Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Bye Bye Odalis
As I'm sure you all know, the Dodgers just completed a trade with the Kansas City Royals. Odalis Perez, Julio Pimental, Blake Johnson and cash for Elmer Dessens. It seems a little lopsided, especially if those rookies turn out to be better than serviceable relievers, but any deal that rids us of the albatross we call Odalis Perez is a good thing. Furthermore, I like Elmer. He's not going to make or break the season, but he'll give us some good games without all of the negative drama.
19th Century BB Photos from A. G. Spalding Collection
I just added a new link under "Collectibles" along the right side. It is for the New York Public Library online digital gallery featuring the A. G. Spalding Collection of Early Baseball Photographs. This is some great stuff. Rarely will you see such a large collection of vintage pics in one place. Notable players include Harry & Sam Wright and Henry Chadwick.
Gallery Link:
Hat Tip: VBC Forum 54
Gallery Link:
Hat Tip: VBC Forum 54
27th National Sports Collectors Convention
Tomorrow is day one of the 27th Annual National Sports Collectors Convention in Anaheim, California. I can't wait. The last time it was here was in 1996. I'll be heading over to the convention center on Wednesday afternoon for the VIP Club reception and Sneek Peek. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos. Former Dodgers Jay Johnstone, Bill Russell and Ron Cey will be in attendance signing autographs. Also, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Los Angeles Rams Roman Gabriel will be signing as well.
My biggest disappointment is bound to be the lack of Dodger representation. The Angels will have their own booth at the event (they even have a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim day where they will have special events and activities), but the Dodgers will not be there. What's up with that? The largest sports collectibles convention in the country and the Dodgers couldn't muster up a display to welcome the legions of Dodger fans who might attend. It's in your backyard. I shouldn't complain too much though. I'll be too distracted with the hundreds of tables and dealers showing off their stuff.
National Link:
My biggest disappointment is bound to be the lack of Dodger representation. The Angels will have their own booth at the event (they even have a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim day where they will have special events and activities), but the Dodgers will not be there. What's up with that? The largest sports collectibles convention in the country and the Dodgers couldn't muster up a display to welcome the legions of Dodger fans who might attend. It's in your backyard. I shouldn't complain too much though. I'll be too distracted with the hundreds of tables and dealers showing off their stuff.
National Link:
Give Me Rain!
It is very difficult to write about the Dodgers right now. I don't know what to say. The Dodgers aren't hitting well, they aren't pitching well and we can barely play our positions. As a result, we lost another tough one yesterday evening. Andre "The Giant" Ethier hit 2 homers, Russell Martin is solidifying his stature as one of the leagues best young catchers with two hits and 2 RBI's, and the unbelievable 36 year old rookie Takashi Saito pitched 2 scoreless innings. Unfortunately, none of these factors would help us win this evening. We came close, but not close enough. This 2nd half slump has me wishing for rain. Lots of rain. We need a string of rainouts to save us from the heat of the sun and chill from the Dodgers play.
Update:
Below is a video of the rain in St. Louis at Busch Stadium this weekend. It was so strong that it pushed a trash can over several yards and knocked a women off her feet.
YouTube Link:
Hat Tip: Crooks and Liars
Update:
Below is a video of the rain in St. Louis at Busch Stadium this weekend. It was so strong that it pushed a trash can over several yards and knocked a women off her feet.
This was captured by a cell phone... These storms caused a lot of damage at this game and around St. Louis, even knocked out the windows of the broadcasting booth.
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YouTube Link:
Hat Tip: Crooks and Liars
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Baseball Reliquary
It was a warm and muggy afternoon so a day at the library sounded like a great idea. Afterall, possibly witnessing the Dodgers extending their recent losing streak did not sound appealing. I walked into the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at the Pasadena Central Library to enjoy this afternoons Induction Day ceremony of The Shrine of the Eternals.
It started with the serenading of Ellie Choate on the harp as she played the National Anthem to start the festivities. On this day, Bill Murray, of comedy fame, was awarded the Hilda Chester Award and Kerry Yo Nakagawa was awarded the Tony Salin Memorial Award. As you probably know, Hilda Chester is the famous, and sometime infamous, Brooklyn Dodger faithful fan. She is probably the best known baseball fan in baseball history. She is remembered for going to games with a cow bell and banging away at any time with delight.
Inducted on this day was Negro League great and Baseball Hall of Famer Josh Gibson, Los Angeles Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela and California Nisei League player, coach and trailblazer Kenichi Zenimura. It was quite a multi-cultural event featuring the triumphs of minorities in America and their determination to succeed in the face of so many obstacles. Baseball was their common denominator. The grandson of Josh Gibson, Sean L. Gibson, accepted the award for his family, former Dodger Bobby Castillo accepted the honor for Fernando Valenzuela and the son of Kenichi Zenimura, Kenso Howard Zenimura accepted his award. Check out The Shrine of the Eternal Induction Day link for biographical information about them.
I took some photos of the event. So please feel free to check out my photoalbum. There are also pics of various paintings and Shrine of the Eternals Plaques from other years in display throughout the library. There is nothing like walking around a library staring at the walls as folks are roaming the halls with books in their arms and laptops open to MicrosoftWord.
Shrine of the Eternal Link
Update: At the ceremony I received a postcard advertising The Negro Baseball League exhibit at the California African American Museum at Exposition Park. I had no idea this was in town. This is a must see for any Baseball fan interested in finding out about this league. It's in town til August 16, 2006.
It started with the serenading of Ellie Choate on the harp as she played the National Anthem to start the festivities. On this day, Bill Murray, of comedy fame, was awarded the Hilda Chester Award and Kerry Yo Nakagawa was awarded the Tony Salin Memorial Award. As you probably know, Hilda Chester is the famous, and sometime infamous, Brooklyn Dodger faithful fan. She is probably the best known baseball fan in baseball history. She is remembered for going to games with a cow bell and banging away at any time with delight.
Inducted on this day was Negro League great and Baseball Hall of Famer Josh Gibson, Los Angeles Dodger great Fernando Valenzuela and California Nisei League player, coach and trailblazer Kenichi Zenimura. It was quite a multi-cultural event featuring the triumphs of minorities in America and their determination to succeed in the face of so many obstacles. Baseball was their common denominator. The grandson of Josh Gibson, Sean L. Gibson, accepted the award for his family, former Dodger Bobby Castillo accepted the honor for Fernando Valenzuela and the son of Kenichi Zenimura, Kenso Howard Zenimura accepted his award. Check out The Shrine of the Eternal Induction Day link for biographical information about them.
I took some photos of the event. So please feel free to check out my photoalbum. There are also pics of various paintings and Shrine of the Eternals Plaques from other years in display throughout the library. There is nothing like walking around a library staring at the walls as folks are roaming the halls with books in their arms and laptops open to MicrosoftWord.
Shrine of the Eternal Link
Update: At the ceremony I received a postcard advertising The Negro Baseball League exhibit at the California African American Museum at Exposition Park. I had no idea this was in town. This is a must see for any Baseball fan interested in finding out about this league. It's in town til August 16, 2006.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Oddball Dodger Memorabilia
I just downloaded a handful of new pics in my photo album of some unusual and oddball Dodger items in my collection. The history of these items are foreign to me so if you happen to know anything about the year made, etc. please let me know. The item on the top is a vintage, probably c. 1949-1950, Brooklyn Dodgers vanity traveling case. It is a commemorative piece celebrating the 1949 National League Division Championship and belonged, at one time, to a person with the initials of A. D. It comes almost complete with a comb, 3 carrying cases, mirror, comb and nail file.
The red book probably dates from the 1960's - 1970's and is a Los Angeles Dodgers address book. It is unused and unmarked. The burgundy colored case is a vintage and unused gin rummy card case with the Long Island Boosters stamped on the cover.
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