Blog Kiosk: 3/16/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Spring Odds and Ends

Above is a fantastic vintage 1956 photo taken by legendary Dodger photographer Barney Stein.  It provides a glimpse of the player pregame procession before one of the games of the Brooklyn Dodgers Goodwill Tour in Tokyo.  They are to play the Tokyo Giants.  It recently sold at RMY Auctions (link here).

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1976 Dodgers right-handed pitcher Andy Messersmith is granted free agency.  He is principally responsible for the end of the "reserve clause" and is credited for signing the very first contract of the free agency era about a month later.  He won an arbitrator case in favor of free agency in December 1975, and MLB naturally appealed.  They would lose their appeal on March 9th, 1976.  A few days later the league declined appealing to the Supreme Court; effectively granting Messersmith free agency.
• Happy Birthday, Patsy Donovan, Jake Flowers, Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, Hee-Seop Choi, Brian Wilson & Brandon League!
  

Blog Kiosk: 1/6/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Now this is a Baseball play.

These days it is doubtful anything like the action seen above would happen.  First of all, infielders are not expected to perform such acrobatics on the field anymore.  Instead, they hug the base and dare the oncoming runner to slide hard.  And if the runner does come at the infielder, it is likely that screams of unsportsmanlike conduct will be heard from every medium in the country.  Furthermore, a take-out slide, like the one being performed by the nameless Cardinal runner above against Jackie Robinson, just isn't done anymore.  Heck, in certain circumstances it is banned.

Photo above via Old Baseball Photos on Twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• Happy Birthday, George Shoch, Lee Walls, Marlon Anderson & Ralph Branca!