The mural is impossible to miss going southbound on Figueroa Street in Highland Park: Julio Ur\u00edas<\/a> in a white Dodgers<\/a> uniform pumping his fists in celebration<\/a> with the Mexican flag behind him. Ten minutes away at Dodger Stadium, where money isn\u2019t an issue, Ur\u00edas\u2019 presence was expunged immediately. Murals were altered<\/a>. His locker was emptied and given to Kolten Wong. He was removed from 2020 World Series highlights shown on the video board. The measures were taken to make it seem as if he never existed, as if he never rose from a teenage wunderkind prospect to staff ace<\/a>. Dodgers<\/a> USC Sports<\/a> Subscribe for unlimited access<\/a>
The image depicts Ur\u00edas\u2019 reaction to recording the final out of the 2020 World Series<\/a>. It\u2019s painted on a wall of El Pescador, a Mexican restaurant, on the side facing oncoming traffic. He shares the canvas with Kobe Bryant<\/a>. He\u2019s there because he brought pride to the community. He was one of them representing on the grandest stage.
That changed last month when Ur\u00edas was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence<\/a> \u2014 four years after being arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic battery<\/a> \u2014 and placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball. Though Ur\u00edas has not been charged, his career as a Dodger probably ended that night. His time in the major leagues might have, too. He became a pariah, and El Pescador was left with a glaring piece of artwork.
\u201cWe don\u2019t condone that behavior,\u201d an employee said. \u201cBut with how things are nowadays, we can\u2019t just change it. That would cost thousands of dollars.\u201d
Dodgers<\/a>
Domestic violence accusations are a pattern for Dodgers pitcher Julio Ur\u00edas and the team can no longer trust him. He can\u2019t throw another pitch in Dodger blue.
Sept. 4, 2023<\/p>\n
But Ur\u00edas\u2019 absence will be felt Saturday when the Dodgers host the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Ur\u00edas, 27, was supposed to start on the mound for the home team to begin the march to another World Series. He would\u2019ve been in the final stretch before reaching free agency and hitting the jackpot. The mariachi music would\u2019ve boomed and the crowd would\u2019ve rallied around the Dodgers\u2019 biggest Mexican star since Fernando Valenzuela<\/a>.
Instead, Clayton Kershaw<\/a>, hindered shoulder and all, will take the ball. Unproven rookies and Lance Lynn, who led the majors in home runs allowed this season, will fill out the rest of a shaky playoff rotation. The Dodgers finished their 100-win campaign with a strong September without Ur\u00edas. They\u2019re still among the favorites to win the championship. But the rotation is an uneasy question mark hovering over them as they begin the postseason.
Dodgers<\/a>
In addition to removing murals around Dodger Stadium, the team also removed Julio Ur\u00edas\u2019 locker from the clubhouse in the wake of his arrest.
Sept. 11, 2023
\u201cWe may have to approach it in a more unconventional way,\u201d Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Wednesday. \u201cBut the arm talent and the depth that we have<\/a>, we feel really good about.\u201d
Ur\u00edas was the Dodgers\u2019 Game 1 starter a year ago. He logged five innings in a victory over the San Diego Padres<\/a>. It was the Dodgers\u2019 only win of the postseason. Entering this season, his impending free agency was one of the top story lines around the Dodgers. He wasn\u2019t just a standout pitcher<\/a>. He was a fan favorite. Would the Dodgers actually not re-sign him?
His previous standing in the city was evident in his final official community appearance with the Dodgers in late August when he showed up at a Jack in the Box in Inglewood<\/a> with a line of fans wrapped around the building.
For an hour, he took a few orders at the register, handed out food at the drive-through window, and posed for photos in front of a Dodgers backdrop wearing his No. 7 jersey. Men and women, young and old, nearly all Latino, waited for their five seconds with the pitcher. They greeted him in English and Spanish.
Jesse Ur\u00edas, unrelated, waited in line with his 9-year-old son, Miles, to meet the pitcher.
\u201cWe got everything of his, bro,\u201d the father said. \u201cBobbleheads, you name it. Cards. Everyone here is all Hispanic, so obviously he means something to the culture here. Big time for our family. It\u2019s cool my son got to see someone with that same kind of color skin as him. From the same kind of vibe as him. So it means a lot to us.\u201d
Julian Aguilar, another 9-year-old boy, wore his baseball uniform and glasses similar to the ones Ur\u00edas wears on the field. There was a woman in a Tomateros de Culiac\u00e1n cap and a man in a Dodgers-themed Chalino S\u00e1nchez T-shirt that Ur\u00edas complimented.
Dodgers<\/a>
Major League Baseball is aware Dodgers pitcher Julio Ur\u00edas was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence and plans to launch an investigation.
Sept. 4, 2023
Brae Colorado came from Torrance. She grew up in the Mexican state of Tabasco. Her parents, avid Dodgers fans, live in Tijuana. Ur\u00edas resonated with them.
\u201cThe pride of having a Mexican man representing us on the mound for the Dodgers is amazing,\u201d Colorado said. \u201cI adore what he does. The slurve\u201d \u2014 Ur\u00edas\u2019 signature pitch \u2014 \u201cis my favorite. I watch the Dodgers every freaking day. So it\u2019s amazing to see in person and meet him and get to take a picture with him. It\u2019s just something I will never forget.\u201d
Five days later, Ur\u00edas was arrested<\/a> after attending an MLS game at BMO Stadium and released on $50,000 bail. The next day the Dodgers decided he wouldn\u2019t travel with them to Miami<\/a>. Two days after that, MLB placed Ur\u00edas on paid administrative leave. Overnight, the beloved Dodger disappeared, leaving behind a hole in the team\u2019s rotation and disappointment throughout the city.
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Jorge Castillo is a sports enterprise reporter, with a focus on baseball, for the Los Angeles Times.
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