41 posts
We did Christmas on Christmas Eve, and it was spectacular. My youngest son got me the coolest gift ever! I just re-did my office, and I had wall space for a nice three or four-foot picture or painting. I was not sure what I was going to put there. Of course, I raised Stephen to…
I was saddened to read of the passing of our friend and colleague, Roberto Baly, creator of a very popular blog in the early days of Dodger blogs by the name of “Vin Scully Is My Homeboy (VSIMHB).” He has been ill for quite some time and was unable to keep the site going because…
Lots of fans have asked exactly that same question. Some have even said “ I can’t believe Freidman signed Heany! ” or “ What was he thinking by signing Heaney – it’s a flashback to Anderson, McCatthy, and Kazmir! ” Maybe he just likes players with the name “Andrew” – After all…
This is a call up from the archives from an article I posted on December 7, 2016. The game we all love has changed considerably since the first published rules of baseball were written in 1845 for a New York baseball club called the Knickerbockers. Alexander Cartwright authored…
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…
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…
What does this game we love really need? Interesting question. More action? More runs? Shorter games? MLB has tried numerous things to get all of these in play. And in reality, I believe some of all of these would be a good thing. I also think the game could use a few more personalities.. Players who are just a little bit out there. I would have loved to have a
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
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 .
I wonder if the Dodgers could lure Vin Scully back to do a few games this year? It might give him some solace and joy and allow him some time away from his grief. It would also overjoy Dodger fans just to hear him one last time: Everyone processes grief differently, so it may be out of the question or well within reason. At any rate, it s just an idea
Last week baseball lost another legend. Henry Aaron. Though he never played for the Dodgers, I had a deep respect for him as a man, and a ballplayer. I cannot imagine how it was for him growing up a black kid in the south. Nor can I imagine the hate directed at him when he was closing in on breaking the all-time HR mark set by Babe Ruth. He had
Right about now, as COVID-19 rages across the country, MLB is making plans for a 162 game season. How many of those games will be played in empty stadiums remains to be seen, but It might be less than we think. The Indiana Pacers will begin allowing fans into Bankers Life Fieldhouse on January 19th. Sales will be limited to 1,000 tickets per game through Jan. 25 and gradually increase .
By now, we all know that Vin Scully, the greatest baseball broadcaster of all-time, experienced the loss of his wife, Sandi. The photo of the couple below was taken a couple of years ago: Sandra Hunt was married to Vin Scully for 48 years and at the age of 76, she was a beautiful, elegant woman, even as ALS ravaged her body. This is according to TMZ: Vin and Sandi
I just started thinking about this the other day. And it is so true. As a kid, you are in awe of the players. The speed of the game and how it seems like they make the plays so easily. The first time in a major league ballpark is magical. The first time you come through the tunnel as I did at the Coliseum and see the colors and have
This season, our long drought ended, and the Dodgers brought home the trophy. What a great feeling. And over the last few years we have come close, and just fell short. But in the days before the present system was set up and league expansion, there were only 2 winners. No second chance at a title. Just two teams battling it out for MLB supremacy. Four times in their history,
From 1950 to 1998 there was one constant with the Dodgers. Ownership. Walter Francis O Malley took control of the team as it s primary stockholder and owner in 1950. Branch Rickey s contract was expiring in October of that year. He had purchased a 25% ownership of the team in 1944. Rickey and John L. Smith were also part owners as were the heirs of McKeever who had owned the team with
55 years ago today, perhaps my favorite non-WS game I ever watched or listened to played out on my transistor radio. It was a Thursday evening. School had just started, and we had just completed our third day of my 9th grade year. I was forbidden to be listening to my transistor radio, but I chose to ignore the rules and listen anyway. Of course that is another story that
I have been a baseball and Dodger fan for slightly more than 60 years. My love for baseball was immediate, and with the Dodgers, it was love at first sight. In that sixty years, I have listened to or watched roughly 7,500 Dodger games. I have also watched and coached countless youth ball and high school baseball games. I have also had the pleasure of watching my sons participate in
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
One of my most memorable moments as a young Dodger fan was when Chuck Essegian hit a pinch -hit homerun in game two of the 1959 World Series, to tie the game. I was only eight years old at the time, but I could tell from the excitement in Vin Scully’s voice that this home run was a very dramatic and important moment for the Dodgers. I can also remember
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
With a raucous sellout crowd pulsating throughout the stadium last night, Joc went head to head against Vlad Jr in a remake of the classic 2019 HR Derby. This time Joc bested the young Blue Jays slugger and won the 2020 Home Run Derby at Dodger Stadium. This was on a night that followed a Josiah Gray masterpiece who went 2 innings striking out all six batters he faced in
Last night (Friday) I watched an inning of the scrimmage between the 2 Dodger squads on TV. It was so odd and, frankly I couldn’t get into it quite the same as a regular game. On the other hand it is baseball. After I turned the TV off, it began to stir in me the query of why do I love baseball so much. As a result, I began to
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
Monday was a bittersweet day for me. On the positive side, it was my wife’s and my 46th wedding anniversary. It also marked the 16th anniversary of Andy’s MLB debut. However, it also marked our first anniversary without our son Kris. Kris was a nomad, but no matter wherever he was, he would ALWAYS call his mother on May 25 and wish her a Happy Anniversary. Never failed. I have
I must admit it is a major disappointment having made it through the baseball drought that is winter. Our provincial government and federal have asked us to stay home and when out maintain the two-meter separation going out only if really necessary.
The above picture of Duke, Andy Pafko and Carl Furillo is a snapshot of my all-time favorite outfield. I expect this is the case because it was my first outfield and all three homered on my first night of Dodger baseball which also gives me a way to trace my first game. That is the only time all three homered in the same game.
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
One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn” starring Sidney Poitier. In it, Poitier plays Noah Dearborn, a 91‑year old carpenter who lives a simple life and existence, detached from modern life. His only interest is woodworking, at which he is very gifted. In his hands, woodworking tools are not just tools, they become instruments for creating works of art. Poitier, who is also a
Count this as my latest of the “Dodger Codger” series. The older I get, the more I look at myself and realize that I sound like an old man. And then I realize, “I am an old man.” I’m nearing 60. I have followed the Dodgers for 55 years., and I could cite to you incidents from every Dodger season back to my years as a young child. We are
