Memorabilia from Elton John's Concert at Dodger Stadium

I don't always pay attention to rock 'n roll memorabilia, but the current Heritage auction is a worthy exception. As I'm sure you know, Dodger Stadium has been host to plenty of musical acts over the decades. Just last weekend Paul McCartney headlined a sold-out gig there -- a bit of a reprise of the Beatles concert at the stadium in 1966. Other musical guest at Chavez Ravine have included Genesis, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, U2, KISS, *NSYNC, Madonna and The Rolling Stones. One artist's performance, though has become legend.

Over two nights in late October 1975 Elton John, who had just released his 10th studio album "Rock of the Westies" the day before, came to Dodger Stadium and played in front of over 100,000 adoring fans -- the largest concert ever, at the time. Best yet, he strutted out onto the outfield stage during his second set of the evening wearing a super-sparkly blinged-out Dodger uniform.

2019 Topps Baseball Factory Exclusive Cards - The Dodger Chrome Greatest Card Reprints

As always, the Topps flagship factory sets sold online and through major retailers like Target includes several exclusive sets. One of these sets includes shiny chromium versions of the rookie cards of three Dodger legends -- Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax and Mike Piazza. It is known as the Chrome Greatest Chrome Reprints and they can only be found in the orange Target factory sets (like the one seen above). Go here for a complete checklist.

Chrome Greatest Card Reprints

#2 Jackie Robinson                  #17 Sandy Koufax

#24 Mike Piazza

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2019 Donruss Optic Baseball - The Dodger Base Cards

Panini's Donruss Optic brand has just hit store shelves, and I've got pics of the handful of Dodger base cards to share below. Go here for a complete checklist. As you may know, Optic is basically a chrome version of their Donruss flagship brand, so you'll recognize many of the card designs. I hope to have pics of the Dodger inserts soon.

Base

Diamond Kings

#26 Max Muncy

Blog Kiosk: 7/17/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

That was a tough loss -- especially since we scratched and clawed to not only stay in the game, but to also eventually overtake the lead going into the ninth. Unfortunately, Jansen's woes continue. Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“Every game stings to lose, especially the way it started,” manager Dave Roberts told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo. “And for Walker to hold serve and keep us in the game and turn in a quality outing actually. … and the bullpen up until that last inning was very good, and offensively we did some things to keep clawing along, keep getting the game closer, to ultimately the Matt Beaty homer off their closer was a huge hit. So there’s a lot of good takeaways, but ultimately we didn’t win a game.”

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2019 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 1954 the Dodgers field the very first starting nine that consist of a majority of black ballplayers for the first time in Major League history. In 1974 Dodger starter Tommy John suffers an arm injury on the mound against the Expos that would eventually lead to a revolutionary new surgery that would be widely known as "Tommy John Surgery" -- to repair a torn ligament in the elbow by replacing it with a ligament taken from another part of the body. The surgery is performed by Dr. Frank Jobe. In 1976 Walter Alson wins his 2,000th game as a manager. His Dodgers defeat the Cubs in Los Angeles, 5-4. Alston would then leave the Dodgers at the end of this season -- finishing with a 2,040-1,613 lifetime mark as skipper.
• Happy Birthday, Eddie Brown!

2019 Bowman Platinum Baseball - The Dodger Insert Cards

Now that you've seen the base cards, below are some of the Dodger inserts that are available in packs of 2019 Bowman Platinum -- a Walmart exclusive brand from Topps. Unfortunately, several of the Clayton Kershaw and Kiebert Ruiz cards have yet to surface.

Platinum Cut Autographs

#PCA-MM Max Muncy

2019 Topps Now - #518 - Bellinger's Wild Monday

If I'm not mistaken, this is Cody Bellinger's 13th Topps Now card (including a 'Moment of the Week' card) of the season. This card celebrates his two home runs off the Phillies that helped him retake the National League lead in home runs. Go here to check it out and order. Below is what's written on the reverse:

Cody Bellinger's incredible season continued as the slugger launched two home runs and recorded four hits in a 16-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The huge game brought Bellinger's gaudy season numbers to a League-leading 33 home runs, 75 RBI and a robust.341 batting average.

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