be more careful about driving.

Developers are using Google’s AI technology to build new features in other products. Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian used Google data so people can see summaries of restaurants, shops and supermarkets from the car’s infotainment screen, a tool that will be rolled out starting next month.

Mattel, the toy maker behind major brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels, is upgrading its real estate holdings, moving its studio operations and design center into new homes.

The company, headquartered in El Segundo, is planning to move its studio operations to a recently renovated 60,000-square-foot building by 2025. Mattel signed a multiyear contract to lease the office space at 831 S. Douglas St.

The building, located near Mattel’s current headquarters on Continental Boulevard, includes studios the company will use to shoot photos and videos to promote its products, as well as a patio that has fire pits and barbecue and kitchen areas. The building is close to other amenities including restaurants, an upscale athletic club, hotels and stores. For the last 30 years, Mattel has housed its studio operations on its campus, which includes multiple buildings.

The real estate deal is part of Mattel’s efforts to revamp its office space as the company aims to bolster productivity and creativity in the workplace along with attracting new employees. As workers start returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are trying to make the office more attractive for employees who have been accustomed to working remotely.

The interior of a building Mattel is moving its studio operations to by 2025. Mattel signed a multiyear contract to lease the office space at 831 S. Douglas St.

(Courtesy of Continental Development Corp.)

The industrial building, part of Continental Development Corp.’s Continental Park campus, was recently transformed to include a studio production area to meet Mattel’s creative needs.

“Employers have strived to provide reasons for their employees to want to come back into the office and interact with their peers, said Bob Tarnofsky, executive vice president of real estate at Continental Development. “The amenities that they provide are far greater than what we saw typically pre-COVID.”

As employers rethink the future of work, it’s not uncommon for businesses to sign shorter-term leases, Tarnofsky said. Mattel, however, signed a long-term lease. He declined to say how much Mattel paid for the lease and how long it lasts.

A patio with fire pits is among the amenities of the building.

(Courtesy of Continental Development Corp.)

This year, Mattel also announced it will be moving its design center, which has been located on Mariposa Avenue for more than three decades, to a newly renovated building in 2026. The center, where employees design the hair, clothing and other parts of toys, will be housed in a 167,767-square-foot office space known as Grand + Nash at 2160 E. Grand Ave. Mattel purchased the space for $59 million from New York Life Insurance.

“We are embarking on a significant interior modernization of our headquarters building at 333 Continental Boulevard, infused with the same design principles and inspired by office modernization efforts at Mattel offices around the globe,” David Traughber, Mattel’s senior vice president of finance and head of global real estate, said in a statement.

The buildings that currently house Mattel’s studio operations and design center are leased facilities the company will be vacating.

As of December 2023, Mattel had approximately 33,000 workers in more than 35 countries worldwide, according to the company’s annual report. The company has roughly 2,000 workers in El Segundo and offers its employees a hybrid work environment.