Monday, July 18, 2011

Mark Cuban: Dodgers, Mets or Pirates?

Mark Cuban is a wanted man. Checkout the video clip below from his recent appearance on the Real Talk with Bill Maher on HBO. He puts on a Dodger cap, Maher pleads for him to buy the Mets and Cuban exhorts "I'm a Pirates fan."

(Hat Tip: Eye on Baseball)

Mark Cuban on Real Time by yaysarcasm
Video Link:

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BTW, the LA Times puts together a great comparative analysis between the two different loans being considered by the court. Check it out right here.

Blog Kiosk: 7/18/2011

Here is a pic from the starting lineups and introduction from the 1980 All-Star Game as they honor Roy Campanella. (Pic Link: yfrog: joshrawitch)

YouTube Link:

Earliest Known Dodger Franchise Artifact?

Huggins & Scott Auctions currently has this fascinating vintage Dodger memorabilia piece for sale. It is a 1883 scorecard from a game between the Brooklyn Polka Dots and the Wilmington Quicksteps of the Interstate Association. This is the summer before the official start of the Dodger franchise, but considering the players noted here it undoubtedly was the seed that spawned the team. I'll let the auction description tell you more.
The offered scorecard details the September 20, 1883 Interstate Association contest between the host Brooklyn Polka Dots and Wilmington Quicksteps. This diamond heirloom is, with high probability, the earliest “Dodgers” artifact in existence. Printed on thick stock, the item has a vertical center fold with a vintage colorful baseball image on the front and a Brooklyn-based clothier ad on the back. The inner portion is home to the real treasure: a scorecard with pre-printed lineups of that Thursday afternoon’s combatants. The Brooklyn lineup includes Charlie Householder, Bill Greenwood, Oscar Walker, Adonis Terry and Billy Greer, each of whom was to play for the Brooklyn “Atlantics” the following season in what is officially recognized as the debut of the Dodgers franchise. But make no mistake, in the summer before jumping to the American Association, these “predecessors” were not just a skeleton of the franchise, but rather a sizable foundation readily embraced at Brooklyn’s Washington Park.

Daily Conlon: #174 Sam Jones - My Biggest Thrill A No- Hitter

Here is today's Daily Conlon card numbered #174 Sam Jones as he talks about his biggest highlight- a no-hitter.
"It was a terrific thrill as soon as it was all over. The fans and all the players flocking down on the field to congratulate me. But I think the biggest kick of all came the next day, when I got telegrams from all over the country."
Read more by clicking the pic below to embiggen.

Hunt Auctions: Sing Sing Prison

Baseball extends beyond walls and barriers. It travels past borders and vast oceans to spread its gospel to the masses. It even finds a home within the US penitentiary system. Prison league ball during the days of barnstorming and exhibition games was highly popular and well attended events (by inmates, that is). Newspapers came out to report on them and true Major League stars came out to play on the field; including the Big Bambino. In fact, here is an artifact from Ruth's own hands from one of the more famous prison events featuring the Sing Sing Prison "Black Sheep" and the 1929 Yankees. I'll let the auction description tell you more about this famous bat.
On September 5, 1929 Ruth and his Yankees teammates were slated to play in a slightly different style of barnstorming game... (They) were overwhelmed by autograph seekers from the inmate population even signing while running the bases... Ruth was batting in the second inning when he absolutely destroyed a pitch that soared high above the forty foot tall prison wall. The ball was noted to have cleared the wall, over the heads of the prison guards (who deserted their machine guns to follow the path of the ball), continuing past the New York Central Railroad tracks, and ending its journey below the prison administration building. At the time the blast was estimated to have travelled nearly 620 feet in total which was believed to have been the longest of Ruth's career. Subsequent accounts and evaluations of the homerun dimensions have placed the distance at slightly less but by all measure it is clear that the ball flew well over 550 feet. As the most followed athlete of the day one can easily understand the buzz that rose from the Ruth homerun that date. Multiple newspaper and wire accounts spread across the country including the New York Times who wittingly noted, "His second inning drive which traversed the long diagonal of the rectangle before making its getaway past the centre field guardhouse, was jotted down by prison statisticians as the longest non-stop flight by an object or person leaving Sing Sing by that route for the past handful of decades." Upon rounding first base, the prison team baseman (who had 10 years left on a 25 year sentence) exclaimed, "Gee, I wish I was riding out of here on that one!"
This is the bat Ruth used for slam that home run. It belonged within the collection from the prison's former athletic director, and sold for $110,000.00.