The Forgotten Man Before Justin Turner, the Dodgers had another redhead. He played 1st and the outfield and spent 12 years of his 21-year MLB career as a Dodger. And in the overall scheme of things, he is somewhat of a forgotten man. Ronald Ray Fairly was born on July 12, 1938, in Macon, Georgia. He was the son of Carl and Marjorie Fairly. Ron’s dad had a 10-year career…
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 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…
I was watching the HBO miniseries, The Pacific. In the next to last chapter, the Marines are engaged in the battle for Okinawa. It was a horrific fight, and the US suffered the highest casualties of any battle in the Pacific. It got me thinking about one of the people responsible for me loving the Dodgers and the game as much as I do. In June of 1958, about a…
Hope everyone is well. I was just perusing the 2021 Media Guide. A really good source of information for fans. Unfortunately, they no longer sell them. So Mark got me the download site and now all that info is on my computer right at my fingertips. And the first subject I thought I would touch on is career defensive leaders at all the positions. One of Eric’s favorite subjects. Now,…
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…
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…
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…
NOTE: I told you Rob Schelling aka/2demter2 would be back – little did I know how soon!— Mark Timmons Gamer: A player who approaches the game with a tenacious, spirited attack and continues to play even when hurt; a competitor; a player who doesn’t make excuses. The term is a compliment, most especially when it comes from another player. Goat: one blamed for causing a failure or defeat, esp. in…
A week or two back, Jeff asked if I would be willing to write an article about Jim Lefebrve, the 1965 Rookie of the year 2nd baseman. I jumped on the idea right away, as “Frenchy” was one of my favorite players when he was with the Dodgers. I thought to myself that this should fairly easy, as there was sure to be much written about Lefebvre. Surprisingly, however, despite…