2011 Topps Heritage: '62 Mint Dodgers

On with the parade of Dodgers cards within 2011 Topps Heritage. Here are a couple of limited inserts that feature, not only, a couple of Hall of Famers, but some vintage mint state uncirculated coins from 1962. It is an insert set called '62 Mint.

As a former coin collector who still dabbles in that hobby from time to time I really like these cards.

#62M-JR Jackie Robinson

#62M-DS Duke Snider(click to enlarge)

Tsunami Relief Efforts Continue for Dodgers This Saturday

This would be a great weekend to be in Arizona. Not only can you catch some Dodger Baseball, but you can also lend some financial assistance to our friends in Japan while getting a Dodger autograph at the same time. BTW, here is a link to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

This Saturday, March 19 as the Dodgers take on the Milwaukee Brewers at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, the Dodgers will collect donations that will be given to the Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Dodger players and coaches will be available from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. and all fans who make a monetary donation at that time will receive an autograph. Donation booths will then be open in both the center field and home plate concourse areas from 12:30 p.m. until the end of the game.

Dodger players and coaches who are scheduled to sign autographs tomorrow include Chad Billingsley, Casey Blake, Jonathan Broxton, Jamey Carroll, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal, Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Ted Lilly, James Loney, Vicente Padilla, Ramon Troncoso, Juan Uribe and Maury Wills. Japanese minor leaguers Kazuki Nishijima, Kazuya Takano and Robert Boothe will also be on hand. Players will sign autographs in the ballpark’s third base side aisles at some point during the donation period.

Dodger pitcher Hiroki Kuroda, who is starting the game Saturday, will also sign autographs for donors at the center field concourse table after he comes out of the game. Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda will sign autographs for fans at his usual table outside of the center field gate.

Fans that give $20 will receive a voucher good for one baseline reserve seat for any remaining Dodgers Spring Training game at Camelback Ranch – Glendale, with a maximum of four vouchers per guest, as well as two tickets to one of two upcoming Spring Training exhibition games at Dodger Stadium.

Monetary donations of cash and checks will be accepted. Checks should be made out to American Red Cross with “Japan Tsunami Fund” in the memo line.

This past Tuesday, Dodger Stadium hosted a drive-through relief event that raised funds for Japan.

The Dodgers have a long-standing history with Japan dating back to the 1950s. Current Dodgers from Japan include pitcher Kuroda and minor leaguers Nishijima, Takano and Boothe. Nine members of the front office are also originally from Japan

Day 30 Spring Training Report

Here is todays lineup for the Dodgers: Furcal SS, DeJesus 2nd, Ethier RF, Kemp CF, Loney 1st, Uribe 3rd, Thames LF, Navarro c, De La Rosa SP

Below are Day 30 Spring Training notes from the Dodgers:

• GEARING UP: The Dodgers travel to Scottsdale to take on the Giants for the fourth and final time this spring, having dropped the first three matchups between the division rivals. The two clubs will meet next on Opening Day, March 31, at Dodger Stadium for a nationally-televised primetime contest on ESPN.

• THE FINAL 42: Following yesterday’s game, infielder/outfielder Jerry Sands and infielder Justin Sellers were reassigned to minor league camp. Sands, the Dodgers’ 2010 Minor League Player of the Year, batted .364 with two home runs, five RBI and a .773 slugging percentage in 16 games with the big league club. The Dodgers now have 42 players left in camp with an even split of pitchers and position players.

• BOMBS AWAY: The Dodgers slugged three home runs yesterday, including back-to-back jacks by Hector Gimenez and Gabe Kapler in the eighth inning as Los Angeles scored a 6-4 comeback win over the Diamondbacks. Matt Kemp put the Dodgers on the board with a two-run blast in the fourth inning off Aaron Heilman for his team-leading third homer of the spring. Kemp is batting .316 on the spring and leads the Dodgers in hits (12), home runs, RBI (9) and total bases (24).

(Pic Link: Yfrog Dodgers)

• LITTLE BIG LEAGUE: The minor league schedule kicks off today with four games against the Rangers as a trio of big leaguers will join the future Dodgers with Ted Lilly pitching in a game on the back fields at Camelback Ranch and Jay Gibbons and Jamey Carroll playing in Surprise. Also back at Camelback Ranch, Vicente Padilla will throw off a mound for the first time since having forearm surgery on February 24.

• THE RUB: The Dodgers’ reigning Minor League Pitcher of the Year Rubby De La Rosa will make his second start of the spring after striking out two and surrendering just one hit over 2.0 scoreless innings on Sunday against the Cubs in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old has limited opposing hitters to a .182 batting average without issuing a walk and struck out five in 6.0 Spring Training innings. RHP Ramon Troncoso, RHP Blake Hawksworth, RHP Kenley Jansen and LHP Ron Mahay will follow De La Rosa to the mound this afternoon. The Giants will counter with RHP Jeff Suppan.

• LEADERBOARD: Dodger outfielder Marcus Thames is tied for third in the Cactus League with five doubles while fellow newcomer Tony Gwynn Jr. is tied for second with six steals. Gwynn is hitting .344 (11-for-32) and is second on the club in hits, trailing just Matt Kemp, who has 12. Trent Oeltjen, who became the fourth Australian-born player to suit up for the Dodgers last season, leads all Dodger hitters with a .438 average (min. 15 at-bats).

(PicLink: Yfrog Dodgers)

• MAKING HIS BID: Xavier Paul stroked a double in his only at-bat yesterday and has caught fire of late, batting .545 (6-for-11) with a double, triple and one RBI over his last five games dating back to March 12. The 26-year-old is batting .290 (9-for-31) with a home run and three RBI in 17 Spring Training games.

• BLUE CHIPS: A few Dodgers players and staff have a stake in this year’s NCAA tournament as Tony Gwynn Jr. (San Diego State), Strength and Conditioning Coach Brendon Huttmann (Kansas) and right-hander Josh Lindblom (Purdue) have their alma maters in the dance. Meanwhile, Dodgertalk host Josh Suchon has already ruined one of his brackets by picking his SDSU Aztecs to win it all, while his co-host Joe Block saw his Michigan State Spartans’ hopes dashed last night by the hometown UCLA Bruins.

(PicLink: Yfrog Dodgers)

• BOYS IN BLUE: The Third Annual UMPS CARE Charities online auction is underway at UmpsCare.com, featuring priceless memorabilia and one-of-a kind experiences for teams throughout baseball. Fans can bid on a Dodger batting practice experience among the other great packages until March 20.

Blog Kiosk: 3/18/2010

Let's start the season, already!

• New Dodger billboards are out and Vin Scully is My Homeboy has a pic of a beauty. "It's Time For The Voice Of Summer"
  
• Even better, Left Field Pavilion made their own hilarious billboards, check them all out here.
• Here's a great article from Steve Dilbeck about the the real vintage Dodgertown, it's St. Patrick's Day tradition and the painful loss of our teams history at the hands of a marketing campaign.
• The Seattle Times has a story focused on some former MLB'ers in Japan.
  

  At least Ruiz, who homered off Josh Beckett, Andy Pettitte and A.J. Burnett during a late-season run with Toronto in 2009, is safe. He was playing with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in an exhibition game 400 miles away last Friday and never felt the magnitude-9.0 quake.

  Ruiz first learned of the disaster when umpires suddenly stopped the game in the eighth inning. The team's English translator explained the situation to Ruiz and fellow former major leaguers Darrell Rasner and Ryan Speier, and fans were sent home.

  Ruiz and the other Eagles - Kaz Matsui, Byung-Hyun Kim and Akinori Iwamura, among them - are practicing in Nagoya, about 300 miles from their hard-hit home in the port city of Sendai. They're staying in a hotel, feeling guilty.

• Gold Baseballs? Are you kidding me? From Sports Collectors Daily.
• They destroyed this Lamdo!
• Atlantis?
• Michael Lewis, the soothsayer? In 1989 he wrote "How a Tokyo Earthquake Could Devastate Wall Street and the World Economy." Read a copy of it here at The Big Picture.
  
• Star Wars?
  

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

A Dodger St. Patrick's Day

Since the days of O'Malley, St. Patrick's Day has always had a special place in the hearts of Dodger nation. Games were always packed (even on a weekday), the team wore green and the entire community celebrated the day as if it were a national holiday.

I was fortunate to have experienced this event one Spring afternoon in 2007. I had failed to realize that my first Spring game while on vacation would be on the Irish holiday so I was ill-prepared for the festivities. Fortunately, I arrived very early, so I was able to secure a ticket. Soon, all of Dodgertown was packed. Green was everywhere.

Since I find myself reminiscing I thought I would post some of the pics I took that day. I had a whole bunch more, but they didn't turn out that well.

Jeff Kent

Juan Pierre

Nomar Garciaparra

Rafael Furcal

Day 29 Spring Training Report

After a Dodger day off , they get back to playing ball. BTW, Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here is todays lineup for the Dodgers: Furcal SS, Miles 2nd, Ethier RF, Kemp CF, Loney 1st, Uribe 3rd, Gibbons LF, Barajas C, Billingsley SP.

Here is todays Spring Training Report from the Dodgers:

• TOP OF THE MORNING: The Dodgers and Diamondbacks meet today at Camelback Ranch for the first this spring on St. Patrick’s Day. The two clubs will meet again on March 21 when the Dodgers send a split squad to Talking Stick. Last season, the Dodgers were 13-5 against Arizona and have not lost a season series vs. the D’backs since 2005.

• A LOOK BACK: The NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins today, marking the first time the hoops tourney has started on St. Patrick’s Day since 2005. Last season, Los Angeles lost to the White Sox, 5-1, despite a James Loney home run on the patron saint of Ireland’s big day. One year ago today, the Dodgers were 4-5-1 in Cactus League action.

(Pic Link: TwitPic luvthedodgers23)

• TICKLING THE TWINE: A few Dodgers players and staff have a stake in this year’s NCAA tournament as Tony Gwynn Jr. (San Diego State), Strength and Conditioning Coach Brendon Huttmann (Kansas) and right-hander Josh Lindblom (Purdue) have their alma maters in the dance. Meanwhile, Dodgertalk host Josh Suchon went to San Diego State and has already ruined one of his brackets by picking the Aztecs to win it all.

• GOING GREEN: This afternoon, the Dodgers will wear green jerseys and hats in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Following the game, the players will sign their jerseys to be auctioned off by the Dodgers Dream Foundation during the season.

(Pic Link: TwitPic luvthedodgers23)

• THE FINAL 44: On Tuesday, the Dodgers trimmed the number of players in camp to 44, including 21 pitchers and 23 position players. RHP Jon Link and IF Russell Mitchell were optioned while RHP Roman Colon and C J.D. Closser were reassigned to minor league camp.

• PITCHING IN: This Saturday, several Dodger minor leaguers who hail from Japan as well as several Dodger legends will be signing autographs from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. in exchange for a donation to the American Red Cross Japan Tsunami fund. Dodger right-hander Hiroki Kuroda will start the game that day against the Brewers, but plans to come by to sign autographs and take donations when he is finished. The autograph table will be located just inside the home plate gate.

(PicLink: TwitPic uscpsycho)

• HEARTFELT THANKS: Dodger fans stepped up on Tuesday, donating nearly $60,000 at the Stadium to help raise money for the American Red Cross Japan earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Donors that gave $20 or more received two tickets to an upcoming Spring Training exhibition game at Dodger Stadium.

• BILLY BALLGAME: Add a third national holiday to the list of great things going on today as Dodger Assistant to the General Manager Bill Mueller turns 40! Mueller played 32 games for Los Angeles in 2006, before an injury led him to retire. Shortly thereafter, Mueller was hired by Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti and the world of Dodgertown has never been the same since. Mueller shares his big day with Celtics GM and former Major Leaguer Danny Ainge, who made the regional final with BYU in 1981.

(PicLink: TwitPic jvervain)

• STRETCHING OUT: Dodger right-hander Chad Billingsley will stretch out to around 80 pitches this afternoon when he makes his fourth start of the Cactus League season. Billingsley is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA while batters are hitting .256 against the Ohio native. Following Billingsley, RHP Jonathan Broxton, RHP Matt Guerrier and RHP Mike MacDougal are expected to take the hill. Arizona will counter with RHP Aaron Heilman.

• MORNING COMES LATE: This afternoon, KABC talk show host Peter Tilden will take his morning show to the afternoon as he is recording tomorrow’s morning show from Camelback Ranch from 3-6 p.m. Many Dodger guests will stop by to talk with Tilden, including Dodger General Manager Ned Colletti, Dodger Manager Don Mattingly and Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda.

(PicLink: TwitPic KyleEllis)

• AN IRISH GOODBYE: On this day in 2008, the Dodgers played their final Spring Training game in Vero Beach. “Dodgertown” was the Spring Training home of the Dodgers for 60 years.

• LEADERBOARD: Dodger outfielder Marcus Thames is tied for third in the Cactus League with five doubles while fellow newcomer Tony Gwynn Jr. ranks second with six steals. Gwynn is hitting .323 (10-for-31) and is second on the club in hits, trailing just Matt Kemp, who has 11. Kemp leads the Dodgers in hits, RBI (7) and total bases (20). Rod Barajas, Kemp, Aaron Miles and Jerry Sands are all tied for the most Dodger homers this spring with two. Trent Oeltjen, who became the fourth Australian-born player to suit up for the Dodgers last season, leads all Dodger hitters with a .467 average (min. 15 at-bats).

• BOYS IN BLUE: The Third Annual UMPS CARE Charities online auction is underway at UmpsCare.com, featuring priceless memorabilia and one-of-a kind experiences for teams throughout baseball. Fans can bid on a Dodger batting practice experience among the other great packages until March 20.