Exclusive | Inside the Dodgers tribute to Rob and Michelle Reiner: Jake and Romy Reiners emotional first pitch
Sunday’s Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Boston Red Sox began like thousands before it.Fans filtered in through the gates at Dodger Stadium, bought their concessions and found their seats. But when Dodgers’ public address announcer Todd Leitz asked the crowd of 46,834 fans to direct their attention to the videoboards moments before the first pitch game against the Boston Red Sox, few realized that the most emotional moment of the day was about to unfold. Jake and Romy Reiner were about to make their first public appearance since losing both of their parents, legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michelle Reiner, on December 14, 2025.
Their brother, Nick, has been charged with their brutal murders.What unfolded over the next few minutes became something far greater than an ordinary ceremonial first pitch. It became a family’s love letter to two parents who’d spent a lifetime making Dodger Stadium feel like their second home. The Dodgers had reached out to the Reiner family before the season began to let them know if they ever needed anything, the organization was there for them. The family’s oldest son Jake, reached out in early July with a simple request: Could he and his sister honor both their parents by throwing out a ceremonial first pitch for each of them? The answer came back immediately. Yes. “Whatever you guys want to do, we’ll do it,” a Dodgers spokesperson said they’d told the family.“It was something they felt very passionate about.
It was their happy place, so we wanted them to have some joy.”If you’re familiar with the relationship between the Reiner family and the Dodgers, that response should not surprise you. Rob Reiner wasn’t just another celebrity fan. Long before he became one of Hollywood’s most celebrated filmmakers, he was just another baseball-loving kid from New York who wore No.6 growing up.
After moving to Los Angeles as a teenager, his loyalty shifted from the Yankees to the Dodgers,...