Ah, love the guys who came to LA and played for a short time and made some impact. Brooklyn had a few of those two, so I will touch base on a couple of those guys, too. But sometimes, they also make very little impact. And then there are those guys who get traded or signed, and you are like, why in the world would they want that guy? Might…
When I was a kid, Wes Parker was definitely one of my favorites. The guy was absolutely the best defensive first baseman in the game, (Gold gloves for six consecutive years, 1967-1972). In 1970 he came into his own and hit .319 and knocked in 111 runs. He was popular, had movie star looks, and was public relations minded. Heck, he even played the teacher’s boyfriend in an episode…
The last time out we perused players who between 1958 and 1970 who were first year players and had some or little impact on the season. The 1970’s was the dawn of a new era of Dodger baseball. Before they were over, Walter Alston would retire, and a ball of fire named Tommy Lasorda would inject a new philosophy into the managers chair. It would also usher in the longest…
People are offended by team names and no matter what you name them, there is probably another group that is offended. I guess that right about now, you name a team based upon how few people you can offend. How about we name the Washington Football Team the Washington Generics? Oh wait, that would probably offend the Atlanta Brand Names.
Tommy John surgery repairs an injured elbow ligament. It’s most commonly done on college and pro athletes, especially baseball pitchers. But it’s sometimes done on younger people as well. Tommy John surgery is also called UCL reconstruction. UCL is short for ulnar collateral ligament. During Tommy John surgery, a surgeon replaces the injured UCL with a tendon taken from somewhere else in the patient’s body. The UCL is located on the inside of…
I am limiting this to L.A. Dodgers history simply to keep it from being more than a post long. We shall travel in our way back machine to 1958 when they traded Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals for Wally Moon. Cimoli had a nice career without being a big star. He ended up playing for 6 more teams over the last 8 seasons of his career. Moon, who became so…
Peter O’Malley was born on the 12th of December 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. We all know who his parents were. He spent his childhood as a child of privilege. His dad’s success allowing the family comforts many of the citizens did not enjoy due to the depression. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. And then from the Wharton School of Business in 1960. Peter’s first job with the…
As fans, we all know the stars of our teams, and today with the internet and all the media coverage, we know the rookies, the scrub beanies, and just about everyone else in the organization. Growing up, and learning the game, that was not the case. We found out in box scores, and those of us lucky enough to have a subscription, in the Sporting News. But for every star player, there was…
In 1999 Nike came out with a clever commercial featuring Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Mark McGwire and Heather Locklear. Rather than pay attention to the Cy Young award winning pitchers, Glavine and Maddux, Heather swooned over Mark McGuire and his ability to hit the ball over the fence. After a stringent work out regiment, Glavine and Maddux hit some out in batting practice and, for the first time, Heather Locklear…
Other than perhaps Jackie Robinson this player’s name is spoken more than any other in the history of baseball. Not a day goes by where you don’t read his name, or hear it spoken on TV or the radio. He’s not in the Hall of Fame(though a strong argument can be made that he should be) and he’s not normally mentioned among the great players of his time or of…