Dodger Stadium outfield in the Seventies (above) versus last night (below).

When I was a kid, there were just two ads out there and they were for the same company. Since Union Oil helped Walter O’Malley finance and complete his stadium, their 76 brand had sole possession of the limited ad space. It was clean and modern-looking and entirely fitting with the Sixties vibe the old stadium exudes.

Today, there are (by my count) twenty-one twenty-five ads out there. Ten on the outfield walls (I’m counting the @Dodgers spot as an ad since I’m sure they’d sell it in a minute), nine on and around the scoreboards (I’m not counting the LA logo above the right field scoreboard), and one each over the bullpens (undoubtedly to help pay for the new seating and bars they stuck up there — the right field Bud Light sign is not seen in this picture). (I originally missed two little ones on each end of both ancillary scoreboards under the main scoreboards.)

I don’t know if this is good or bad or what. Ads have always been in baseball stadiums. Always. I suppose as long as it keeps the old girl a serviceable and profitable place to play ballgames, it’s what has to be. I hope the Dodgers play there another fifty years.