Collection: Ron Cey Great of the Game Autograph

Following up my previous Preacher Roe autographed Fleer cards from earlier this week (here and here), I bring to you a 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game autographed card of everyone's favorite thirdbaseman, Ron Cey. 

I love the simplicity of the card design.  It includes a nice photo against a off-white background and tasteful golden borders.  On top of that, there is more than enough room for an autograph below the photo. 

On a side note, I had previously featured several vintage comic Baseball postcards in my collection, but hadn't done so in awhile.  So, this weekend I'll be doing some more scanning in hopes of sharing more of them shortly.

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 6/28/2012

The sixth edition of the Dodgers Playbill features Eric Karros.  Check it out above.

• Adding insult to injury, via @CSNBaggs on twitter.

• Then to make matters even worse, our one real power bat went down with a strained left oblique muscle injury, via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times.
• Eye on LA Sports puts together a great, albeit belated roundup of the Dodgers/ Angels freeway series in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.  He shares his adventure at getting Magic's autograph at the game. 
• The July edition of Dodgers Magazine (at right) features a cover photo of Andre Ethier at the top of Dodger Stadium. Inside is a feature on Ethier, who has befriended fellow Arizona State baseball player Cory Hahn, the young man who was paralyzed from the chest down on a stolen base attempt in just his second game for the Sun Devils.
• I'm not happy to find this out.  Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts. 

It’s the first time one team has thrown three consecutive shutouts against the Dodgers since 1937.

• With today being Eric Karros bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium, team historian Mark Langill writes a little bit about how he came to be a Dodger.

Early in 1986, Dodger area scout Bob Bishop drove to the campus of UCLA to watch the Bruins begin their baseball season with an intrasquad game. Bishop noticed a freshman third baseman, a “walk-on” player without an athletic scholarship.

• Several weeks back I had mentioned that there is a Dodgers browser theme available for fans to download.  Check them out here.  Well, if you did that or plan to then you can enter a MLB contest to win an All-Star jersey.  A sweepstakes button is on the browser or go here for more details.

• The LA Times has put together a commemorative book detailing the LA Kings Stanley Cup Championship run.  Check it out here.  It's 128 pages of wonderful.
• The Star Wars That I Used To Know.

Video Link:
(Hat Tip: Alyssa Milano on twitter)

Dodgers Will Sign a Cuban, Yasiel Puig

Where did this come from?  Out of the Blue the Dodgers show the league that they are not to be dismissed.  With the new Dodgers ownership just getting their feet wet over the past couple of months, they take an early opportunity to let everyone know they have the cash and willpower to put the best talent possible on the field.

Today, we get word that the Dodgers and Cuban slugger Yasiel Puig have agreed on a contract.  Enrique Rojas at ESPN has more.

Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig has reached agreement on a seven-year, $42 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sources told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com.

The agreement is pending a physical exam, and would be the largest dollar figure accorded a Cuban defector, surpassing the four-year, $36 million deal of Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Céspedes in February.

"Puig's contract with the Dodgers should be completed by Friday. The young man could play in the major leagues this year, maybe in time to help with the race for the playoffs or the World Series," said the source, who added that the agreement includes some clauses that could permit Puig to become a free agent after his fourth year.

Under the new rules that regulate the hiring of Cuban ballplayers, upon receiving permanent residency, known as FM2 in Mexico, Puig will not need to be unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that enforces the sanctions of the United States' embargo against Cuba.

The 21-year-old Puig batted .330 with 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and 78 runs scored in 327 at-bats with the Cienfuegos Elefantes in the 2010-11 Cuban National Series. Later, he averaged .370 in 46 at-bats in the playoffs, at barely 20 years of age.

Puig, who also was considered the fastest player in Cuban baseball, was left off the Cienfuegos team for the 2011-12 season after having been caught on several occasions trying to escape the country. He finally succeeded in defecting last month.

I think left field is taken for awhile. If he is as good as they say then we look to be pretty good in the outfield for quite some time.  The best part about this deal is that we don't have to give anything up to get him.  This also make me wonder whether we would have been a player for Yu Darvish if Magic's group had taken over ownership much sooner than they did.  I had read on numerous occasions that they Dodgers scouts loved him.

And I have another question.  How exactly do you pronounce Yasiel Puig?

Here is a video from youtube of our newest Dodger.

Video Link:

Take a Photo with the Stanley Cup

This coming Friday you can have a chance to get a picture with The Cup.  Rich Hammond at the Kings Insider Blog has the information.

The trophy, along with Bailey and the Kings’ Ice Crew, will be at a Sports Chalet store in West Los Angeles (11801 West Olympic Blvd.) on Friday from 6-7 p.m. It’s a free event, but you must bring your own camera, and there is only one photo per person.

Go to this link for more information.

An hour doesn't seem like a lot of time to handle all photo request.  If the line is too long I wouldn't worry.  I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities to get close to The Cup.

And yes, the photo above is of me with the Cup.  This was taken at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto some 8-9 years ago.  I was in town for a wedding and made sure to take in a Blue Jays game and this Hall.  As I look back at this picture I notice that I look rather stiff.  It's like I was afraid to get near it, let alone touch it.  Next time around I plan to get real close and smile real big.

This Weekends Autograph Alley

Here are this weekends Autograph Alley/ Viva Los Dodgers signers.  I received this information too late to include in todays Weekend Autograph Opportunities post.

Thu, June 28	Dennis Powell	Autograph Alley	5:10pm – 6:30pm
Fri, June 29	Billy Ashley	Autograph Alley	5:10pm – 6:30pm
Sat, June 30	On-Field Photo Day at Dodger Stadium
Sun, July 1	Tim Leary	Viva Los Dodgers	3:10pm – 4:30pm
	Amir “King” Khan	Two-time world champion	at Viva Los Dodgers

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 6/27/2012

Talk about fair-weather.  Josh Macciello can kiss my rear-end.  I'm not sure why he thinks the current Dodgers owners are getting a free pass.  A team excelling well beyond expectations goes through a rough patch and this guy blames the fans for not demanding immediate changes.  I suppose we should trade the farm for a short term fix.

I should also add that I do trust Stan Kasten to steer this ship in the near-term and long-term interest of the team.  That said, I'm not quite at "In Stan, I Trust" mode yet, but considering his track record I wouldn't be wrong in believing that.

• Matt Kemp is the National League team captain- which means he gets to choose who will be in the Home Run Derby.  Adam Berry at MLB reports that Kemp has decided that Bryce Harper will not be participating.  

"It's not because he's a rookie. It's just that there are other guys out there that are capable," Kemp told USA Today. "I'm not saying he wouldn't do a good job in the Home Run Derby. He's going to have plenty of time to participate in many Home Run Derbies. Just not this year. Nothing against him. I love watching him play." 

• Eye on LA Sports notes:

The Dodgers have informed their season ticket holders that they’ll have the exclusive opportunity to purchase individual tickets to the Sandy Koufax (August 7 vs COL) & Vin Scully (August 30 vs ARI) Bobblehead Nights starting at 10am this Friday, June 29.

In the email they informed that those tickets won’t be available to the general public, each season ticket account is limited to 8 tickets per game.

Obviously, this isn't the best solution for non-season ticket holders, but I don't begrudge the Dodgers for doing it.  After all, there's still StubHub, and this is a back door way of rewarding their season ticket holders.  Check out Eye on LA Sports to comment.

• MLB's Official Historian, John Thorn, writes about Baseball's first professional contract.
• Via Deadspin, A Dodgers son makes a big mistake.  Raul Mondesi Jr. failed to touch home plate on a game tying home run.

"On any home run, the umpire has one job, and that's to watch the plate and make sure the runners touch it. He said he (Mondesi) missed it by eight inches. It's a terrible way to lose a ballgame, but the guys learned a good lesson. From now on, make sure you jump on the plate on a homer," he added (Helena manager Jeff Isom).

• "How to be Classy in 3 Easy Steps," via Will Cady's Ego.
• Nephew to Don Mattingly, Danny Mattingly, commits to play football at Notre Dame, via CBS Sports.
• Get your Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Champions wallpaper, right here!

• This is pretty great.  Check out an oral history of the 1992 Dream Team at GQ.
• "Minnesota African American Museum Includes Negro League Display," via Tom Edwards at Sports Collectors Digest.