Minneapolis – The reigning World Champion, the Los Angeles Dodgers, were in town this week. Minnesota Twins reliever Anthony Banda, who was a part of their last two World Series runs, received a warm reception from his former teammates. They also gifted him with his 2025 World Series ring on Monday.
Banda had not seen most of them since the holidays last December, when former teammate and fellow left-handed reliever Alex Vesia hosted a Christmas party. He knew this day was coming on the schedule. However, when the moment came for Vesia and Tanner Scott to present him with his ring, it hit him a little harder than expected.
“I love that guy to death,” Vesia said about Banda. “He is the best. So for myself, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to present with Tanner and I.’ It was just super special. He’s been there for me through many moments, and just the nicest guy.”
“That’s why you play the game, for memories like that,” Banda said on Monday. “Achievements are going to be what they are. It’s mostly the memories. You get to sit down and talk about it over a cup of coffee one day. But it’s great. It’s a heavy moment for me, really. So it was fun.”
Banda also had his mom and dad, Frank and Danette, in town for Monday’s game. So were his aunt and uncle, Libby and Jerry, in attendance to see the Dodgers present with the ring. The moment came with plenty of fanfare from local and Los Angeles media members. Still, Banda was able to soak it all in, from catching up with old teammates to showcasing the World Series ring.
Vesia said that Feb. 6, the day the Dodgers designated Banda for assignment, was difficult for him. The bond they had built in the bullpen over the past two years had been special. As much as it was a moment to celebrate Banda’s role in the Dodgers 2025 World Series run, it also provided much-needed levity for old teammates who missed one of their favorite guys in the Dodgers clubhouse the past two years.
“I think what he’s done for this team the last two years is truly, it’s super special because only the people in this clubhouse kind of know what and how he goes about his business,” Vesia said. “He’s been there for me through many moments and just like the nicest guy. Always has a good head on his shoulders, smile on his face, you know he’ll take the ball day in and day out. So I have a lot of respect for him.”
“He just wants to be valued, and he’s in good hands with Derek,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I thought we did a great job with him. He did a great job for us. And like all players, man, they just want to be seen. They want to be valued. He picked us up in big spots. He wants to pitch every night. Never complained. So he was great on the team.”
Lefty relievers often spend more time together than they do with their other teammates. That brought Versia and Banda together early after the Dodgers signed Banda. Aside from being lefties, the two don’t have that much in common, given how they operate within the game or even with how they view life.
But because they spent so much time in the bullpen together over the past two years and constantly asked each other questions, it created one of the strongest bonds in the Dodgers clubhouse, even if people didn’t talk about it as often as others.
“I think that’s why we gelled and meshed, and we were just, we were really good with one another,” said Vesia. “I think just some of his qualities, being able to just block outside noise and really focus on what he really needed to do, the task at hand. But that also comes from adversity. His career has not been easy, but that adversity has made him who he is today.”
“It’s always good to see those guys,” Banda said. “[We] did a lot of cool things together. It’s a great group of guys. I think anywhere they would go, they’d be loved. So it just speaks volumes of the persons they are. We all fit. It was weird because we all just fit perfectly together. But yeah, it’s always good to see familiar faces.”
Banda’s old teammates may also be catching him at a time they don’t want to face him. Since May 3, Banda has only allowed one earned run through 18 innings, struck out 16 batters, walked nine, and allowed 10 hits. Even when runners are getting on against him, he’s holding them to a left-on-base percentage of 90.5%.
Veisa was able to see how the struggles impacted Banda from afar at the start of this season. So, for the two to catch up now when Banda’s at the top of his game just made it all the more rewarding to hand him his championship ring.
“I think he’s definitely carried on all the stuff he’s learned with the Dodgers, and he’s definitely clicked off quite a few of the last month, month and a half,” Vesia said. “Being a reliever, every day is a new day, and to kind of just carry that momentum and just ride the wave of it. He definitely does a good job of coming to the field every single day with the mentality of, ‘I’m going to win the day.’”
