Blog Kiosk: 9/18/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

I want to send out a hearty congratulations to the Dodgers Rookie-Level minor club, the Odgen Raptors, for their first ever Pioneer League Championship victory yesterday. Per William Boor at MLB.com; "Uceta helps lift Ogden to first Pioneer League title."

Mitchell Hanson, who had been just 2-for-10 in the postseason, put the Raptors on the board early with a two-run double in the top of the first. Hanson's hit got the offense rolling and the Raptors broke the game open with runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings via RBI hits from Brayan Morales, Connor Heady, Luis Paz and Romer Cuadrado. With the offense rolling, it was up to Edwin Uceta and the rest of the Raptors' pitchers to keep the Voyagers' offense in check and that's exactly what happened.

Per Michael Leboff & Andrew Battifarano at MiLB.com:

"We said very little in between games, the players dominated the dialogue," Raptors manager Mark Kertenian said. "They just got ready to get back to work and that's very characteristic of this group."

...
"They were fired up," Kertenian said. "They're happy for each other and they're enjoying each other. These guys understand that they are part of a good baseball team. They cared for each other and challenged each other, everybody feels very involved right now and they're expressing that."

Photo above of the team travelling home after winning via the Raptors on twitter. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 2006 the Dodgers came back from a four run deficit with four consecutive home runs by Jeff Kent, JD Drew, Russell Martin and Marlon Anderson to tie the game against the Padres at 9-9. They would then win the game in the tenth inning when Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run homer to come from behind again to win, 11-10. You can watch highlights of all five round-trippers here.
• Happy Birthday, Joe Tepsic, Dick Dietz, David Sells & Ken Brett!

Blog Kiosk: 2/1/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Don Newcombe was a beast in 1955.  He finished the Dodgers only championship season in Brooklyn by going 20-5 with 17 complete games, 143 strike outs and a league leading 1.113 WHIP.  This, of course, would just be a precursor to what would happen the following year.  In 1956 Newcombe would take home both the Cy Young and MVP awards -- a first in Baseball.  Featured above is a 1955 AP wirephoto, dated Jully 11th, that shows Don's complete windup (auction link).  Per the descriptor:

Batter's Eye View of Big Don Newcombe -- Don Newcombe, big Brooklyn righthander and a member of the National League All-Star team, throws a fast one past a sequence camera in Polo Grounds yesterday before Dodgers-Giants game.  Newcombe has 14 and 1 record on the mound this year.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1919 the Dodgers traded Jake Daubert to the Reds for outfielder Tommy Griffith.  In 1959 ever-popular Brooklyn Dodgers outfilder Zach Wheat is unanimously elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.  In 1976 East Lansing police arrest Dodgers reliever Mike Marshall for disobeying the orders set by the Michigan State University police prohibiting him from taking batting practice. MSU feared he would hit balls too far and injure students on an adjacent tennis court. Marshall protests that it is against his rights as an MSU instructor and files a lawsuit against the school.
• Happy Birthday, Chuck Churn, Elian Herrera, Justin Sellers & Brett Anderson!
  

Blog Kiosk: 1/3/2016 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

I just can't wait for Baseball to get started.  We are a mere few weeks away from the beginning of spring training, and soon thereafter Opening Day will be here.  While we wait join me in taking a look at the above fantastic in-game-action AP Wirephoto, dated July 22, 1954, featuring a sliding Bob Borkowski of the Reds being tagged out by Roy Campanella.  (eBay Auction Link)

On the play Reds second baseman Johnny Temple hit a grounder to shortstop Pee wee Reese, who unfortunately booted the ball.  Borkowski, standing at second base at the time, tried to take advantage of the miscue and rounded third for home.  Jim Gilliam, who was the kind of guy who never missed a play, dutifully picked up the errant ball and threw a strike to home to record the third out of the inning.  The Dodgers would maintain a one run lead in the game, and eventually win it, 8-5.  BTW, Hall of Fame umpire Jocko Conlon is in the background calling the out.  Also, this photograph was originally a part of the George Michael Collection of Baseball sliding press photos.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History:  In 2006 the Dodgers signed free agent starting pitcher Brett Tomko to a two year/$8.7 million contract.
• Happy Birthday, Frenchy Bordagaray & Chris Van Cuyk!

Blog Kiosk: 7/27/2016 - Dodgers Links - Ruehle, Kershaw, Ethier and Kenta Maeda

I was going to make note of Bud Norris' fantastic performance on the mound yesterday evening (and I still might), but this is far more fun.  Featured in the photo above and below, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016, is Kenta Maeda with his doppelganger.

From what I understand, this super-fan came to the game in full uniform, which happened to be both Maeda bobblehead night and Japan Night at the stadium, and was immediately noticed by someone with the Dodgers.  Soon, he was invited to the dugout, met with the pitcher himself and even hung out with the rest of the rest of the guys in the dugout.  Check out this fun video of the kid entertaining the "Boys in Blue."

As for Norris, he was fantastic in 6.1 innings of work.  He struck out six, walked two, gave up just two hits and no runs to earn his third victory as a Dodger.  Via Doug Padilla at ESPN:

“I think that even before he came over, he was really throwing the ball well, and I still think the best of Bud Norris, we’re still going to see,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Tonight he was really good. And he’ll say this too: There is even more in there. For him to come here, he wants to be a Dodger and to give us a huge lift, he expects that of himself and of us, the same.”

Go here to check out a bunch of great pics by Jon SooHoo and Juan Ocampo from yesterdays game.  BTW, the Dodgers remain 2.5 games behind the Giants in the West and hold a holds a 2.5 game lead over Miami in the Wild-Card race.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History: In 1996 Darren Driefort appeared in a game for the first time since having Tommy John surgery for the first time.  He threw 1.1 innings of scoreless relief against the Astros. 
• Happy Birthday, Leo Durocher!

Panini's 2015 Elite Extra Edition Baseball - The Dodgers Base Cards

One of the last Baseball card products to hit shelves before the end of the calendar year is Panini's 2015 Elite Extra Edition set.  As you may know, this is Panini's prospect set, so it includes many of the best minor leaguers in the game.  Go here for a complete checklist.

Below are the Dodgers base card.  Like for most sets these days, there are numerous parallels available.  I share pics of both the normal base card (called "Prospects" cards) and its autographed parallel.  (In a handful of cases I've only been about to find one of them, so I'll update this post when the other shows up.)  I also include example pics of the other parallels available at the very bottom.

Base Prospects

#18 Yadier Alvarez

2015 Panini Contenders Baseball - The Dodger Autographed Cards

After waiting a week to see if I can finally nail down some of the remaining photos I still need featuring Dodger prospects in Panini's most recent set, I finally have given up.  For whatever reason, several of the autographed cards have yet to hit the marketplace.  So, I will just bite the bullet and share what I have collected so far.  Below are the Dodger autograph cards that are available in 2015 Panini Contenders Baseball.  Go here to check out all of my past post on this set.

College Ticket Autographs

#6 Walker Buehler                                   #47 Philip Pfeifer

Blog Kiosk: 11/6/2015 - Dodger Links - Ruggiano, Harang and Pederson

The photo above would be the culmination of many young boys lives.  After all, who didn't want to be either a ballplayer or a fireman... But to be both at the same time would cause most young minds to explode.  Featured, you've got Dodger manager Chuck Dressen and pitcher Joe Black spending the afternoon as fireman - complete with Brooklyn Ladder 13 helmet and firetruck.  No doubt Black, who was a phenom rookie reliever when this photo was taken in 1952, was in the midst of preparing to put out some wildfires at the Stadium and throughout the city. 

This photo is currently available at Albersheim's sports auction.  Check out the auction here.  Below are more links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Ruggiano outrighted to Oklahoma City."  I think this is the gist of the situation:

Ruggiano, who made $2.505 million in 2015, would have been eligible for salary arbitration had he remained on the 40-man roster. He has enough service time that he can reject the assignment and become a free agent.

BTW, per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, Ruggiano chose to enter free agency.   I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up staying a Dodger.

• David Laurila at FanGraphs shares an fascinating interview with former Dodger pitcher Aaron Harang, here.  He talks a bit about the art of pitching - throwing up in the strike zone (like Chris Young), adjusting to changing strike zones and breaking pitches.
• Via David Hood at True Blue LA, "Dodgers top 2016 prospects: Nos. 31-61."
• Via Xavier Alatorre at the Sports Quotient, "Joc Pederson And Patience At The Plate."

What does this mean going forward? Despite flaming out in the second half, the 2015 season cannot be considered a bust for Young Joc. The twenty-three-year-old hit an inevitable slump but made adjustments that paid off in the last two months of the season, though they may have gone unnoticed by some. Now that National League pitchers have seen a full season of Pederson’s swinging tendencies, adjustments will need to be made at the plate. Pederson needs to continue his patient approach and force pitchers to come to him. If he is able to stay away from outside pitches and can wait for more favorable pitches (low and inside) to land in the zone, then Pederson will be a formidable threat at the plate once again. 

• Next week Panini will be releasing their 2015 Contenders Baseball set and it includes a bunch of fast rising prospects and some old pro's.  Go here to check out a huge collection of preview photos.  You can also see cards of Dodger prospects Julio Urias, Corey Seager, Mitchell Hansen and former Ohio State star and former Dodger Frank Howard.

• The Senate report on the "pay for patriotism" brouhaha has just been released and is available here to review.  Fortunately, the Dodgers do not appear to have charged the armed forces, but other MLB clubs who did get paid to fake their patriotism includes the Braves, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Phillies.  The DBacks received $40,000 from the Arizona Army National Guard to allow color guard demonstrations, a first pitch and a 40 tickets.  Shame on you guys!  Jason Lisk at The Big Lead has the story here.

The report lists 50 professional sports teams from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS that received some sort of federal funding to do a “pay for patriotism” promotion where it appeared to be honoring a military member or branch, but where they were receiving money for engaging in the activity. 

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Blog Kiosk: 7/1/2015 - Dodger Links - Olivera, Hanson and the Paciorek's

Diamondbacks mascot Baxter has been found to be the nefarious leaker responsible for the rumors and stories being told in Molly Knight's upcoming book: "The Best Team Money Can Buy."

How do we know this?

Well... Dodger trainer Stan Conte had to twist his arm to get that information from him.  One wonders if Molly had to do the same thing.  On a side note, the man under the mask is none other than McCourt sibling Drew - I kid you not (LOL).  He's been bouncing around the league taking any job that comes him way since his family got booted from LA.  No doubt he's well on his way towards enacted sweet vengeance against the Dodgers.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Below are some links to check out:

• Will we be seeing him soon?  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers' Olivera visits big league clubhouse in Arizona."

"I asked him why all the Cuban players hit the other way," said Mattingly, who is critical of young Major Leaguers that have not learned to hit using the entire field. "He said if you play on the national team there, at a young age they teach you to hit the other way.

"All the Cuban guys seem to do that. [Yasiel] Puig does it really good. [Yasmany] Tomas has that inside-out swing, [Jose] Abreu, too. They all learn that approach. Somebody down there is teaching that at a young age and I like it a lot."

• Via LA Taco, "Interview with Dodgers Superfan Bobby Crosby AKA Dodgerfilms."
• Awesome!  Dodger recent draft pick Mitchell Hansen sometimes gets mail, via his twitter:

Dodger love all the way from Japan! pic.twitter.com/6bixI6drl3

— Mitchell Hansen (@MHansen_16) July 1, 2015

• Raymond Rolak at Polish News writes about the Baseball exploits of Tom Paciorek's oldest brother, John Paciorek: "Polish-American Baseball Educator, Special Footnote in Baseball History."

During the special CBS interview feature, Hall of Fame baseball manager, Tom LaSorda had high praise for the Paciorek brothers. LaSorda said, “Everyone had scouted John and the Dodgers would have loved him but Houston was an expansion team and they gave large bonuses. They were collecting young prospects by the bushel baskets.” LaSorda added, “You know, this young man at that time (John), had everything going for him, you could see a great career with him. No telling what he could have accomplished.”

(Lee Cowan, John Paciorek, Tommy Lasorda and Tom Paciorek talk baseball history recently on CBS)

• Panini's Elite Baseball set goes officially live today.  Check out some preview picks they shared yesterday, here.  Below are an Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager card.
  

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Blog Kiosk: 6/16/2015 - Dodger Links - Olivera, Hansen and Dave Roberts

Three former Dodgers' were on-hand at the home run derby at Zócalo in Mexico City this past weekend.  They transformed the central square into a ballfield for the event.  In the photo above (tweeted by Miriam Helena Reyes) are Ismael Valdez, Fernando Valenzuela and Estaban Loaiza. 

Below are some links to check out:

• Is Olivera coming?  

@truebluela. Also FWIW - Olivera was carrying all his bats when he left.

— Dodgerado (@Dodgerado) June 16, 2015

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers agree to terms with 2nd-round pick."  It's Mitchell Hansen.

Hansen is a Texas high schooler who received $78,900 above slot. He was committed to attend Stanford.

• Via Brian Kenny at Sports on Earth, "The End of FIP As We Know It."
• Jonah Keri at Grantland takes a brief look at the Dodgers bullpen, here.

So far in 2015, Dodgers relievers have struck out more batters than any other bullpen in the National League — and more than any team in baseball, save for the Astros — flashing a 26.9 percent K rate. That’s up sharply from last year’s relief crew, who fanned 22.3 percent of the batters they faced, good for just 16th in MLB. A bit of that uptick is because of Jansen, who’s been absolutely spectacular since returning from an early-season injury, punching out 20 batters while allowing just four hits and no walks in 11 innings. But most of it is thanks to a group of no-names who’ve come up big in L.A., showcasing both the Dodgers’ scouting and player development chops, in addition to the franchise’s savvy in the trade market.

• Here's an old friend alert.  Congrats to former Dodger Dave Roberts.  He has just been named the temporary manager of the San Diego Padres, and may soon be named the interim manager.  Via Mike Oz at Big League Stew, "Padres fire manager Bud Black after disappointing start to the season."
• Ha Ha!  Via Michael S. Schmidt at the NY Times, "St. Louis Cardinals Investigated by F.B.I. for Hacking Astros."

Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a network of the Houston Astros that housed special databases the team had built, according to law enforcement officials. Internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised, the officials said.

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2nd Round Pick Mitchell Hansen has a Whole Bunch of Cards Already!

Our 2nd Round Pick (67th overall) in the recent draft, Mitchell Hansen, is no stranger to Baseball cards.  In fact, based on how many cards that include his image he's already a professional.  Heck, as I write this I'm a bit shocked at how many cards he has. I count at least 29 different cards in nine different sets.  And that doesn't include the various parallel cards that are available.

Wowzers!  You'd think with that much cardboard he would only be steps away from playing on a Major League field.  Obviously we know that is not the case.  He's got long road ahead of him, and given enough work and perseverance he'll find himself in Dodger Blue before you know it.

One thing is certain, though, with that much of a spotlight he must be a good prospect.  Check out my report on him here.

I've done my best to capture pics of all the different Hansen cards that are available.  Check them out below.

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2014 Bowman Under Armour Baseball Factory All America

2014 Bowman Under Armour Baseball Factory All America card of Mitchell Hansen was only given out to attendees at a spotlight game played on August 16, 2014 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The card is numbered UAA-8. These cards were not for sale to the general public.  

#UAA-8 Mitchell Hansen

Dodgers Took Mitchell Hansen in 2nd Round - 67th Overall

In the second round of the 2015 draft the Dodgers chose high school outfielder Mitchell Hansen as the 67th overall selection.  Hansen is the first prep player chosen by the club and appears to be a kid with a solid bat.  I've read several reports comparing his swing to Shawn Green.  Best yet, he's excited about potentially being a Dodger, per a recent tweet that you can see below.  You can also follow him on twitter: @M_Hansen2015.  BTW, he has already committed to play for Standford University, so we'll see if the front office can convince him to go pro now.  His allotted slot value is $921,100.00.

I'm a Dodger Baby!!! Glory to God

— Mitchell Hansen (@M_Hansen2015) June 9, 2015

Per a Dodgers press release:

In the second round, Los Angeles selected 19-year-old Plano (Texas) Senior High School outfielder Mitchell Hansen. The left-handed hitter was selected as a 2015 Perfect Game 1st Team All-American and batted .432 with two home runs and 18 RBI this season. The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Stanford commit was a member of the 2014 USA Baseball 18U squad and scouted by Dodger scout Josh Herzenberg.

“He’s five-tool corner outfielder and a smart kid from a good home,” said Gasparino.

Per an MLB.com scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 50

One of the more well-rounded position players in the 2015 Draft class, Hansen has solid tools across the board. Evaluators who like him think several of those could develop into plusses, though he'll have to get picked early to deter him from his Stanford commitment.

Hansen has a fluid, compact left-handed swing and a good feel for hitting. He uses the entire field, has performed well against quality pitching on the showcase circuit and with the U.S. 18-and-under national team, and is growing into some power. He's not especially quick out of the batter's box but flashes plus speed at times once he gets going.

Hansen has enough speed and arm strength to play all three outfield positions, though he profiles best in right field. Scouts have compared him to Michael Saunders and Mets prospect Brandon Nimmo, a high school first-rounder in 2011.

Here are some links about the lad.

• Per David McNabb at WFAA.com, "Plano's Mitchell Hansen looking to sign baseball draft."

"I've gone through the same process with my family, friends and prayer that I did deciding about football," Hansen said. "And it's likely I will sign with what we're hearing with the draft. That has always been my dream to play pro baseball."

• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers select OF Mitchell Hansen and RHP Josh Sborz in second round."
• Via David Hood at True Blue LA, "Mitch Hansen profile: A closer look at Dodgers' 2nd-round pick."
• Via Matt Welch at Plano Star Courier, "Dodgers nab Plano's Mitchell Hansen in MLB draft."
• Here is his player profile page at PerfectGame.org.

In celebration of Hansen being picked by the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card for him.  I used a photo from the Plano Wildcats website and the 1971 Topps Baseball card design.

Here is a video of Hansen taking batting pratice at the Under Armour All-American game, via the Baseball Factory.  Per the video description:

Mitchell owns a classic left-handed stroke, with a smooth and pure action through the zone. He is arguably among the best hitters in the 2015 class, thanks to his advanced feel, which allows him to apply his previously mentioned stroke against high-level stuff. He squares the ball up regularly to all parts of the ballpark, with power to the pull side. It's a pleasure to watch him handle the bat. He is a talented and capable all-around athlete with foot speed (6.6 range 60-yard dash) and versatility to patrol all three outfield spots along with the open spaces of the gridiron as a wide receiver.

Video Link:

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