Dodgers to visit White House as World Series champions Friday

WASHINGTON  —  The Dodgers’ trip to the nation’s capital this season will include a White House visit Friday as defending World Series champions.

The White House confirmed the news Thursday before the Dodgers opened a four-game series against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.

The Dodgers will be the first professional sports team to visit the White House as champions since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first with President Biden in office.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet the team in the East Room at 11:40 a.m. Eastern time.

The party will be limited to around 50 people because of COVID-19 protocols. The Dodgers last visited the White House as champions in 1988 in Ronald Reagan’s final days in office. The team didn’t go after winning the 1981 World Series.

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“We still don’t have complete finality, but I know that I’m personally excited if the opportunity presents itself,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last week. “I think our coaches and players are as well. I hope Vice President Kamala is there. I’d love to meet her, as well as the president. But it’s an honor. … It’s something that I’ve always dreamt about.”