What are the skills that a successful baseball manager must have? I suspect that there are many possible answers to that question, perhaps as many as those answering the question. No doubt each of us posting on LADT have different preferences or expectations. Some are happy with Dave Roberts, some not so pleased, some neutral. Perhaps each of us has a manager in mind that we think is or has been a good manager. Perhaps we assign a rating by a win-loss record or by post-season success.
I expect there are job descriptions for managers but they would include the duties the manager must perform. They cannot include the intangibles that make a manager a good manager but those personal characteristics that we admire are often uncovered by general managers in their quest to find a manager.
Perhaps those characteristics are uncovered in an interview or were witnessed when the prospective manager was a player.
The manager must work with the roster with which he is provided and working miracles is a rarity. Winning percentage does become significant when a manager has inherited a team that on paper ranks well down on the power rankings.
So, who is your guy? Tommy Lasorda with his emotional style of managing, “bleeding Dodger Blue”, “the big Dodger in the sky”, his rant after Dave Kingman hit three home runs against the Dodgers on May 14, 1978, starting Dave Goltz and his 4.38 ERA in the winner take all game with Houston in 1980 with rookie Fernando sitting on the bench. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Tommy Lasorda fan and I loved his emotion in and for the game. That emotion and his human side as a motivator was significant in the 1988 WS.
I liked Bill Russell. I thought of him as a lifetime Dodger, like Tommy, but with a cool and collected side. In late June 1996, Tommy suffered a mild heart attack and Russell became acting manager on June 25. The Dodger front office decided to make Russell’s appointment permanent on making him only the third man to manage the Dodgers in 43 years. I envisioned him on another long managerial run. He finished the 1996 season, compiling a record of 49–37 and bringing the Dodgers home in second place, earning the NL wild-card spot in the playoffs before being swept in three games by the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series. In 1997 he directed the Dodgers to an 88-74 mark and another runner-up finish in the NL West. When the 1998 club stumbled out of the blocks to a 36–38 start he was fired on June 21 as a precursor to News Corporation taking over the team. We all remember that. Bill Russell had a 30-year association with the Dodgers. His final managing record was 173–149 for a .537 winning percentage. A small sample but better than Joe Torre, Davey Johnson, Grady Little, the venerable Wilbur Robinson, Tommy Lasorda (.526). And yes, we do have to determine if winning percentage is the measure of a manager because of the countless variables involved in even one baseball season.
For me, Jim Tracy had one of my favorite Dodger moments. In 2004 after the Cardinals’ clinching victory in Game 4, the Dodgers and Cardinals came onto the field and shook hands as they do following the wining game in a playoff series in hockey. Tracy led his team onto the field, perhaps at the invitation of Tony LaRussa, but he did it. It is beyond me why a team that has lost in baseball in a final game slinks off the field and down into the locker room. Good for Jim Tracy.
“It was a class act,” said Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan. “Tracy led the way.”
Said an appreciative La Russa: “I know it had to be much more difficult for them to come out of the dugout and meet us halfway. It was impressive.”
I must admit I have run a bit off course. Back to, “Walter Who?” He, of course, is HOF manager Walter Alston.
Alston was born on December 1, 1911, in Venice, Ohio, a few miles northwest of Cincinnati. He was raised on a farm in his formative years and that is perhaps why he might have been mistaken for a farmer on the baseball field and in public meeting the press. He was hard-working, well prepared and did all he could to stay out of the limelight.
“He might be taken for a farmer who came to manage the town team on a Saturday,” wrote Furman Bisher of the Atlanta Journal.
He did play ball as a youngster, playing catch with his father or entertaining himself by bouncing the ball off a barn door. I can recall using a three-colored ball in my youth bouncing it off a piece of plywood my Dad had set up for me and making a game out of it as I fielded the ball. The Dodgers always seemed to win. Alston picked up his not so familiar nickname at that time. “Smokey” was his handle because he claims he had a very good fastball.
He attended high school in a small town in Ohio. He is perhaps the most notable person to have come out of Darrtown. In high school be played baseball and basketball being the captain of both teams. He got a taste of winning when Darrtown High School won the Butler County Championship.
Approaching and then entering the Great Depression years, Alston worked at various jobs to finance his education and to support his wife Lela Alexander whom he married in 1930. He completed his degree in education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, continuing to play baseball in the Clark-Butler County League. For a while, it seemed he was destined to have a teaching career when he accepted a position as a high school Science, Biology, and Industrial Arts teacher, and basketball coach, in the New Madison school district.
However, even back then there were scouts for MLB teams and Alston was targeted by the St. Louis Cardinals. He apparently drew some attention in college pitching and playing the corner infield positions. He had a short minor league career with the Greenwood Chiefs and the Huntington Red Birds of the Mid-Atlantic League. After hitting .326 with 35 home runs he got a September call up and on September 27, 1936, he began his MLB career. Replacing Johnny Mize who was ejected from the game, Alston made an error in two chances and struck out on three pitches. His MLB career also ended on September 27, 1936.
He played nearly a decade in the minors hoping for another chance at MLB which never came as a player. St. Louis moved him in the direction of managing and he served for some time as a player-manager. In 1944, after 13 games, the Cardinals released Alston and the Dodgers quickly swooped in to nab him. Before arriving in Brooklyn in 1954, he managed the Trenton Packers, Pueblo Dodgers, Nashua Dodgers, St. Paul Saints and the Montreal Royals. His resume at that time included league titles with Pueblo, Nashua, and three with the AAA Montreal Royals, including one Junior World Series Championship.
You guessed it. When the announcement came that would be replacing Dodger manager Chuck Dressen, New York Times sportswriters queried, “Who’s he?”, as spring training began in 1954. Dressen was released when he demanded a multi-year contract. Walter Alston would go on to sign 23 one-year contracts.
When signed to manage the Dodgers he had so little respect a sportswriter called it as he saw it: ”The Dodgers do not need a manager, and that is why they got Alston.”
It did not take very long for him to earn that respect. His tenure as team manager and his record speak for themselves.
He brought the first and only World Series Championship to Brooklyn in 1955 and picked up rings in 1959, 1963 and 1965. His four Fall Classic wins are topped by only Casey Stengel (seven), Joe McCarthy (seven) and Connie Mack (five).
His final record: 2,040-1,613, good for a .558 winning percentage (12th all-time among managers with at least 1,000 wins), seven NL pennants and those four World Series titles. His 2,040 wins rank ninth on the all-time list and he is one of only 10 managers with at least 2,000 wins.
Beyond the statistics, what kind of manager was Walter Alston? Was he just the beneficiary of good teams (players) or were the teams (players) the beneficiaries of good managing on and off the field? I submit one of his greatest gifts was that he could adjust to the many changes going in the world of baseball during his tenure.
My first real recollection of Walter Alston was not in 1954, his first year, but in 1955. I was a young teenager but understood some things when my parents didn’t know anything. I can recall that final game in the World Series in 1955 as if it was yesterday. I have two recollections. First,in the top of the sixth inning after a Pee Wee Reese single, both Duke Snider and Roy Campanella laid down bunts. Duke’s forced an error and Campy’s moved Pee Wee and Duke up to second and third. Pee Wee scored an insurance run on a Gil Hodges sacrifice fly. Nowadays that would be heresy to have two sluggers bunt consecutively, if at all. In the bottom of the sixth Alston moved Jim Gilliam from left field to second base and inserted Sandy Amoros in left field. Hands up – how many remember the catch the left-handed Amoros made on Yogi Berra and turned it into a double play? All that luck, or good management?
My second recollection of Walter Alston is that he liked to bunt. Perhaps that is why I still like it in place of a strikeout or double play. In 1955 the Dodgers had 75 sacrifice bunts, in 1959 -100, in 1963 – 85, in 1964 -103. He was a devotee of bunts, the hit-and-run, intentional passes, stolen bases, platooning, and pinch hitters. His platooning often came as replacements as the game progressed especially for defensive purposes.
A third recollection is that he didn’t wait until the ninth inning to save a game. If it was in jeopardy earlier in the game he brought in Clem Labine at any point in an attempt to rescue the game, which Labine often did. He was fortunate to have Clem but also wise enough to know how to use him.
Alston was a quiet man, but firm in his expectations. He had to establish himself as the manager with no MLB experience. One story has it that the 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound manager also offered to take on a few Dodgers in his early days with the club when he had disciplinary problems, but he never had a taker. He won the respect of his players, even though his major- league experience consisted of one time at-bat.
Alston faced many changes over the years. He had strong teams and teams that were rather weak. His World Series victory in 1959 might have been his best managing. He managed in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. He went from a power dominant team to a pitching, defense, speed team. A downturn in Dodger fortunes was always followed by an upswing, even derailing the Big Red Machine in 1974. When he retired in 1976, he left a team that Tommy took to the World Series twice in his first two years with the reins.
Walter “Smokey” Alston retired in 1976 a few games before the season ended. His number was retired on June 5, 1977. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 10, 1983, voted in by the Veteran’s Committee.
He died on October 1, 1984, at age 72, from heart complications. He was and still is, remembered by those who had worked with him over the years.
‘Walt had one of the greatest accomplishments in baseball in managing the same team for 23 years,’ said Tom Lasorda, Alston’s successor as Dodger manager. ‘I compare this with getting 3,000 hits or 300 wins. All three are difficult to accomplish and I don’t think you’ll ever see anyone manage the same team for that length of time again.’
‘I always imagined him to be the type who could ride shotgun on a stage through Indian territory,’ said Vin Scully, the club’s longtime announcer. ‘He was all man and two yards tall. He was very quiet, very controlled. He never made excuses. He gave the players the credit and he took the blame. He was so solid, so American.’
How did he last 23 years at the helm with the same team? Another Walter, O’Malley that is, had the answer.
”He is non-irritating,” said Mr. O’Malley when asked about his manager’s longevity in the job. ”Do you realize how important it is to have a manager who doesn’t irritate you?”
He did find managing challenging and after each season went home to the same location in Darrtown, Ohio. He spoke briefly about the biggest challenge.
“The toughest thing about managing is knowing your personnel and what it can give you under all conditions. Perhaps the truest axiom in baseball is that the toughest thing to do is repeat. “
“I’d rather win two or three, lose one, win two or three more. I’m a great believer in things evening out. If you win a whole bunch in a row, somewhere along the line you’re going to lose some, too.”
In conclusion, a quote from widely acclaimed sportswriter Jim Murray who wrote a column about Walter Emmons Alston that appeared in the Hamilton (Ohio) Journal-News following the manager’s retirement. “I don’t know whether you’re Republican or Democrat or Catholic or Protestant and I’ve known you for 18 years.” He continued, “You were as Middle-Western as a pitchfork. Black players who have a sure instinct for the closet bigot recognized immediately you didn’t know what prejudice was…There was no ‘side’ to Walter Alston. What you saw was what you got.”
DC’S 10th Inning
Tuesday’s Scores:
DSL Dodgers Bautista 2 – DSL Astros 4
DSL Dodgers Shoemaker 3 – DSL Indians/Brewers 2
AZL Dodgers were not scheduled
Ogden Raptors – Game suspended in 4th inning due to lightning.
Great Lakes Loons 3 – South Bend Cubs 4
Ranch Cucamonga Quakes 4 – Lake Elsinore Storm (SD) 2
Tulsa Drillers 4 – Armarillo Sod Poodles (SD) 3
OKC Dodgers 8 – Nashville Sounds (Tex) 13
DSL League:
Seventeen-year-old right-hander Heisell Baro (Bautista) continued to shine in a losing cause with 4 innings on one run with 3 hits and 4 strikeouts.
Duany Gomez, an 18-year-old right-hander, had a similar game with the Shoemaker Dodgers with 4 scoreless innings on 2 hits and 5 strikeouts.
Great Lakes Loons:
The Loons fell 4-3 to the Cubs. Ryan Pepiot had yet another 2.2 clean innings to start the game with 3 strikeouts. Justin Hagenman finished up with 3 innings giving up one earned run. Zach Willeman did not fare as well in his 3.1 innings giving up 3 runs and taking the loss.
Brandon Lewis made his Loons debut and went 1-3 with a walk. Justin Yurchak had 2 hits and is hitting .415 in his last 10 games.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes:
Lefty John Rooney went a season high 7 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with one walk and 4 strikeouts. He lowered his ERA to 2.45 and has gone at least 5 innings in each of his last 10 starts. He picked off 2 more runners at first base.
Third baseman Miguel Vargas drove in all 4 runs on 3 hits in the 4-2 win. Actually, he played first base and is hitting .324 in 17 games in August.
Tulsa Drillers:
The 4-3 win, combined with an Arkansas loss to Corpus Christi, allowed the Drillers to move back into sole possession of first place in the Texas League’s North Division standings, one game in front of the Travelers. There are just 13 games remaining in the regular season.
Josiah Gray started and pitched 4.1 innings on 3 hits, one run, and 6 strikeouts. He left with 2 runners on who were stranded by Logan Salow.
Jeter Downs joined the Drillers Tuesday afternoon, replacing Angelo Mora who was released by the Dodgers. The shortstop finished with two hits in his first-ever Double-A game while scoring one run and driving home another. Omar Estevez had two doubles in a game for the third time this season and the second time in the past three games.
OKC Dodgers:
Not much good to report from the mound in a 13-8 shoot out.
At the plate, Zach McKinstry had 2 doubles while Edwin Rios had a double and a solo home run. Gavin Lux continued to be noticed with a 2-run home run and 3 RBI.
Thanks Mark. I loved Alston and it took awhile to adjust to his opposite in Tommy. I was hoping that Russell, my favorite player along with Cey during their era, would also manage the Dodgers for 20 years.
Actually, thank DC – he’s the author!
Wow, I usually check on the author.
Thanks DC. Very well written and timely for this site.
Top 10 Managers of the 2010s.
https://www.mlb.com/news/top-10-managers-of-the-2010s
Missed one game from last night. Before their regularly scheduled game the OKC Dodgers completed a game that got suspended back on May 10. The Dodgers beat the Sounds 10-4.
Of note, Mitchell White threw 3 scoreless innings on one hit and with 3 strikeouts. The offense got exzachly what it needed from Zach McKinstry who had a 3-run homer and Zach Reks who followed with a 2-run shot. As with the parent Dodgers, their home runs were to center field and left center respectively.
Smokey Alston was a bit of a philosopher with some pretty good insights.
“Fans tend to get too excited by streaks of either kind and I think the press does too. There should be a happy medium..”
“Look at misfortune the same way you look at success – Don’t Panic! Do you best and forget the consequences.”
“I’m not afraid to learn from my coaches.” was his answer when Bobby Valentine accused him of delegating too much to his coaches.
I love this: “More than anyone else, he (Hank Aaron) made me wish I wasn’t a manager.”
“Individual grievances and pet peeves have got to go by the wayside. Generally, you don’t have to worry about the guys who are playing every day, it’s the guys who are sitting on the bench that are the ones that get needles in their pants.” He did a good job of getting players in the game, not just to keep them happy but to win games. Doc seems to understand that.
Very nice article DC. Brought back memories of me in Canada as a young girl rooting for Duke Snider, PeeWee Reese and the Brooklyn boys. Tommy Lasorda who used to come out of his house to get the newspaper in the morning and be surrounded by the neighborhood kids, and would entertain them with baseball stories, was my favorite manager. As a long-time hockey fan along with baseball, one of my favorite things to watch is the handshake by all the players and coaches after a hard-fought series. I am sure at times it was very hard to do.
To add to my earlier comments…….kudos to Jim Tracy.
I was not a fan of Tracy. He had a sluggish team and therefore I wanted him to do more hit and run etc, basically add action to a boring offense.
Or, maybe I’m thinking of Grady Little.
Duke was my favorite player, still is. Jackie the one I admire and respect most in the world. Loved Campy, Newk and Pee Wee and so many others.
I started following hockey before baseball. Gordie Howe is my all time favorite with Steve Yzerman a close second. I am still a Red Wing fan.
I do have a hockey connection to Los Angeles. In 1986-87 I worked and coached junior high basketball in Bridgewater, NS which is about 10 minutes from our home. Glen Murray was on that basketball team so I had two years of coaching a budding professional athlete , one who would go on to play 18 years in the NHL, six with the Los Angeles Kings. We won two regional championships with Glen on the team. As he went, so went the team.
DBM, I also thought Jim Tracy was a good manager. He didn’t seem to get in the way of the game. Walter Alston may have been the “Gold Standard” for Dodgers Managers for his longevity and championships, but Tommy will always be my favorite for leading the 88 team of over-achievers to a World Series, sweet revenge against the Yankees in 81 and the Olympic Team of amateurs competing against pros to the Gold. Not to mention all the priceless interviews, one liners, the Micky Rooney prank and all of the other crazy things that came out of his mouth, his back story and his endless batting practice pitching curve-balls to his players. He was one of a kind and one of the greatest Dodgers ever, as part of the Dodger holy trinity of Lasorda, Koufax and Robinson, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Fantastic write-up DC on the stoic Walter Alston! Thanks DC.
Last night was a wonderful game that had a little of everything. Kershaw pitched well without his best stuff. Bellinger lost his pants, another bomb from The Fresh Pince, more doubles for Seager, Joc Bomb with runners on, CT 3 Hits and “Not a Platoon” Pollock double and homer off a righty. Wow, there was so much going on.
Even with all that, I still find myself missing Verdugo and can’t wait for his return. There’s going to be some tough roster decisions coming with all the options we have for a post-season bench.
I sure hope Freese comes back healthy and ready for playoffs. His clutch bat and veteran leadership is much needed!
Duke was my favorite also. Geordie Howe -Mr. Hockey- was a legend. Me? Toronto Maple Leaf fan. Still am. But love my Dodgers. Sandy Koufax was awesome to me.
I was such a Koufax fan, as a ten year old I considered converting to Judaism – though I wasn’t sure what that was! When Sandy retired, I thought baseball might as well close shop. I got over it and in time returned to my Dodgers.
Duke may be the only favorite of mine that was a star of team. In retrospect, I should have had Hodges or Campy as my Brooklyn favorite.
I enjoyed this article! Duke Snider was also my favorite player as a boy. I wish I could have seen him in his prime in Brooklyn, when the constant argument on the playgrounds and among adult fans was “Who’s better, Mays, Mantle, or Snider?” A good case could have been made for Snider, then, as he could do it all until he injured his knee, apparently tripping over a sprinkler which was under the outfield grass. The Snider we saw in Los Angeles was not that player, but he still had a fine season in 1959, as did Gil Hodges; and Carl Furillo had a great moment in the third World Series game, the first ever in Los Angeles, to which my father wonderfully took me as a boy.
As to managers, I think I appreciate Alston more in retrospect. He was not colorful, he rarely had any interesting comments about the games. But I think he handled pitchers well, and I don’t remember being that upset at most of his strategies. Using Stan Williams instead of Don Drysdale in relief in the final playoff game of 1962, was not supportable. I think that Leo Durocher was third base coach then, and he absolutely excoriated Alston for this decision, which led to him being fired. I know that Roger Kahn, the great sportswriter, loved Durocher as a manager in Brooklyn, and did not like Alston’s work much. But Alston did a very good job in guiding a transitional Dodgers team to the title in 1959; and then coming from behind to win it all in 1965, my favorite Dodgers season ever.
I was never much of a Lasorda fan. His chief attribute was that he was the emotional antithesis of Alston. For some reason, I remember the games we would play with Pittsburgh, and Chuck Tanner invariably would outmanage Lasorda, who would maneuver himself into having no bench players by the tenth inning, or have only left-handed hitters left to face Pittsburgh’s lefthanded relievers, and have his reliever batting fourth by that time. But Lasorda did a great job to bring the Dodgers to their last title in 1988, after which the franchise mostly declined, except for the one year (1991?) when we won a lot of games, but the Braves were better. And Lasorda’s constant yelling and exhorting seemed to have a diminishing effect on the players.
The only manager I liked after that was Torre, who had his flaws, but could handle a game. I found JIm Tracy to be absolutely predictable in every decision. Tie game, we got the leadoff hitter on second, Tracy would try to bunt him to third, which is a terrible strategic play in my view. (Actually, Lasorda would do that, too, every single time). Tracy seemed to me to be to have no imagination as a manager, not much of a feel for the game. As to Russell, well, I think of him as a nice guy who had no aptitude for managing whatsoever, which is likely why no one ever hired him for after Fox fired him. Scoscia should have been the manager, but apparently Lasoorda had some disagreement with him, and pushed him out, so that his favorite, Russell, could eventually take over. Scoscia, was far better than Russell. Grady Little somehow won a lot of games with Boston, but was not a good manager. Hoffman was not Torre got no help from McCourt, but still won here. Mattingly was and is a very poor manager. Roberts is certainly better than Mattingly, we will see if he was the answer to the title drought. I guess that it is easy to find flaws with managers, and I readily admit that there are few great ones. Even so, I don’t think that we have made too many good managerial choices, and some of that may have to do with “Dodgers image.”
I got to see Mays, Mantle, and Snider in Ebbets Field, Yankee Stadium, and the Polo Grounds. I loved Snider, too, but no one ever thought of him as being better than Mays or Mantle. In fact, Mays was always thought of as the best player to have ever played the game. As a Dodger fan, I loved him and Mantle. Those were Golden Days and growing up with those icons made my Brooklyn life glow.
DC, I had forgotten about that Amoros play!
I watched Duke on Expo telecasts and he was asked about the three. He said for a period of five years ( 1953-1957) he felt he was on a par with Willie and Mickey. He also said that beyond that he could not match up as Mickey had a longer more productive career and Willie might have been the greatest player ever.
His knee problems hampered him after that and certainly diminished his contribution. On those telecasts he was a humble, grateful man.
You got to see them play in person. Now that is special.
Duke said on more than one occasion that he felt honored to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Willie and Mickey.
Willie was the greatest….but imagine Mickey on 2 good legs.
I don’t think i’ve ever seen anyone lose their pants like Belli did sliding into 3rd base. What a comic moment that was and Belli just rolled with it, smiling as he picked his pants up over his ass. Too funny for words.
Is Doc an annoying manager? He has been for me and many others, but I don’t have to work with him. Tommy was the schmoozer of the bunch. Never at a loss for words and had so many stories on the tip of his tongue. He definitely gets my vote for distinctive.
Great to see Taylor back in the saddle. That was a great return and a terrific team effort. CK is still the man!
A tale of two roughly equivalent time periods:
July 2-23:
19 G, 64 wRC+
July 24-Aug 20:
24 G, 124 wRC+
Miguel Vargas at Rancho.
Interesting article about the current HR surge and the baseball’s part in it.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/scientists-search-answers-baseballs-home-run-surge
I’m taking the liberty to post not so much about the Dodgers but the Dodger’s upcoming opponent this week end; the Hated Yankees. They have had some “interesting” controversy lately focus on Brett Gardner that many here may be aware of. If i’m out of bounds just skip my post and I will take my 3 game suspension with no appeal;
I’m amazed at what behaviors are condoned these days. I don’t know who followed the Yankee game some days ago when Brett Gardner again took to using his bat to blast dents into the ceiling of his dugout when he was pissed off and throwing a tantrum. He claimed he was firing up his team but he was really protesting the umpiring. Picture a 35 year old man vandalizing the dugout denting the ceiling and causing the structure to actually shake. The umpires had enough and he got tossed for his bat work.
The next day the Yankee announcers were revisiting the situation and were incredulous over the ejection, reporting that there are “no rules against” what Gardner did and the umpires were out to get Gardner to stop this behavior. (I would suggest that this is a form of arguing balls and strike calls so there is a rule but anyway) imagine the gall of the umps trying to put an end to a grown man vandalizing the dugout and endangering folks around him? Not surprisingly, the most forgiving announcer was Paul O’Neil who as a player was the biggest crybaby and tantrum throwers in the game. He specialized in water coolers and throwing stuff. He reiterated that there was no “rule” against dugout destruction, like you need one. I guess he proposed about 500 more rules to encourage some common sense and legislate agains every little childish, destructive act a player could dream up. Maybe rules abolishing smashing TV monitors in the dugout, the video room, maybe to an HD camera, or even O’Neil’s car. Better yet, maybe the FO or Aaron Boone could put an end to this but first but i guess they would have to think this kind of stuff was bush league. classless nonsense. I guess they don’t.
Epilogue – Gardner has since claimed he won’t smash anymore dugouts with bats. Yankee fans were split over approval of disapproval of Gardner’s act. I wonder how many Yankee fans would have approved if it had been a Red Sox player vandalizing the visitor’s dugout in Yankee Stadium. The players have taken to wearing Tee Shirts with some “Savage in the Box” reference and doing a two-fisted, up and down gesture when they get the chance that is (maybe) supposed to mimic Gardner thrusting his bat up and down into the ceiling. Very classless act by the classless Yankees. We’ll see if any of this behavior is on display this week end. i’m sure we will some some residue of all this. I hope we beat the hell out of them.
Most of These MLB Players now are a bunch of high paid babies !! Bunch of selfish ego maniacs. They should note arn as much money or get away with all their behaviors. I would suspend Urias for the whole Season if i was the Dodgers for his incredibly stupidity.
***EARN
** Incredible *** . They should trade him next year. Is incredible how the press and people were comparing him with Fernando Valenzuela or Kershaw, Koufax, etc. When did any of these gentleman high class represents of the game or Dodgers have done something like this ??? These are gentleman well respected individuals on and off the field. My respect to these players. I know we should not judge by appearance but now we have these players like Urias, Verdugo, Puig, all taooed and dying their hair like sissies ! Bunch of inmature clowns playing the game now . I respect youngsters like Corey Seager, Bellinger, etc. Verdugo seems like a headcase as well
good lord, you seem like a very angry young person. Relax and take a hit; it’ll take the edge off!
Thank you for the advice but i think Drugs are for Losers !!!
Wow! Take a couple of hits, shots, whatever!
I will just get a good meal. I am hungry
I’m not sure what you read about Urias and the incident, but here’s some of the things I found simply by searching the Internet.
One source says it appears Urias used his hands in an attempt to stop her from leaving the area during a heated argument. (An eyewitness had to qualify what he saw by saying “it appears” that Urias used his hands in…)
In other words, it seems as though he was trying to restrain her, not strike her … though the woman DID go to the ground at some point during the argument.
The victim, however, was evidently uninjured and told police that she fell on her own, and the fall wasn’t the result of a physical altercation.
They had a video of the incident, and yet the charges were dropped.
To me, this is not anything to get too excited about. In fact, I think the 20 game suspension is even a little harsh considering the circumstances that there was not any kind of definitive witness or video that he did anything other than try to keep her from making a scene.
He didn’t strike her. He didn’t injure her in any way. She even said that she fell on her own. And you think he should be suspended for the entire year and traded?
Okay so why did MLB like you said suspended him for 20 games and there is no Appeal by Dodgers or Urias and Dodgers have not been clear about this since the beginning being so quiet about this. They should just bring an old style MLB Commissioner back. This guy ( Manfred) is a joke the one they have now and just incredible how MLB has become so double standard and politically correct with everything.
You can also add Manny Machado to that list. Glad Dodgers did not sign him !!! Dodgers 2019 WS Champions.
Have a snickers bar dude! BTW – Plenty of non-losers smoked some weed. It’s legal and it looks like you need a different perspective.
Stop generalizing.
It’s not the place of an umpire to weigh in on potential vandalizing. Nor is what Gardner was doing in any way vandalism. There’s also ZERO point ZERO chance Gardner was endangering anyone else in the dugout.
On a related note, I’ve never, ever liked it when players/coaches were ejected for protesting from the bench. I mean, how bad can those protests be that an umpire can’t do his/her job?
And when did supporting your teammate become classless.
Will Cody Bellinger Surpass Shawn Green’s 49 HR and 125 RBI’s this year ???? Would Muncy reach 40 HRs?? When was last time 2 Dodgers got 40 Hrs on same season ???
NEVER!
Belli has a good chance to hit 50!
If he does, he will have the most HR of ANY player EVER in his first 3 years. EVER!
And that is with a sophmore slump of 25 hr 76 rbis. Impressive
Mark, You need even more !!!!!’s if you’re going to keep up with Carlos . And don’t even try to compete with all the ?????’s.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TAKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In 1953, Snider had 42 HR and Campy had 41 HR. In 1954, Hodges had 42 HR and Snider had 40.
I think Mark is just thinking LOS ANGELES .
Bingo!
Carlos rant coming from someone who loves Puig! Enough said
I like Puig but he has been a clown (Is a clown) …… Could have been Great Dodger but his ego and stupidity took the best of him !!
Yet he was absolutely loved in the dugout and by the fans in Cincy and Cleveland. He definitely has his warts and had maturing to do. While suspended this year he got his citizenship. He took his Wild Horse Foundation to Cincy and did a tremendous amount for the kids in Cincy. Not sure if people saw what he did the other day. He rented a helicopter and flew to a camp to visit kids with cancer. Ibelieve terminal cancer. He was so good with the kids it motivated a kid to get out of his wheelchair with some help so he could dance with Yasiel. I don’t think we need to act like Red Sox fans and disparage players characters who aren’t Dodgers anymore. For the most part Yasiel became the professional the Dodgers were looking for after his demotion to AAA. There’s a lot of scapegoating and double-standards when Puig gets crucified for things the Kike does constantly like boneheaded running or missing cutoff men. Is someone who dresses like a banana in the dugout not a clown?
I dont like Kike. Trade him. I like Puig Better, Kike is indeed a Clown and seems to be very annoying and overrated player (Keep Negron instead of him). Trade him in the off season Friedman !!!! I Agree with you Hawkwyedodger but he wore his welcome in Dodgers and apparently Roberts and FO and teammates had enough of him and also he loved attention and got the wrong kind of attention must of the time/. But i agree with you also double standard with him when Urias has also seemed to have preferred treatment by Dodgers defending him. And sadly Puig loved his self more than the Dodgers and is great he does things like that and has matured some but would still be a Dodger if had acted professional enough.
But Kike never tore up defensive alignment cards and flipped off the coaches.
Yasiel is not a bad guy. He’s just a guy who creates issues… I’ll leave it at that.
Like I said he isn’t without warts. It took him way too long to accept coaching and there is no excuse for tearing up a defensive alignment card, but let’s also not act like we never saw him out there without those cards. For those who watch the games every night we did. I don’t dislike Kike. I think having a Chase Utley around was good for him, but there is at times a double-standard.
I actually love to watch Yasiel…
He could just never play on my team.
Kike has made 3 or 4 boneheaded plays. Puig has done that in one game!
Ask Chase Utley who he respects: Puig or Hernandez?
I asked Chase and he told me that he respects everyone, but Kike and Puig could never play on his team.
Carlos, the reason why the Dodgers and Urias didn’t appeal the suspension is because it came so late. It actually caught them off guard, says Kasten and Friedman. If they were to appeal now, they would lose him at the end of the season when he’ll be needed to get ready for the post-season. Again, this is a rim job by Torre putting the Dodgers in a bad position. The Dodgers and Urias had to weigh the options and do what is best for the team. That is, use this time to build up so he can jump into the rotation and make a few starts before the playoffs begin in case Rich Hill isn’t ready to go.
https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-news-stan-kasten-andrew-friedman-surprised-lengty-process-mlb-suspends-julio-urias-investigation-domestic-violence/2019/08/18/
BTW, Puig was also accused of a domestic violence incident. It’s funny how you still like him, and wanted to trade him back onto the Dodgers. It makes me wonder if you’re playing with a full deck. Do you not see the double-standard? Have a snickers bar.
Puig wasn’t accused of domestic violence. There was an altercation in a bar where he played peacemaker between his sister and someone else. TMZ misreported that too. Even put up a picture of a guy who looked nothing like Puig. Honestly, I think that’s when Puig decided to put more time into charity work and less times in clubs.
~
I think a log of people make judgements about Urias without having any true knowledge of what happened or being there. First the reports was he pushed someone down and there was video. Then it was he grabbed her arm when leaving an argument and there is no video. Once again TMZ as a source. Police filed no charges, girlfriend said she was never pushed. Urias agreed to do counseling to make it all go away. 90 days later MLB does this to save face.
https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/11/28/9810270/yasiel-puig-bar-fight-miami-mlb-domestic-violence-investigation-dodgers
Accused, investigated? Wordplay. The facts are strikingly similar.
And then TMZ came out with their photo of a man who looks nothing like Puig and it came out he was breaking up a fight between his sister and someone else. TMZ ‘s bogus reporting is similar. Either way I disagree with Carlos’ view on Urias. Like him I wasn’t there, but I tend to agree with Mark on this whole deal. If there was a there there, he wouldn’t have been back after 5 days and got a slap on the wrist. Either way hopefully he doesn’t wind up in that situation again.
Carlos, Puig was also accused in a Domestic Violence incident. Not sure why you still want Puig, but you want to trade Urias. You don’t really make much sense, as usual.
The reason why Urias/Dodgers didn’t appeal is because MLB dragged their feet on this case. AF and Kasten were caught off guard thinking it was pretty much over. Not only did the Dodgers support Julio, so did the players union which is why he only had 7 days administrative leave. Believe what you want, but try to consider the facts for a change.
https://dodgerblue.com/dodgers-news-stan-kasten-andrew-friedman-surprised-lengty-process-mlb-suspends-julio-urias-investigation-domestic-violence/2019/08/18/
Did you read my comment about my response to you and what i think of MLB and commisioner ??? And i am not advocating about Puig coming back anymore and i actually am not making excuses for him either now.
Sorry, I can’t get past trade Urias and Kike and keep Negron. Are you sure you don’t do drugs?
I had a Puig flashback a couple daze ago…
Let me set the scene ATL vs NYM… Man on on first, Robert Acuna Jr. at the plate arguably one of the greatest youngsters in baseball (I’ll go with Tatis), long drive to RF and Acuna walks up the baseline cradling his bat lovingly and admiring his apparent HR…
Whats wrong you say??? It hit hits the top of the wall and there he is, standing on 1st with his teammate on 3rd. and his thumb nestled in a sensitive orifice… But Acuna Jr.mumbles ” I’ll steal 2B and everything will be fresco”…
Thrown out from me to you…
But as Alfred E. Nueman would say ” What Me Worry” Robby boy has $106M coming to him in the next 9 years…
IQ of a fencepost and probably has poster of Puig over his bed…
I don’t miss Puig…
LOL
“It’s hard to be lucky without good pitching”. One of my favorite Walter Alston quotes. Actually the only one I can ever remember. Being a pitching guy anyway, I like it.
The only problem I had with Walter Alston was how he handled Sandy. If anyone has not read Jane Leavy’s book Sandy Koufax A Lefty’s Legacy, it is a wonderful read. But it shows that Smokey had little confidence in the Bonus Baby he was stuck with. Not being able to go to the minors really slowed Sandy’s development.
Dodgers Press Release:
DODGERS RECALL RHP CASEY SADLER
RHP DYLAN FLORO PLACED ON IL
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they have recalled right-handed pitcher Casey Sadler and placed right-handed pitcher Dylan Floro on the 10-day injured list with a left intercostal strain.
Sadler, 29, is being recalled for the fourth time this season and second time this week. The Oklahoma native has appeared in nine games for the Dodgers, allowing one earned run over 12.1 innings (0.73 ERA) with eight strikeouts. In 18 Major League games this season, he has allowed five earned runs in 31.2 innings of work for a 1.42 ERA for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Dodgers.
Floro, 28, returns to the injured list for the second time this season after being recalled yesterday. He appeared in the game last night, tossing one scoreless inning with one hit. The former Cal State Fullerton Titan has appeared in 39 games for the Dodgers, going 4-3 with a 3.89 ERA (16 ER/37.0 IP) and 30 strikeouts. In 68 games since joining the Dodgers, Floro is 7-4 with a 2.92 ERA (21 ER/64.2 IP) and 61 strikeouts.
Wow, Will Smith again. What a stud.
dude’s insane
Magic Number 16
I often look into the numbers assigned to players and try to read into them a little. The Dodger’s equipment manager does a great job of assigning numbers to players, respecting some numbers by keeping them unavailable, and then giving out numbers from some good players, to pass the torch to the newer generation. I think he had that in mind when he gave Alex Kemp’s 27 and Smith Ehtier’s 16. Or, I’m reading into it too much.
how many times Kenley????
6 and counting.
Maybe it’s time for Kelly to close? I got nervous when Jansen was still in the bullpen.
Jensen, jensen
anyone else not confident when Kenley comes in to protect a 1 run lead?
Time for Doc to bite the bullet and remove Kenley from Closing duties.
I know it’s a tough conversation, but it needs to happen. Joe Kelly has a far bigger arsenal at his disposal, and he is pitching very well.
Except that you usually need an 8th inning guy, too, and then you have the same problem, just a little earlier. In fact, it could be worse, if Jansen doesn’t adapt well to that role. I agree that they have to do something, but they should not be in this position. Great game, except for that issue.
100% agree Watford-Baez looks better than Kenley too.
Assume the Dodgers score here in the 9th, why should Kenley get credit for the win?
Right now Jansen is fighting for innings with Garcia and Chargois! The key is a three run lead and then Garcia gives up a solo homer in the eighth and Jansen another solo in the .9th! And we get a win
Magic number 15
11 Walk Off wins.
The Post Season is gonna be a Rollercoaster ride with this Pen.
Smith and Muncy go deep, been a pattern lately for both of them. Muncy with a great bat drop and HR trot-who will Bums trade him for tomorrow?
Trout?
It may well be that the Dodgers will have to consider someone other than Kenley in the closer role. The most obvious choices are Kelly and Baez. But that begs the question, who would we then have for the 7th and 8th? The most obvious answers are Kelly and/or Baez, and maybe Dustin May, if he can quickly become acclimated to the pen.
Whatever the case, the Dodgers will likely be considering lots of scenarios, including some that keep Kenley in the closer role, either full-time or in a sharing role.
Is Kenley fixable, and if so, can he be fixed going into the playoffs, or is that a project for the off-season.
Next time you do an article on someone, use the correct picture please. Alston article with Duke Snider picture.
It was not said that the person in the photo was Walter.
It’s Duke with a puzzled look on his face: “Walter Who?”