From living the RV beach life to World Series heroics: Our favorite 2024 Sports stories

There are no shortage of year-end lists that employ metrics — unique visitors, page views, minutes spent — to measure the most popular stories of the year.

The most enjoyable lists, however, are less quantifiable and divined instead by the writers themselves and what they have found most rewarding.

The following 17 Times staff writers and columnists, listed alphabetically, share their favorite sports stories from 2024.

Children play soccer at the Senda de Vida migrant shelter in Reynosa, Mexico. iACT, a Southern California humanitarian group, with support from Angel City FC, is using soccer to help children stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border cope with waiting for asylum.

(Kevin Baxter / Los Angeles Times)

Kevin Baxter

Why this story stuck with me: Immigration is such a hot-button issue these days that we sometimes forget there are human beings at the center of that debate. And many of those human beings are children who have no say in where their parents take them. Reporting this story from the Mexican border about the children who are caught in the political — and sometimes literal — crossfire moved me deeply. I got to know some of the children as well as the people from iACT and their partners at the border who are looking out for these kids, the most vulnerable and most silent players in a tragic situation not of their making.

UCLA students camp outside Pauley Pavilion while waiting in line for tickets.

(Courtesy of Branden and Jennifer Brough)

Ben Bolch

Why this story stuck with me: This was a whimsical look at a lost art — sleeping outside Pauley Pavilion for prime seats at basketball games and everything that entailed, including the inevitable romantic connections.

Fernando Valenzuela reviews notes before a broadcast at Dodger Stadium in July 2003.

(Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

Eduard Cauich

Why the story stuck with me: Sometimes, I feel we take the people we see every day for granted and get caught up in the routine. Whenever I went to Dodger Stadium, I would see Fernando Valenzuela and say hi to him in the press box. I tried not to bother him and gave him privacy when he ate at the cafeteria before games. I was not very close to him, but once I shared a meal with him, we talked about Yucatan, Mexico, where his wife and I are from. Months before his passing, he told me he didn’t feel well when I asked him how he was doing. Other colleagues who cover Dodgers more often met him a little more, and by talking to them in this story, I connected some of the missing pieces I had about Fernando’s personality. I wasn’t wrong when I thought of him as a timid and private person. I also got the sense he became “one of us,” meaning he proudly represented Spanish-language media. I often think about how I would have liked to talk to him more as a colleague. It’s hard to believe I would never see him again in the press box. He was a legend, but he also became part of us, the media.

Scott Pickler, who built a successful program at Cypress College in Orange County, has spent his summers since 1999 coaching in the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League, a popular wood-bat league for top college players in Massachusetts.

(Jacqueline Mia Foster / For The Times)

Mike DiGiovanna

Why this story stuck with me: It was refreshing to escape the grind of another Dodgers season and escape to bucolic Cape Cod for a few days in July to profile a baseball lifer who I covered at Loara High in the 1980s and who has spent nearly five decades in relative obscurity coaching at Cypress College and 26 years managing in the nation’s premier collegiate wood-bat summer league on The Cape, shaping and molding some 125 future big-leaguers and hundreds of amateur players along the way.

Las Amazonas de Yaxunah play a softball game during a visit by actor Yalitza Aparicio. Women don’t typically play sports in their community and took time to get men to accept that it was something fun they could excel at while improving their fitness.

(ESPN Deportes)

Jad El Reda

Why this story stuck with me: If you want to talk about women empowerment, take a loot at The Amazonas of Yaxunah. I had the blessing of traveling to Yaxunah in Yucatán, México, to meet a special group of indigenous women that defied their society, culture and history, just by picking a softball and running bases barefooted. The Mayan women became a national and international sensation but remained untouched in their humility and desire to let the world know that while wearing their traditional huipiles anything is possible. From playing on the sandy fields of their town, then stealing bases at the Phoenix’s Chase Field and to watching their story on the big screen during the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), there is nothing impossible for these women. I dedicate this to my mother, my wife, my daughter, my sisters, and to the many women that have impacted my life in one way or another and it was important to share the story of The Amazonas with the world.

Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, left, and Jim Harbaugh give cheers with cans outside the coach’s RV. Roman also has an RV on the beach.

(Courtesy of the Chargers)

Sam Farmer

Why this story stuck with me: I loved exploring the quirkiness of Jim Harbaugh and reconnecting with television of the 1970s. Finding people from that era — producers, directors, writers, composers and actors — was a blast.

Freddie Freeman reacts after hitting a walk-off grand slam for the Dodgers in a 6-3 win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Jack Harris

Why this story stuck with me: As soon as the ball left Freddie Freeman’s bat in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the World Series, his walk-off grand slam was bound for Dodgers (and baseball) history. Yet, to Freeman, his teammates and especially his family, it meant so much more than that — giving an immortal baseball moment profound personal significance to the Dodgers’ October hero, too.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws a bullpen session during spring training.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

Dylan Hernández

Why this story stuck with me: Before the Dodgers opened their season in South Korea, I made a stop in Japan to report a couple of columns, including one on newcomer Yoshinobu Yamamato. Yamamoto was extremely well-liked on the Orix Buffaloes, and the team’s players and staffers were very open to sharing stories and observations about him. They offered insights that explained how Yamamoto was able to become a postseason hero in Los Angeles after a difficult regular season. A special thanks to Full-Count reporter Ken Mashiba, who kindly guided me around the Kyocera Dome.

Former USC running back Reggie Bush was supposed to be honored during the Trojans’ home opener against Utah State on Sept. 7. That was before the subject of attorney fees came up.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Ryan Kartje

Why this story stuck with me: The Reggie Bush saga dates to 2005, but 20 years later, the ripple effects are ongoing. Bush’s motivations have fascinated me ever since I joined the USC beat. After years of fighting, he finally got his Heisman back this year. But he’s only upped the ante since, suing the NCAA and USC and asking that the school pay his legal fees for his Heisman fight. That didn’t land well at USC, which has tried to repair its relationship with Reggie. That relationship, in light of recent events, may never be the same.

Aaron Donald lets out a celebratory yell after the Rams’ victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game in January 2022.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Gary Klein

Why this story stuck with me: Aaron Donald’s retirement in March caused me to reflect on the eight years I spent covering one of the greatest players in NFL history. In 2019, I went to Pittsburgh to write about his formative years, and met his family and saw the basement gym where he developed his work ethic and his physique. So when he decided to step away, I wanted to give readers some of my observations, and a peek at our exchanges through the years, especially the final one.

(Jack Gregory / For The Times)

Thuc Nhi Nguyen

Why this story stuck with me: This story combines two of my favorite things: gymnastics and math. To me, 2024 will always be the year I watched Simone Biles stick a Yurchenko double pike in Paris, and it was a joy to dust off some high school physics lessons to explain how she wowed us with her iconic skill.

Tony Voda, fifth from left with the cat T-shirt, hangs out with the Dodgerhawks before a game between the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 23.

(Courtesy of Tony Voda)

Bill Plaschke

Why this story stuck with me: During a Dodger season in which virtually every story was about dramatic success, this one was about dramatic failure, the tale of the fan who dropped Shohei Ohtani’s record 40th home run and lost his chance at fame and fortune. I loved this piece not because of what the fan lost, but because of what he gained in the ensuing comfort and support of the usually cantankerous Dodger bleacher bums. This story showed that even one of the darkest parts of this charmed Dodger season wound up with a surprise happy ending.

The Modesto Nuts play a game at John Thurman Field in Modesto in July.

(Andy Alfaro/aalfaro@modbee.com/TNS)

Bill Shaikin

Why this story stuck with me: When the Dodgers won the World Series, Los Angeles erupted in joy. The Dodgers are our team, and we had not celebrated our team with a championship parade in 36 years. Communities all over California have their teams too — until they don’t. The A’s abandoned Oakland this year, after 57 years. Minor league teams have fled Bakersfield, Adelanto and Lancaster in recent years. Ontario is building a $100-million ballpark to lure a minor league team that plays eight miles away, in Rancho Cucamonga. Is there a better, community-centered way?

Eric Sondheimer works in an empty gym at the conclusion of a Harvard Westlake at Loyola basketball game in 2012.

(Nick Koza)

Eric Sondheimer

Why this story stuck with me: Looking back on six decades covering high school football in Southern California. There were so many great memories and I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave a big one out.

Known for his defense, Michael Cooper celebrates a Lakers win in Game 2 of the 1987 NBA Finals in which he made six of seven three-point shotsd against the Celtics.

(Bettmann / Bettmann Archive)

Broderick Turner

Why this story stuck with me: Enjoyed writing this piece because Michael Cooper went to my high school, Pasadena High, making that a prideful moment to write about his big accomplishment. And it was great to hear his former teammates speak glowingly about how Coop deserved to be in HOF.

Tyler Skaggs warms up before a home game against the Boston Red Sox in 2016.

(Matt Brown / Getty Images)

David Wharton

Why this story stuck with me: My favorite story this year wasn’t exactly happy or inspiring. Scouring hundreds of pages of court testimony, cell phone transcripts and text messages, colleague Nathan Fenno and I reconstructed Tyler Skaggs’ final days, hour by hour. These painful details provided more than just a recap of the Angel pitcher’s death by fentanyl overdose — they offered new insight into an epidemic that has ravaged the U.S.

(Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photos from Associated Press)

Dan Woike

Why this story stuck with me: While reporting in Chicago during the NBA Draft Combine, one rumor I heard on multiple occasions was that NBA front offices were having meetings about drafting Bronny James only to then use him as leverage, either to lure LeBron James or to force a trade to the Lakers down the road. I was struck by how much of the talk about Bronny James had more to do with his name than with him or his story. It was true then. And a few months into his pro career, it’s true now.