Knothole gangs came about long before Happy Felton formed his in Brooklyn. The term came from a time when baseball fields had wooden fences. Kids who could not afford the price of a ticket found they could watch the game for free when knots in the fence fell out, creating a knothole. Naturally, gangs of kids would gather around these to watch the games. The first actual knothole gang came…
Remembering 10-Cent Beer Night
This piece has virtually nothing to do with the Dodgers, but I figured a little levity was in order as we reminisce about the worst promotional event ever in the history of baseball. The late Tim Russert, former host of NBC’s Meet the Press, was a law school student in Cleveland in the mid-seventies. He summed up the 1974 Cleveland Indians promotion, “10 cent beer night” with an extremely telling…
Dodgers Farm System Gets More Accolades
The LA Dodgers Farm System just got some more accolades from the new 2023 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. The Baseball America Prospect Handbook has been published for 23 years and is the creme de la creme for identifying and rating prospects. How do I know? Well, I just do, and it so happens that I have every one of them ever published… except this year’s copy, which is allegedly on…
Who is the Closer?
For a number of years, the Dodgers have had a “Designated Closer.” Most recently, it was Kenley Jansen, followed by Craig Kimbrel. A while before that, it was Game Over Gagne… and others. Many Dodgers fans wanted the Dodgers to sign a closer this Winter. Of course, the usual names came up: Liam Hendriks of the White Sox and David Bednar of the Pirates. I am going to suggest that…
Player Profile: Ron Fairly
The Forgotten Man Before Justin Turner, the Dodgers had another redhead. He played 1st and the outfield and spent 12 years of his 21-year MLB career as a Dodger. And in the overall scheme of things, he is somewhat of a forgotten man. Ronald Ray Fairly was born on July 12, 1938, in Macon, Georgia. He was the son of Carl and Marjorie Fairly. Ron’s dad had a 10-year career…
Talking “BIG” Money
It is reported that one of the Dodger owners in he Guggenheim group, Todd Boehly, was seeking to purchase the Washington Commanders of the National Football League. His interest in the team has waned in the past few days, but if Boehly wanted out and decided to sell share of Dodger’s ownership, we are talking “big” money. Amounts that few of us could ever imagine. Here’s the kicker though. If…
Change is in the Air
After the craziness of the past couple of days… we are moving on. I have my opinions, and I do not care if you agree or not. In fact, I put my opinions out there so that you can disagree. Disagree with them all you want, but if you have a take and do not suck, that is fine. If you want to misquote me or attribute things I did…
Straight Talk & the Dodgers
I have to say THANK YOU! I got almost a dozen e-mails (actually, this morning it stands at 13) from readers who all supported my position on Dave Roberts. Thank You! No negative responses. I wonder why that is? Maybe the haters like to remain anonymous? Still, the best one was from someone who also posted under “Joe Blanton” (not his normal moniker, but he wanted to avoid controversy, which…
Player Profile: Frenchy Bordagaray
I would like to introduce you all to a very colorful character, Frenchy Bordagaray. Frenchy played 11 years in the majors, six of them with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was born Stanley George Bordagaray in Coalinga, California, on January 3rd, 1910. He was one of seven children born to Dominique and Louise Bordagaray, who were among the original settlers of the San Juaquin Valley. His father was a hotel owner…
Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
Don Mattingly had a .551 Winning Percentage as the Dodger Manager, while Dave Roberts has a .632 Winning Percentage. Trying to make any comparison between the two is dumb. I did not like Mattingly, and it was for one reason – he could not run the clubhouse. The Mattingly Dodger teams were a free-for-all. It was Dodge City, not Dodgertown. That’s why I wanted to get rid of him. I…