Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Book Signing with Mashi Murakami - The First Japanese MLB'er

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.

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For the 50th anniversary celebration of the first Japanese baseball player in the Majors, join legend Masanori "Mashi" Murakami and author Robert Fitts of the recently published "Mashi: The Unfulfilled Baseball Dreams of Masanori Murakami, the First Japanese Major Leaguer" for a discussion on Japanese baseball, Mashi’s career and importance to U.S.-Japanese relations.

Copies of the book "Mashi" will be on sale for $25, and Mashi will autograph the book for free!  Autographed balls & cards will also be offered for sale.  No personal items will be signed at this event.  The event takes place on Monday, July 6 at 7:00PM.  Go here or here for information.  You must RSVP for the event.

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, California 90036

BTW, he will also be doing a booking signing and discussion for the Baseball Reliquary on Tuesday, July 7th at 7:30PM at Villalobos Hall in Whittier College.  Admission is also free.  Go here for information.

Villalobos Hall, Whittier College
13507 Earlham Dr.,
Whittier, California

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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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Well... This is a Problem... Puig is a Problem... Say it Ain't So... Crap!

Oh, Boy!  I'm hoping that this is all hyperbole.

Via Jeff Passan ay Yahoo Sports, "Book: Disdain for Yasiel Puig by Dodgers teammates no longer a secret," he recounts several transgressions of the enigmatic Yasiel Puig, and it ain't pretty.  In fact, it's horrible... And disheartening... And makes me want to take back anything I've written that defends him.

Based mostly on Molly Knight's upcoming book "The Best Team Money Can Buy," Passan passes along several stories that should have Dodger fans worried. 

While some issues, like his habitual tardiness for games, have abated this year, according to sources, Puig's work ethic in batting practice and the weight room continue to bother some teammates. Much of the hostility stems from a general sense of entitlement shown by the 24-year-old. During spring training this year, as Knight writes and multiple sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports, Puig argued with teammates over who should be allowed on a plane ride that typically includes wives and girlfriends. The subject of someone from Puig's entourage joining the traveling crew came up, and sources told Yahoo Sports that Puig argued with pitcher Zack Greinke and nearly came to blows with infielder Justin Turner over the matter.

Greinke, the National League ERA leader and one of the game's best pitchers, was at the center of another memorable Puig moment related in Knight's book. In 2014, during the Dodgers' annual trip to Chicago, the team bus stopped downtown to allow rookies undergoing hazing to walk into a pizza place and emerge with food for the veterans. Some Dodgers players, not wanting to wait, skipped off the bus. When the bus was ready to leave, Puig was outside, looking for his luggage inside of the bay underneath the bus. After Puig ignored multiple requests to close the luggage bay, Greinke hopped off the bus, grabbed the suitcase in front of Puig and chucked it onto Michigan Avenue. Puig stepped toward Greinke and was restrained by reliever J.P. Howell.

You gotta check out the rest of it.  There are a couple more interesting anecdotes and stories that'll make you squirm.

On a side note, now I'm wondering if there are any juicy tidbits about the "owner who shall not be named" in her book.  There's gotta be some great dirt on that wonderful family.

BTW, Knight's book comes out on July 14th.  The photo at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.

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2015 Leaf Heroes of Baseball - All the Dodger Cards

For whatever reason, I had totally forgotten that Leaf Trading Cards existed.  They're a second tier trading card company that, of late, rarely puts together a set notable enough to pay attention to.  In fact, I cannot honestly say that they've created anything worthy of a Dodger collectors attention this season.  Nevertheless, since I'm a bit of a completist and I want to share all, if not most, new Dodger cards made today then I've got to include this set. 

Featured here are the Dodger cards found in their 2015 Leaf Heroes of Baseball set.  Go here for a complete checklist.  As you can see, there are no team logos.

A complete set consist of only 60 cards and they are sold in only blaster form at local retail stores.  Of special note, each blaster box of 20 packs includes a Stan Musial autographed card.  Yes... You heard that right.  A real Stan Musial autographed card is included in every box.  You might normally think that this is an awesome deal, but it really isn't.  All of the signatures come from the twilight of his life, and they all exhibit extremely poor penmanship as a result.  A signature that is noted for being ornate and beautiful looks more like an illegible scribble on these cards.  Still, it's Musial, so many collectors might not mind.  Check out a sample here.

#15 Don Sutton                                  #37 Mike Piazza

#54 Tommy Lasorda

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A George Sosnak Painted Baseball of Orel Hershiser/1988 Dodgers at Hunt Auctions

George Sosnak is the king of the "painted ball" as an artistic medium, so whenever an example pops up featuring a Dodger player I have to share it.  Available at Hunt's current MLB All-Star FanFest auction is a grouping of original Sosnak Baseballs from his estate, and featured above is an unfinished 1988 LA Dodgers World Series ball showcasing Orel Hershiser on a panel.  Check out the auction here.

Per the auction description:

Hand painted baseball decorated across two panels with "1988 World Series Champions" decor on one side and MVP Orel Hershiser on the other panel. The adjacent side panels has been signed by Hershiser in blue ink rating 8 out of 10. Other side panel has faded signature of Tracy Woodson.

I do not know why Tracy Woodson's signature is on the ball.  He didn't record a hit in four at-bats during the Fall Classic, but he was an instrumental piece of the vaunted "Stuntmen" bench corps that helped drive the club to a championship that season.

Of special note, numerous unfinished examples of Sosnak's work have recently made it onto the market.  When he died in 1992 a large cache of Baseballs that he never got around to completing were found.  The ball above is one of those balls obtained directly by a Sosnak family representative and offered here for the first time.

From a previous post of mine: 

George Sosnak was one of the earliest recognized artisans to use a Baseball as his medium.  In 1956, during his time as an umpire in Pioneer League, he fulfilled a fan request for a painted Baseball.  Soon, his work became legendary, and everybody under the sun requested his work.  Notably, he rarely turned down a request, and often gave the balls away as personal gifts.  Sure, he got paid from time to time, but that wasn't his motivation.  He needed an outlet, and painting on Baseball's became it.

His work can be found at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the American Folk Art Museum in New York City and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (it includes a ball commemorating JFK’s Opening Day pitch at a 1962 Senators game).

All said, he has painted at least 800 Baseballs; while other estimates put the number as high as 3,000.  Dave Bailey wrote a great article about George Sosnak at Sports Collectors Digest that is worth a read.  Check that out here.

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Blog Kiosk: 6/30/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Dodger Nation sure did show up in Arizona last night.  Unfortunately, not all of the Dodgers did.

The bullpen was dismal, Mattingly had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach and Mike Bolsinger likely puked in the clubhouse.  Via Barry Bloom at MLB.com:

"It's not a good feeling. This is probably about the worst I've felt after a game all year," Mattingly said. "It was disappointing that we got a lead and we didn't hold on to it."

Imagine how Bolsinger felt. Mattingly knew as the game began that the right-hander was experiencing queasiness and cramps, the cramps reaching a crescendo as he worked through a three-up, three-down fourth inning.

Mattingly said he thought about sending Bolsinger out there again in the fifth, but he opted instead to pinch-hit Alex Guerrero with runners on the corners and two out in the top of that inning. Guerrero struck out. Bolsinger was replaced by Joel Peralta and thus began the cavalcade.

"It was tough, I feel bad, taxing the bullpen like that the first day of the series," Bolsinger said afterward. "You never want to do that. The bullpen has been so good all year. Not only tonight, but I feel like in past outings I've taxed the bullpen. I've got to figure out a way to go deeper into games. I know I can do it." 

The phot above via @Dodgers on twitter.  Below are some links to check out:

• Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Dodgers' bullpen has been stealthily excellent."  Regardless of last night's result I still like the 'pen.

Diversity seems to have been part of the formula. They have hard throwers in Jansen, Pedro Baez and Adam Liberatore and finesse pitchers in Joel Peralta and J.P. Howell. They have also kept the group in constant flux, bringing fresh arms from Triple-A whenever there is an opportunity to make a roster move.

• Via The Sporting News, we get Baseball team logos as area codes.  Check them out here.  The Dodgers is seen on the right.
• True to the Blue was at the Kike Hernandez autograph signing session at Frank & Sons a couple of weeks ago.  He shares his experience and photos here.
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Crawford slated for Minor League rehab."
• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers sign 11th-round pick Imani Abdullah, per report."

The Dodgers reportedly signed Abdullah to a bonus of $647,500, of which $547,500 counts against the Dodgers bonus pool since Adbullah was picked outside of the first 10 rounds.

• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Get to know this year’s foreign imports: Yadier Alvarez."
• Hey there cutie-pie!  Meet Cali Kershaw and check out this cool onesie she's wearing.  You can get one at the Kershaw's Challenge website here.  Pic below via Ellen Kershaw on twitter.

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