Tuesday, December 09, 2014

A Dodger Fan Appreciation Card Sheet from 1997


I recently picked up a bunch of Dodger Fan Appreciation card sheets, so I will share them one-by-one on this blog.  I will start with the very first sheet issued by the team.  It is from the last home game of the 1997 season and features perforated Baseball cards of Hideo Nomo, Mike Piazza and Chan Ho Park.  There are also photographs of Eric Karros and Raul Mondesi on the corners.

These sheets are not scarce at all.  They measure 8.5" x 11" and can be purchased for a song and a dance.  I received a group of six different sheets for about $10.00 shipped.  Click any pic to embiggen.

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Dodgers Getting Slammed for Cavorting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto


The photo above, sent out via various social media outlets yesterday by the Dodger PR department, looks innocent enough, but it has been the fuel to a growing controversy with Latino Dodger fans.  Featured is Dodger first baseman Adrian Gonzalez with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.  The Dodgers gave Nieto his own personalized Dodger uniform.

As you may know, Mexico has been embroiled in a political/societal uproar involving the kidnapping and murder of 43 student teachers in Guerrero that has reportedly implicated everyone from the cartel to a mayor to police officers.  Protest, marches and riots have been stewing throughout the country for the past couple of months and it looks like it is far from dying down.  The President of Mexico, as you can imagine, has been the subject of much criticism.  So much so, there have been calls for his ouster.

So, imagine what a Dodger fan with a keen eye towards Mexico thought when the above photo was released.  There was understandable outrage, and soon enough fans and observers alike flooded every outlet possible to voice their anger.

Via a story at L. A. Taco:
As of this post, the photo has 4,300 comments. An average photo on the Dodgers instagram photo gets at most a few hundred comments. A representative comment: “I can deal with you guys losing in the playoffs. I can deal with you guys having the highest payroll in the entire league. We will not put up with you associating yourself with such scum.”
From what I understand fans have also been calling the Dodgers to voice their opinion.  Below are some comments grabbed from twitter to the photo:






Via a story at Latino Rebels:
It is safe to say that we expect even more negative reaction today before the Dodgers respond—if they even respond. Several questions come to mind: who thought it was a good idea to customize a jersey for Peña Nieto, given all the recent events surrounding Ayotzinapa? Is Gónzalez not aware of the situation? If he is, did he stay silent about it? And are the Dodgers even aware that a significant portion of its fan base is very aware of the situation in Mexico?

This one hurts for a lot of people. The Dodgers should do the right thing and address this social media fail with honesty and true understanding. Typical “we apologize if we offended anyone, it wasn’t our intent” statements won’t cut it this time.
I suspect we'll hear from the Dodgers and Adrian Gonzalez soon, but in the meantime a seething anger grows with a fanbase acutely aware of its history (i.e. Chavez Ravine).  As Latino Rebels states above, this wound must be addressed in some fashion, and hopefully it's more than your typical statement.

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An 1880's Baseball Trade Card Added to My Collection


Burdock Blood Bitter is the cure for you, or at least that's what this c.1880's Victorian Trade Card claims.

Featured here is the newest addition to my growing collection of late-19th Century Baseball-themed trade cards.  It features an advertising card of a well dressed boy in a striped jersey top and bloomer-style pants.  Best of all, he's eyeing a high flying eephus-style pitch.  No doubt, he is aiming to whack the cover off the ball.  Although, he does look a bit too relaxed in his stance.  I'd like to see him open up a bit.  Furthermore, he holds the bat like a Rod Carew, which worked for him, but is likely to result in a weakly hit grounder for this lad.

The card measures approximately 4 3/16" X 6 1/2" and has a printers mark on the bottom left; "B 359".  It has been previously cataloged in the Keetz Guide of Baseball Advertising Trade Cards as card #210 of single issued cards.  Typically, these trade cards were sold by printers to various businesses for use as an advertising medium.  In this case, Burdock Blood Bitters, a cure-all for stomach ailments and cramps, had the printer place their sales pitch on the reverse, and allowed a retailer in Calais, Vermont to distribute it to their customers.

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Gameplay and Behind the Scenes with Puig for MLB 15


As you've surely heard, Yasiel Puig will be on the cover of Sony's MLB 15: The Show video game (check out the cover photo below).  He is the first Dodger to ever make the cover and is likely the most controversial ever.  Fans throughout the league either love him or hate him, and I think it's fair to say there is no in between.  Regardless, I suspect there'll be some cool features in this game; including some fantastic 'bat flips' to entertain the gamer (especially since that has become a Puig staple).

The game is slated to be released on March 31, 2015, so we have a long time to wait til it can be played.  In the meantime, Sony released a couple of videos to wet our appetite.  There is a 'behind the scenes' video for the making of the box cover and a short gameplay video featuring Puig launching a home run against our greatest foe.  Check them out below.

Behind the Scenes

Video Link:

Gameplay

Video Link:


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Blog Kiosk: 12/9/2014 - Dodger Links - Brito Honored and No Hodges in the Hall


This past Sunday Justin Turner visited the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park as a part of the Dodgers 2014 Holiday Mall Tour, and a whole bunch of fans were there to greet him.  The photo above was taken by Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.  Go here to check out more photos from the event.  BTW, the Mall Tour continues this coming Saturday at the Glendale Galleria.  More information can be found here.

Below are some links to check out:
"For me, there are 29 other trade outlets, and to cut off four of them makes our job even more difficult," Friedman said. "It just makes it even more difficult to line up and do deals that make sense." 
  • Eric Stephen at True Blue LA has a nice roundup of the Dodgers first day at the Winter Meetings, "Dodgers Winter Meetings Day 1 notes: Miguel Rojas, Ryan Lavarnway, Rule 5 Draft."  Nothing really happened... At least not yet.  
  • Via Mike Oz at Big League Stew, "No new Hall of Famers elected in Golden Era Committee vote."  I am very surprised that Gil Hodges only received 3 votes.  At the same time, I was surprised that Maury Wills got as many as 9 votes (I bet Sutton was a huge influence here).  Furthermore, I truly believed that Tony Oliva, Dick Allen and Minnie Minoso were getting into the HOF through this committee, but only hoped Hodges and Wills would get in (I'm just losing faith Hodges will ever be recognized).
  • Night Owl Cards has a great writeup on the recent controversy surrounding the Golden Era Committee and its failure to elect anybody this year , "Let's vote some people into the Hall tonight."  Check it out here.
When I was a kid making visits to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the least interesting part of the experience was that room with all the plaques.

Oh, is that the actual "Hall of Fame"?

Yeah, that. That was the dullest part.


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