I got to thinking about this when Albert joined the Dodgers. Just how many HOFer’s have spent time with the Dodgers in Brooklyn or LA. The answer right now is 46. Also 7 managers and coaches, 3 executives, and 4 broadcasters. The broadcasters are Scully, Red Barber, Jaime Jarrin, and Ernie Harwell, who did most of his work in Detroit. But he worked with Barber for a while. The execs…
Not so long ago, the Dodgers signed Albert Pujols. At the time I thought, why? Pujols is way past his prime, and over his contract with the Angels came nowhere near being the player he was in St. Louis. Now a few weeks later, I see an invigorated Pujols being a factor in games he plays. He has 5 HR’s, as many as he had with the Angels, and 1…
It might be hard for some to believe, but prior to 1977 the position of Hitting coach as such did not exist. The first hitting coach with that title was Jim Gilliam. There have been 18 since. Before that time, players did not have a specific person to go to. All of these guys had varying degrees of experience. Some, including Gilliam, Mattingly, McGwire. Wallack, Reggie Smith, Jack Clark, Mota,…
I believe Urias will keep up his outstanding work and take lessons from his pounding by the Giants. Buehler to me is an enigma. He has some of the best stuff in the league, yet he has only 4 decisions. But I expect that to change. All in all, the team has underperformed according to the fans. I think with all the changes in the roster, the lack of the DH, injuries to very key players, and the underperformance of their catalyst, Mookie, the team has performed about as one would expect missing so many key pieces.
Well I have been in California a little over a week. And the game is the same, but the view is much different. Lots of Dodger Blue here. Not so much Rockies Purple. Watching the games on Sportsnet LA is a lot different than watching them on MLB.TV. I get to watch the pre and post game shows. None of that on MLB, Lots of Dodger replays on that station,…
After I went into the Army, it was hard to follow the team other than in the paper and the Sporting News. And especially when I went to Korea. Stars and Stripes was usually a couple of days or more behind in the scores. When I came home, and later got married, we would go to games whenever I came back to Cali on leave. Or we would go to the AA games in El Paso.
As I look back in the history of the Dodgers, there have been many occasions when a player was switched from his original position to a new one, and both the player and the Dodgers were better for it. I could probably go back to the early days in Brooklyn and find some guys who did this. But I thought I would stick with the history that I have witnessed…
While thinking of subjects to post about, I was watching the game and marveling at how well our two catchers are playing right now. Even though he went hitless in the opener, Will Smith directly impacted the win with two great throws to nail runners trying to steal. Austin Barnes is an equally adept defender and has also been contributing on offense to start the season. And who is in…
Kersh takes the mound for his 9th opening day assignment. Frankly, I wish he wasn’t the guy. Although he has a winning record at Coors at 11-5. His ERA there is 4.44. He has allowed 19 HR’s in 23 games. 139 hits, and 36 walks in 140 innings. Not great numbers. His WHIP at Coors is 1.250. The Rocks only hit .203 against him there, but they get the most out of their hits.
1959, start of the season – A young 11-year-old boy reads about his heroes in the daily sports page. A right of passage in those days. Games on TV were few and far between, especially Dodger games. The only televised games were those from San Francisco on KKTV channel 11. Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett did the announcing. Doggett would do the 3rd and 7th innings, Vinny the rest….