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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Yasiel Puig is the Man About Town - He Held a Clinic for Young Ballplayers, Visits Sick Kids and is Named GQ's "Phenom of the Year"


Yasiel Puig has been very busy.  Heck, he's been all over Los Angeles.  He's been spotted everywhere; most notably at the Staples Center watching Lakers basketball.  It's his exploits with kids, though, that should be getting the headlines.

Yesterday, he visited Children's Hospital Los Angeles with Pau Gasol.  Jon SooHoo has a bunch of photos available to look through, here.

Then, on Monday, he lead a group of 50 youngsters in a Baseball clinic at Dodger Stadium.  See Jon SooHoo's pics, here.  Also, there is a great video of the event below.


Video Link:

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Today, we learn that GQ has named him the "Phenom of the Year".  Their newest issue has a nice spread on him; including the photos below.  They also spoke with his roommate and handler, Tim Bravo, and share some great quotes.  Go here to view it.

From a GQ press release:
“The Dodgers told me: Don’t let him get in trouble,” Bravo says. “You would never, never believe what it was like to be involved with Puigmania. We couldn't go anywhere without him getting mobbed.” And when it came to adjusting to life in the US, Bravo shares that there were a few things that took Puigaback: At first, he couldn't believe the big-league Gatorade selection—'Ay, Teacher, muchos colores de Gatorade!' He loved that he could watch The Three Stooges whenever he wanted.”
(Photo Credit: Martin Schoeller / GQ)

 (Photo Credit: Martin Schoeller / GQ)
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AJ's Excellent Australian Adventure



As you know, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are schedule to open Major League Baseball in late March at the Sydney Cricket Grounds in Australia.  So, with Baseball on its winter break, why not send some folks down south to spread word about the event?   AJ Ellis and Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin were the lucky guys chosen for the promotional junket, and I'm sure their teammates are super-jealous.  What lucky duckies, eh?

In the land down under, it's the end of Spring with Summer fast approaching.  The sun is out and folks are enjoying the season with all the joy you'd expect.  Heck, even Baseball, Australian style, has begun anew.  It's the perfect environment to get Aussies excited for Major League Baseball.

Both Ellis and Corbin have been meeting fans, young players and the viewing public the past several days.  Check out some photo's I grabbed of their travels from social media.

Here's press conference featuring Ellis and Corbin with former MLB'er Justin Huber (member of Team Australia).  It was announced that both teams will play Australia's national team as a warm-up to the Opening Series match-up. BTW, they also did a Live Blog Chat for FoxSports Australia that you can view here.
(pic via @DBacks on twitter)

AJ met up with Peter Moylan in Sydney.  Moylan is a native Australian and spent most of last season with the Dodgers farm club in Albuquerque.
(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

Here they are on Manly Beach.  There's a joke in there, somewhere.
(pic via @Dodgers on twitter)

Check out more pics at MLB's facebook page, here and here.
(pic via @SydneyBlueSox on twitter)

Here are a couple quotes from the the always quotable AJ Ellis.


AJ is right.  Baseball at the Sydney Cricket Ground will be special.  From my understanding the games are already sold out.  Check out a seating chart here.


And, below is a view of, I think, where the back stop will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
(pic via @DBacks on twitter)

And, here's a video.

Video Link:

Pic at the very top via @ABLeague on twitter

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 11/20/2013 - Dodgers Links - Vin Scully, Colletti Speaks and Puig Visited CHLA


Yasiel Puig and Pau Gasol of the Lakers visited the Children's Hospital Los Angeles yesterday.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.  See more pics here.
Ruth was hated by McGraw, Pele is dissed by Maradona, and so on throughout history. Lather, rinse, repeat. But Scully is a secular saint, beyond reproach, St. Vinny of Wherever You May Be.

"It's gonna be a lot of fun even for our fans here in Southern California, to have the oppurtunity to go to Dodger Stadium to see a hockey game; let's face it, it's not going to happen too often, not sure if it'll happen again."

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