On Wednesday evening the LA Kings held a special ceremony to honor Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi, along with the seven other folks who passed away, prior to start of their home game against the Tampa Bay Lightening. As you can see above, Staples Center decided to black-out all of the Lakers banners and retired numbers, except for the two Kobe Bryant retired numbers. I thought it was a very classy move by the stadium.Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1941 the Dodgers signed future Hall of Famer Paul Waner to a free agent contract. In 1972 former Brooklyn Dodger players Rube Marquard (known mostly as a Giant) and Dave Bancroft (also mostly a Giant) were selected by an Hall of Fame Special Veterans Committee for enshrinement. In 2001 an article was published in the WSJ related to the most infamous pennant race in National League history. Written by Joshua Prager, he details how the Giants team stole catchers' signs during the 1951 pennant race to help them overcome a Dodgers 13.5 game lead in the National League. You can read the original article here. In 2003 the Dodgers signed free agent pitcher Wilson Alvarez. In 2005 the Dodgers signed pitcher Scott Erickson as a free agent.
- Happy Birthday, Hank Aguirre, Ted Power, Stuffy Stewart & Jackie Robinson!
- RIP, Narciso Elvira. Via Lizbeth Diaz at Reuters/Yahoo News -- "Ex-Major League Baseball pitcher Narciso Elvira killed in Mexico." He was a former Dodger farmhand in the '90's.
- There has apparently been some drama surrounding Pantone 294 and their attempt to capitalize on the recent death of Kobe Bryant. Days after his passing they sought to sell a Lakers travel jersey emblazoned with Bryant symbolism -- it did not go well. Blatant profiteering immediately elicited a harsh response from mourning fans. Then an employee of the travelling fanclub acted out in the most unprofessional manner. Now that person has been fired. Go here for some background and info on this weird situation. Below is a tweet from Pantone 294 about the firing.
Pantone 294 has terminated the employment of the person who made derogatory comments on their social media surrounding Kobe’s death. https://t.co/ixqjGLeKQz— Pantone 294 (@Pantone294) January 30, 2020
- Via Sydney Ember and Matt Flegenheimer at the NY Times -- "Bernie Sanders Is Still Sad About the Dodgers."
“I remember when I used to walk down my old neighborhood in Brooklyn,” he said. “That was before the Dodgers went to Los Angeles, which was the worst thing — the worst thing that ever happened.”...
The senator does not remember how he found out about the team’s departure. But he remembers what he learned. “You don’t understand as a kid that this is a privately owned company whose goal is to make money, and if things don’t go well, you move to another community,” he said. “I didn’t know that as a kid. And that was — it was inconceivable. It was really inconceivable.”
- You should be checking out these custom cards. Per Gary Joseph Cieradkowski -- "Roy Campanella: Race, opportunity and the 1942 pennant."
- Per Michael Eli Dokosi at Face2Face Africa -- "Famous for his baseball exploits, do you know about Jackie Robinson’s last civil rights act?"
- Via TMZ Sports -- "Cody Bellinger - Verlander's Remark Wasn't Funny... CC and I Weren't Laughin'"
- Remember this former Dodger? Via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors -- "Scott Kazmir Launches Comeback Attempt."
- Via Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider -- "Dodgers announce their 2020 minor league coaching staffs."
- Per Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum at MLB.com -- "Here's each team's best non-Top 100 prospect." They make note of hurler Tony Gonsolin:
A two-way player at St. Mary's who landed a mere $2,500 bonus as a ninth-round senior sign in 2016, Gonsolin has seen his velocity jump from 88-92 mph as a college reliever to 93-97 mph as a pro starter, and he has hit 100 mph in shorter stints. His upper-80s splitter is a bigger weapon than his fastball, and he also possesses a pair of power breaking pitches, all of which helped him post a 2.93 ERA in 40 innings with Los Angeles last summer.
- Orel Hershiser spoke out about the Astros cheating scandal, via a tweet from AM570:
.@OrelHershiser on the #Astros scandal: "If Canseco, McGwire, Parker, and all those guys in Oakland would've known what was coming with me...— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) January 30, 2020
...I would not be a bulldog, I would be a chihuahua. They changed LIVES."
(🎙: @PetrosAndMoney) https://t.co/o0sLy8YX7I
- Congrats on a fantastic career. Former Dodger Curtis Granderson announced his retirement from the game this morning, via his twitter:
It’s been an incredible journey! Thanks for the ride of a lifetime, @MLB @MLB_PLAYERS pic.twitter.com/0AgOgSjWSC— Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3) January 31, 2020
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