Good Sports: Rocky Shields is a Chaffee Red Devil who bleeds Dodger blue

Rocky Shields, 40, of Chaffee, a lifelong Dodgers fan, seen at Busch Stadium in St. Louis in this undated photo.

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During this time of social distancing, the SuperFan series of articles focuses on fans who are geographically distant from the teams they support, who are fiercely loyal to a team outside the state of Missouri. Responses are edited for clarity and brevity.

Today: Rocky Shields, 40, Chaffee High School graduate, born in South Korea, and a lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He is an extrusion operator for Mondi Jackson.

Your team, the Dodgers, play their first regular season game Thursday in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Many sports pundits put L.A. back in the World Series. Will there even be a Series?

I am a little worried that COVID may shut down baseball again. In a couple of weeks, they may need to reassess. The silver lining, if there is one, is players are spread pretty far apart on a diamond.

Will you be watching?

Oh, yes. I’ve paid for MLB TV for 15 years now and it’s going to be weird with no fans in the stands and artificial applause and cheering piped into stadiums.

Is it strange to see players in face coverings?

(Angels’ outfielder) Mike Trout, one of the big stars of the game, was running around the bases the other day in a mask. I understand umpires will be required to wear them.

Rocky Shields of Chaffee in Dodgers gear. Submitted

Is it tough to be a Dodgers fan in Cardinals country?

I get a lot of guff from co-workers and others. One year the Cardinals swept the Dodgers and the next day, I found brooms on my desk at work. Interestingly, since the Cardinals opened their latest stadium (Busch III) in 2006, the Dodgers have the worst record there of any team.

The elephant in the room is how a guy from Chaffee ends up rooting for a West Coast team.

When my dad, Stan, a 1968 Chaffee grad, was in the Navy, he was stationed in Long Beach, California and got a military discount to get into see Dodgers games. Just 75 cents for him to get into Chavez Ravine. You’d be surprised how many Dodgers fans go to Cardinal games. The Dodgers have always been a little head of the curve.

Ahead of the curve, how?

Jackie Robinson, first African American in the majors, played for the Dodgers. Hideo Nomo, the first Japanese player to permanently relocate to the U.S., also Dodgers. Chan Ho Park, first South Korean-born player in MLB, also L.A. It’s nice to see players who look like you on your TV set.

Rocky Shields (left) seen with a friend, Adam Kirchherr of Cape Girardeau, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Submitted

Do you get to Dodgers games in person?

When L.A. comes to Busch, I go to night games. Afternoon games are too hot for me. 2020 will be the first in nine years that I won’t see the Dodgers in-person because L.A. and St. Louis are not scheduled to play in this year’s 60-game regular season.

Is your Dodger fandom well known?

Let me put it this way. I had a high school science teacher in Chaffee who said if someone cut me, I’d bleed Dodger blue. I wear a Dodgers cap pretty much everywhere I go unless I’m in bed or in the shower.

Tell us about your journey to the United States.

I was born in Seoul in August 1979 and came to the U.S. in 1980 when Stan and Brenda Shields adopted me six months later. My parents went the adoption route when they were told they couldn’t have children. I now have two younger step-siblings. My dad, by the way, is named for Redbird great Stan Musial. The love for baseball goes back a long way in our family.

Rocky is an unusual first name. Is it your given name?

Yes. The film “Rocky 2” came out before the adoption, so that’s how that happened. My middle name is Joe and that’s to honor Yankees great Joe DiMaggio.

2020 features, for the first time in a regular season, use of a designated hitter in the National League.

I’m sad about it. The move takes away some strategy from managers. I like to see a pinch hitter come in for a pitcher and double switches are fun. The battle to keep out the DH is pretty much lost. The collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires after 2021 and the union really wants a DH. More jobs.

Baseball has been more and more about home runs.

Yes, the game definitely has changed but honestly, I’m more concerned with strikeouts than homers. If a player isn’t making contact at all, it’s more detrimental to the game than roundtrippers.

Of all the major team sports, baseball is the only one not played on a clock.

Yes and that’s one of the reasons why baseball is my favorite. The game is allowed to follow its own course and own pace. On a ball diamond, you always have a chance to make a comeback. In football, basketball, hockey - name any another team sport - the clock determines the end of the game. In baseball, you have to get the last out and I’m a guy who will stay at a game until it is completely over, no matter what time it is.

Favorite Dodger players?

Don Sutton comes to mind first. I saw him pitch. Steve Garvey, Mike Scioscia, Clayton Kershaw and one of the best bunters I’ve ever seen, Brett Butler.

Favorite L.A. managers?

I liked Joe Torre a lot and (current manager) Dave Roberts has taken the Dodgers to the Series in 2017 and 2018. But Tommy Lasorda is at the top of the list. The Dodgers won their last title with him in 1988 and I grew up with Tommy. Also, in that ‘88 series, Kirk Gibson hit that pinch-hit home run in Game One. Unforgettable.