A lot of guys on teams are nothing but scrubs who wait for their chance to contribute to the team. Over the years, many of these guys were favorites of mime simply because when they did get in a game, they played their hardest. I will attempt to give some examples here, starting with a guy who drove Lasorda bananas. Derrell Thomas On November 14th, 1978, the Los Angeles Dodgers…
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our…
What comes to mind when you think about Ron Cey? To me, it is his trot around the bases after he hit a homer and his solid play as one of the anchors of ” The Infield.” Cey was born on the 15th of February 1948 in Tacoma, Washington. He was a multi-sport athlete at Mount Tacoma High School. He was the first athlete to receive nine varsity letters. Upon…
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 collisions at home plate he was involved with. To this day, I still think he was the best they had at blocking…
Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 19, 1949. His father worked for RC Cola and drove a truck. His mom worked in real estate and also as an interior decorator. The big baseball fan in the family was his grandfather on his mom’s side, Alfred Hellwig. He would ride a streetcar to Sportsman’s Park to watch the Cardinals and the Browns almost every day. Jerry was…
I watched at least three near-future Dodgers last night and one recent past Dodger Hero. I watched the near-future Dodgers, Mike Busch, Jacob Amaya, and Bobby Miller with great elation. Let me tell you about that before I tell you about an old friend whom I felt a great sadness in watching. The trio of Busch, Amaya, and Miller will likely move to Oklahoma City very soon, but I enjoyed…
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…
Earlier in the week I had a dialogue with MT and Bluto regarding the lack of confidence I have in RVS as a competent MLB Team Batting Coach. I have no doubts that his methodology can and does work for some, but each batter is different and needs a different approach. At least that is the way it used to be. I concede that the LAD method of hitting is…
Believe it or not, this topic can generate some hot debate. Which players deserve the honor? And that is where the debate begins. The Yankees have by far the most retired numbers, 21. Number 8 and 42 are retired honoring two different players. 42 for Robinson and Rivera. 8 for Dickey and Berra. As we all know, 42 is retired throughout baseball. The Dodgers have 10 retired numbers, 1,2,4,19,20,24,32,39,42 and 53….
Revered or reviled? Loved or hated? Steve Garvey generated a lot of different emotions in players and fans. Steven Patrick Garvey, born December 22, 1948, in Tampa, Florida. His parents, Joseph and Mildred, had recently relocated to Tampa from Long Island, NY. Joe passed on his love of baseball, especially the Dodgers, to his son Steve. Steve used to hit old grapefruits with a broomstick because there were 11 of…