What comes to mind when the name Yogi is mentioned? For some it is a cartoon character bear. But before that show, there was a guy named Lawrence who as a youth was tagged with that nickname. He was small in stature, but one of the best there ever would be at his given craft. Lawrence Peter Berra was born in St. Louis Missouri on May 12, 1925 to Pietro…
Mickey Vaughn Hatcher, born March 15, 1955, was one of my favorite players to watch. Mickey genuinely had fun playing the game and it showed. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio but spent part of his life in Mesa, Arizona where he graduated from Mesa High School. He went from Mesa High School to Mesa Community College. He was named All American twice in baseball and football. His #81 was…
Richard Anthony Dick Allen was born on March 8, 1942, in Wampum Pennsylvania. The family actually lived in the small hamlet of Chewton. Wampum is 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Dick was one of 9 children and was raised by his mother, Era, who supported the family by working as a domestic. As a child, Dick would spend hours hitting rocks as he announced every hitter in the Brooklyn Dodgers…
Before the early 1990s, when the Dodgers had a run of 5 straight ROYs, Rookies of the Year, they had a run of four consecutive from 79-82. The first of those was Ted Sizemore who was only around for one season following his rookie year. Then came Rick Sutcliffe, Fernando Valenzuela, and then Steve Sax. Stephen Louis Sax was born on January 29, 1960, in Sacramento, California. He was the…
Once upon a time, early in the 1950s, there were three professional baseball teams in New York City. The Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Yankees, and the New York Giants. At that time, perhaps three of the best center fielders who ever played the game played for those teams. Duke Snider with the Dodgers, Willie Mays with the Giants, and Mickey Mantle with the Yankees. Over their careers, the three…
Baseball is a funny game. It is also a very frustrating one and can leave you totally discombobulated. There are more ups and downs than an elevator in a high rise in the Big Apple. Take the previous series the Dodgers played against the Phillies last week. They had so many chances to win the first two games and fell short both times. That clutch hit eluded them for the…
Dodger fans as a whole are an emotional lot. They do tend to go off of the rails when the team slumps. I am guilty of this myself sometimes. But let the team hit a cold streak and the boo birds and naysayers emerge from the depths of one’s psyche, and the bad vibes begin. No player or front office person is immune. The finger-pointing and name-calling begin. The blame…
Game 3 of the 1965 World Series at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers are down 2 games to none to the powerful Twins. Their vaunted 1-2 punch of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax had lost the first two games by scores of 8-2 and 5-1. Koufax had refused to pitch game one because it fell on Yom Kippur. The flight back to L.A. was tense. Claude Osteen, the Dodgers # 3…
It was said, and I do not remember who exactly said it, that Manny Mota could wake up on a cold December morning, get out of bed, and hit a line drive. He was that kind of hitter. Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo was born in the Dominican Republic on February 18, 1938. He was the sixth of eight children in a blended family. His mother, Fredesvinda, had four children with…
Donald Lee Demeter, born June 25, 1935 in Oklahoma City. He was a tall, 6’4″ gangly man who played in the majors for 11 years. He was a man who had a deep faith and was a member of the fellowship of Christian Athletes. His father was a painting contractor, and his mother a housewife. When he was about 10, his family moved to Denver. But soon after, his mom…