Blog Kiosk: 11/11/2016 - Dodgers Links - Calhoun, Seager and Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day I am elated to have run into the above vintage press photo featuring Don Sutton undergoing training with the US Army.  It is dated to the winter of 1967 and was taken at Ft. Gordon, Georgia.  This followed his second season as a Dodger starting pitcher.  I've, so far, been unable to find much information about his time there.

UPDATE: I just found a brief mention about Sutton's time in Georgia.  It is in The Bulletin from Bend, Oregon.  It adds in the caption, "Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Sutton is worried about his control.  Pvt. Sutton, a basic trainee at US Army post in Fort Gordon, Ga., says he scored only a "lousy" 23 out of a possible 40 points on his dummy hand grenade throwing test.  Sutton said he had trouble getting his curve across the target.  Sutton is scheduled to be released from active duty shortly after the 1968 baseball season opens in April."

Another source, via Florida Today, 1968, states that he had a four-month stint with the Army Reserves.

Having said that, I thought I would pass along a couple of websites that focus on Baseball military veterans.  These are some great sources worth your time to check out.  If you happen to know of any more please pass them along.

• Baseball in Wartime (link here)
• Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice (link here)

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1981 Fernando Valenzuela was named the very first rookie to win the NL Cy Young Award -- barely edging out Tom Seaver of the Reds, 70-67.  In 1986 Valenzuela is beat by Houston hurler Mike Scott in Cy Young voting.  Scott received fifteen first place votes and Valenzuela received nine.

A Duke Snider Report from the Trenches of the Minor Leagues

After retiring from the game in 1964 Duke Snider rejoined the Dodgers franchise as a scout and manager in the minor leagues.  Tasked with leading the Class-A Tri-City Atoms of Pasco (but playing in Kennewick), Washington in 1966, he shares his utter dismay at the state of affairs with Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi in an letter featured in this post.  It is currently for sale through Heritage Auction.

In the letter Duke sends along his thoughts about a couple high-flying prospects he has and provides a report on the happenings at the clubs Class-AAA team in Spokane.

Blog Kiosk: 11/19/2015 - Dodger Links - Saito, Gordon and Veteran's Batting Practice

A group of 300 military veterans visited Dodger Stadium yesterday for batting practice with Kenley Jansen, Dodger alumni like Billy Ashley and Al Downing and fellow veterans Don Newcombe and Roy Gleason. Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"The players understand we're not as young as we used to be, but to give us the attention makes me feel happy," said (Ret. Lt. Col. David) Friend, who retired after 30 years of service. "I was particularly happy to see Don Newcombe. When I was going overseas, I saw him at a base in Virginia."

Via Anthony Irwin at Dodger Nation:

Kenley Jansen, who was at the park for conditioning, also took in the festivities before getting to work. He ran the stairs as the batting practice took place on the field. 

“It’s just great to be here for them. They’ve given so much for us, I just want to give back,” he said.

Featured in the pic above is Don Newcombe welcoming the crowd, via the Dodgers on twitter.  Check out more photos from the days activities by Jon SooHoo here.  Below are more links to check out:

• Congrats to Jake Arrieta for being selected the 2015 NL Cy Young winner, via BBWAA.  He edged out Zack Greinke by just 22 points.

• Eric Stephen at True Blue LA shares the final numbers on the Dodgers 2015 payroll.  It's striking how many of the top paid players didn't play for the Dodgers at all... So many dumped contracts.
• An old friend to join San Diego - Takashi Saito.  Via Dennis Lin on twitter:

Former All-Star closer Takashi Saito will be an intern in the Padres' FO. Padres exec Logan White was a key figure in signing Saito in '06.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) November 18, 2015

• Here's a fantastic story via Clark Spencer at the Miami Herald on Dee Gordon; "Loss of his mother to domestic violence spurred Dee Gordon to comfort others."

Gordon, through his Flash of Hope program, is working with children in Miami-Dade County who have lost a parent from domestic abuse, just as he lost his mother 20 years ago.

“I went through it, and when I went through it, I didn’t have anybody,” Gordon said. “Nobody could relate to me. So now I just want to relate to kids and give back my time.”

• Via Bob Elliott at the Toronto Sun, " Blue Jays could have interest in Dodgers executive Byrnes as GM."   Elliott also mentions that Ned Colletti interviewed for the President job in July.
• Roberto at Vin Scully is My Homeboy tells us all about getting the autograph of former Dodger John Werhas.

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Reds Series Starts Tomorrow - Chan Ho Park to Sign Autographs, a Ryu Bobblehead and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts tomorrow evening with the Cincinnati Reds, and several old-time Dodgers will be in the house to sign free autographs for fans.  Below are the scheduled autograph opportunities and other odds and ends for this upcoming homestand.

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Monday, May 26 at 5:10 PM

Tonight's game starts at 5:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 2:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 3:00 PM.  It is Memorial Day, and the Dodgers will wear specially-designed caps and jerseys featuring an authentic military digital camouflage design licensed from the United States Marine Corps in honor of Memorial Day.  See the Dodger cap on the right.  BTW, 100% of all net proceeds from the sale of these caps to fans go to Welcome Back Veterans (www.welcomebackveterans.org).


The first 40,000 fans through the gates on Monday will receive BBQ apron from the Dodgers.  Check it out on the left.

Memorial pre-game ceremonies will include flag unveiling in center field along with six stars representing each U.S. military branch, Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force and Coast Guard as well as Prisoners of War (POW). Wives of service members who died in service of our nation will officially begin the game with “It’s time for Dodger baseball!” and children of these families will be amongst the children who partake in Kids Take the Field Monday.  Former Dodger, Vietnam Veteran and Purple Heart recipient Roy Gleason will throw the first pitch.  The national anthem and “God Bless America” will be performed by U.S. Coast Guard MK2 Mike Dalager and the U.S. Army will provide the color guard.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Navy Quarterman (QM1) Luis Villegas. Villegas enlisted in 2004 and currently serves onboard the USS Essex. His deployments have been in support for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and his accolades include four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. In honor Memorial Day, Bank of America will be presenting a special flag and display case to Villegas. Navy Veteran Sean Gass, who serves as Bank of America Vice President, Senior Financial Advisor at Bank of America- Merrill Lynch, will be on hand for the presentation.

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Tuesday, May 27th at 7:10 PM

Tonight's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.

It is Korea Night at Dodger Stadium.  The first 50,000 fans through the gates on Tuesday will receive a Hyun-Jin Ryu Bobblehead from the Dodgers.  See it on the right.

Dodgers legend Chan Ho Park will sign autographs for fans in the right field pavilion plaza starting at 5:30 PM.  He will also throw out the first pitch.  Korean pop star Yong-hwa Jung of CNBLUE  will sing the Korean national anthem, and the US national anthem will be sung by South Korean R&B singer Ali.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Army Sergeant Jose Martinez. Martinez enlisted in 1996 having always dreamed of being a soldier. He serves with the HHC 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Wainwright, Arkansas. Martinez has served deployments three times in Iraq and most recently in Kandahar, Afghanistan and his accolades include multiple Army Commendation Medals and National Defense Service Medals.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) will hold a silent auction on the Club level by the Vin Scully Press Box. The auction ends at 8:45 p.m. with more than 25 items up for bid, including a Clayton Kershaw autographed Baseball, Hyun-Jin Ryu autographed LA Dodgers jersey and a Yasiel Puig autographed photo. All proceeds will benefit LADF and its programs in sports and recreation, education and literacy and health and wellness which help children and families throughout the greater Los Angeles region.

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Wednesday, May 28th at 7:10 PM

Tonight's game starts at 7:10 PM.  Auto gates open at 4:30 PM, and stadium gates open at 5:00 PM.

Rina Cervantes of Norwalk will perform the national anthem and one of Korea’s top superstars, singer and actress SUZY will throw the ceremonial first pitch.  Ryu is scheduled to catch for SUZY.  BTW, Ryu and SUZY co-starred on a Korean reality show called “Runningman” this past winter.  Watch an episode of the show with Ryu at the very bottom.

• The Veteran of the Game presented by Bank of America is U.S. Air Force Senior Airman (SrA) Darien Barrett Foster. Foster enlisted in 2011 and currently serves with the 61st Medical Squadron as a dental technician. Foster is an active member of the L.A. Air Force Base Honor Guard and was recently honored as the 61 Air Base Group Airman of the Year.

Video Link:

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A Veterans Day Tribute to Dodgers in Uniform

Have a wonderful Veterans Day.  In celebration of those Dodgers players that have served in the Armed Forces, I decided to take a few moments to make some tribute cards.  Check them out below.  Also, check out GCRL post that recognizes former Dodger outfielder Roy Gleason who served in the Vietnam War.  He includes some tribute homemade creations, as well.

Don Newcombe

1962 Topps

Jackie Robinson

1964 Topps

This card uses a 1973 Topps design.  This is from the photo description:

Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, and Hugh Casey (left to right) study the bluejacket's manual instead of baseball record books these days at the Navy base in Norfolk, VA where they are stationed, August 10, 1943. Reese and Casey were shortstop and pitcher respectively for the Brooklyn Dodgers last year, and Rizzuto was shortstop for the New York Yankees. (AP Photo) / WA/AP

And here is the one I like the most.  The photo comes from the Military Times.

Bea Cohen, who at 102 is the oldest living female World War II veteran in California, throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodgers and Angels meet in an interleague baseball game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 12, 2012. When she was 4 years old Cohen saw the start of World War I when her hometown in Romania was bombed.  Her family immigrated to the U.S., where she went to work for Douglas Aircraft during World War II, but left Douglas to join the Army. The man assisting her is unidentified. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/25/2012

For those near Albuquerque be sure to check out a game this coming Sunday or Monday.  Both Matt Kemp and Juan Rivera are slated to play there on their rehab assignments.  More info can be found at this Isotopes link, here.

• Filed under "It's About Time."  The MLB Network will feature former Dodger and the only active MLB'er to be a Vietnam War Veteran Roy Gleason over Memorial Weekend.  

This Memorial Day weekend, MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian will tell the story of Roy Gleason, the only active Major League Baseball player to serve in the Vietnam War.  Featuring exclusive interviews with Gleason, his sons Kaile Gleason and Troy Gleason, and Lost In the Sun: Roy Gleason's Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield author Wallace Wasinack, as well as photos and items from Gleason’s personal archive, including his Purple Heart Medal and the Dodgers game jersey that he wore for his only MLB at-bat, Vasgersian narrates Gleason’s journey from a Dodgers’ prospect to a soldier in the U.S. Army.  The feature will premiere on MLB Tonight this Sunday, May 27, at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT.

Gleason on being wounded in action:

It was just a big explosion.  The shrapnel had torn through my left wrist and my left calf.  I was actually going into shock and didn’t realize that I was shivering in Vietnam.  It’s pretty hard to shiver in 110 and 115-degree heat, but I was because I was going into shock from the loss of blood.

Gleason on being wounded in action:

It was just a big explosion.  The shrapnel had torn through my left wrist and my left calf.  I was actually going into shock and didn’t realize that I was shivering in Vietnam.  It’s pretty hard to shiver in 110 and 115-degree heat, but I was because I was going into shock from the loss of blood.

• Eric Stephen at True Blue LA writes about the "Dodgers Making History at Home."
• Check out this incredible tribute to Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game by Neil Scherer.  (Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily)  It includes autographs of every player to appear in the game (Dodgers and Cubs), wire photos of the event, a ticket stub, a record of Vin Scully calling the game, team memorabilia pins, a game program, and an actual scorecard.  A video of Scherer talking about this piece and other items can be seen here.  His website can be found here.

• Bark in the Park at Dodger Stadium will be on Saturday, and is sold out.  Demand was so high for this annual event the Dodger will do it again later this season.  It will be on September 1st.  Go here for details. 

• Beckett has some background on a new Topps product slated to some out in September.  It is called Topps Heritage Minor League and will borrow the old 1963 Topps design in the base set.  Also of note, one lucky collector will win a REAL one-day players contract to play Minor League Baseball for the Corpus Cristi Hooks- a AA affiliate of the Astros, and get you own card in a future set release.  This is probably the coolest prize EVER!!!  To have your name immortalized in the record books for eternity would be boss.
• I love Hunter S. Thompson.  He is one great writer.  Check out today's Letters of Note as they share Hunter's last news release he wrote for an Air Force base newspaper.  It's classic Thompson.

An apparently uncontrollable iconoclast, Thompson was discharged today after one of the most hectic and unusual Air Force careers in recent history. According to Captain Munnington Thurd, who was relieved of his duties as base classification officer yesterday and admitted to the neuropsychological section of the base hospital, Thompson was "totally unclassifiable" and "one of the most savage and unnatural airmen I've ever come up against."

• There is so much awesome in this video.  From the description: "This is not a trailer for a real film. Bill Murray was kind enough to grant us our wish of walking down the hallway in slow motion - simple. This is better than autograph."  (Hat Tip: Reddit)

Video Link:

Mailbag: A Roy Gleason Auto Card

I can't believe how long this card has been sitting on my desk at home. For whatever reason I hadn't taken the time to scan and write about it, and believe me I really wanted to. I just had so many other things come up that caused me to hold off until now. I know, that's just an excuse, and obviously I'm a man who procrastinates much more than he's willing to admit to. Nevertheless, I figure it's better late than never, so here you go.

Several months back I won the above card on eBay. It is a 2011 TriStar Obak autograph card of former Dodger Roy Gleason. It is numbered 50 out of 50, and I consider it one of the highlights of my growing autograph collection.

I'm sure you're wondering who is Roy Gleason? Well... he's one of those unsung heroes of the game who had an opportunity to run the bases at Dodger Stadium and defend his country in a time of war- the Vietnam War. On top of that, he's one of the few players who can claim to have a lifetime batting average of 1.000. That's right. He was perfect at the plate.

Anyway, Gleason was the only former Major Leaguer to have served in the Vietnam war. He started out as a standout athlete out of Garden Grove High School. Upon graduating he immediately signed with the Dodgers, and rose up the ladder. Soon, Roy was given a cup of coffee during the Dodgers 1963 World Championship run where he showed off his amazing speed. Knowing that he still had some seasoning left to do in the minors he continued advancing until there was an opening on the Dodger roster. Then, the draft notice came.

Roy served in Vietnam for 21 months. Baseball Reference has more:

He was promoted to the rank of sergeant and led search-and-destroy missions. In one such mission, he was wounded in the left arm and both legs by a shrapnel explosion and was one of only two survivors of his 45-man platoon. He earned a Purple Heart as a result.

He came back from the war to resume his Baseball career, but was never the same. His injuries were too great to overcome.

For some extra reading about Roy Gleason, check out this great story from the North County Times. Also, Bill Plaschke has a excellent piece on him, as well.

Here is what it says on the reverse of the card.

Gleason, a minor league outfielder, played 8 games for Los Angeles in 1963, mainly as a pinch runner. Drafted by the military before the 1967 season, Roy served in the Army during the Vietnam War. Is the only US Combat Veteran and former Major Leaguer to receive "Special Congressional Recognition" for being awarded a "Purple Heart", a World Series Ring, and holding a "perfect lifetime" Major League Batting Average.

Below are his career starts.