The Los Angeles Dodgers will visit the White House Thursday in honor of the team’s second-consecutive World Series title.
The Dodgers have an off-day Thursday between series in Philadelphia and New York. The team, which entered Thursday with an 11.5 over Arizona atop the National League West, is scheduled to resume its road trip Friday against the Mets.
President Trump will host the Dodgers in a 1:30 p.m. event at the Rose Garden.
Shortstop Mookie Betts and utility player Kiké Hernández will not attend the White House event.
Betts said earlier this month he would likely skip the visit to spend the off day with his family following the recent birth of his third child, adding that his decision was not politically motivated. Betts attended the Dodgers’ White House visit following the 2024 World Series championship after previously declining to attend with the Boston Red Sox after their 2018 title.
Hernández, who is on the injured list with a strained left oblique, has also said he will miss the visit because he is beginning a minor league rehabilitation assignment. Hernández, among the team’s most outspoken players on immigration issues, added that he probably would not have attended even if he had been active.
Hernández attended last year’s White House visit, months before federal immigration enforcement operations in Los Angeles prompted demonstrations outside Dodger Stadium and calls for the team to take a stronger public stance. Following the protests, the Dodgers pledged $1.1 million to groups assisting immigrant families and said Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not be permitted to stage operations at the stadium.
“As was the case one year ago, the Dodgers’ upcoming visits to the White House and Capitol Hill follow the longtime tradition of visits by other World Series champions,” the team said in a statement earlier this month. “We appreciate these tributes in recognition of our back-to-back championships.”
The Dodgers were originally scheduled to visit the White House in early April during a series in Washington, D.C., but the stop was postponed because of scheduling.