Mark did such a great job in his tribute to Lasorda. It was moving and fitting. And as usual, it got me thinking of how many of those who influenced us in our lives have passed on over the last few years.
I remember how sad I was when Duke Snider passed in 2011. He was 84 at the time, but I was glad that Duke had been alive to enjoy his induction into the hall.
Pee Wee the same, he went into the hall 4 years after Duke. A lot of that came back when Tommy passed. His life was truly blessed and he got to enjoy his induction to the hall only a year after he had to leave his duties as manager.
Gil still is not in, but he deserves to be. And maybe, this next go around he will finally get his due. But not only does it hurt when the stars of the game pass, some of the average guys who made impacts on the team will hurt too.
Like when we lost Lou Johnson and Jay Johnstone earlier this year. I had met Jay when I sang the anthem at Dodger Stadium. He was a very funny guy, and he was a solid player for the Dodgers.
But even losing opponents who you had seen play affects you. I know that when the day comes and Willie Mays passes on, I will feel a definite sense of loss. This May, Willie will turn 90.
Stan Musial, Willie McCovey, guys I saw and respected. Mickey Mantle, one of the greatest players ever, and the best switch hitter I ever saw. Mick used to kill the Dodgers in the Series. And it was fitting how in his last Series against the Dodgers, he hit a homer off of Koufax.
Mick was only 63 when he passed, and had been out of the game for 27 years. He was the subject of numerous articles that chronicled his use of alcohol, and how he could have been such a better player if he had not had so many late night escapades.
Mick, being the man he was, owned up to it all. And that made me respect him as a person even more. No one is perfect. Not even our heroes.
But when we can no longer see them on the field, we still have the memories of their play. I can still see Willie running the bases and his hat flying off. I see Mantle taking a mighty swing, and when he connects the ball really flies.
Then I think to the young people today and the memories they will have of this season. No fans in the stands. No chance to meet the players. But the excitement brought to those kids by the playoff performance of some of the stars, and those kids have memories to hold onto.
Mine center on a couple of unreal catches by Mookie, a couple of really clutch home runs, and a kid named Urias throwing strike after strike to mow down the Rays and give them the trophy.
Those memories will always be with me. I will cherish all of them. And now and then, I will glance to the sky to see if I can catch a glimpse of the Big Dodger up there Tommy always talked about.
Discussion (55)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I grow old I grow old
I shall wear my trousers rolled
Barnes, Urias, Seager. and Buehler do not reach a settlement before the deadline. Some chatter from different sources that the Dodgers are close to bringing Turner back. Personally, I will believe it only when the ink is on the contract.
Nice article about baseball bringing people together during the pandemic. Kind of like LADT!
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/sports/baseball/baseball-catch-covid-impeachment.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
Fangraphs may be good at stats but their prospect lists suck.
They just reranked us and put Diaz 9th, ahead of Hoese [and quality guys like Cartaya, De Jesus & Vargas] while putting Galiz 18th, ahead of L-Rod.
For reference purposes only, they currently gave Victor Gonzalez 21st for us–he’s, you know, the guy with the ring who pitched in the WS.
Bellinger avoids arbitration on a one-year $16.1 million dollar deal.
Kurt Suzuki signs with LAA. One year $1.5MM, Good sign for the Angels. I am surprised Nats did not re-sign him. Yan Gomes and Tres Barrera only catchers on Nats 40 man. No way Gomes catches more than 100 games and Barrera has all of 2 MLB ABs.
I don’t know who Dan Clark is but so far he’s the only one I see who’s mentioned the Turner deal being close to done.
Glad to see him get paid. $3M isn’t chicken feed. He should do well investing that kind of cash with his financial prowess.
Old pal Chicken Strip avoided arbitration with the Jays and signed a 3 million dollar deal.
From MLBTR:
It’ll be a six-year, $90MM contract for LeMahieu when finalized, as was first reported by Pat Ragazzo (Twitter link). The $90MM overall guarantee isn’t particularly surprising, but it is indeed an eye-opener to see that sum come over a six-year term rather than five or even four years.
Jesse Sanchez
@JesseSanchezMLB
·
31m
#Dodgers make it official with shortstop Wilman Diaz, #3 on
@MLBPipeline
’s Top 30 Int’l Prospects list.
Bear – thanks for the memories. I don’t mean to steal that from Bob Hope. My youth is so far back in the rear view mirror but my Dodger memories thankfully are still right up there with yesterday’s memories. In fact, I recall them better than what I did yesterday.
So many Dodgers are now only fond memories with many such as Jackie, Gil and Junior Gilliam gone far too soon. I too miss others who were not Dodgers such as as Al Kaline, Ernie Banks, Tony Gywnn, Yogi and of course, the Mick.
I have mentioned before that I live in the past and the future. The present just is while the past cannot be taken from us and the future holds what is to come. Hence my penchant for the minor leagues.
Jeff Passan is reporting DJLM 6 years $90MM. Would a team do 4 years at $90MM?? I think that more than a couple would have. If so, why not 6 years? Drops the AAV to $15MM. I don’t think the Yankees had as much of a problem with $90MM as they did with AAV. Now they can sign DJLM and pick up a quality pitcher and stay under the CBT threshold. Teams like the Dodgers and Yankees and other teams with $$$$ are going to push the other owners hard on making sure that the AAV and resulting CBT are not significant factors. Make it high and give the team 5-6 years to get under before penalties begin.
According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB ;
The Dodgers have established themselves as one of the most active teams on the international market, and they are once again off to a good start.
According to industry sources, the club has an agreement with shortstop Wilman Diaz, No. 3 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 International Prospects List, and catcher Jesus Galiz, No. 8, both of Venezuela.
The Dodgers have not confirmed the deals.
10am west coast deadline for filing arbitration figures.
Seager, Bellinger, Buehler, Urias & Barnes remain unsigned.
NYM closing in on Brad Hand. Things starting to open up?
Time marches on and none of us are getting outta’ here alive. Enjoy every minute!
Looks like NYY is finalizing their contract with DJLM. Never figured it would go any other way. They still need pitching.