The longest-tenured Yankee, left fielder Brett Gardner, who was well within earshot of the Dodgers fans, said in reference to the crowd: “Even the Red Sox, they don’t have maybe as big a following or aren’t as rowdy. It’s a little bit different, but I thought it was a good atmosphere. If we’re going to play well down the stretch and get back into the postseason like we aspire to do, we’re going to have to play well in that atmosphere, whether it’s at the Stadium or on the road.”Best yet, the folks at Pantone 294 brought some luck to the Blue Crew. The Dodgers hammered out an impressive 8-2 victory behind an fantastic second career start by Jose De Leon. Via Doug Padilla at ESPN:
“It was electric and everything I expected,” De Leon said of his Yankee Stadium debut. “I was a little more nervous than I was in L.A. Since I grew up a Red Sox fan, I really wanted to beat the Yankees, so it was a good one."Photo above via @MLB on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
“I think I drank everything pretty much under the sun: pickle juice, some mustard,” Kazmir said. “I think I had some of that on my face the next half-inning. But it was a lot of stuff that actually worked, so I was good after that.”While on the mound Kazmir went seven innings, gave up four hits, one earned run and struck out eight batters. Per Alex Putterman at MLB.com:
"Kaz has a lot of fight in him, and with what we're going through, guys have got to step up," manager Dave Roberts said. "And today was a great outing by Kaz. Everything was working. He had command of everything."Photos above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016. Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:
Sources: Chase Utley agrees to a one-year deal with the Dodgers. @Ken_Rosenthal said it was close.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 6, 2015
"It was a very tough decision, but I am headed to L.A.," Geren said. "Both my wife and I have aging parents and extended family in Southern California. It's not often you get a chance in baseball to work that close to home and to your family. I'm going to miss everything about New York and the Mets. It was a wonderful four years."
Here’s the thing that is striking about the Koufax-Drysdale gambit — it never had a chance of working, and that is made entirely clear by the amused reaction of the Dodgers’ brass. You might imagine the miserly Walter O’Malley, his face red with rage, shaking his fist and grumping, “You’ll never get another nickel out of me!” But it wasn’t like that. O’Malley and Bavasi were not angry at all. Quite the opposite. They sounded almost sympathetic to the absurdity of baseball players believing that they had the power to command that sort of money or security.
Statement from Dodger president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman on Zack Greinke: pic.twitter.com/edegqWjc2R
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 5, 2015
Sources: Former #Mariners 1B coach Chris Woodward will be part of Dave Roberts’ staff with #Dodgers.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
Turner is just one of four Dodger players to OPS 1.300 or higher with a minimum of 15 plate appearances in a series.
Bonilla missed the entire 2015 season due to injury after making his Major League debut in 2014 and going 3-0 with a 3.05 ERA in five games (three starts) with the Rangers. In 170 minor league games (43 starts) in six minor league seasons, Bonilla has posted a 27-20 record with 15 saves and a 3.17 ERA, while limiting opponents to a .232 batting average with 489 strikeouts in 429.0 innings. Bonilla, who was honored with a 2012 selection to the Futures Game, was originally signed by the Phillies in 2008 as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic and then traded to Texas in 2012.
“Reinstatement back into the Olympic Games is an extensive process for the sport, so it is encouraging this evening to receive the news that Baseball/Softball has made it to the next step, and it is credit to the sports global movement”, said Baseball Australia President, David Hynes.
Purchased in 1908 for the then-unprecedented sum, Rube Marquard struggled miserably in his first two seasons with the Giants until mentor Wilbert Robinson joined the coaching staff. Then Marquard embarked on a stellar three-year run where he averaged almost 25 wins (including his extraordinary record of 19 straight in 1912) en route to a trio of N.L. pennants. Toast of the town, he also starred in the silent movie Rube Marquard Wins and performed on stage nationwide with vaudeville leading lady Blossom Seeley in a popular song-and-dance show. (Seeley scandalously left her husband to marry Rube and they had a child together in 1913.)
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Following Robinson to the eponymously named Brooklyn Robins, Marquard donned this iconic plaid uniform style during his renaissance years of 1916 and 1917—when he won a combined 32 games and played in his fourth of five World Series over an eventual 18-year career. Alone on the dugout steps, eyes trained on the admiring viewer, one could hardly imagine a more classic depiction of the Hall of Famer's matinee-idol looks, mischievous grin, and confident swagger.
Dazzy Vance's life was fit for the silver screen. Nicknamed for his dazzling fastball, Vance toiled in the minors for nearly a decade, then discovered a long-hidden arm ailment thanks to a fluke poker-game injury, and subsequently parlayed his recovery into meteoric major-league success!Why the Dodgers have not retired his number (#15) I will never understand. I get that he (and the Dodgers for that matter) had only worn a number for one year while he was a Dodger, but why deny the Hall of Famer who spent most of his career in Brooklyn the honor.
In his third season with Brooklyn, the 33-year-old drank from the fountain of youth to capture the 1924 Major League Triple Crown with 28 wins, 262 strikeouts and a 2.16 ERA—taking home the N.L. MVP to boot. Vance also holds the distinction of being the only National Leaguer ever to lead the circuit in strikeouts for seven straight seasons (1922-1928). What's more, he had a no-hitter, an immaculate inning, a 15-strikeout game, and a 15-game win streak to his credit. Then, of course, there were his off-field hijinks as the fun-loving ringleader of the "Daffiness Boys"—along with cohorts Babe Herman and Chick Fewster.
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Dick Perez on "Roy Campanella - 'Campy'": "I always believed that any professional athlete to be good you have to have a little boy in you." Roy Campanella, one of the Boys of Summer, spoke these words during his induction into baseball's Hall of Fame. Although he never wanted to be considered a pioneer, Campanella was the 6th African-American player to make an appearance as a Major Leaguer in the 20th century in 1948. Like Jackie Robinson, he was a product of the Negro Leagues where he became a first-string catcher at the age of 16.
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“There’s a little bit of a backstory to it. I had a little brother, growing up — he was sick, he was always in the hospital and he later passed. Just coming to the hospital for me is pretty tough. The smell of a hospital reminds me of my little brother. Coming to see some of these kids, hooked up to these machines, it just takes me back. It’s definitely tough just to come here and see some of this stuff. But it’s what I guess I was born to do, and it’s nice to do and puts everything in perspective.”
As Bill James noted in his Historical Baseball Abstract, no one knows the exact procedure performed by this random New Orleans doctor. James speculated that bone chips and debris were cleared out of the elbow. Whatever the doctor did, the pain was gone and Vance could suddenly throw hard again.
In recognition of Black History Month, the second annual Compton Community Day will be celebrated Saturday, February 1 at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton, featuring dignitaries representing Major League Baseball and the City of Compton.
It was in the Big Easy that the career-changing poker game occurred. According to Jack Kavanagh and Norman Macht, Vance banged his arm on the edge of the table while raking in a pot. He immediately felt intense pain. When the arm still hurt the next morning, Vance went to a doctor, who diagnosed an underlying injury that had not been discovered by all the medicos who had examined him previously. Exactly what the doctor did is unknown. Bill James speculated that the surgeon probably removed bone chips and debris from the elbow. That guess seems as good as any. At any rate, the operation was a success and the patient not only survived, but he thrived. After receiving this treatment, Dazzy was able to pitch again painlessly. The Dazzler rebounded to win 21 games for the Pelicans in 1921, his first 20-win season since 1914. He made it to the majors to stay the very next year. “It was an odd thing,” Vance later recalled. “My arm came back just as quickly as it went sore on me in 1915. I awoke one morning and learned I could throw without pain again."
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Here is Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance. Have you ever heard of the "three men on third" incident. Vance was also involved in one of the most famous flubs in baseball history, the "three men on third" incident. With Vance on second and Chick Fewster on first, Babe Herman hit a long ball and began racing around the bases. As he rounded second, the third base coach yelled at him to go back, since Fewster had not yet passed third. Vance, having rounded third, misunderstood and reversed course, returning to third. Fewster arrived at third. Herman ignored the instruction and also arrived at third. The third baseman tagged out Vance and Fewster; Herman was declared safe by rule.
Last but not least, here is Dodger Hall of Famer Zach Wheat.
Huggins & Scott recently concluded their most recent auction that included several scarce Dodger items. To the right is the 1925 Universal Toy & Novelty W504 Brooklyn Dodgers uncut sheet. I've seen many of the cards individually (hand-cut from the sheets) available for sale, but a complete sheet is fairly rare. In the past 5 years I've seen complete sheets for sale only a handful of times.
Below is an incredibly rare and unusual item. It's a giant photograph of the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers that measures 9.5 feet by 5.5 feet. This piece did not sell in the auction so if you have room in your den go ahead and give them a call. It was "display(ed) for many years at Tex's Pizzeria, a popular restaurant just off Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY. Tex was a close friend of Carl Furillo and is, in fact, mentioned in the book New York City Baseball by Harry Frommer (pg 66). Many of the great Dodgers of that era, namely Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and Furillo, to name a few, are prominently displayed in front of their large Championship banner. Images of this piece have been shown to former Brooklyn Dodger players appearing at shows in the NY and NJ area, some of whom have vague memories of it. Probably the most vivid recollection of the item was from Mrs. Gil Hodges who remembers the exact location of it at the restaurant and also added she knew Tex's wife, who helped prepare Italian specialties served at this establishment that closed in the early 1970's."
Auction Link Here:
