A sign of things to come.
Featured above is an vintage color transparency from the Metropolis Collection that is currently being auctioned by
Hyee_Auctions on eBay, and it features the then Mayor of Los Angeles Norris Poulson meeting with Walter O'Malley. It is dated March 6, 1957, a full year before the Dodgers would move to the West Coast, and it includes a sorrowful Brooklyn Dodgers "Bum" listening in. The clown in the photo is none of than the famous Emmett Kelly. Also framed in the pic is the Dodgers official plane. The photograph was taken by Cranston & Elkins of the New York Daily News.
Although nothing was official at the time, I have no doubt the folks in the photo above knew exactly what was going to happen. The Dodgers were coming to Los Angeles. They just needed to make sure everyone was on board. Per the
Walter O'Malley website, Mayor Poulson was joined by John Gibson, president of the City Council; Samuel Leask, city
administration officer; L.A. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn; county
chief administrative officer John Leach; and Milton Arthur, chairman of
the county recreation commission.
Below are more links to check out:
- USA Today names Corey Seager the #1 name to know in the MLB this season. Kenta Maeda is #11, Julio Urias is at #78, Frankie Montas at #80 and Trayce Thompson at #82. See story here.
The words “Hall of Famer” are already being tossed around in regard to
Seager, 21, by teammate Adrian Gonzalez. Seager’s uncommon combination
of talent and composure inspires. He might be the National League’s
version of Carlos Correa — a lanky shortstop with power, poise and
leadership skills — and his opposite number at All-Star Games for years
to come. Lefty-swinging Seager replaced former MVP Jimmy Rollins as the
Dodgers’ starting shortstop in September, kept the job in the playoffs
and goes into the season as the regular.
- Blowout Buzz shares some preview pics from Topps 2016 Strata set; including the Koufax autographed card on the right. It is slated to be released on July 27th. Go here to check out more pics.
- Huh... Apparently, the Dodgers have signed a minor league deal with former Giants infielder Brandon Hicks to Spring Training. Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Dodger mix picks Hicks."
- Via Tracy Ringolsby at MLB.com, "Dodgers securing future with international prospects."
The Dodgers have been every bit as aggressive in the international
market as the big league market. And they were not deterred by the
sizable tax penalty for exceeding their allotted segment of the
international signing pool.
The team set a record by spending $150 million on international players in 2015.
You can say that they bought this farm-system ranking, and you’d be right, and I don’t think they’d particularly care. However, that doesn’t do justice to the successful draft picks in 2013 and 2014 that line their top 10 around the various high-dollar Cuban signings (and that one Mexican lefty named Urias).
"I wouldn't say it's completely left the station. It's a decision I'd
have to make pretty soon. But I've got an opportunity to prove myself in
the big leagues."
- The Baseball Continuum has put up a nice primer on the upcoming World Baseball Classic Qualifier; "World Baseball Classic Qualifier Preview: Sydney (Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa)." Go Philippines!
Labels:
2016 Strata,
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Brandon Hicks,
Corey Seager,
eBay,
Emmett Kelly,
Hyee,
Sandy Koufax,
Walter O'Malley,
Zach Lee
