Blog Kiosk: 5/15/2019 - Dodgers Links - Pederson Hit His 100th

Congrats, Joc!

Last night he hit 100th career home run, and it was a timely one. With the Dodgers trailing, Joc came up in the third inning with a man on and hit his homer (watch it here) to give the club a lead that they would not relinquish. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

“I didn’t know it was the 100th when I hit it, but it did help the team win a ballgame, so it was pretty cool,” said Pederson, who has more home runs than singles (10). He is the 29th Dodger to reach the century mark 

“Every time he’s in the box he’s a threat,” manager Dave Roberts said of Pederson. “Credit to our guys and the game plan.

The Dodgers now lead the National League West by 4.5 games -- their biggest lead of the season. Photo above via Josh Barber/Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1956 the Dodgers purchase starting pitcher Sal "the Barber" Maglie from the Indians. Maglie would go on to have a terrific season with the Dodgers. He went 13-5 with an 2.87 ERA, a 139 ERA+, and come in second behind Don Newcombe in both Cy Young and MVP voting. In 1965 the Dodgers are one-hit by Cubs pitcher Dick Ellsworth, but nevertheless win the game, 3-1, on a three-run homer by Al Ferrara in the eighth inning. In 1998 the unthinkable happened. The Dodgers traded their franchise catcher Mike Piazza and infielder Todd Zeile to the Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich and Manuel Barrios. This is when I knew the News Corp/Fox ownership of the Dodgers was a big mistake.
• Happy Birthday, Alex Verdugo, Jack Corcoran, Jimmy Wasdell, Al McBean, Bill North & Josh Beckett!

2019 Topps Tier One - All the Dodger Cards

Topps high-end brand, Tier One, was released last week, and I've got a bunch of pics to share with you. As you know, this set includes only hits - autographs and relics. So, there are no base cards to chase after. Each box will cost about $100 and you get three cards per box - two autographs and a relic card. Go here for a complete checklist.

Many of the relic and relic/autograph combo cards come with either one, two or three relic pieces embedded within it -- with the three relic piece being a "1 of 1" card. Check out as many of the Dodger cards I could find below.

Autographed Tier One Relics

#T1ATR-CT Chris Taylor

Blog Kiosk: 5/14/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Above is a fantastic 1932 International News press photo of future Hall of Famer Hack Wilson wearing a Dodger uniform for the very first time. It had recently sold at RMY Auctions.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1933 Hack Wilson came off the bench for the Dodgers to belt a pinch-hit inside-the-park walk-off grand slam -- a first in Dodgers history (boxscore). In 1978 Dodger killer Dave Kingman of the Cubs belted three home runs against Los Angeles to defeat us, 10-7, marking the second three-homer game of his career against the Dodgers. This also infamously lead to one of Tommy Lasorda's most epic rants -- when KLAC radio reporter Paul Olden asked what he thought Kingman three dingers. Listen to it here (NSFW). Per Kevin Roderick at LA Observed: 

“I was in the front row with my arm extended, holding the microphone, and no one was asking about the main thing from that day: the three home runs by Dave Kingman,” Olden said. I just needed a quick sound bite, 10 or 15 seconds, and then get the heck out of there.

“So I sort of innocently asked his opinion of Kingman’s performance. A minute and a half later, he’s still talking.”

• Happy Birthday, Tony Smith, Johnny Babich & Chink Zachary!

Padres Series Starts Tuesday - Stadium Giveaways, Pregame Info and Other Stuff!

The next homestand starts on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. Below are some odds and ends for this upcoming homestand. Here are some important links:

• 2019 Broadcast Schedule
• Parking Information 
• Special Events Schedule
• Promotions & Giveaways Schedule
• Silent Auction Schedule 
• Dodger Stadium Parking / Transportation 
• Dodger Stadium Express / LA Metro  

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Tuesday, May 14th at 7:10 PM
Clayton Kershaw vs Chris Paddack

TV: SportsNet LA, SNLA Spanish

Radio: AM 570 LA Sports, KTNQ 1020

2019 Topps Now - #221 - Ryu's Scoreless Inning Streak and Near No-No

Ryu's fantastic week on the mound resulted in two wins and 17 innings of shutout ball. For his work he was named the National League Player of the Week. On top of that, his near no-hitter yesterday afternoon also got him a new 2019 Topps Now card to celebrate his efforts on the mound. Per a MLB press release:

• Earned the victory in each of his two dominant starts last week, improving to 5-1 on the season.  Across 17.0 innings pitched, logged 15 strikeouts without surrendering a run on five hits and one walk.
• Recorded his third career complete game, and second complete-game shutout on Tuesday night vs. Atlanta, scattering four hits to go along with six strikeouts.  His 93 pitches in the outing were the fewest by a Dodgers hurler in a shutout since Hiroki Kuroda in 2008.
• In yesterday’s outing against the Washington Nationals, lost his no-hit bid in the eighth inning before exiting with 8.0 scoreless innings and nine punchouts.
• Permitted his third walk of the season in yesterday’s start (52.1 IP), and his first since April 20th.  Enters play today with an 18.00 SO/BB rate, easily the best in the Majors.

Blog Kiosk: 5/13/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Ryu is an 'Ace' right now. Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“I can’t say enough about Hyun-Jin and what he’s done for us,” Roberts said. “He’s off to obviously a tremendous start. To watch him work as a technician, it was masterful. It really was.”

Hyun-Jin came so close to throwing a no-hitter last night. He went 8.1 scoreless innings before giving up a double to first baseman Gerardo Parra, and now has a scoreless innings streak of 24 innings.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Insider. Go here to check out more pics from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1947 the famous 'embrace that shook the baseball world' occurred at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The Dodgers, facing the Reds for the first time this season at their home stadium, witness a barrage of racial slurs directed at Jackie Robinson. Team captain Pee Wee Reese, seeing this, engages with Jackie on the field and then put his arm around his shoulder, a gesture that stuns and silences the crowd (or so the story goes). In 1952 Vin Scully experienced something incredible. As a youth he dreamed of being a broadcaster. A classmate named Larry Miggins shared a similar dream with him. He wanted to play Major League Baseball. So on this day Miggins, now a outfielder with the Cardinals, was at-bat with Vin Scully calling the game for the Dodgers in Brooklyn, and proceeded to hit his first career home run in front of his close friend. Per an SI story (2016):

“I remember I said, ‘Larry, when we get out of here, what do you want to do?’ And he said, ‘I’d love to be a big league ballplayer.’ “And I said, ‘I wonder what those odds are.’ And then I said, ‘Well, you know, I’d like to be big league broadcaster. I wonder what those odds are.’ “And then I said, ‘How about this one for a long shot: How about you play, I broadcast, you hit a home run?’ And we said, ‘The odds, no one would be able to calculate that!’”

• Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Jimmy Archer, Carden Gillenwater, Don LeJohn, Bobby Valentine, Johnny Roseboro and John Ely!