With little real news, I return to writing about what I love most about the Dodgers. Their history. Everyone knows the story, 1955 was a magical year for Brooklyn. And the Boys of Summer finally full filled all of the promise they had shown for years. For the record, the Dodgers went 98-55-1 finishing first in the 8 team National League. Managed by second-year manager, Walter Alston. Alston had replaced…
Most of us who have been Dodger fans for years have loved the classic look of the Dodger uniform. Next to the Yankee pinstripes, it is probably one of the more iconic uniforms in sports. Football uniforms and basketball uniforms have morphed a lot over the years, but baseball jerseys usually keep their team’s traditions. Even the Rams horns have changed drastically on the Rams helmets. The 1890’s version of…
One of the quickest ways to start a baseball argument is to simply say, this guy was the greatest of all time. Football and basketball fans make that debate all of the time. And the opinions vary so much from state to state. Most pundits hand the crown to Michael Jordan, his six titles, and numerous MVP awards. Football is a little trickier since you need to add not only…
I thought I would go back and see who had the best individual seasons in the history of the team. Won’t do all of the categories. That would be an incredibly long post. So I will try to stick to the main stats. WAR This is a relatively new way to gauge a player’s worth. WAR, or wins above replacement. Gives you an idea of how many wins a player…
I thought it would be nice to profile one of the 13 members of the Brooklyn Dodgers still living. Carl Erskine. I was actually a little surprised that there were 13 who were still alive. I mean we all know Sandy and Carl were, but the others, well it was just nice to see that many are still with us. Besides Sandy and Carl, Bob Aspromonte, Eddie Basinski, Tim Thompson,…
Since the deadline is just a few days away, I thought it might be fun to look back on some of the trades the Dodgers have made over the years. Some were significant in helping the team win, others, well they just were not all that good or popular. Winter: 1958 On the 4th of December, the Dodgers sent Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals for OF Wally Moon and P…
1959, start of the season – A young 11-year-old boy reads about his heroes in the daily sports page. A right of passage in those days. Games on TV were few and far between, especially Dodger games. The only televised games were those from San Francisco on KKTV channel 11. Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett did the announcing. Doggett would do the 3rd and 7th innings, Vinny the rest….
Brooklyn went berserk. The players were leaping all over the field. But the man who had led them for so many years and made so many clutch plays and hits was not on the field for the final out. Jackie Robinson was on the bench, replaced in the starting lineup by Don Hoak. His days as a Dodger Icon were on borrowed time.
In the 9th, Edwards flew out to left, but Furillo drew the 9th walk. Gionfriddo ran for Furillo and Jorgensen fouled out. Reiser was pinch hitting for Casey, and Gionfriddo stole second. That changed Mngr Bucky Harris’s strategy and even though Reiser was injured, he decided to walk him. Eddie Miksis went in to run for Reiser, and Lavegetto, a 34 year old veteran was sent up to hit for Eddie Stanky.
Well, spring training is here. Right now it is dominated by the sound of balls hitting mitts with amazing velocity. There is plenty of optimism, and from each camp, you hear that this guy looks amazing, and his pitches are jumping out of his hand. All that will change in the next few days when the rest of the squad reports and soon the crack of the bat will join…