Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 19, 1949. His father worked for RC Cola and drove a truck. His mom worked in real estate and also as an interior decorator. The big baseball fan in the family was his grandfather on his mom’s side, Alfred Hellwig. He would ride a streetcar to Sportsman’s Park to watch the Cardinals and the Browns almost every day. Jerry was…
Steve Howe came out of nowhere. At age 21 he was pitching in AA San Antonio and was a starting pitcher there. He made the Dodger roster out of spring training in 1980 and went on to win the ROY that year. The second of 4 LA Rookies of the Year in a row. Rick Sutcliffe won in 1979. He would be followed by Fernando and Steve Sax. Howe was…
One of the players who I respected the most when I was growing up was Ernie Banks. I do not think I have ever seen anyone who enjoyed playing more than he did. He always had a great smile and the man could hit. The man loved the game. Ernest Banks was born in Dallas Texas, on January 31, 1931. He was the second oldest of 12 children born to…
The last Dodger no-hitter was a combined effort by Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore against the Padres in Mexico City, Mexico on May 4, 2018. It was the first combined no hitter in team history, and it was also the first no hitter thrown outside of the United States or Canada. In their long history, Dodger pitchers have thrown 26 no-hitters. They have been no-hit 20 times….
On July 20, 1970, righty Bill Singer threw what was the 18th no-hitter in Dodger history and the first since Koufax’s perfect game in 1965. In doing so he accomplished something that Dodger legends like Don Drysdale and Don Sutton never did. He threw a no-hitter in a major league game. It would be 10 more years before a Dodger pitcher, (Jerry Ruess) would throw another. William Robert Singer was…
My most memorable memory of Bob Welch was his confrontation with Reggie Jackson as a 21-year-old in the 1978 World Series game two. He struck Mr. October out to win the game. Epic battle. The slugger against the fireballing rookie. The Dodgers would end up losing the series, but that is probably the best memory of that series I have. Robert Lynn Welch was born on the 3rd of November…
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…
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…