Well, we all know about Babe Ruth. He was probably the greatest player the game ever knew. And there was Babe Dahlgren, who replaced Lou Gehrig at 1st base in New York. In 1925, while Ruth was plying his trade with the Yankees, 22-year-old Floyd Caves Herman made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He would turn 23 early in the season. Babe was born in Buffalo, New York. However,…
Over the last several years, we Dodger fans have been very lucky to have a winning franchise. 8 consecutive division titles, 3 trips to the World Series, and a World Championship. Cy Young award winners, MVPs. A couple of ROY winners and a lot of exciting baseball. For most seasons, the Dodgers have been very successful in Los Angeles. Oh, there have been some losing seasons, like 1958, their first…
Unless they know something about the history of the game, many younger folks would simply think Joe DiMaggio was the Mr. Coffee guy. But to more than a generation of Yankee fans, he was one of the best that ever wore the pinstripes. Players like that are few and far between in today’s game. His type of player would be a dinosaur. He struck out only 369 times in his…
Welcome to my mind. Sometimes it works well, other times, not so much. But right now at this point in the season, it is very confused. All I heard was how great this team was, of course, that was before a rash of injuries derailed that idea. Gone for the season are Caleb Ferguson, who we knew was not going to be a factor after Tommy John. Then AF signed…
Been watching with a lot of interest the comments of fans on all sorts of posts on social media. I have to personally believe that too many think this is last year’s team and that is not the case. Several key pieces from the Champs are now plying their trade elsewhere. Some key pieces of this team have not played enough to make an impact. How many thought back during…
What does this game we love really need? Interesting question. More action? More runs? Shorter games? MLB has tried numerous things to get all of these in play. And in reality, I believe some of all of these would be a good thing. I also think the game could use a few more personalities.. Players who are just a little bit out there. I would have loved to have a…
Excuse me for borrowing the title of one of my favorite baseball movies, but it is a perfect title for this post. Baseball is at a crossroads in my humble opinion. For years, I was a traditionalist. Still prefer the old-style NL game. But it this day and age, that kind of baseball has become very boring for the most part… at least to younger fans. And that is where…
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,…