Horsin' Around

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It's Carl Furillo Night on August 28, 1957 as the entire family comes out to a bevy of gifts at Ebbets Field. His beaming wife stands at the rear with a bouquet of flowers while his two young boys show off a brand new bike and pony. Something tells me, though, that one kid likes his gift better than the other. Look closely (click the pic to enlarge it). Youngest sibling Jon looks mighty sad. He's probably thinking to himself, "why can't I have the bike?"

Furillo, on the other hand, had other things on his mind. He had a game against the Cubs to think about. Fortunately, the pre-game event didn't distract him at the plate. He had a good night. In the forth inning he tripled in Sandy Amoros to tie the game at 1, and singled in the 11th. A young and still not great Sandy Koufax was the starting pitcher, but would only go 5 innings while giving up 8 hits. Ed Roebuck came in and finished the game in grand fashion by going 9 innings for a 4 to 3 win in 14 innings. I couldn't imagine a pitching doing that in Major Leagues today.

T206 Brooklyn Dodgers: George Bell

George Bell, although his win-loss record doesn't suggest it, was one of Brooklyn's best starting pitchers. Unfortunately, Brooklyn couldn't hit a beachball if it was thrown underhanded from 10 feet away. In 5 Major League seasons, all with the Superbas, he recorded a 43-79 record while having an impressive 2.85 lifetime ERA. As you can surely guess, he just didn't receive the run support required to win games.

Bell, a 6 foot right-hander, was known to throw a good curve, sinker and an occasional spit ball (legal at the time). He was also a late bloomer. He played his first Major League game at the age of 32 and available records suggest he only started playing professionally at the age of 29. Likely, he played in amateur leagues until being discovered. In 1910, he led the Majors in losses with 27, but baffled hitters with a 2.64 ERA, 25 complete games and a WHIP average of 1.126 in 310 innings pitched. He was the ultimate tough-luck pitcher.

In 1911, George Bell split time between Brooklyn and the Newark Indians of the AA International League. He played only a few more years in the minors after that before officially retiring from Baseball in 1915 at the ripe age of 40.

Bell has the special distinction of having two T206 Baseball cards. One with his hands above his head and the other showing his follow-through. See them above and below.

Star Wars Geek Night

WooHoo! That's what I'm talking about. The Dodgers are hosting a Empire Strikes Back "My Town" night at Dodger Stadium on May 21st. They even go full nerd by calling the section "Dodgertown. A Galaxy Far Far Away." Awesome!

If you sit in the My Town section you will get the above t-shirt. On top of that, the first 20,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive a limited edition foil-stamped 30th anniversary poster. I'm unsure if it will be like the pics below.

Easily the best of any of the 6 Star Wars movies, "The Empire Strikes Back" night figures on being a fun affair. Star Wars characters will be in autograph alley to sign your stuff and pose for pictures. Chewbacca will throw out the first pitch.

“Dodgertown, A Galaxy Far Far Away” will be located in the Lower Reserve sections 56 - 60. All fans sitting in this section will receive the free “Dodgertown, A Galaxy Far Far Away” T-shirt with the iconic image of infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett. Fans in this section will also enjoy unlimited ballpark favorites such as Dodger dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn and soft drinks, as well as a special Star Wars-themed menu – such as Boba Burgers, Darth Tater Chips and Ice Sabers.

One lucky row in the My Town section will win Star Wars DVD prize packs and there will be additional Star Wars giveaways in this section throughout the game. Also, the My Town section will be visited by Star Wars characters for the duration of the game.

A Perfect Day for a Perfect Game

After tearing into Alex Rodriguez late last month, Dallas Braden has just completed a pitching feat rarely ever seen. He has thrown a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Ray this afternoon in Oakland. Braden faced only 27 batters in mesmerizing the hottest team in the league. Congrats!

Since 1900 there have only been 17 perfect games. The last one was last season when Mark Buerhrle also blanked the Rays, 5-0, on July 23rd.

Here is USA Today's live blog of the event, and here is the box score.

Happy Mother's Day!

Thank you Mom for everything.

Below is a collection of Dodger pink bats.

(pic link: Dodgertown USA hitpix)

And here's a special announcement from Andre Ethier.

Judy Beardslee: Our Mother's Day Hero

From a press release. BTW, you can get your own pink Mother's Day bat by clicking right here.

Major League Baseball and Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced the winners of the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest, a campaign to recognize inspirational MLB fans who have been affected by breast cancer and demonstrated a commitment to the cause. The winner of the Honorary Bat Girl Contest for the Los Angeles Dodgers is Judy Beardslee. Beardslee is a breast cancer survivor from Pennsylvania whose mother lost her battle with the disease and who is very involved with fundraising to find a cure. Beardslee and her family will be guests of the Dodgers at Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies and she will be honored on the field before the game. The program was developed to raise additional awareness and support for the annual Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer® initiative, a joint partnership between MLB, its licensed partners and Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, taking place on Mother’s Day.

Hundreds of Major League Baseball players will use pink bats produced by Louisville Slugger, the Official Bat of Major League Baseball, stamped with the MLB breast cancer logo on Mother’s Day. Dodgers using pink bats on Mother’s Day include Andre Ethier, Casey Blake and Russell Martin. Many players also will wear pink wristbands and the symbolic pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness will be displayed on player uniforms, as well as on all on-field personnel.

“The support from the Clubs, players and fans for the Going to Bat Against Breast Cancer initiative each year has been remarkable,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “Mother’s Day is a special celebration and I am pleased we continue to observe it by raising awareness and funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I want to thank all of the incredible Honorary Bat Girl contest winners for their courage, determination and inspiration as they join us on the field to help in our efforts to fight breast cancer.”

For the second consecutive year, MLB and Susan G. Komen for the Cure launched an online search to find an Honorary Bat Girl for each of the 30 MLB Clubs. Since February, fans from across the country have been sharing their stories of inspiration and hope, and how they are supporting the fight against breast cancer. Nearly 1,000 testimonials were submitted online at MLB.com, the official web site of Major League Baseball, by breast cancer survivors, advocates and supporters of the cause, and one winner per Club was selected by a celebrity panel of judges and over 4 million fan votes.

An All-Star cast served as celebrity judges on a blue ribbon panel for the 2010 Honorary Bat Girl Contest including Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos; Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; MLB All-Star Pitchers Brian Wilson, CC Sabathia, John Lackey and Jake Peavy; and MLB Network’s Trenni Kusnierek and Mitch Williams.

Each Honorary Bat Girl will have an opportunity to take part in pre-game activities, be honored during an on-field ceremony and receive pink MLB merchandise and two tickets to their Club’s Mother’s Day celebration game or another home game in May.