It was said, and I do not remember who exactly said it, that Manny Mota could wake up on a cold December morning, get out of bed, and hit a line drive. He was that kind of hitter. Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo was born in the Dominican Republic on February 18, 1938. He was the sixth of eight children in a blended family. His mother, Fredesvinda, had four children with…
George Thomas Shuba was born on December 13, 1924, in Youngstown Ohio. His story is that of a typical average ballplayer. In parts of seven seasons, he appeared in 355 games, hit .259, and never played more than 94 games in any of those years. Nearly a third of his at-bats were as a pinch hitter. He played just long enough to collect an MLB pension, he actually counted down…
Charles Lenard Neal was born in Longview Texas on January 30th, 1931. After WWII the Dodger system churned out infield prospects like weeds. Many went to other teams, Chico Carrasquel, Bobby Morgan, Bob Lillis, Chico Fernandez and Billy Hunter to name a few. Robinson, Reese, and Gilliam were impossible to dislodge. But Neal was a keeper. His game was speed. But he was the invisible Dodger, overshadowed by a roster…
This is a series I have been thinking about doing for a while. I want to profile players who played for the Dodgers in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, who were not huge stars, but players who contributed to the team while they were members. The first spotlight is on third baseman Billy Cox. William Richard Cox was born on August 29, 1919, in Newport Pennsylvania. His father Fred worked…
MLB hands out more awards than one might think. We all know about player of the week, month, and so on. They also award one for the rookie of the month. So I am checking out the Dodger media guide to see how the Dodgers have fared. The Dodgers have had 7 NL Rookies of the Month. Bellinger won the award twice, in May and June of 2017. Seager earned…
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…
Among the recent news items was a clip that Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, would celebrate his 49th birthday on Sunday, December 25. That piqued my curiosity a bit and I quickly took a peak to determine who else might have a Christmas Day birthday. That is, those with a recognizable name for me. There were many who had been born on that day but almost all were not part…
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…
In 1947 Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by becoming the first person of color to play in the major leagues. But it almost happened in 1901. John McGraw wanted to sign a light-skinned Negro named Charlie Grant to play for the Giants. Now baseball back before the 1900s was filled with white players who had a deep-seated prejudice against blacks. And for years there had been a so-called, gentleman’s…
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…