Blog Kiosk: 1/9/2012

A pic from Dyland Hernandez of LA Times on twitter of Dodgers Winter Development Camp at Dodgers Stadium this morning. (Pic Link)

• Discovery Channel has a new show coming up called "All Star Dealers." It is about Grey Flannel Auctions and their search for vintage sports material to sell in their auction. As a collector it should be interesting to see what they go through to authenticate memorabilia. Go to the Auction Report for more details about the show and a clip. It premiers on Jan 24th.
  
• MSTI has a nice rundown on potential Dodger buyers.
  
• Clayton Kershaw is in Africa with Arise Africa- a nonprofit established by him and his wife. Read all about this trip on their blog.
• Jon at Dodger Thoughts makes note of this years 'Shrine of the Eternals' nominees that includes Hideo Nomo and Bill Bergen.
  
• Baseball: Past and Present looks at the career of Pedro Guerrero and reminds us that he was "the best hitter God has made in a long time."
• Bill Shaikin of the LA Times notes that the family of the late Roy Disney is bidding on the Dodgers. As long as it's the Disney family (which I have great respect for) and not the Disney Corporation buying the team then I give this a big thumbs up.

  The Roy Disney family would hold the Dodgers as a private investment.

  "They would guard the Dodger name the way they guard the Disney name," the person said.

• Here is another great post by Tom at Baseball by the Letters as he hears back from white Negro League ballplayer Louis "Grey Cat" Clarizio.
  
• Don't you love Sean Connery.
  
• Before It's News has 40 photos of the saddest fans in sports. And I laughed.
  
• I do not think Joshua Macciello is a real bidder for the Dodgers, but he sure has gotten a lot of free publicity. Vin Scully is My Homeboy has some details. All I could find is a similarly named guy who happens to play poker, and cashed in on a tournament in 2010. Is that the same guy?
  

eBay: Drysdale Signs Dodgers Contract

I saw this on eBay a few days ago and just had to put it up. It features a dashing Don Drysdale hugging his equally gorgeous wife, Ginger, after signing a Dodgers player contract for the 1961 season for $32,500, which is a 30% raise over his pay from last season ($25,000). Adjusted for inflations this equates to approximately $235,000.00 today.

At this time he was just a one-time All-Star, so his path to Baseball immortality was far from assured. He certainly was on the right path, though. Drysdale led the league in strike outs for the second straight season while leading all pitchers in hit batsman for the 3rd straight season. The latter pays homage to how feared batters became of him. Shortly, he would become a perennial All-Star. With Sandy Koufax coming into his own the next season, Drysdale would be a part of a pitching duo that would rule the 60's.

(Auction Link)

A 1974 Dodgers Christmas Card

I realize this is a couple of weeks too late, but I figured it's better late than never. Here is a vintage Dodger Christmas card from 1974 that I ran into on eBay. I do not know if this was something sent out by the team or an item fans could purchase to send to friends and family. What I do know is that it's pretty great that it celebrates a National League pennant and various awards won by individual players. It's no wonder they thought 1975 would be their year.

FYI, the Dodgers awards winners include Garvey as MVP, All-Star MVP, and Gold Glove; Dr. Mike Marshall as the Cy Young and Fireman of the Year winner; Walter Alston as Manager of the Year; and Jimmy Wynn as Comeback Player of the Year.

(Auction Link)

Blog Kiosk: 1/4/2012 Dodgers Odds & Ends

• Another bidder has unearthed and it is headed by Joe Torre. MLB recently announced his resignation VP of Baseball Operations, and news came through this morning that he is teaming with a real estate developer and a banker to buy the Dodgers. Dodger Thoughts has more, here.

  The group Torre is joining was not immediately named, though Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that it was one led by real estate developer Rick Caruso. (Update: Torre and Caruso subsequently confirmed in a joint statement, and Bill Shaikin of the Times tweeted that the banker is Byron Trott of BDT Capital in Chicago, "called by Warren Buffett 'the only banker he trusts.'")

• Number 5 Type Collection features a great vintage 1971 Milk Duds card of former Dodgers Billy Grabarkewitz.
• The Sports collecting hobby lost another one if its pioneers. Los Angeles card/hobby shop owner, Goodwin "Goodie" Goldfaden, died this past Sunday at 97, via SCD. I've never had the opportunity to meet the man, but I understand that he was considered one of the most knowledgeable collectors in the hobby- primarily because he handled most sports related collectibles in existence today. Heck, he was a dealer before there was a collectible business (since 1925).

  West Hollywood, which was considered by those who visited to be a mind-boggling storehouse, filled to capacity with floor-to-ceiling shelves full of every imaginable type of sports collectible. He owned millions of vintage cards--multiples of many of the hobby's rarest artifacts. Old enough to have sold Babe Ruth cards for $5 and 1952 Topps sets for $100, in his shop, Goldfaden was dealing long before prices began their upward climb in the late 1970s and 1980s.

• The Wall Street Journal is taking votes for the photos of the year, and it includes a great pic of our very own Kings goalie, Jonathan Quick. Check it out here. There is also a Dodgers related photo in the sports category that is poignant, here. It is related to the Bryan Stowe incident.
• I've recently become a huge fan of Reddit. Well, the Dodgers reddit page has gone through a very cool transformation that includes up & down buttons (you can vote whether you like or dislike a post) featuring some familiar faces. Check them out here.
• Night Owl Cards has been named 2011 Sports Collectors Blog of the Year, via Jaybarkerfan. Not a very scientific poll, but I can't disagree with the choice. Night Owl Cards is always a fun read.
  
• Sit back and enjoy with me a video from the introduction to game 1 of the 1981 World Series.

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Dodgers Hello Kitty Dolls Sell Briskly

This past August the Dodgers announced a limited edition Dodgers Hello Kitty doll as a special game give-away during the last homestand of the 2011 Dodgers season. At the time, I made fun of this promotion. After all, my wanna-be macho brain of mine couldn't wrap my mind around it. Hello Kitty, really?

Anyway, Dodger fans and Hello Kitty fans alike snubbed their noses at me as the three day promotion sold out in quick fashion. On top of that, these dolls have been selling quite nicely on eBay. Check out what I found out below. My complete spreadsheet can be found here.


Since that September series there have been a bunch of sales on eBay, although far more have gone unsold due to high starting prices. Since October 1st there have been 35 sales (really only 34 since one sale was for 2 dolls) with an average selling price of $37.21. That's not too shabby. The range of values have been from $26.00 to $47.69 with one "Buy It Now" sale at $50.00.

One thing I noticed is how important it is to price the item right when selling on eBay. As with any auction, maximizing the number of bids will, more often than not, garner a higher price. On auctions with 15 or more bids the average price was $41.03 per doll. So, setting a low price to encourage bidding appears to be the way to go.

Overall, I think it's fair to say that the Hello Kitty promotion has been a success; both on the ticket sale side and in the secondary market. Heck, the Dodgers swept the Pirates during the three day promotion, so maybe Hello Kitty is good luck too. In light of this, the Dodgers will be doing it all over again in 2012 as a Hello Kitty promotion has been slated for the July 1st game against the Mets. See the 2012 Dodger promotion schedule here for more details.

Blog Kiosk: 12/31/2011

Tommy Claus. (Pic via @Dodgers Twitter)

• Forbes claims Dodgers value could fall by $300Million as a result of the order to disallow sale of cable contract. Frankly, I think it's a bunch of bunk. I don't believe there was any real expectation that the winning bidder for the team would take the highest deal made during the cable auction. In fact, I expected the future owner to decline it immediately, and then use it as leverage for a higher value a year later with either FOX or some other suitor when the current contract expires. As I saw it, the cable auction would have been nothing more than a barometer for a future owner to determine a true fair market value for the television deal without the negotiating restrictions FOX has in place. If anything, the ruling will likely disqualify leverage buyers, but will not diminish (by much) the number of qualified buyers. In other words, cash will rule this sale and those bidders with patient cash investors will likely win out.
  
• Here's some positive news. The Biz of Baseball declares Dodger fans winners in 2011.
  
• CrzBlue's Dodger Blue World puts together a nice tribute to members of the Dodger family who died in 2011.
  
• A Redditer shares some cool designs made by mowing on some Baseball fields. Links to even more are here.
  
• Night Owl Cards puts together his list of the top Baseball cards of 2011.
  
• Former Giants outfielder Don Mueller passed away this past Wednesday. RIP. He was 84, and an able opponent. Via St. Louis Today.
  
• Bloomberg Business Week makes 5 Bold Sports Predictions for 2012; including who is in the lead to buy the Dodgers.
  
• A Vintage Dodgers commercial featuring Pedro Guerrero, circa 1982, supporting an anti-vandalism PSA campaign in Spanish.

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