Around this time last year, a Dodger and a Houston Astro were training together in Riverside. Every weekday through January, competition between them, or talk of one, was an absolute priority.
Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes and Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick both attended Riverside Poly High, one year apart in school. Last winter, they met at Riverside’s 108 Performance Academy, where they both worked on revamping their swings with founder Eugene Bleecker, a sports-science practitioner.
“That they’re both in the World Series is unbelievable,” Bleecker said this week. “It’s been an amazing ride.