Corresponding About Campanella - Letter from Felton to O'Malley

This is fantastic. 

Featured above is an letter from former Brooklyn Dodger pregame television host Happy Felton to LA Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley in 1958.  It is currently for sale in the Lelands 2015 Winter Auction (auction link here).  In it he writes about recently taping an interview with Roy Campanella, who was paralyzed by this time, and how he was doing his best to help Campy earn a little bit more income.  Furthermore, Felton spread some good news that Roy was physically improving just a bit.

As you know, the Dodgers eventually put together an fund raising event for Campanella at the LA Coliseum that drew 93,103 fans (a record for a game at the time) in May of 1959 that raised a whole bunch of dough.  I wonder if this letter was one of many that lead to that endeavor.   After all, it appears that everyone involved truly wanted to do everything they can for Campy.

Below is what Felton wrote to O'Malley:

Deal Walter,

Saw Campy last Thursday, and this morning I taped an interview show with him.  Dr. Rusk and the rent of the staff seem to think it would be very good for him therapeutically, and, of course, if I am able to sell it, it would be a source of income for him.  I am taking it to the American Tobacco Co. tomorrow.

They had him in a chair for the first time today, and they seemed to be well pleased.  He is moving both arms and was able to feel a piece of paper between his thumb and fore finger on his right hand.  This cheered him up quite a bit.

Don't let those Californians get you down.  Good luck next Tuesday.  Our love to all of you.

Thine,
Happy Felton

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Welcome to the Blue, Hisashi Iwakuma! UPDATE: Deal is Dead!

Considering the recent brouhaha surrounding the supposed trade between the Reds and Dodgers I figured it was best to error on the side of caution before posting this up.  After all, it's not so relevant to me that I be first out of the gate.  I just want to celebrate a players entrance into the Dodger family, and share a couple of fantasy Baseball cards I made in celebration.

As you know by now, the Dodgers have signed right-handed starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma; as first reported by Jim Bowden on twitter.  Although yet to be officially confirmed by the team, it appears all but certain to be true. Heck, Mark Saxon noted on twitter today that the Dodgers will hold a press conference announcing the signing tomorrow.  BTW, it has been reported to be a three year deal, via Jon Heyman on twitter:

Iwakuma agreement is $45M, 3 yrs with dodgers

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 7, 2015

That comes out to $15 Million a season - a reasonable amount given his age, recent injury history and his skills on the mound.  Iwakuma is 34 years old, suffered a right lateral strain last year that knocked him out for nearly a couple of months and for his career is 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA, 3.62 FIP and 7.7 strike outs per nine innings.  Last season he threw a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in August (the second Japanese ballplayer to ever do so).

Iwakuma is a command pitcher who throws a fastball in the low-90's, a split-finger fastball (in high 80's), slider, shuuto and curveball.  He induces plenty of ground balls, so the Dodgers revamped defense should help him a lot.

On a more personal note, Iwakuma is a very spiritual man, via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times:

Iwakuma is a member of Soka Gakkai International, something of a new-age Buddhism religion centered in Japan. After arthroscopic elbow surgery in 2007, Iwakuma said he was being tentative in his comeback before he was inspired by works from Soka Gakkai's leader, Daisaku Ikeda.

He told Soka Gakkai's monthly newsletter: "Sensing my anxiety, Sensei [Ikeda] looked at me and said: 'Cast away your worries! Become strong!' His guidance was strict yet warm. In his words I sensed with my entire being the trust and high expectations he placed in me.

"That day happened to be my birthday. I took it as Sensei's lifelong gift to me."

In celebration of Iwakuma's signing I made the above two fantasy cards of him.  On the left, the photograph by Mike Ehrmann/Getty and I used the 1961 Topps Baseball card design.  On the right, the photograph is by AP/Ted Warren and I used the 1968 Topps Baseball card design. 

Below are his career statistics as a player, via Baseball-Reference:


UDPATE:  As you surely know, this deal is deal.  According to various reports, Iwakuma failed his physical with the Dodgers.  He also, within 24 hours of those initial reports, signed a one-year contract (with options for the following two seasons) to stay in Seattle.

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Blog Kiosk: 12/10/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Here's a fantastic vintage color photograph of Ebbets Field from behind the plate towards the right field pole.  Photo via Lost Ballparks on twitter.

Below are more links to check out:

• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Winter Meetings update from Kasten, Friedman."

“We’ve had tremendous amount of conversations with other teams … and various agents,” Friedman told Rizzo. “We obviously had a lot of dialogue coming into this week. And so we had a good feel for areas we wanted to spend a lot of time on. Some have led to dead ends, and some are still kind of going. We had a target list of guys that we want to try to acquire, and we’re doing everything we can to try to bring some of these guys to Los Angeles.”

“I think the trickiest part of the offseason by a lot is the timing element. Oftentimes, you’re not able to work down your list methodically — it’s the guy who’s third or fourth on your list you can work something out with now, but that means obviously foregoing guys one, two, three, and that’s a risk that you take. … Do you take the chance and wait?”

• Oh my!  How things have changed.  Via One Nación at ESPN, "Dodgers' Yasiel Puig to return to Cuba with MLB."  They are set to have a Goodwill Tour in Cuba soon and several Cubans who had recently defected are heading back to the island.

For Puig, considering the dangerous circumstances of his escape from Cuba, it's perhaps most important that the Cuban government has promised the returning players that they will be allowed to leave safely and that they will be granted time at the hotel to visit with family members.

• Good for Barney!  Via Shi Davidi on twitter, he will sign a Major League contract:

Sources: #BlueJays and INF Darwin Barney have agreement on major-league deal pending physical.

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) December 9, 2015

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Dodgers 2016 non-roster invitees to spring training."  Eric Stephen also tells us that the, "Dodgers add 5 players in Triple-A phase of Rule 5 Draft."
• BTW, the Chapman trade is dead, via Jon Heyman on twitter:

Dodgers have moved on from chapman and are weighing Andrew miller among other pitchers and also hitters

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 10, 2015

• A must read!  Check out Patrick O'Sullivan's personal story of physical abuse at the hands of his sports obsessed Dad The Players Tribune, titled "Black & Blue."  O'Sullivan played for the LA Kings and I recall hearing stories about his past.

I’m not writing this article for my father. I’m writing it for the people in the parking lot.

Yes, if you say something, you may ruin the relationship you have with that person. You may get embarrassed in front of the other hockey parents. You may have to go through the awkwardness of filing a police report.

I can understand why a lot of people worry, “But what if I’m wrong?”

If you are wrong, that’s the absolute best case scenario. The alternative is that child is a prisoner in his own home. What you’re seeing in the parking lot or outside the locker room — whether it’s a kid getting grabbed and screamed at, or shoved up against a car — could just be the tip of the iceberg.

• BTW, Patrick O'Sullivan spoke with nickc79 at Jewels of the Crown about his time with the Kings.  Listen to the interview here.

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Welcome Back to the Blue, Chase Utley!

It's now official.  He'll be back for another year.  Southern California native and avowed Dodger fan in his youth, Chase Utley will be back to play in Los Angeles for the 2016 season.  He will make a reported $7 million on a one-year deal, and I suspect we'll see him playing a lot of second base - and possibly third base.  He'll also be a good bat off the bench and provide important leadership in the clubhouse.  Per Dave Roberts on Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

"You look at Chase Utley, the intangibles, I think he's a special player and can make our team better," manager Dave Roberts said on Monday, as seen on MLB Network.

Per a Dodger press release:

Utley, 36, was originally acquired by Los Angeles from Philadelphia on Aug. 19 in exchange for two minor leaguers and batted .202 with three home runs and nine RBI in 34 games with the Dodgers during the 2015 regular season. He appeared in three NLDS games against the Mets and went 1-for-3 with a run scored. Overall, Utley combined to hit .212 with eight home runs and 39 RBI in 107 combined games with the Dodgers and Phillies last year, while appearing in the field at first base, second base and third base.

The six-time All-Star (2006-10, 2014) and four-time National League Silver Slugger winner (2006-09) has a career .281 batting average with 236 home runs and 925 RBI in 13 big league seasons with the Phillies (2003-15) and Dodgers (2015). Utley ranks among the active leaders in games played (1585, 3rd), runs (963, 1st), hits (1648, 3rd), doubles (355, 2nd), home runs (236, 2nd), RBI (925, 2nd), on-base percentage (.365, 1st), slugging percentage (.479, 2nd), extra-base hits (641, 2nd) and total bases (2811, 2nd) as a second baseman.

As I'm sure you recall, Utley still has a two-game suspension hanging over his head from that slide during the playoffs, so he's not likely to be on the Opening Day lineup.  Although, there has yet to be an appeal hearing over the matter, so it is all still in limbo.  As reminder of "The Slide" watch it below.

Video Link:

In celebration of Utley's return to the Dodgers I made the above two fantasy cards of him.  At the very top I used a photograph by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015 and the 1982 Topps Baseball card design. Directly above I used the 2015 Topps Baseball card design and a photo grabbed from the LA Times.

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Some Dodger Goodies at Lelands Auctions - Jackie's Personal Hall of Fame Plaque

Lelands 2015 Winter Sports Auction is currently ongoing and there are several notable Dodger-related collectibles that immediately jumped out at me.  In fact, I'm certain I've seen the above Jackie Robinson Hall of Fame plaque before.  It is currently available through Lelands (auction link here) and I suspect it'll sell for a bunch of dough.  In fact, it already had sold for more money than I can imagine, so I guess it's back to see if it can best it's previous value.  As you may recall, this exact item sold last year through SCP Auctions at an astounding $100,001 (see link here).

Above is Jackie Robinson's personal plaque given to him by the Hall of Fame.  It's a one-of-a-kind collectible that represents his accomplishments as a ballplayer and a trailblazer in the game.  Frankly, this item needs to be in a museum, so I'm hopeful it finds its way there.

The below item is a head scratcher.  According to the auction listing this is a 1941 National League Champions belt buckle that was given to Robins/Dodgers hurler Kirbe Higbe; in lieu of a championship ring.  I guess you don't get something shiny for your finger if you don't win the World Series. 

BTW, Higbe had a fantastic season this year.  He won 22 games and came in 7th place in MVP balloting in 1941.

(Auction Link)

I spent so much of my youth lounging around with a copy of MAD Magazine in my hands, so when I came upon this drawing my eyes immediately bulged.  Wow! 

Featured is an original watercolor of an LA Dodger pitcher drawn by legendary Mad Magazine illustrator Jack Davis.  Awesome!

(Auction Link)

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2015 Bowman Draft Baseball - The Dodgers Base Cards

Topps newest release is called 2015 Bowman Draft Baseball, and as the name suggest it focuses on top level prospects throughout the game.  Go here for a complete checklist.

As for the Dodgers, there are six prospects to chase after in the base set.  Check them all out below.  Julio Urias is the obvious big name in the set.  It should also be noted that the Walker Buehler card is an obvious Photoshop job.  He has yet to throw a pitch in any fashion for the Dodgers due to Tommy John surgery.

#46 Walker Buehler                    #87 Andrew Sopko