San Diego, CA
Back home in San Diego for the offseason, Tommy Edman reflects on championship season
On a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers team featuring the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, few observers would have predicted that their postseason run to the 2024 World Series championship would be propelled by an under-the-radar midseason acquisition.
But when the Dodgers beat the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, it was La Jolla Country Day School alumnus Tommy Edman who led them with a .407 batting average and matched a team record with 11 RBIs in six games. Edman was named Most Valuable Player of the NLCS.
In the World Series in late October against the New York Yankees, Edman went 5-for-17 (.294) with two doubles, three walks, a home run, two stolen bases and six runs scored.
After the Dodgers hoisted the World Series trophy with their victory in five games, Edman returned to his home in San Diego to enjoy some time off.
“Baseball is weird,” Edman said. “You have your ups and downs over the course of a season. Part of that (success) can be your swing feeling really good and getting a lot of good pitches to hit. You kind of have to have a couple things align for that to happen. I think both happened in those series.”
Part of his success could be attributed to the overall power of the Dodgers’ lineup.
“I think the great thing about playing in such a good lineup is that the pressure is on the pitcher at all times,” Edman said. “They put so much of their attention on Mookie, Freddie and Shohei that it’s tough to focus for an entire lineup. So it kind of frees up guys like myself to not be the center of an opponent’s gameplan.”
Edman said he experienced many games this season that he would consider among the best he’s been a part of. First was Ohtani’s walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 23 to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases on the season. And Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series set the tone for the rest of the series.
“The World Series was incredible,” Edman said. “Obviously, the first two series leading up to that — beating the Padres and beating the Mets — were great series in and of themselves. And the buildup to having the best team in the NL face the best team in the AL was really exciting.”
Another thing that helped set up Edman for his success on the big stage was his time playing winning baseball at La Jolla Country Day and then Stanford.
Edman was a Country Day Torrey from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade and grew up watching his father, John, coach the high school baseball team. Edman played for his father from 2010-13.
“I learned about the game of baseball a lot when I was pretty young,” Edman said. “So I think that kind of helped me with my instincts and just understanding the game and what it takes to win.”
And win the Torreys did. In Edman’s sophomore year, LJCDS took home its first CIF baseball championship. His first-inning home run in the title game propelled the team to victory.
Edman still holds LJCD records for hits, runs, stolen bases, and ERA as a pitcher. He was a four-time All-Coastal League selection, a three-time All-CIF selection, the 2013 Coastal League MVP, a 2013 MaxPreps All-State selection, a 2013 Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American and a 2013 CIF San Diego Section Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Those accolades earned him a spot in Country Day’s Athletic Hall of Fame last year.
“I grew up around the school and I would go into the gym and they had all the plaques and banners for all the past athletes in the Hall of Fame,” Edman said. “I used to admire them. So now, to get to join their ranks, it feels very special.”
Edman played against the best players in San Diego, something he said was crucial to his development as a young ballplayer.
His baseball career further blossomed at Stanford, where he was named to the All-Pac-12 first team, All-Pac-12 Defensive Team and All-Pac-12 Academic Team and earned a degree in math and computational science.
The St. Louis Cardinals took him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft.
In St. Louis, Edman won several awards for his defensive prowess, including a 2021 Gold Glove and a 2022 Fielding Bible Award. His versatility and speed made him a key piece of a Cardinals team that typically was in the playoff mix.
Edman’s 2024 season had a sluggish start. He endured a longer-than-expected recovery from wrist surgery and suffered a sprained ankle on a rehabilitation assignment in June.
But the Dodgers saw value in Edman, who can play shortstop, second base and outfield. In the last week of July, they acquired Edman and hard-throwing reliever Michael Kopech in exchange for infielder Miguel Vargas and a pair of minor-leaguers.
Edman quickly immersed himself in the Dodgers’ clubhouse culture, showing his versatility not only in the positions he plays but also in how he can adjust to a new setting.
“When I went in there, I just wanted to learn as much as I could,” Edman said. “And I think that helped me get integrated pretty quickly. I think guys just saw I was excited to be a part of the team (and) excited to contribute and that I wanted to be the best player I could be.”
He made his Dodgers debut Aug. 19. Just over two months later, he had added NLCS MVP and World Series champion to his resumé.
And Edman will remain in Dodger blue for the foreseeable future. He signed a five-year, $74 million contract extension Nov. 29 that goes through the 2029 season, with a sixth-year club option valued at $13 million.
Beyond his MLB, college and high school teams, Edman played for the Korean team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
It marked his first time visiting the country, and he saw it as an opportunity to represent his family lineage. As of April, Asian players made up only 3.4% of MLB’s population, a slight increase over 2023’s 3.2%.
“There’s not too many players in MLB with an Asian-American background,” Edman said. “It’s definitely becoming more common … with Shohei and a lot of guys coming over from Japan and Korea. But I think it’s really cool to be an example, especially for Asian American kids who are growing up and see players in the big leagues who are having success who look like them.”
Following a weeklong vacation to Florida, Edman’s offseason focus is on his family. He and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their first child, Eli, in October last year.
“Spring training always comes really quickly,” Edman said, “so we gotta take advantage of this time off while we can.”
Lyons writes for the La Jolla Light.
Originally Published:
San Diego, CA
Automated license plate readers and public surveillance cameras are coming to Imperial Beach
The city of Imperial Beach will soon install four Automated License Plate Readers and two additional “public safety cameras” in hopes of improving public safety.
On June 3, Imperial Beach city councilmembers voted to enter into an agreement with the San Diego Sheriff’s Office to place four license plate readers manufactured by surveillance giant Flock Safety at four proposed intersections, and they will also install two cameras in the city to monitor for criminal behavior.
The cameras, part of a two-month pilot program, seek to improve public safety in the South Bay coastal town.
The four proposed locations for the license plate cameras are Imperial Beach Boulevard and 13th Street, Palm Avenue and 13th Street, 13th Street and Elm and 9th Street and Elm Ave.
The proposed locations for the public cameras are on the median of Palm Avenue and 8th Street, Palm Avenue and Seacoast Drive and Imperial Beach Boulevard and Seacoast Drive.
For the license plate readers, city staff said they have proven their usefulness in cities and unincorporated areas throughout San Diego County for years.
“[License Plate Reader] technology has contributed to multiple arrests, including identifying suspects’ vehicles involved in retail thefts, gas station thefts, and vehicle burglaries. [License Plate Readers] have also assisted in identifying a suspect vehicle in an international hit-and-run homicide in Lemon Grove and a vehicle involved in a [pellet] gun case in Encinitas,” reads the city’s staff report to the city council.
City staff said the Sheriff’s Office recommends a total of eight license plate readers, but the city opted for four.
“This is a pilot program. We have to consider the trade-off of privacy for security,” said public speaker Vivian Dunbar. “People have been falsely arrested and falsely identified through the use of these cameras.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Pro-Tem Jack Fisher said that while he understands the privacy concerns, the benefits outweigh any negatives. “This is one of those programs where IB is not leading the charge. A few weeks back, everyone was aware of the tragedy that happened at the Islamic Center of San Diego and the license plate readers were key in tracking those individuals down. It’s good for us to do our part.”
Added Fisher, “The era of big brother has passed, if you have a cell phone, you know there is already tracking.”
The council unanimously voted in favor of the pilot program.
Utility man Samad Taylor was selected to the Major League roster from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.
Tuesday night was a tale of two parties. Two election night parties.
At Liberty Station’s Stone Brewing, a small coterie of Democratic elected officials and functionaries and a larger coterie of news media shuffled around trying to make sense of the lackluster returns trickling in.
Meanwhile, at downtown’s US Grant Hotel, a much more spirited collection of Republican operatives and supporters laughed and drank in a blindingly-lit convention room, backed by a pianist’s rendition of “Billie Jean.”
The takeaway seemed clear: this was a not-so-great night for San Diego’s Democratic in-group. Chula Vista’s Republican mayor had a huge lead over his Democratic opponent. A tax on second homes lagged behind in the vote count. And several Republicans seemed to make it out of crowded primary fields in local races.
Hell, even if it was only a just-OK night for Republicans – that still seemed worth celebrating to them.
Normally we now get long stretches of days, even weeks of fingernail-biting anticipation as the county so slowly tallies the rest of the votes. But there doesn’t appear to be many close races to watch this time around. There are a couple. We start at the top:
It’s Becerra vs. Hilton
As of 11 p.m., with more than 50 percent of votes counted, it appeared that a Republican and Democrat — rather than two Democrats — would make it through to the general election. Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra led the race, with billionaire Tom Steyer on the outside looking in. The New York Times has a nice tracker here.
Empty Homes Tax Goes Down
Measure A presented a simple choice. What do voters in the city of San Diego have more disdain for – people with enough money to own a second home they leave empty, or new taxes? Turns out, it’s additional taxes. For now, at least.
Championed by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, Measure A would have placed a tax on homes left vacant for more than half of the year. It was pitched as a way to both raise badly needed revenue for the city and, potentially, make available badly-needed housing.
As of Tuesday evening, the measure’s prospects looked grim, with about 58 percent of voters casting a ‘No’ vote. It will become the second citywide tax increase rejected by voters in as many years. Despite the poor showing, intern Naomi Granata found the pitch resonated with some voters in North Park.
San Diego County Assessor-Recorder-Clerk Jordan Marks was one of a number of local electeds who came out in opposition of the tax. He said the city’s housing problems couldn’t be solved by what he called “bad taxes.”
“This result reflects that Sean Elo-Rivera and the City Council have lost the trust of the public and that voters are reading the fine print,” Marks said.
Elo-Rivera said it wasn’t looking good, but he was hopeful the picture would improve. Ultimately, he thought the money spent opposing the tax — and the distorted message he felt it sent — was too big to overcome.
“There was an enormous amount of money spent, and not just money spent, but money spent to trick voters into thinking that something was going to impact them that wasn’t,” Elo-Rivera said.
No Ammar
Republican County Supervisor Jim Desmond led the way in the 48th Congressional District on Tuesday night.
What we were waiting for is the candidate who would go with him to the runoff. It will attract a ton of national attention and money. It was one of the seats made more competitive by Democrats in the special redistricting vote last year.
San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and Ammar Campa-Najjar, squared off for a chance to wrest the seat out of longtime Republican control. With 53 percent reporting, von Wilpert held a commanding lead over Campa-Najjar. The councilmember will advance to face Desmond in November.
On the ground in the district, reporter Tigist Layne found that the national politics that led to the redistricting fight were also front and center on voters’ minds as they headed into vote.
Bailey vs. Crosby in Coastal Council District
Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey and Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby will advance to the November election in District 2 of the San Diego City Council.
Bailey, a Republican-turned-Independent, seemed destined to finish in the top two after he attracted significant attention on social media. The race for the second spot was more uncertain. Josh Coyne, like Crosby, attracted significant Democratic support. And Mandy Havlik — a more development-resistant candidate — also had strong grassroots support in Point Loma.
Our new intern Fiona Bork talked to voters in District 2, which covers the city’s southern coastline, who said that affordability was the most important issue. Exactly how that explained their electoral choices differed by a lot. One voter said Coyne’s market-driven approach to building more housing appealed to him. Another liked Havlik’s approach to limiting vacation rentals. A third voted for Bailey because she wanted less development and more public transit. It seems unlikely that Bailey, who is fiscally conservative, would support massively expanding public transit options. Read the full story here.
City Council District 4: The race for southeastern San Diego’s council district featured three candidates: incumbent Henry Foster, Martha Abraham and Johnny Lee Dang.
Abraham was highly critical of Foster in her campaign and that seemed to resonate well with voters. At the latest count, she led Foster by several hundred votes.
Foster has many supporters in the district, but the city’s handling of catastrophic flooding in January 2024 — among other issues — has led to massive distrust of City Hall.
Council District 6: Incumbent Kent Lee had one prominent opponent, Mark Powell, who is a former member of the County Board of Education. They will both make the runoff but Lee got 55 percent of the vote in early counting.
City Council District 8: San Ysidro School Board Member Antonio Martinez and current District 8 chief of staff, Gerardo Ramirez, lead in this race — which was crowded with Democrats. Venus Molina, who serves as the chief of staff to Councilmember Jennifer Campbell, trailed closely behind in third place. This is one of the races close enough to change as the registrar continues counting votes. Molina’s count improved slightly as the night went on.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, spoke with voters outside the Otay Mesa/Nestor Branch Library. One voter told Hinch she voted for Molina because she liked that she is local and a single mother. Read the full story here.
Election Watch Party Bonus: Ramirez’ supporters and family gathered at the Landing Strip, a bar and restaurant at Brown Field Municipal Airport, to watch results roll in. They broke out into applause when results showed him coming in second.
“For some of the folks it might seem like ‘hey man’ you’re second place, but we’re in there. This is a huge, wonderful sign,” said Ramirez.
DeMaio’s Gonna Gloat
Two local elections were something of a proxy battle between two warring factions of the Republican Party. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s team won, again. Every time local Republican leaders unite to oppose him or the people he supports, DeMaio wins. This time it was about two races: the one to replace County Supervisor Jim Desmond and the one to replace State Sen. Brian Jones.
In the county supervisor race: San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones left no doubt she would make it to the runoff. The only remaining question is who will face her — Vista Mayor John Franklin or Kyle Krahel, the former chair of the Democratic Party. After the first votes were counted, Krahel held a slight advantage with 20 percent of the vote compared to Franklin’s 19 percent. DeMaio went all in for Jones and she led the field with more than 41 percent of the vote.
In the state Senate race: As expected, former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott made the runoff for the state Senate District 40 seat. She got nearly 45 percent of the votes counted so far. The real question was who would go with her. That Republican battle between Kristie Bruce-Lane and San Marcos City Councilmember Ed Musgrove seems to have also gone DeMaio’s way with Bruce-Lane holding a 4.7-percentage-point advantage over Musgrove.
That’s not enough of a gap to call the race but it’s significant.
Teachers Union Pushed Barrera to Runoff in Statewide Race
The race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction became something of a flex test for the state’s largest teachers union. Could the California Teachers Association almost singlehandedly lift a relatively unknown San Diego board member over a bevvy of better financed, higher profile candidates? Yup. Easily.
Fueled by nearly $5 million in spending from the state’s largest teachers union, longtime San Diego Unified Trustee and labor-darling Richard Barrera sailed to a convincing second place finish in the race for state supe. In his nearly two decades as the power behind the throne of the second largest district in the state, Barrera has engineered a progressive labor friendly transformation that the union hopes can be taken statewide.
He will now face off against Republican Chino Valley Trustee Sonja Shaw in November.
Brews and News + Your Chance to Win Padres Tickets
Meet our team and get an election debrief at our Brews & News Live Podcast at Soda Bar on Thursday, June 11. We will be joined by San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera. Get your tickets here and you’ll be automatically entered to win two tickets to a Padres game. Winners will be announced at the event.
Obligatory note: No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win the Brews and News Live Podcast Giveaway. A ticket purchase or donation will not increase chances of winning. All applicable federal, state, local and municipal laws, rules, and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law.
In Other News
- Opinion: A retired lifeguard finds irony in SDG&E’s stance on residents putting solar panels on their balconies. The company once argued against rooftop solar because it was unfair to renters, but now, he writes, “a low-cost system allows most of those same people access to solar, but SDG&E seeks to deny them as well.” (ICYMI: Our MacKenzie Elmer wrote that plugging in such a device could put her at risk of getting her power cut.)
- San Diego County officials warned South Bay residents to limit their exposure to the outdoors after a broken pipe spilled millions of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River. (Union-Tribune)
- NBC 7 reports that a judge ruled that the city of San Diego illegally collected parking ticket late fees for three years.
- About that cross-border tunnel: The U.S. Attorney’s office says a recently discovered, massive tunnel stretching from Tijuana to Otay Mesa leads to a fake store in the southern San Diego neighborhood. Four people have been charged in connection with drug trafficking linked to the tunnel.
The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney, Mariana Martínez Barba and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry, Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
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