Yes, Dodger Dogs are Mexican food.

Mexican culture is firmly rooted within the culture of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Doyers, as they are affectionately known by Mexican fans, have become a household staple for generations of Mexican and Mexican-American families in the City of Angels.

By extension, the Dodger Dog has become Mexican food.

When Fernando Valenzuela made his Dodgers debut in 1980, little did he know that he would end up converting thousands of Mexicans living in Los Angeles and beyond into Dodgers fans. 

The phenomenon known as Fernandomania helped push more Mexicans to Dodger Stadium and ballparks throughout the National League, beginning in earnest during his 1981 Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award season.

As a Latino going to Dodger Stadium in the mid to late 1980s, you would have been hard pressed to find culturally relevant dishes like tacos and ceviche. Rather, what you did find was typical ballpark grub like a hot dog. Nachos were the only Mexican food.

The Dodger Dog became a ballpark staple. With Valenzuela pitching into the ‘90s, it became an everyday treat for Latino fans. It has remained that way.

Those newly minted Dodgers fans would pass their fervor onto their children, and those children passed it onto their own. The Doyer Dog became a mythical food item that everybody had to try once, even if you despised hot dogs.

My love for Doyer Dogs started with my abuelita, Orosia Martinez, who fell in love with the game of baseball because of Valenzuela. Over Jaime Jarrín’s calls on the radio and later Vin Scully on television, my abuelita fell in love with America’s Pastime.

Her fandom was passed down to my mother and her siblings and later to us children. Through her, I learned the game and developed a passion for it.

Though I would not consume my first Doyer Dog until well into my childhood, the experience was worth the wait.

In the years following I would consume many more dogs, including dozens while a student at USC when Dodger Stadium was a hop, skip and a jump away.

Now, of course, if you step outside Dodger Stadium it won’t be hard to get your Doyer Dog fix. The Farmer John weiners themselves can be found in most area grocery stores. If you so happen to want the full fix, most Southern California gas stations sell Doyer Dogs.

More so, if you go to Dodger Stadium, it won’t be hard to find culturally relevant food either. From tacos to nachos, the options are present, however, the Doyer Dog remains.

The point being, that at its surface a Dodger Dog is a simple entity, a plain hot dog. However, when you get down to its history and its meaning to a region, you come to realize that it’s worth more than the bun it sits on. 

That’s why to me Doyer Dogs will forever be part of Mexican food. 

 Featured Image: Courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers