What I remember first about Willie McCovey was his size 6’4″. It says 198 in his bio, but he looked heavier and probably was towards the end of his career. The second thing I remember is how he OWNED Don Drysdale. At least it seemed that way. I remember him taking Big D deep many a time. McCovey hit 41 career homers against LA. Most of those off of Big…
Mike Scioscia. Many images come to mind, and moments also. Like when he took Dwight Gooden deep late in game 4 to tie the Mets. Gibby would eventually win the contest with a homer of his own in the 8th. The other would be the number of bone-jarring collisions at home plate he was involved with. To this day, I still think he was the best they had at blocking…
On December 13, 1963, the Chicago Cubs, looking for a RHP, traded Jim Brewer and C Cuno Barragan to the Dodgers for Dick Scott. The trade would be very one-sided in the Dodger’s favor even though Barragan never played a single game in L.A. Scott spent 1964 with the Cubs and was gone. Brewer would go on to be an integral part of the Dodger bullpen for 12 seasons. A…
Joseph Michael Medwick was born on November 24, 1911, in Carteret, New Jersey. He was the 4th child of Joesph and Elizabeth Medwick. He was of Hungarian decent. His parents immigrated to the US in 1893. His obituary stated that he was a four-sport star in high school, track, football, basketball, and baseball. He won all-state honors as a half-back in football and had many offers from colleges to play…
May 1, 1920. In the city of Boston, the police were uneasy in the murky morning mist. Between intermittent showers, they stood with shoulders hunched against the chilly air as they trudged out in extra details, alert to the morning headlines, “Guard against Bolshevik uprisings here. As it turned out, the only battle that day took place at the local ball field as the Bostons, and the Brooklyns battled for…
There once were three brothers pitching in the Dodger system at the same time. Ramon Martinez, his brothers Pedro and Jesus. Pedro and Ramon threw from the right side. Jesus was a southpaw. Two of them made it to the Dodgers. One’s stay was brief. and he was traded. The other pitched well for LA for several seasons. Jesus got a brief call-up in 1996. But did not make it…
Edward Charles Ford was born on October 21,1928 in New York City. He was the only child of Jim and Edna Ford, who lived on 66th St. in Manhattan. When Ford was 5, his family moved to 34th Ave. in Astoria, Queens. An Irish, Italian and Polish neighborhood. His dad worked for Consolidated Edison, and his mother was a bookkeeper for a local A&P store. After he began pitching professionally,…
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…