Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Kenny Landreaux on Saturday

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

---------------------------

For those is Phoenix, Arizona, the SABR Analytics Conference begins tomorrow at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix.  Go here for more information.

---------------------------

Former Dodger Kenny Landreaux will be in Rowland Heights for an autograph signing.  Go here for more information.  It is being held at the optometry office of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu.

19735 E. Colima Rd. 
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 1/14/2013

Jaime Jarrin and Harrison Ford take a photo together at the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation's dinner on Saturday Night, pic via twitter @JorgeJarrin1.

• Via Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times, Vin Scully stole the show at the aforementioned Scout's dinner on Saturday.
• Also, Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo was at the Scout's dinner and shared a bunch of pics from the event here.
• Bill Dwyre at the LA Times writes about Tommy Lasorda still being an active ambassador of the game.
• David's Autographs Signings shares some pics from the Trinity Bat Company Home Run challenge on Saturday.
• OMG!  Milton Bradley faces 13 years in prison on alleged domestic abuse charges, via AP on Yahoo.  I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I can't help it.  I always wished he would find the help he needed.
• The SABR Analytics Conference will be held in Phoenix from March 7 to 9.  Go here for more information and to register.
• Via Amy Nelson at ESPN, check out the story of former 1st round draft pick Matt Harrington.  He didn't sign a Major League contract and saw his chances at professional Baseball disappear.  He now works at Costco.
• Sports Collectors Daily notes the top antique/collectible stories of 2012.
• I found this video to be both funny and timely.  Watch Clark, the Canadian hockey goalie, playing baseball.

Video Link:

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 1/3/2012

The Kershaw's and some friends just arrived in Zambia for the opening of Hope's Home- a children's orphanage they started and is funded by Kershaw's Challenge.   Go here for the story from the Dodgers PR blog.  Also Kershaw's Challenge blog also has a complete story, here.

On Thanksgiving, the Zambian government approved the first 8 kids to move into Hope’s Home. These children are experiencing running water, electricity, flushing toilets and sleeping on a mattress for the first time in their lives. More importantly, they now have three house mothers who provide three meals a day, administer HIV medications and just simply, care about them.

Check out other Dodgers related stories below.

• Evan Bladh at Opinion of Kingman's Performance tells us about watching Roberto Clemente at Dodger Stadium when he was 9 years old.  Clemente had a 5-hit game.
• Christopher Jackson at Examiner.com provides a Dodgers Winter League update.
• The Dodgers Winter Development MiniCamp will be held next week in Arizona.  13 Dodger prospects have been invited to attend.  Ken Gurnick at MLB.com has the news; including a list of all of the players.

This will be the sixth year of the minicamp, which is designed to take the best and brightest of the farm system, accelerate their Major League arrival and aid acclimation to what they will encounter when they get there.

Among earlier participants are Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen. Vice president of player development De Jon Watson's minicamp also allows club officials to get a line on each player's conditioning prior to Spring Training and to tweak flaws in a pitcher's delivery or a hitter's swing before the start of the real camp, where the player is focused on making the club.

They receive coaching on baseball skills, but also are instructed in aspects of Major League Baseball that should be essential but often are overlooked, from media relations to security issues to interaction with fans and the importance of community outreach.

• Paul LoDuca, on twitter, is running a contest that includes free admission tickets and free autographs from him in relation to the SoCal Baseball and Sports Collectors Expo on the weekend of the 11th through 13th of January.  All you have to do is tweet a favorite memory.  Go here for info.
• AJ Ellis is one funny guy on twitter- not that he isn't funny in real life.  Actually I wouldn't know.  Anyway, he responded to a Steve Dilbeck article that took a look at Dodgers' New Year Resolution

A.J. Ellis: Snarl at bloggers who ask dumb postgame questions.

(twitter link)

• Saturday, January 26th is the 4th Annual SABR Day!  Go here for a listing of events happening around the country.
• A Reddit thread by KustomDeluxe shares a pic of current renovations at Dodger Stadium.  Notice the big hole in the field level area for the new clubhouse area and the scoreboard in the distance.  Main source is via DodgersBeat on facebook.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

SABR Day on Saturday

I just ran across this, so I thought I would make note of it for everybody. This coming Saturday is the 3rd Annual SABR Day. Regional meetings are being held throughout the country. If you don't know, SABR is the Society for American Baseball Research, and their principal goal is to study the game. Ernie Harwell called it, "the Phi Beta Kappa of baseball, providing scholarship which the sport has long needed. ... An excellent way for all of us to add to our enjoyment of the greatest game."

Anyway, attendance is free for everyone; including non-members. Think of it as an opportunity to see what it is all about. Below is info for a local southland meeting. Go to this link for general information.

Time: 10:15 a.m.

Where: La Habra Library, 221 E. La Habra Blvd., La Habra, CA 90631, (562) 694-0078

Contact: Barry Mednick, bmednick@roadrunner.com

Allan Roth Chapter program: Former Milwaukee Braves All-Star catcher Del Crandall will be joining us for SABR Day at the La Habra Library. High school coach Eddie Alvarez will speak and Eric Dearborn will present photographs of final games at various ballparks. Authors Daryl Grigsby ("Celebrating Ourselves: African-Americans and the Promise of Baseball") and Ron Selter (on .400 hitters) will also speak. As always, beverages will be provided; bring your own lunch. Please advise Barry Mednick (bmednick@adelphia.net) if you wish to make a research presentation.

Download SABR's Emerald Guide Now for Free

Society for American Baseball Research, better known as SABR, has just released their 2010 Emerald Guide to Baseball, and its free for download. Go here.

Must Download Now!

There is no reason you shouldn't go to the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) website and download The Emerald Guide to Baseball 2009 edition. It is free and was put together by the most thorough group of Baseball fanatics in the world.

The Emerald Guide distills the 2008 season down to 586 fact-filled pages that contain the pitching, fielding, and hitting statistics for every player active in the major and minor leagues in 2008.

This guide will be your one-stop shop for data and information about the 2008 season. Think of it as a modern version of the old Sporting News Baseball Guides.

The Quadruple Play

To follow up on my last post below.

On July 1, 1903 the The New York Giants performed a feat that has never been repeated. They completed Baseball's only quadruple play. Here is what happened.

St. Louis had the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the 6th inning. Homer Smoot is up to bat and hits a shallow fly ball to centerfield for out No. 1. Giant outfielder, Roger Bresnahan, fires the ball to home plate to catch Clarence Currie trying to score on a sacrifice fly for out No. 2. Catcher John Warner then throws the ball towards secondbase to shortstop George Davis who tags out Patsy Donovan who is coming from firstbase. This is out No. 3. Davis, who must not have realized that 3 outs were already recorded, then throws back to the catcher who subsequently tags out John Farrell at home as he tries to score from secondbase.

Of course, only the first three outs were recorded.

SABR Triple Play Descriptions:

Yesterday's Game: The Triple Play

As I'm sure you all know, the Dodgers lost to the Angels 6 to 1 yesterday. Furthermore, I'm sure you all know that the Angels pulled off their third triple play this Spring against the Dodgers. The unfortunate batter to start this rare feat was newly acquired Brady Clark. This event got me thinking, "how frequent is the triple play?" Well, the internet never seems to disappoint my curious mind.

SABR has an excellent analysis focused on the triple play. Check out the link here. It's amazing the amount of information they provide. They have a complete listing of every triple play since 1876, a complete description of every triple play, triple plays by month and stadium, and much much more. I don't know how they find the time to figure this all out.

The best part of the site is triple play trivia.

• Quadruple Play- Only the first three outs were counted - 7/1/1903 6th Inning - New York Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals.
• The Detroit Tigers turned triple plays against the Boston Red Sox on two consecutive days (6/6/1908 and 6/7/1908). Detroit's Germany Schafer started both of them (once as a 3B and then playing 2B). Gavvy Cravath (Bos) batted-into the first one and was on base for the second one. Germany Schafer is also famous for stealing 3 bases on consecutive pitches without ever getting past 2nd base.
• On 9/26/1927 Washington Senators' batter Joe Judge hit into a triple play and was not charged with a time at-bat (Sacrifice Fly).

Amazing stuff. Anyway, triple play frequency can be seen through this handy graph: Link:

SABR Triple Plays Link: