A Peek Inside a 1958 Dodgers Scouting Book from Al Campanis

From time to time you run into something really fascinating on eBay.  That's not to say that the past items I've featured from the online auction house aren't as interesting, it's just that this particular item really takes the cake.  The above guide is purported to be Al Campanis' personal spring training notebook for the 1958 season - the Dodgers first in Los Angeles.  It includes everything from schedules, rules, player notes and photographs.  Check out the auction listing here.

As you may know, Al Campanis was a lifelong Dodger.  He was originally signed by the franchise as a 23-year old free agent in 1940, became a scout for the team after his retirement from playing and eventually rose to the clubs GM position until the infamous incident on "Nightline" in 1987. 

The guidebook appears to be filled with all kind of scouting goodness.  There's grades and notes for every player on the roster, as seen below.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

For Sandy Koufax is says:

Good curve but needs control

There's also scouting notes on numerous up-'n-coming prospects.

Including notes on a couple of well known future Dodgers' - Maury Wills and Frank Howard.

For Wills it says:

Hands too close to his body.  Falls away from the plate.  Not covered outside.  Is afraid of the ball.

Must keep his hands away from his body.  Must step more towards the pitcher keeling his front shoulder in.  This will help him on balls away, especially the slow stuff.

On Frank Howard:

Not covered outside on let-up stuff.  Collapses front knee.  Front shoulder comes out too soon.  Steps hard instead of smooth.  Has a big stride.  Might habe to be shortened.  Is a fine student.  Pulls everything.  Must hit ball where it is pitched.  Must stay with outside pitch a little longer.  Is a bit far from the plate.

Heck, there are even rules for the batting cages; including this one helpful suggestion:

"Be serious when practicing your bunting"

I have no idea what something like this is worth to a collector, but it sure provides some valuable and interesting information about the Dodgers of yore.

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Blog Kiosk: 11/9/2015 - Dodger Links - AGon, Ryu and Scully

Nuthin' But A "Ryu" Thang

On Saturday was Adrian Gonzalez's first annual Bat 4 Hope Celebrity Softball Game at Dodger Stadium and a good number of Dodgers' were on-hand to lend a hand; including rehabbing pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu.  Although he didn't play on the field Ryu did come out with the baddest hoodie ever.  Check it out in the photo above, via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2015.

That is bitchin'!

As for the event Adrian had this to say, via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:

“This is just fun. … We’re excited about it, and it’s a great opportunity to raise some awareness and raise some funds.”

BTW, he also commented briefly about some of the Dodger changes.

“I think I always look at it from a standpoint that when we show up at Spring Training, we’ll know who we have,” Gonzalez said. “Right now, there’s no point at looking at the team. Zack might be back. We might have other people back. The only thing that will be different is the manager at this point. Other than that a lot of the things will be the same.”

Go here to check out a bunch of pics from Jon from the softball event.  Below are more links to check out:

• Via Lyle Spencer at MLB.com, "Scully recalls college days while accepting honor."  He received the George H.W. Bush Distinguished Alumnus Award  from the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
  

  "One of my most memorable games was when we played Yale in 1947. I'd never been to Yale, and it was a thrilling day, a great game. It gave me a taste of what the big leagues were like, with the grandstand, public address system, scorecards, an enthusiastic crowd.
  
  "It was 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth when their shortstop [Art Moher] hit a home run with a man aboard, and we lost, 3-1. Their first baseman was George Herbert Walker Bush. Wonderful, lovely man, politics aside. Terribly bright."

• Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, the Dodgers will interview Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez.
• Via Eric Avakian at Dodger Blue, "Clayton Kershaw Reflects On Postseason, Talks Being A Perfectionist."
  

  “At least I didn’t end the season again, that was better. It felt good for about 24 hours, until we lost the next game. Losing is losing and obviously that is no fun.”

• Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider, "Pederson on what went wrong and making things right."

“I could have told you everyone knew they were going to throw hard fastballs in (to me). It’s not a secret. That’s a pitch that they didn’t necessarily go away from. I didn’t show them I could hit it. And when I did hit it they had a shift on. It’s something at the start of the year I would take the balls and hit the strikes. But when I’m in a bad position, I wouldn’t hit that pitch. That’s the way it goes.”

• Via Ben Platt at MLB.com, "Monday honored by Marines for saving flag."
  

  "This means a lot," said Monday, who attended the event with his wife Barbaralee. "Tonight is a special night. When I think back to when I was a Marine Corps recruit so many years ago, and you hear about the Marine Ball -- and to have it onboard the USS Hornet, the retired aircraft carrier that has had so much history of itself. Combine the history of the Hornet, the history of the Marines; it's the perfect matchup for the Marine Corps Ball."

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Blog Kiosk: 11/7/2015 - Dodger Links - Club Options, Qualifying Offers and Free Agents

With the Dodgers search for a new manager in full steam I thought the above 1934 International News press photo of two former Dodger skippers standing side-by-side to be timely.  Featured are Max Carey (left, manager from 1932 to 1933) and Casey Stengel (right, manager from 1934-1936) wearing their Brooklyn garb.  The above pic was found at the current Touchdown Treasures auction.  Check it out here.

Below are more links to check out:

• To the surprise of no one, via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors, "Dodgers To Make Qualifying Offers To Anderson, Kendrick, Greinke."
• Check out who else elects to become a free agent, via a tweet from Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

Source: Chris Heisey is now a free agent. Cleared outright waivers.

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) November 6, 2015

• Unsurprisingly, these three Dodgers' from the 2015 team will also be free agents, via JP Hoornstra on twitter:

#Dodgers are declining club options on Arroyo, Peralta and Utley.

— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) November 6, 2015

• Via Arash Markazi at ESPN, "Experts: Parkinson's disease shouldn't keep Kirk Gibson from managing again."

"I have patients who are teachers, professors, lawyers, doctors, bankers who are actively doing well with Parkinson's," said Dr. Michael Kaplitt, a neurosurgeon and associate professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York. "They're actively productive, and it doesn't prevent them from doing a variety of professions.

"You have to understand your limitations, but patients can do a variety of professions where their expertise and their mind are very valuable and the disability they have from the disease is well-enough controlled where they can be extraordinarily productive."

• Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors shares their, "2015-16 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions" here.  They believe Zack Greinke and Brett Anderson will remain Dodgers'.  Furthermore, they suggest the Dodgers might be in the running for the services of David Price, Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir, John Lackey or JA Happ.
• Joc Pederson is the Banksy of the Major Leagues.  He shared the below photo on Instagram yesterday:

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2015 Topps Chrome Update - All the Dodger Cards

Exclusive retail-only packs of 2015 Topps Chrome Update are now available in stores, and they can be found only in Holiday Mega Boxes.  For a retail listing price of $14.99 you get five packs of 2015 Topps Update (their normal flagship Update cards) and two packs of the Chrome Update cards.  So, they are a bit scarce.  Go here for a complete checklist.

The Chrome Update base cards feature only 50 of the 400 cards found in the normal Topps update set, and they are easily distinguishable due to their "Bubble/Pulsar" Refractor finish.  As you can see in the pics below, they are super shiny and have that distinctly round bubble-style background.  All of the cards have this look.

Below are all the Dodger cards that are available.  As you can see, only three of the twenty-three Dodger cards found in the update base set are available in Chrome form.

Base Set

#US280 Mike Bolsinger                         #US308 Howie Kendrick

#US376 Joc Pederson

Thanks for Staying Blue, Rick Honeycutt!

I was really nervous about this one.

It was clear when they started cleaning house in their scouting and minor league coaching departments during the latter half of the 2015 season that the Dodgers would do the same in Los Angeles.  Gone would be Don Mattingly and all the other coaches, but one name stuck out as an potential exception to that rule.  Surely, one name must be retained.

Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, who is the best in the business, was perilously placed on that same chopping block, and I wondered if the front office's desire to shape the club in their own image would mean the end of his time with the franchise.  Fortunately, based on a report by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports this morning, that is not the case. 

Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt has a new two-year deal to stay with the Dodgers, sources say.

The deal is expected to pay Honeycutt about $750,000 a year, putting him in the upper echelon of pitching coaches.

Woo!  We dodged a close one there.

As I said, Honeycutt is the best pitching coach in the game, and that's not just hyperbole.  Eric Stephen at True Blue LA provided a glimpse at just how good he has been:

In his 10 seasons as pitching coach, the Dodgers lead MLB in ERA (3.66), FIP (3.70), xFIP (3.79), SIERA (3.76), strikeouts (12,605), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55), strikeout rate (20.7 percent), K-BB% (12.6 percent), WHIP (1.269), opponents batting average (.242), ERA- (94), FIP- (92) and fWAR (199.6).

Yeah... He's been that good... So, thanks to the geek-squad for recognizing what's plain to all, and thanks to Rick Honeycutt for staying in Los Angeles for at least another two years.

BTW, there has been some speculation that this two-year deal will ultimately transition into something more permanent for Honeycutt, via a tweet from Jon Morosi of FoxSports:

Sources: Rick Honeycutt expected to remain pitching coach for two seasons, then transition into special assistant role. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 31, 2015

In celebration of Honeycutt's decision to stay with the franchise I made the above two fantasy cards of him.  Both photographs were taken by Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo (here & here) and I used both the 1971 and 1972 Topps Baseball card designs.

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Blog Kiosk: 11/6/2015 - Dodger Links - Ruggiano, Harang and Pederson

The photo above would be the culmination of many young boys lives.  After all, who didn't want to be either a ballplayer or a fireman... But to be both at the same time would cause most young minds to explode.  Featured, you've got Dodger manager Chuck Dressen and pitcher Joe Black spending the afternoon as fireman - complete with Brooklyn Ladder 13 helmet and firetruck.  No doubt Black, who was a phenom rookie reliever when this photo was taken in 1952, was in the midst of preparing to put out some wildfires at the Stadium and throughout the city. 

This photo is currently available at Albersheim's sports auction.  Check out the auction here.  Below are more links to check out:

• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Ruggiano outrighted to Oklahoma City."  I think this is the gist of the situation:

Ruggiano, who made $2.505 million in 2015, would have been eligible for salary arbitration had he remained on the 40-man roster. He has enough service time that he can reject the assignment and become a free agent.

BTW, per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, Ruggiano chose to enter free agency.   I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up staying a Dodger.

• David Laurila at FanGraphs shares an fascinating interview with former Dodger pitcher Aaron Harang, here.  He talks a bit about the art of pitching - throwing up in the strike zone (like Chris Young), adjusting to changing strike zones and breaking pitches.
• Via David Hood at True Blue LA, "Dodgers top 2016 prospects: Nos. 31-61."
• Via Xavier Alatorre at the Sports Quotient, "Joc Pederson And Patience At The Plate."

What does this mean going forward? Despite flaming out in the second half, the 2015 season cannot be considered a bust for Young Joc. The twenty-three-year-old hit an inevitable slump but made adjustments that paid off in the last two months of the season, though they may have gone unnoticed by some. Now that National League pitchers have seen a full season of Pederson’s swinging tendencies, adjustments will need to be made at the plate. Pederson needs to continue his patient approach and force pitchers to come to him. If he is able to stay away from outside pitches and can wait for more favorable pitches (low and inside) to land in the zone, then Pederson will be a formidable threat at the plate once again. 

• Next week Panini will be releasing their 2015 Contenders Baseball set and it includes a bunch of fast rising prospects and some old pro's.  Go here to check out a huge collection of preview photos.  You can also see cards of Dodger prospects Julio Urias, Corey Seager, Mitchell Hansen and former Ohio State star and former Dodger Frank Howard.

• The Senate report on the "pay for patriotism" brouhaha has just been released and is available here to review.  Fortunately, the Dodgers do not appear to have charged the armed forces, but other MLB clubs who did get paid to fake their patriotism includes the Braves, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and Phillies.  The DBacks received $40,000 from the Arizona Army National Guard to allow color guard demonstrations, a first pitch and a 40 tickets.  Shame on you guys!  Jason Lisk at The Big Lead has the story here.

The report lists 50 professional sports teams from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS that received some sort of federal funding to do a “pay for patriotism” promotion where it appeared to be honoring a military member or branch, but where they were receiving money for engaging in the activity. 

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