Blog Kiosk: 5/3/2016 - Dodgers Links - Ebbets Field, Maeda and Josh Ravin's Suspension

Wow!  There's nuthin' 'round the ol' joint.

Shown above, via a tweet by Old Baseball Photos, is Ebbets Field just prior to its opening in 1913.  You can see the grandstands and the backside of the outfield walls, but nothing else (except a few buildings here and there).  I always assumed Brooklyn was built out the way it is today, but clearly that is wrong.  The immediate area was as barren as a bald head.

A little bit of research tells me that Pigtown, the neighborhood this area was called due to the existence of several large pig farms, was economically depressed.  It's inhabitants were largely poor and crime was known to be a problem.  Folks would come into town to dump their junk there and farm animals were known to roam around recklessly.  The metropolis it is today was just a dream back then.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1947 the Branch Rickey traded five Dodgers players; including Kirby Higby, to Pittsburgh.  The move was seen as a message to the players on his support for Jackie Robinson.
• Happy Birthday, Davey Lopes and Darren Dreifort!

Blog Kiosk: 4/5/2016 - Dodgers Links - Scully, Sandlock and Jackie Robinson

Fellow Hall of Famer and current Padres broadcaster Dick Enberg visited with Vin Scully before the start of yesterday's Opening Day game, as evidenced by the photo above taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers2016 and tweeted by the Dodgers.  Best yet, Vin spent a part of the afternoon explaining the acronym G.O.A.T., via Israel Fehr at Big League Stew.

"... and when he talks about meeting Michael Jordan in the shoe store, he refers to him as the GOAT. And you say: 'Goat? Why is Michael Jordan (a) goat?' 'No no,' he said, 'G-O-A-T: greatest of all time.' You ever heard that? Well, that's what Jon Jay brought to the dance - GOAT."

Below are more links to check out:

• RIP.  "Former Dodger Mike Sandlock passes away at 100," via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider.  Here's a great interview with Sandlock with Ed Attanasio at This Great Game that I though was worth checking out:

On Playing with Roy Campanella: “Campy and I started playing together on the Montreal Royals back in 1947, a team that pretty much dominated. He was a delight to be around, because he knew how to talk to people. We discussed baseball all the time, breaking down a player’s weaknesses and how to pitch to him. He knew a lot about the game and he was quite intelligent and I knew back then that he was going to be a big deal when he got up to the majors.”

• Via Sharon Robinson at the White House.gov, "Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson's Daughter, Reflects on Baseball in Cuba."

At the time, Dad was a member of the Dodgers' farm team, the Montreal Royals. Branch Rickey arranged for him to fly to Cuba for an exhibition game, just a couple of months before he broke down baseball's color barrier in the United States. To me, this connection to my father almost brought me to tears. I was watching a baseball game in the same stadium nearly seventy years later -- and during another historic era.