Sunday, November 23, 2008

Blog Kiosk 11/23/2008

Without Baseball life just moves so slow.

Hat Tip: Stale Gum:

Dodger Clubhouse Tour

What a wonderful day it was. The sun was out and shinning bright. The sky was clear and there was a comfortable chill in the air. I knew this would all be wonderful omen for the day.

This afternoon was the Los Angeles Kings "Meet the Players" party and it was held at Dodgers Stadium. Season ticket holders for the Kings are treated to an annual player signing event during the season. It's a great way to meet your favorite players, get an autograph and a picture. In past years it was held at The Home Depot Center and the Staples center, but this year they decided to do something different.

I got there early and was one of the first in line for an autograph of Kings captain Dustin Brown. It was more than an hour wait until the players would arrived. In the meantime, a great surprise was announced over the loudspeaker. The Dodger Clubhouse was open for an unguided tour.

I really didn't take many photos of the Kings players or signing event as a whole since my mind was transfixed by the thought of seeing the stadiums innards. Below are some photos I took of the Clubhouse. Check out the rest of my pics in my photoalbum.
This the first thing you see as you walk down the stairs down to the Clubhouse. Jackie Robinson has his glove held up high as he enters the Dodgers Clubhouse for the first time.
As you walk towards the locker room you are taken through a corridor of retired jerseys of Dodger greats.
The Dodger locker room with it's rows of office chairs was a little smaller than I imagined. I guess I expected it to be spacious with couches and all the accoutrement's one would expect in a room full of millionaires. Nope, it's fairly plain with a couple of TV's hanging in the center.Notice, though, locker number 16 on the right. That's Andre Ethier's locker and it has something hanging in it that made me laugh. Below is a closer look. On the top right of his locker is a photo of Joe Beimel's famous fan Troy from West Virginia. He's the guy on the bottom with the red shirt.Another strange locker is Hong Chih Kuo's. What's up with the bowling pins? Here is a desk in the locker room with all sorts of Dodger goodies all around.Here is a close up shot of the bobbleheads.As you leave the locker room and head towards the field you are given a important message. "The Road to the World Series Begins Here."The dark before the light, here is the player entrance on to the field. I'm in the dugout! I'm in the dugout!I still can't believe I'm standing on such hollowed ground. Here are the bat and helmet racks.What a tiring day. I decided to take a little nap before heading home.

Lelands: A Couple More Choice Items

Well, the Lelands November Auction just completed. Vintage and rare sports memorabilia appear to still be on fire. Can this stuff actually be a hedge against our current economic downturn? Who knows, but so far so good. I suspect the rarity of some of these treasures is the reason for some recent strong closing prices. Memorabilia that is perceived as more readily available has been and will probably continue to be a little soft.

Of course, this is not what this post is about. I had recently written about this auction, but I failed to include some fairly choice collectibles. So, I'm gonna make that up now.

Below is a game used bat once used by Babe Ruth during the 1932 season. Based on records from Hillerich and Bradsby we know that Ruth ordered 12 of these bats for the season. This rare piece of lumber sold for a healthy $59,590.81.