Videos: Nomo and Mr. Ed Vs. Koufax

Here are some vintage videos of Hideo Nomo and some MLB All Stars facing Kazuo Matsui and the Japanese All Stars in Japan in 1996. I don't remember this game at all.

YouTube Link: hirosea96:

Here he is against Hideki Matsui. Part 1.

YouTube Link: hirosea96:
Part 2.

YouTube Link: hirosea96:

The Faux Show LA takes in a Dodger game.

YouTube Link: thefauxshowla:

You gotta check this out. Mr. Ed hits a homerun against Sandy Koufax.

YouTube Link: georgecf:

Blog Kiosk 6/8/2008

I already find myself missing hockey. Congratulations to the Red Wings on their Stanley Cup victory, but please be more careful with the cup. OK. I've got tickets to Frozen Fury and I cant wait to go. Three and a half months is too long a time to wait.

• Check out Russell Martin with LA Kings Center Derek Armstrong courtesy of Rich Hammond of the Daily News. There are plenty of pictures.
• Yhea. I noticed that porn-stache too.
• Check out HBMOM5's pics from Kershaw's start on the 25th. Here, Here, Here and Here.
• Here is a new Dodger Video Blogger- LABaseballTV. He's got some videos from Spring Training in Arizona and the Coliseum Game.
  
• Keep your hands off my roto-league. The Supreme Court refused to hear Baseball's appeal that they own player stats and, therefore, are due licensing fees. Fantasy sports was in jeopardy and the court rightly begged off. Player stats belong in the public domain!

  "This definitely feels great. Baseball had a fairly arrogant tone through this thing and was an aggressive opponent. But this is good for the fantasy industry. You've got a bunch of smaller guys who built this industry into what it's become, and for baseball to come in like they did 25 years after the fact and try to push everybody out, that just wasn't right."

• Andre Ethier is now a blogger. It's called Dining With 'Dre. Check it out here. (Hat Tip: Dodger Thoughts)
• Roberto is the king of the Southern California Autograph and player meet-and-greet circuit. First he runs into Gary Carter and Darrell Thomas, then Pedro Guerrero and photo day at Dodger Stadium.
  
• This past Wednesday, June 4, was the 34th anniversary of Cleveland's 10-cent beer night. ESPN tells us all about it. As you can imagine, this was an event that did not go well.

  Fans -- and we shall use this term for lack of a better one -- could buy up to six cups at a time, with no system in place to prevent a designated mule from purchasing a full complement, handing them off to underage clients, and returning for more... Through deliberate coordination or spontaneous groupthink, hundreds of fans showed up with pockets full of firecrackers. Anonymous explosions peppered the stands from the first pitch, lending the game a war-zone ambiance that would seem increasingly appropriate.

  (Hat Tip: Baseball Crank)
• I wanted to send a special shout out to my close friends Curtis and Eileen on the birth of their second child James David- or JD, if you will.

YouTube Link: lemonsters2008:
Hat Tip: For The Love Of Baseball: Tatiana:

Card of the Week: Bob Ojeda and Tommy Lasorda

Bobby Ojeda was a starter for the Dodgers for two years, from 1991-1992. He pitched in 60 games and recorded a career Dodger record of 18-18 with 4 complete games and 2 shutouts. He was a back of the rotation starter who provided a no thrills effort. He was effective while not spectacular. He had an ERA of 3.18 and 3.63 while with the Dodgers in 1991 and 1992, respectively. The above card was made by Upper Deck in 1992 and features Bobby Ojeda receiving a personalized pitching lesson from Tommy Lasorda. Bobby has a funny look on his face as Tommy works with his grip. Maybe Tommy made some wisecrack comment that cannot be printed in most newspapers. Nevertheless, Lasorda looks like he's screaming and Bobby can hardly keep from laughing.

Videos: Penny and Torre on Racing

Here are a series of videos featuring an interview with Brad Penny from TVG about the horses.

YouTube Link: tvgnetwork:


YouTube Link: tvgnetwork:

Here is Joe Torre and Penny with TVG talking about horse racing.

YouTube Link: tvgnetwork:

Now Sweet Lou Johnson and Penny talk about Big Brown.

YouTube Link: tvgnetwork:

Collection: 1979 Clinton Dodgers

I have always loved minor league baseball cards. They feature the portraits of budding young dreamers who are just on their way up hoping for a chance to prove themselves. Many are fresh out of high school and not yet straddled by the rigors of regular life. After all, they play Baseball for a living- a game passed down from generation to generation over the last 100+ years. They travel the countryside from one town to another entertaining us with their skill with the bat and ball. It's a life many of us can only fantasize about. The cards here are from 1979 and feature the Dodgers single A ballclub in Clinton, Iowa- Clinton Dodgers.
As you can see, this team features several future major league players. Steve Sax with his steely stare is joined by his brother Dave on the team. Mr. slow-motion hurler Alejandro Pena is shown in his wind-up while Candy Maldonado gazes at the camera blankly. See the rest of the set here, including Dave Sax's card.
Photo Album: Minor League Set:

Guernsey's Will Hold Special Auction During All Star Weekend

Guernsey's, famous in the collecting world for holding the 1989 Topps archive auction, will be holding a special auction during MLB's All Star Weekend featuring the 1912 Boston World Series trophy.

Guernsey's is pleased to be the auction house chosen to represent a unique piece of baseball history, one of very few World Series trophies to remain in private hands. Predating the days when Major League Baseball provided an official World Series trophy, the 1912 Boston Red Sox team purchased this sterling silver trophy to honor their teammate and manager, Jake Stahl. Remaining in the Stahl family for the better part of a century, and now the property of a collector, the cup will find a new owner this Summer. Bidders have a chance to own an incredible piece of baseball history.

This is an incredible piece of Baseball history. I'll let the auction description speak for itself.

The first major league baseball game to be played at Fenway Park took place on April 20, 1912, between the Red Sox and the New York Highlanders (who later became the Yankees). The Sox launched their new ballpark with a rousing 7-6 win. As the season progressed, that winning streak continued, with the Sox and their ever-present “Royal Rooters” - led by Boston Mayor (and grandfather to President John F. Kennedy) John “Honey-Fitz” Fitzgerald and local tavern owner and Red Sox fanatic Michael T. “Nuf-Ced” McGreevy - marching towards the American League Championship and the World Series with a regular season record of 105-47. The 1912 roster included National Baseball Hall of Famers Harry Hooper and Tris Speaker, and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famers Bill Carrigan, Larry Gardner, Duffy Lewis and Smokey Joe Wood.

Though the Sox emerged as eventual champions, the 1912 World Series was a real nail-biter, with the Sox clinching it only after reaching extra innings in an unexpected eighth game. Indeed, the 1912 Series is the only “best of seven” World Series to require an eighth game. (Game two ended in a tie, called on account of darkness after eleven innings.) Four of the eight games were decided by a single run, and two games went into extra innings. This historic showdown also marks the first time a World Series was decided in the last inning of the final game, or “sudden death.” John B. Forster, writing in the 1913 Spalding's Official Baseball Guide had this to say about the series: “No individual, whether player, manager, owner, critic or spectator, who went through the world's series of 1912 ever will forget it. There never was another like it.”

Above is an original Carl Horner photograph featuring the the trophy and the 1912 Boston Red Sox team.