1962 Dodger Snapshots

My favorite of all things to find on eBay are fan made snapshots of Dodger players and the stadium. Below are some great black & white pics of Dodger Stadium in 1962. The best thing about these is the parking lot area. It is just so barren looking. Another thing, in the top photo, what are those buildings in the distance?

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(eBay Auction List)

(click to enlarge)
(eBay Auction List)

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(eBay Auction List)

T206 Brooklyn Dodgers: Whitey Alperman

Whitey Alperman spent all four years of his Major League career with the Brooklyn Superbas. He was a light hitting second baseman and the ultimate Baseball trivia question. Who has the lowest single-season walk ratio of the 20th century?

It's Whitey Alperman.

In his last big league season, in 1909, he received only 2 walks in 442 plate appearances. The oddest stat of all, though, is that he got hit more than he walked in his entire career. He got hit a total of 36 times versus only 30 career walks in 1,758 plate appearances.

eBay: A Singing Wheaties Box

(eBay Auction Link)

One of the most frequently sung songs in the world, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is synonymous with America, Apple Pie and Cereal? Above is a great auction item of a record cut from a box of Wheaties from the 1950's. You would buy a box of cereal, cut along the dotted line, pierce a hole in the middle, and then play it on your record player.

What makes this recording so memorable is who is singing. For whatever reason, they didn't bother to tell you who lent their voice on the Wheaties record. They should have, of course, because it features four famous ballplayers- Phil Rizzuto, Tommy Henrich, Ralph Branca and Roy Campanella. Listen to a recording of this paper record right here, via Baseball Recording. Something to note, the original recording, produced by Arthur Shimkin, was sold as a separate record and is longer in length as it features sounds of them cheering, a batted ball and other sound effects. Listen to that recording here. Below is the sleeve from the record.

Blog Kiosk: 5/2/2010

It's way to early to worry about the Dodgers.

• With the Kings season over all there is left to do is gaze at pictures of the LA Kings Ice Girls, via Sports Illustrated.
• Check out this brilliant post featuring a modified Peanuts cartoon strip and the Dodgers, via It's Time for Dodger Baseblog. Awesome, just awesome!
  
• Remember Matt White? He was the former Dodger pitcher who's land was valued at $2 billion. Well, that value appears to be a bit overblown; nevertheless, he has been making a good living. On top of that, his dream of Baseball success has yet to disappear. Read more about it here.
  
• Check it out. Baseball-Reference is now doing cards- a Card of the Week, that is.
  
• You have to take a look at Ben's (from It's Time for Dodgers Baseblog) photos from opening day. They are very good!
• Check our Auction Recollections from Sports Pickle as they catch up with a Baseball card photographer for some stories. Very funny stuff. On Don Moss:

  "But his left eye still lingered in my direction, suspicious. Scared. Lazy. But I got my one shot, Don got through it all okay -- his coaches calmed him with a carrot and an apple -- and it resulted in what I think is one of my finest portraits."

  
• Adding insult to injury, Upper Deck loses their football license, as Topps regains theirs after a very short hiatus.
  

Weed.... Really?

Well, I guess it's official. Lambo likes the wacky weed. From It's Time for Dodger Baseblog:

That substance according to Josh Suchon… Marijuana. The Dodgers official statement is - “The Dodgers are disappointed to learn of this news and we fully support Major League Baseball’s drug policy and its penalties. The organization does not condone the use of any substance not sanctioned by MLB’s medical staff.” But added “Off the record? C’mon it’s just marijuana, that stuff is basically legal like… everywhere.. COME ON!!”

I guess I have to agree, on the other hand, Lambo is an idiot. According to the rules you are not suspended for a first offense for violating the "drug of abuse" portion of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. It is a second offense that gives you the suspension. So, he failed once and knew he would be tested again. Yet, he still failed to keep his lungs clean. Regardless of your view of today's marijuana laws you have to lay all of the blame on Lambo. If he was serious about a future Baseball career he had to know that he needed to stay off the pot. Yet, he didn't.

UPDATE: The one question I have, though, is when will The Left Field Pavilion make photoshop photo?

Say It Aint So, Lambo

Highly touted Dodger prospect and formerly ranked #1 man in the minors coming into the 2009 season, Andrew Lambo, has been suspended. It appears it was not for steroids, but is for a "drug of abuse" (i.e. including but not limited to marijuana, cocaine, heroin and LSD).

This is very unfortunate. He was having a great start to 2010 after a rocky 2009. He was batting .342 with a OPS of .956 in 19 games in AA. See his stats here at Baseball-Reference. He was drafted out of high school in 2007 in the 4th round, but should have gone higher. Teams had questions about some character issues that included being caught smoking marijuana as a high school sophomore.

Below is a Dodger press release sent this afternoon.

LOS ANGELES – Below is the Dodger organization’s response to the 50-game suspension of minor league outfielder Andrew Lambo for testing positive for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“The Dodgers are disappointed to learn of this news and we fully support Major League Baseball’s drug policy and its penalties. The organization does not condone the use of any substance not sanctioned by MLB’s medical staff.”