35 posts
Early this year, Dodger outfielder, Trayce Thompson, started the season with a bang as he had a three-homer game. Unfortunately for Trayce, that was pretty much the highlight of his year, and he was traded prior to the deadline back to the White Sox. The first three-homer game…
Campy at Spring Training After seeing Will Smith spend more than ten days out with the MLB concussion protocol, it got me wondering why anyone in their right mind would make catching their profession. But many have answered that call. And over the years, the Dodgers have had…
Time stops for no one. And as the Dodgers get ready to enter their 65th season in Los Angeles, they approach the 67 years the Dodgers were part of the Major Leagues in Brooklyn. The National League as we know it, was formed in 1890. The Dodgers won their first title that season…
One of our posters said he would like to see a story on Rube Walker. Rube was Campy’s caddy for several years. But I thought it would be more interesting to profile all of the catchers who played second fiddle to the best catcher in Dodger history. Mike Piazza would have easily…
Scioscia and Roy Campanella 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…
Alfred Bluford “Rube” Walker was born on May 16, 1926, in Lenoir North Carolina. He was the son of Alfred and Buelah Walker, the oldest of three boys. He was raised in a typical middle-class family of the era. His father was a semi-pro catcher in his younger days. He would bring…
# 14 When the old-timer’s committee announced the results of their meeting and Gil Hodges became the latest Dodger to be enshrined at Cooperstown, I was elated. I had always felt Gil belonged. He was the best first baseman of his era. Although he did not garner enough writer…
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. 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers For…
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,
First, to Badger. I love trade scenarios. I do not care how outlandish they are or how realistic they may be. I enjoy reading Bums trade proposals. I am not sure that I ever read one that was realistic, but they are fun. Bluto sometimes gives us scenarios from the baseballtradevalues.com site. They are fun for me. That is what blogs are for. Throw out ideas. To the best of
I got to thinking about this when Albert joined the Dodgers. Just how many HOFer s have spent time with the Dodgers in Brooklyn or LA. The answer right now is 46. Also 7 managers and coaches, 3 executives, and 4 broadcasters. The broadcasters are Scully, Red Barber, Jaime Jarrin, and Ernie Harwell, who did most of his work in Detroit. But he worked with Barber for a while. The execs
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
Born in the small town of Washington Maine on November 30. 1901, Clyde Leroy Sukeforth, or Sukey as he was known in baseball circles, was a typical small town boy. He began playing when he was young and grew as youngsters did in those days to love the game. Over his career he would catch, coach, manage and scout for major league teams. He is forever tied to the Dodgers
It starts when you are young. For some, it is your first program, for others baseball cards, and some an autograph. Mine started with cards. I got my first pack when I was 7. 1955 Topps. I was living in Minnesota with my mom and we moved back to California that fall. I went to an Angels game with my uncle. And the next day I got a pack of
Today s post is about the longest tenured Dodger manager. Walter Emmons Alston. Smokey to his friends. Alston was the manager when the team moved from Brooklyn. He was just 3 years removed from guiding them to their only World Championship in their long history. His team was a mixture of old Brooklyn stars, Reese, Hodges, Snider, Furillo, Erskine, and some new blood just beginning to make some noise on the
This is a follow up to the best that have ever played in my estimation. Some I never saw. Others I saw many times. It will consist of the starting 8, a pitching staff of 12 and the bench players. Not an easy thing to do. Starters 1st Base Easiest pick for me. Gil Hodges. 370 lifetime homers as a Dodger First to win the Gold Glove when they were
If you want a sure fire way to start an argument, just pick the best players ever for your team. Everyone has their own ideas of who are the greatest players in a team s history. And the Dodgers have a long and colorful past. 67 years in Brooklyn as a part of MLB, and 62 in LA. So, choosing the best ever is a hard task. In this case, I
Today my topic is Johnny Roseboro. One of the things I often wished was that I had been able to see Campy play when he was at his peak. Even one year in LA would have been nice, but it was not to be. So for my formative years watching the game, our catcher most of the time was John Junior Roseboro. He was born in Ashland, Ohio on May
I got to thinking about this the other day when I was discussing Steve Garvey and why I did not think he belonged in the hall with a friend of mine. He is a Dodger fan who lives in San Diego and Garv was one of his favorite Dodgers ever. I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and check out all of the players who have
He was my favorite player growing up. A California boy who found fame in the borough of Brooklyn. He was a graceful outfielder, and a power hitting threat on the great Brooklyn teams of the late 40 s and 50 s. He was the only lefty threat in the lineup that featured Jackie, Gil, Campy, Pee Wee, and Scoonj. And in Brooklyn he was simply The Dook . I got that part from
The other night I watched a few innings of the Dodger intra-squad. Even though they added piped in music, and “fan noise” it was still difficult for me to get excited about the game. One thing I did enjoy, however, was watching Josiah Gray pitch. He is a good one folks! And, if baseball ever returns to some semblance of normalcy, I can see great things ahead for him. Both
Outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, a statue depicting southpaw Johnny Podres after a pitch release stands 60 feet, six inches from a statue of catcher Roy Campanella. They commemorate the Brooklyn Dodgers winning the 1955 World Series over the New York Yankees, one of the most iconic moments in Dodger history! The photo of the elated Podres leaping into the arms of Roy Campanella, with Don
This is for Bear although he most likely has all of this in his data bank and more. It is a rerun of an article I posted on Think Blue LA back in December of 2012. At that time I wrote: Yesterday I spent some quality time with myself organizing and cataloging my latest Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp baseball cards. Today, I will take my Duke Snider cards out
I’m going to come right out and say that I believe that Gil Hodges should be in the Hall of Fame. Much has been written about the subject and nothing that I offer here is unique or original to me. I will just say this, if a player can be voted in for being a tremendous person, then Gill Hodges would be a unanimous first ballot selection. I was too
Every true baseball fan knows about Kershaw and nearly everybody on the planet knows about Koufax, but only the truest of true Dodger fans know that there was yet a third outstanding left-handed “K” who once pitched for the Dodgers – Karl Spooner. Karl Benjamin Spooner was born on June 23, 1931 in Oriskany Falls, a village in upstate New York about 20 minutes south of Utica. He grew up
Like many baseball players of his era, Furillo answered the call and spent the next three years, 1943-45, in the army. He saw active duty in the Pacific Theater where he was wounded and received three battle stars. His war service gave the Dodgers an early glimpse that Furillo seemed to be uncomfortable in social situations and perhaps almost a lone wolf. Peter Golenbock in his book “Bums” writes that Carl Furillo turned down a Purple Heart medal for his wounds, saying that he hadn’t been suffic
Now that the Bobby Thompson home run has surfaced again, perhaps I can tease you one more time with a reference to that fateful hit in an article I wrote four years ago. I trace my birth as a Dodger fan back to the 1952 season. Vin Scully and Duke Snider were the midwives in bringing me into the world of “Dodger Blue.” Vin’s voice captivated me one evening in
I am slacking it a bit today as we have had our family with us for the better part of four days and will be away most of tomorrow and Thursday. So, I pulled up an article from exactly four years ago ( January 2, 2016). They say you never forget your first love. At least that’s what I’ve been told. As much affection as I have always had, and
