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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Weekend Autograph Opportunities: The Shrine of the Eternals, Jay Johnstone and Charles White

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

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This sounds like a fun event.  This coming Sunday is The Shrine of the Eternals 2014 Induction Day.  Check out the flyer below.

 
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This coming Sunday is the SportsFest at the Radisson Hotel Whittier.  Former Dodger Jay Johnstone and former Ram Charles White will be in attendance signing for fans.  They will both be appearing from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  Go here for more information.

Autograph Pricing: 
Jay Johnsonte: $5 Baseball Cards $10 Any Other Item - $5 Per Inscription Includes FREE Photo-OP

Charles White: $10 Football Cards $20 Any Other Item - $10 Per Inscription *Special: 3 Inscriptions for only $20.00* Includes FREE Photo-Op
Radisson Hotel Whittier
7320 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier, CA 90602

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

2014 Allen & Ginter Baseball - The Dodger Relic and Autographed Cards

I guess it is Allen & Ginter week on this blog.  Today I share the various Dodger relic and autographed cards that are available; with exception of the large box-loader cards that will be featured later this week.  Go here to check all of my previous post on this set.

There are three Dodger Framed Autographed cards available.  Unfortunately, the Sandy Koufax (#AGA-SK) card is available only through a redemption.

Framed Autographs Set

#AGA-BBU Bill Buckner                 #AGA-CKR Clayton Kershaw

Book Cards Single Set (#/10)

#AGBC-CK Clayton Kershaw

#AGBC-DS Duke Snider

Pop Star Relics Book Cards Set (#/25)

#PSR-CK Clayton Kershaw

#PSR-YP Yasiel Puig

Framed Relics Set

#RA-CK Clayton Kershaw                       #RA-HR Hanley Ramirez

#RA-JR Jackie Robinson                          #RA-SK Sandy Koufax

#RB-YP Yasiel Puig

Relics Full-Size Set

#FSR-AG Adrian Gonzalez               #FSR-MK Matt Kemp

#FSR-YP Yasiel Puig                  #FRB-CK Clayton Kershaw

#FRB-ZG Zack Greinke

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Carl Erskine's Last-Out No-Hit Ball Available at Lelands


Since Dodger pitching and no-hitters is all the rage this year, it's only appropriate that Leland Auctions would have an item available that follows that theme.  One of the highlights of their current 2014 Spring Auction, that closes next week, is Carl Erskine's last-out baseball from his very first no-hitter.

June 19, 1952 started out as a cloudy and overcast afternoon.  The sun was nowhere to be seen, and rain was thought to be coming soon.

The enthusiastic redheaded broadcaster, Vin Scully, openly mused, "I wonder what the little pill has in store for me today?"  As he and the Dodger faithful would soon see, Carl Erskine was prepared to make the record books.

The game started well enough.  In front of 7,732 fans at Ebbets Field, Erskine began the 1st by coaxing a couple of fly balls and a groundout.  Then, the Dodgers immediately got on the board.  Roy Campanella blasted a 2-run homer, followed by another home run by Carl Furillo.  Later on, outfielder Andy Pafko would add another run with his own homer in the 2nd inning.

In the 3rd, Oisk, as he was often called, made his only mistake of the game.  With pitcher Willie Ramsdell at the plate, he walked him on 4 straight pitches.  He would not do that again the rest of the game.

Soon afterwards, the sky let out a cry.  The rain started to fall, so the game was delayed.  For 40 minutes the Dodgers sat patiently in the clubhouse.  All the while, Oisk and some of the boys pass the time by playing bridge.  When they finally got back out on the field, Erskine continued where he left off.  Every batter he would face from then on would get out. 

By the end of the evening, the Dodgers would score 5 runs and Cark Erskine had thrown his first no-hitter.  Overall, he walked only 1 (Willie Ramsdell) and struck out 1 (Dee Fondy in the 8th) on 103 pitches.

Featured in this post is the last-out Baseball from this game.  Written on a side panel, in Erskine's own hand, is:
6/19/52-Ebbets Field, Brooklyn vs. Cubs, Brooklyn 5-Cubs-0, No hit-no runs-time 1 hr 45 mins, 103 pitches
Also, Erskine personally had 11 of his teammates sign the ball for him; including Campanella, Robinson, Hodges, Furillo, Dressen, Snider, Reese, Pafko, Pitler, Cox, and Morgan.  This unique and historical game-used Baseball comes from Carl Erskine's own collection. 

Go here to check out the auction.  I wonder at what value it will end up at.  BTW, there's a great Erskine biography available at SABR by Bob Hurte.  Check that out here

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Blog Kiosk: 7/16/2014 - Dodger Links - Dee Gordon, Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig


Clayton Kershaw is such a dork.  Photo above tweeted by @MLBNetwork.  BTW, you can check out all of the Dodger highlights via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, here.  Also, here are a bunch of pics from the game by Jon SooHoo.
Adam Wainwright said, several times, that he grooved the pitch Jeter hit for a double. "He deserved it," Wainwright said.
So, I guess the "Cardinal Way to Play Baseball" is to throw a game away while at the same time disrespecting one of the games greatest players by publicly saying that they took it easy on him.  What a bunch of schmucks!
When things weren’t going well for Dee about a year ago, the main thing I told him was to remember back how it was when you were taking swings back home in Florida and I was hitting him groundballs on the basketball court. You’ve got to be able to go back to something. My kids are humble kids. They remember what it was like before they got to this level, and that’s very important. 
In this morning's Dee's All Star Journal he's "Taking It In."
I picked up a lot of little stuff here and there. But when you’re a young player at your first All-Star Game, I was trying to just stay out of the way and do my own thing, just help these guys win.
Kershaw was already the game’s pre-eminent pitcher, but now he’s making major league hitters look like the poor souls tasked with facing him on the Texas prep scene. He’s accomplishing that by refining an already-sinister slider. 
They played on the same youth soccer, baseball, football and basketball teams together. They played freshmen football and two years of varsity baseball together and both graduated from Highland Park High School in 2006 after dominant final seasons. 
  • Happy-go-lucky Yasiel Puig is not angry or disappointed in his All-Star Game performance.  Not in the least bit.  Via David Brown at Big League Stew:
“I leave here happy for several reasons, including that I got to play amongst friends," Puig said with the help of translator Yvonne Carrasco. “I leave happy that I did the best I can. I didn’t hit any home runs yesterday, I struck out three times today. But you know — that happens. I’m proud to have been present for Derek Jeter’s last All-Star game before he retires. It was very emotional to see him off. He has been one of my favorite players.
  • BTW, prior to the Home Run Derby participants did a little promotion for Gillette - its sponsor.  They were kind enough to pass along a photo with Yasiel Puig shaving.  Check it out below.  Photo courtesy of Gillette.
(Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Gillette)
  • Cable companies suck!  Their customer service sucks.  Their desire to end net neutrality sucks.  Cable giant Time Warner's handling of the Dodger situation sucks.  They just all suck! 
So, knowing that Comcast and Time Warner are about to merge means that they will only suck more!  That's why I find this audio shared by Mark Berman at The Washington Post both hilarious and prophetic.  A customer was trying to discontinue his Comcast service, but the customer service rep refused to do so - using an old sales technique of causing so much frustration that the customer just gives up and stays a customer.  This time, the future ex-customer did not relent and recorded the conversation for all of us to enjoy.  Go here
I would be willing to bet that this is exactly how Time Warner has been negotiating with other providers.  Heck, I bet those other providers use the same technique back at Time Warner.  That way, at the end of the day, it ends up being a big circle jerk; with Dodger fans wondering where the season has gone.

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