Alfred Bluford “Rube” Walker was born on May 16, 1926, in Lenoir North Carolina. He was the son of Alfred and Buelah Walker, the oldest of three boys. He was raised in a typical middle-class family of the era. His father was a semi-pro catcher in his younger days. He would bring string home from his job at the cotton mill to wrap around golf balls until they were as large as a baseball. Once they were wrapped in black tape, the boys would have balls to play with.
He got his nickname while he was a batboy for the Lenoir team of the Class-D Carolina League. The star player was Rube Robinson. Walker and his brothers had to work on his grandparents’ farm to help support the family. He learned how to cure meat as well as many other farm chores. He enjoyed sports, but baseball was his favorite and that is the one he excelled at.
When he graduated from High School in 1944, he signed with Erwin, a Class-D Cubs affiliate in the Appalachian League. He hit .264 there. In 1945 he started the season with Nashville, but after hitting only 216 he was demoted to Portsmouth, a Class-B team. In 1946 he played with Davenport, a Class-B team in the Three-I League. He had a spectacular year, hitting .354 with 13 HRs and 85 driven in. In 1947 he was back in Nashville and had another great year hitting .331 with 22 HRs and 105 RBIs. The Cubs were impressed and signed him for the 1948 season.
In his rookie year, he showed promise in 79 games, he hit .275. But both those marks would end up being career highs as Rube was destined to become a career back-up. He appeared in just 56 games in 49, and 74 in 1950. On June 15, 1951, he was part of an 8 player trade with the Dodgers that sent him, Andy Pafko, Johnny Schmitz, and Wayne Terwilliger to Brooklyn for Bruce Edwards, Gene Hermanski, Eddie Miksis, and Joe Hatten.
As a member of the Dodgers, he became Roy Campanella’s caddy. When Campy was injured, Walker started games 2 and 3 of the 51 playoffs with the Giants and was behind the plate when Thompson hit the HR to win the pennant. He said later that the pitch to Thompson was supposed to be a brush-back pitch, but Branca did not get it far enough inside.
He met and married his wife in 1951. He was very devoted to his family which consisted of three daughters. Debbie was born in 1952, Barbara in 1955, and Janet in 1963. Just like his dad, Rube was laid back and left the disciplining of the children to his wife. He would play out the rest of his career with the Dodgers, a total of 8 years as a backup catcher. His stats were typical of that kind of player, 362 games, a .214 BA with 19 HRs, and 123 driven in. He was part of the 1955 Champs, but in 4 World Series appearances with the team, he got only 2 at bats in the 1956 series.
After the 1958 season, he was replaced as the backup by Joe Pignatano, who became the backup to Johnny Roseboro, who had taken over for Campy after his tragic accident. He had been released by the Dodgers in June of 1958 because his bat was pretty anemic at the time. Roseboro on the other hand was hitting over .290. The Dodger pitchers were pretty upset at his release. Big D moaned why does it have to be Rube. He was known as a great handler of pitchers and they loved pitching to him. A comparison to today’s team would be Austin Barnes.
In 1959 he embarked on a minor league managerial career. He was a player manager for the Houston team in the American Association. But he was fired in June with the team in last place. He was picked up as a catcher by St. Paul in the same league and hit a combined .268 playing with St. Paul and the Houston franchise. In 1960, he would manage Atlanta, which was the Dodgers affiliate in the Southern Association to a pennant. It was also his last season as an active player. One of the players on his team, Pete Richert, was named Minor League player of the year.
He moved on to the Yankee system in 1962 and managed 3 different teams for them in the next 3 years. It would be his last season as a minor league manager. He was slated to manage the Met’s Greenville team in 1965, when old friend, Gil Hodges, was named manager of the Washington Senators and asked Walker to become his pitching coach. He was released from his obligation by the Mets and joined Gil’s staff in DC.
When Hodges moved on to the Mets in 1968, Walker went with him. The move could not have been more fortuitous for both. Despite their record of futility, the Mets had some fine young arms in the system. Walker believed there were only so many pitches in an arm and watched over his staff like a mother hen.
He instituted what was called, “Walkers Law”. No pitcher was allowed to throw without Rube’s knowing about it. There was some criticism that he babied the Mets pitchers and that may have been true. But to many of the young pitchers on the staff, he was a father figure and treated them like the sons he never had.
Maybe because he was a catcher, Walker was not strong on mechanics. He stressed conditioning and the mental aspect of the game. And it seemed to work. The 68 staff knocked about a run off of the team ERA from the prior season and managed to finish ahead of the Houston team in the standings. Avoiding the cellar for only the second time in their checkered history. Another thing Walker did was institute a 5 man rotation. The young star of the staff, Tom Seaver, grumbled about this at first having been accustomed to the 4 man rotation. But Walker felt the 162 game schedule dictated the need for this change.
In 1969 it all came together. It was the pitching of the Mets, Seaver, Koosman, Ryan, that overcame a 10 game deficit in August to overcome the Cubs and win the division. The Cubs 4 man rotation was gassed by September. In September the Mets won 23 games and had a team ERA of 2.15. They had 10 shutouts. Even Don Caldwell, the old man of the rotation at 33 won 5 consecutive games before losing a meaningless game to the Cubs on the last day of the season.
The staff got roughed up in the first NLCS but the bats put the lumber to the Braves and they swept them. Then it was on to the World Series against the Orioles. The Mets were definitely the underdog. But Met pitching silenced the big Baltimore bats. Some timely hitting a great fielding plays contributed and the Mets were Champions.
Although he was not great on mechanics, Walker had a knack for spotting flaws in a pitcher’s delivery. He had the trust of his staff. What he did demand and teach was how to think like a major league pitcher. He made Jerry Koosman ditch his slider, and it made his curve a more effective pitch. But the kids enjoyed playing pranks on their laid-back leader. One of their favorites was reminding Walker he was behind the plate for the Thompson homer.
The Mets did not repeat in 1970, dropping to 83 wins. Seaver was fatigued down the stretch and Koosman had a bout of shoulder woes. They repeated that record in 71. Walker had suffered some personal losses. His mom died in April of 1969, his brother Vernon died of Leukemia in 1971, his father died in April 1972. And to top it all off, his boss, Gil Hodges, died of a heart attack on April 2nd, 1972 after a round of golf in which Rube was one of the players.
Yogi Berra took over as manager, and he let Rube run the staff as he saw fit. The team roared out of the gate and had a 30-11 record. But then the injuries began to pile up and they fell to their third straight third place finish. Two bright spots were Seaver, who won 21 games, and lefty Jon Matlack, who won 16 games and was named Rookie of the Year. In 1973, injuries affected the team again.
In August, they were in last place, 6 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. Then they came to life. Thier top reliever, Tug McGraw, was struggling, so they gave him a start. He was cuffed around by the Braves for 7 runs. But the next start he gave up only 1. Back in the pen, he became a force. In a furious September charge to the pennant, in one 10 game stretch, McGraw saved 6 games and won 3 others.
Then in the NLCS, they beat a superior team, the Big Red Machine. They then lost to the Orioles in 7 games. Some questioned them starting Seaver in game 6 since he had battled shoulder issues in September. Most felt they should have started George Stone, 12-3, instead and pitched Seaver in game 7 on full rest.
The Mets fell to 5th place in 1974. Walker’s young pitching staff had been broken up in some questionable moves by management. Ryan was dealt to the Angels after the 71 season for Jim Fregosi. Some doubted the young fireballer could ever harness his control. But Walker understood the need for a third baseman who could hit. Fregosi was well past his best days as a SS.
Gentry was the next to go, but it panned out since they got Felix Millan, who would man 2nd base for the next 5 seasons and 3 years of the lefty Stone. Seaver had his last great season in 75, winning the Cy Young Award. Koosman won 20 for the only time in his career in 76. Seaver was traded to the Reds after a feud with management and columnist Dick Young ran him out of town. In a June 77 trade, he was sent to the Reds for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman, and Pat Zachry. Koosman would leave in a trade in December of 78, and Matlack was traded in December of 77 as part of a 4 team trade heading to the Rangers.
Joe Torre was named manager in 77, and Walker stayed on. Walker and Torre were both fired after the 81 season. Torre was quickly hired by the Braves and he took Walker and former Dodger teammate, Joe Pignatano, to the Braves. The Braves were a surprise division winner in 82. But fell to second the next two seasons. Walker and Torre were let go. It ended 40 years in uniform for Walker. He spent the rest of his career scouting for the Braves and Cardinals. He was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 1992. When Seaver was inducted to the Hall of Fame, he invited Rube to the ceremony, but he was too weak to attend. He died in December of that year.
He was a pitcher’s pitching coach Seaver said. That may well best sum up best the laid-back character who helped lead the Mets pitching staff in 1969 to baseball glory.
Bluford Walker. He sure was a guy in need of a nickname! Another”home run” Bear. Had no idea he was the pitching coach for the Mets with Seaver, Ryan and Koosman. Another catcher coach. Love the string and black tape story.
Thanks Cassidy. I am enjoying doing this series of profiles. If there is a player you would like profiled let me know. I have three in the que right now. And I am working on a couple of others.
Hey old bear—here’s a couple. Sandy amoros…the Cuban flyhawk who I believe ended up in Miami. Man could hit. Man could run! Had reasonable pop.
And Johnny podres. Good man on the mound.
Thanks! Bruce Palmer
Bruce Palmer, NY
Give my regards to Emerson and Lake…
Got your Palmer’s mixed up Mark. Bruce Palmer was the bass player for Buffalo Springfield. The drummer for Emerson Lake and Palmer was Carl.
I will check into those. Thanks.
Bear, your sister is a lucky girl to have a brother like you to go to California and take care of your brother’s health needs. God bless you!
Thanks Andrew. She, and both of my nephews work. Steve, my brother has a condition that does not allow him to drive. He has never had a license. So I am driving out since I will need my truck to run him to his physical therapy sessions. I will be out there a couple of months most likely.
Good luck Bear, this is very nice of you. What part of California will you be? I’ll buy you a beer if you’re close to Huntington Beach, or if you can afford gas to get nearby.
My sis lives in Carson. She works at Harbor General Hospital as does my brother. She is an RN, and Steve is an appointments clerk. I will let you know when I am out there. I take my laptop with me so I can keep connected.
Huntington Beach isn’t far from Carson (35 Miles). I know it can be challenging to stay with relatives for long periods of time, so feel free to ping me when you need a break. You can get my number from Mark and text me if you like.
Thanks BP I will do that. Yeah, staying with family can get a little stressful. I have done it before. I usually break the monotony by seeing some of my friends who still reside in the area or heading up to Lake Isabella to see my daughter.
Guys – would be great if you could make your meet up on Friday 6th or Saturday 7th of May as would love to join you.
Be great to hear some of your stories in person Michael.
I’m staying in Redondo for the weekend. Would have loved to have been in town for a Dodgers game but of course they are away, as are the Padres the weekend before when we’re in San Diego, and the Giants the following day when we get to SF!.
The Angels are at home but already been there, so looks like I might have to make my first visit to Oakland on the last evening of my trip.
Would love to meet up with you guys, as well as Patch who I
Know lives nearby. Maybe a bit of lunch?
If you can make it, I would love to invite Bobby and Badger (you two guys could finally have your sit down!!).
I know Bobby lives a little way away though.
Also would really love to meet Pete who I know lives in the LA area, and of course anyone else from the LA area?
Any chance of getting this organised guys? An LADT session? Cmon fellas.
Ps
No Politics lol
I’m up for it Watford. Lemme know when it gets closer. We can meet halfway, or I can always offer to host.
Cheers!
That would be great Watford. Redondo is really close to my sis’s house. I used to go to the beach there all the time when I was a kid. The pier was a meeting place for us.
Wat, it would be my honor to have a pint with you (and everyone else)!
Excellent – let’s confirm things in a few weeks.
Will look at to it – hopefully some of the other guys can make it
Yeah, sounds good to me. Maybe find a central location for everyone to meet?
Long Beach seems pretty half way. Lot’s of great Bars and Restaurants.
Houston Mitchell of the times on Heaney, Bellinger and Bauer:
“What has happened so far is a spring training era of 16.88, giving up 10 runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Which is not ideal for your fourth starter. Well, unless the Dodgers can score 17 runs every time Heaney starts.”
That’s all they need to do!
“The hope was that he couldn’t possibly be as bad as last season. And, if spring training is indication, he’s not. He’s worse. Through Sunday, Bellinger is three for 22 with no extra-base hits and 15 strikeouts. He has drawn a walk, so he’s got that going for him.”
Finally, he ran a poll about whether the Dodgers should have Bauer back:
“You were asked “Do you think Trevor Bauer should pitch again for the Dodgers?” Here are the results, after 23,112 votes:
No, 58.9%
Yes, 41.1%”
If Heaney as your fourth starter is the problem, the majority opinion in this poll is against the one solution to that problem.
And any poll on the subject in the Los Angeles Times is going to skew a predictable way.
It’s easy to comment on doom and gloom, or point out the obvious. It’s not so easy to put those things in context or offer a solution.
At least Kershaw seemed sharp yesterday. His FB velo was 90, which is better than 88. He had pretty good command.
It’s Spring Training, a time of the year I generally love. Games on during the day while I’m working away in my “garoffice” featuring a mix of vets, youngsters and the next generation. Talks of newcomers and those that have departed.
Unfortunately, Spring has barely sprung and we’re just a week and a half away of real games that count in the standings. No, Spring ties, just wins and losses. Mookie says he just needs a couple of weeks to get ready. I hope he’s right because his .125 Batting Average isn’t awe inspiring. Speaking of hitting below the Mendoza line, Belli is outhitting Betts with a .136 Batting Average. If Belli finishes the season batting 11 points higher than Betts, I’ll take it!
There’s so many players hitting at or below the Mendoza line, I wouldn’t want to list them all here. Instead, how about the projected regulars hitting above 300? Freddie Freeman! That’s it! Ouch. That’s a little something for all the people that said we didn’t need him. I say, you make room for elite players especially when they fall into your lap. The Dodgers did that and thank goodness they did.
Starting pitching scares me a little. Not because of ERA or WHIP, but because none of the starters have pitched much except for Kershaw and apparently Heaney.
Maybe a little better luck with the pen? V-Gone 3 games no runs, Bruihl, 2 games no runs, Graterol 3 games no runs, Hudson 1IP 0 runs, Nunez and the others with 0 runs won’t be on the Opening Day roster. Cleavinger had 3 great outings and 1 bad inning. Treinen gave up a run in two innings. Versia is giving up a run every time out it seems. It looks kike everyone else has an ERA over 9! SSS, of course, but not instilling a ton of confidence.
I know, Spring Stats are as useful as an A-Hole on your Elbow to quote a Tarantino movie. But, I would like to see something along the lines of decent statistics somewhere with this powerhouse team. I don’t want to be throwing away games early because no one is ready.
It seems like every year the Dodgers slow roll Spring Training. I understand. I’m sure there’s not a team that’s played more games than the Dodgers in the last 5 – 10 years by virtue of being in the playoffs each year and having deep runs in most years.
I’m a little concerned because the Spring Stats are making it that way. But, I know this team is loaded and will be fine when we look up at the standings throughout the course of the marathon season. I just can’t help but wonder if everyone is going to be ready once the season starts.
Only two day games remain on the cactus league schedule. 6PM starts for today and tomorrow a night game on Thursday an off day on Friday and the getaway game at noon on Saturday against the Giants. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will be freeway series games against the Angels. The regular season begins 2 days later in Colorado for a Friday 1PM start time.
The season is upon us. Let’s get some results.
Please see my post above
Bauer has filed a lawsuit against the Athletic and one of their reporters. I haven’t read the document yet. But he’s obviously on the offensive.
https://www.zuckerman.com/sites/default/files/2022-03/032922_The_Athletic.pdf
Just finished reading the Bauer lawsuit. No question in my mind the Athletic and the reporter (Molly Knight) were not balanced in their reporting. And I have no doubt Molly Knight really really doesn’t like Trevor Bauer (understatement!). Some of the facts in her reporting were demonstrably false.
However, the legal standard for Defamation in the US is incredibly high. These kinds of lawsuits almost never end in the favor of the plaintiff. You have to prove “actual malice”. So even if the reporting was sloppy and got facts wrong you have to prove they intentionally lied or mislead with the intention of harm. I think that is an uphill battle.
I’m guessing this is part of the overall strategy to get things on the record prior to MLB making their decision. I’m not sure that will be fruitful. But I’m quite sure he won’t win this case. Almost nobody wins these cases.
That said, there is no question the Athletic did a poor job of reporting on the matter. I’ve typically found their reporting to be some of the best available. But in this case, it was terrible.
“I’m guessing this is part of the overall strategy to get things on the record prior to MLB making their decision. I’m not sure that will be fruitful. But I’m quite sure he won’t win this case. Almost nobody wins these cases.”
You are probably right here. Maybe also a shot across the bow of MLB. But Nick Sandmann filing suit against multiple mainstream news outlets and settling out of court does give a counter-example. I think with his case, however, is that his suit was against what you would consider “straight news” not only distorting the facts, but getting them so dramatically and completely wrong that they both inverted reality and were extremely personally destructive to his personal reputation. He was high school kid getting death threats because multiple news stories got the story completely wrong to push a narrative.
With Molly Knight and the Athletic, there is some assumption that they provide commentary as opposed to simply straight fact reporting, and I think the threshold for proving libel is different in that context. That was essentially what both the Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow legal teams successfully argued in their respective libel/defamation suits, which they won.
I think it is generally better to err on the side of free speech. On the other hand, I think the overall angry tenor of political discourse makes for much more bad faith in journalism. Molly Knight clearly is motivated by her political beliefs and had an axe to grind with Bauer because of this, and her latest website output is a combination of sports and political commentary. I think it’s a terrible career move. Her reputation and credibility were from her insights about the Dodgers, especially through her actually very good book. Bad political takes make her just like every other angry Twitter user and do nothing to create her unique expertise. She had great opportunity with The Athletic, and had she stuck to baseball and not been infected with Woke disease and political animosity, she could’ve followed a similar career path as Jeff Passan.
Molly Knight no longer with The Athletic. She has her own website now.
She is a talented author but has an axe to grind in my view. Separate and apart from the Bauer issue, she is among the “woke”.
She is most certainly in the “woke” category. I’ve never paid any attention to her coverage of the Dodgers. I found her obnoxiously opinionated. And usually on things unrelated to baseball being played on the field. I have never been able to stand journalists who may have a valid opinion based on their experience around the game, but instead choose to share their personal views about EVERYTHING.
I care what my Doctor’s opinion is on my medical conditions. I couldn’t care less what he thinks about anything else. His opinion is no more valid than mine on any other subject. I feel the same with journalists. Report the facts, opine on matters where you have experience. Otherwise, STFU.
But that’s the state of all journalism these days.
Well, I’m hopeful that lawsuits such as these will correct the “But that’s the state of all journalism these days” part.
It’s shameful that “Journalists” frame expressing their political agenda through coverage of current events. There needs to be accountability especially in this day and age.
I regret that I purchased her book, which should have been titled, “Dodgers gossip, betrayal by angry women with unprecedented access inside the clubhouse”. I guess that title was too long, however more accurate.
Sadly, uninformed people will never read a 27 page court document, much less think for themselves, but they’re sure willing to voice their uninformed opinion on a LAtimes survey.
rhymes with joke!
Wow, this does NOT look good for The Athletic, or Molly Knight. I’ve read a little over half of this. Basically it says that The Athletic wrote several articles making untrue statements that amounted to malice. A lot is focusing on Molly Knight writing articles and sending several tweets stating and/or implying that the “victim” had a cracked or fractured skull at the hands of Bauer.
What has been proven is that the Doctor said symptoms are consistent with a head fracture, but CT scans revealed that no fracture existed.
By the way, that little worm Rosenthal is also in there.
The letter went on to state the The Athletic had the medical report, with the CT scan result at the time of their writings, but deliberately mislead their audience regarding the fracture. His attorneys submitted legal documents to have them correct these articles and they refused to do so.
I’m so glad that Bauer is suing this particular “Media” organization. With recent lawsuits against CNN, NBC, etc. maybe we’ll start getting truth from news and media once again.
https://www.dreamsnseams.com/blog/the-end-of-an-era
Heart warming read.
Good people there…
Giants will not have Longoria or Lamont Wade to start the season. Both will be on the IL. Jackson and Martin sent to the minor league camp.
Dodgers Ranked As the Second Most Valuable Team in MLB
by Brook Smith
When Frank McCourts’ Dodgers went up for sale back in 2011, Forbes valued them right around $800 million. They ended up selling to the Guggenheim Group for roughly $2 billion in what might have been the best thing to ever happen to the team in terms of ownership.
It’s wild how far the team has come since then. The new ownership group has taken the Dodgers to new levels, winning a World Series in 2020 and proving that they are there to compete every single year. That included completely revamping the minor league system and setting them up for decades of success.
The latest report from Forbes has the Dodgers valued much higher this year. They are the second-most valuable franchise in baseball, just being the New York Yankees. Forbes has them right around $4.075 billion, with the Yankees valued at slightly over $6 billion.
Confirmed Lineup
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
3B J. Turner R
DH Max Muncy L
C Will Smith R
LF Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
2B Gavin Lux L
RF Kevin Pillar R
SP Tony Gonsolin
Juan Toribio
@juanctoribio
#Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Phil Bickford dealt with arm soreness before camp. He won’t be ready for Opening Day.
Bickford had arm soreness before camp and won’t be ready by Opening Day as a result. He’s apparently healthy, but behind.
Too bad. He was such a good pitcher down the stretch for us.
Gonsolin, Anderson, Hudson and Bruhil all slated to pitch tonight against an A’s lineup that will be featuring Billy McKinny and Sheldon Nuese.
Future Dodger Sean Manaea is auditioning for the Dodgers as the A’s starting pitcher tonight.
Damn, I knew some crap like this was going to happen. The Jackie Robinson game is going to be carried by Apple TV and only Apple TV. The good news is, it’s gonna be free. The bad news, gotta install an app that maybe you didn’t intend on using. I may just pass on the game. F-Manfred!
Good news, the Dodgers aren’t going to have to wear those stupid “City Connect” uniforms. I’m starting to feel like this game is starting to be overrun with gimmicks.
Joe Davis is in the lead to get the lead broadcasting job for Fox Sports replacing Joe Buck. It doesn’t look like he’s going to be the Vin Scully for the Dodgers afterall. “If Davis does take the lead job at Fox, it seems unlikely he would be able to continue as the voice of the Dodgers, or at least not on a full time basis.” Say it ain’t so, Joe!
Sad to see Matt Beaty go. But, now he’s with the Padres and will probably do something to piss me off this year unless Bob Melvin can get that circus of a team and clubhouse under control. No more spinning gangsa clock please!
I’m really not looking forward to that nonsense of a schedule that they’re implementing next year. Does anyone like it? This basically kills all rivalries. I can’t believe MLB is doing this. What’s the point in having divisions or leagues or conferences at that point? Just lump them all together and seed them 1-12 and have a tournament as the post season. Why stop there? Just go ahead and finish destroying the sport and have a 100 game regular season for seeding and a 100 game post season with all teams making the post season. What a joke! Fire Manfred already!
Sean Manaea seems like a decent 4th starter type. He’s durable, I guess. But the Dodgers already have Tyler Anderson, Price and Heaney, who are all basically the same guy. Manaea just seems more of the same, although he seems to be getting a little better at age 30.
If he doesn’t need TJ, won’t we see Bickford after the season starts?
If you remember how the Dodgers and Roberts operate, the whole of April and most of May are basically extended Spring Training tryouts. There’s not really a big sense of urgency early on, which is a little annoying because those games still count at the end of the season, but it does allow Roberts to figure out the mainstays of the relief corps. I hope Bickford is back soon.
Dodgerpatch nailed it: Trevor Bauer just fired a shot across the bow. It will not be the last, but it was not his first. He first sued Deadspin. I am certain his legal team will use this as a tool to bludgeon the joke (hey it rhymes) into STFU!
I dare Manfred to suspend him and I dare him not to have his ruling ready by the next Drop Dead Date!
I do not care for Bauer, much the same as I did not care for Michael Jordon, LaBron James, and Pete Rose, and while he is not in their category as an athlete, he is good.
But, no one in this country should be denied Due Process of Law… except maybe that guy who kidnapped and buried 26 kids, who is now getting parole at 70. I’d have to think real hard on that one…
You still don’t understand that the “due process” stuff applies ONLY to the government and not to private businesses.
Do you really believe that, if you do, I’d like to understand why?
I think we understand the difference between “due process” from a criminal perspective and the basic fairness and due process a person is intitled to by filing suit in civil court. Yes, beyond a reasonable doubt and a preponderance of the evidence are criminal standards. However, a person can file suit against a corporation irrespective of a criminal judgement. I don’t understand why you think he can’t. OJ was acquitted in criminal court, but the Goldman family filed a civil suit against him – and won.
And yes, MLB has a policy that gives them leeway to implement punishment, but the Reserve Clause was a legally accepted MLB policy yet Curt Flood still filed a lawsuit to overturn it.
Bauer might not have a strong libel case against The Athletic, and his legal team might realize that, but it does send a message to MLB that Bauer is not going to go quietly. It’s leverage. Manfred and the MLB, if their goal is to avoid a messy PR legal quagmire, might decide to reinstate Bauer next month rather than impose a lengthy suspension. Bauer has the resources and the will to put up a fight. Manfred might decide such a fight isn’t worth it. If this is how it plays out then it was a skillful use of the overall legal system to get a preferred outcome for Bauer.
Well I do know it’s time already for Manfred to make a decision on Bauer!
Watford, et al,
I never set foot in LA unless the Dodgers are in town. I will probably be there in late May, but the schedule means everything.
I may have not mentioned this, but we are buying a new building for our World Headquarters and I am meeting with a supplier of ours in Valencia about moving part of their manufacturing to Indy. .. the part that benefits us.
I will be there for a couple of months most likely. But once I get my laptop back to working right I should have no problems continuing to post stories. Update on my brother, both of the ACL’s in his knees are torn and will have to be surgically repaired. I will be heading out there on the 13th of April. 6-4 win over the A’s. All the runs came on homers by Avens and Rios. 2 run shot for Rios and a grand salami for Avens off of former Dodger first rounder, Grant Holmes. Who along with Manaea sports some of the longest hair I have ever seen on a pitcher. I hope to make it to at least one Quakes game while I am there.
I sure hope Sean Manaea is a future Dodger…. Or old pal Frankie Montaz, who as a prospect went to the A’s in the deal for Rich Hill and Reddick.
Gonsolin roughed up today, and Belli another two Ks in two ABs… … Just spring, but geez….
On the plus side, another dinger for Rios. (Perhaps AF can include Lamb in a deal with the A’s…)
No doubt a lot of it is hype, but there are a lot of bullish reports on the Dodgers’ pitching prospects. Although Julio was only 19 when he debuted, the Dodgers seem very patient with prospects, perhaps overly so. Is it really better to put Heaney out there when Bobby Miller is reportedly throwing 100 mph? I hope he gets his chance sooner rather than later.
If you noticed, Bellinger is now using the same stance he used in the playoffs when he got very hot for LA. His problem is his timing. He is late on almost anything. Yep, get it out of the way now. I believe Belli will be fine.
Tony Gonsolin allowed four runs on seven hits in his 2⅓ innings against Oakland, throwing 51 pitches. Gonsolin told Kirsten Watson on the SportsNet LA that he threw 10 more pitches in the bullpen before heading to the clubhouse. That’s after 23 pitches and three scoreless frames in last Thursday’s game.
Tyler Anderson pitched four scoreless innings in relief, allowing four singles and a walk, with four strikeouts, He threw 56 pitches, after 51 pitches in three frames Thursday. “We see him as a major league starter, but he’s open to coming out of the pen and pitching valuable innings for us,” Roberts told Watson on SportsNet LA after the game. “How that lines up, I don’t know right now.”
Anderson’s last inning was thrown to Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya, the 20-year-old who caught the final two innings. Diego struck out in his only at bat.
Julio Urías starts Wednesday for the Dodgers, another 6:05 p.m. PT start,