Four 2017 Prospects Revisited

April 8, 2020

I thought it might be fun to look back to 2017 and what Keith Law had to say about some Former Dodger Players. I like Keith Law a lot. He has a lot of insight into prospects… but he is not perfect. If he was, someone would be paying him $50 million dollars a year. Jose De Leon Born in Puerto Rico but drafted in the 24th round out of…

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Odds and Ends – Bits and Pieces

April 8, 2020

The one that I do not understand even for a second is why it is not OK to bunt late in the game to break up a no-hitter. The sole purpose of standing at home plate is to get to first base. If it wasn’t, there would be no first base. A bunt is a legal, underused tool. If it is legitimate at other times in a game, then it is legit with two out in the ninth in a possible no-hitter. It is not the job of the batter to massage the pitcher’s ego. For heaven’s safe be prepared to field a bunt. Stop whining, you have the ball and can do whatever you want with it and you have eight players to back you up. The hitter is alone with a little round bat.

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Ben Wade – 3.60 in Brooklyn

April 5, 2020

I really enjoy western type movies and I guess for their simplicity. I also enjoy baseball-type movies because of my love for baseball. Two of them came together for me in prompting this column. Who doesn’t love Clint Eastwood performances? I especially enjoyed his performance as Gus Lobel in “Trouble With the Curve”. I watched a re-run of it a while back and also watched a re-run of  “3:10 to…

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Can it Ever Be Normal Again?

April 4, 2020

Let me just say it here. I was wrong. I misjudged this whole thing. I apologize for what was my stubborn miscalculation of events. We are experiencing something that never has been experienced. When the whole world’s economy shuts down, the ramifications can be endless. Are we in for another great depression? I certainly hope not.

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Fact versus Speculation

April 4, 2020

We have all seen statistical models of how this current pandemic is supposed to go. But, just like in sports, the computer-generated models are just that. The game is played by people… people who are capable of some really good or really bad things. So, I will not even speculate on what will happen. I learned a long time ago to control what I can control and quit worrying about…

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Odds and Ends – Bits and Pieces

April 1, 2020

About a year ago I posted a column on the remaining Brooklyn Dodgers. The current list includes any player who put on a Brooklyn Dodger uniform, even for one game. In the last year, we have lost Don Newcombe, Randy Jackson, and Glenn Mickens. This is the link to the previous article.  https://ladodgertalk.com/2019/01/06/the-oldest-living-dodger/ And this is the present list. Eddie Basinski (97): November 4, 1922        1944-45 Tim Thompson (96): March…

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“Pistol Pete” Reiser

March 31, 2020

Growing up, Pete Reiser excelled at any sport he tried. Besides baseball, he earned $50 a game playing soccer against professional players and was a talented football player with a dream of becoming a star player with Notre Dame. He was a skillful bowler and proficient at ice skating. Perhaps his greatest strength was that he was truly ambidextrous.

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Pete Richert – Oh What a Night

March 30, 2020

On April 12, 1962, one week prior to my 11th birthday, Pete Richert made his major league debut against the Cincinnati Reds. I was listening to the game on my transistor radio. Richert entered the game in the top of the bottom of the second inning, with two outs and a runner on second. The Reds had already scored four runs in the inning.

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