Chasing the Dream

With the Baseball season fast approaching open tryouts become more frequent. Last week the Dodgers held their open tryout in Arizona. Now, the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League is holding open tryouts later this month.

The Long Beach Armada has announced a date for the team's open tryout. The tryout will be held on March 28 at Irvine High School for a chance to be invited to the Armada's 2009 training camp in May.

The Armada is preparing for its 5th season of professional baseball in Long Beach, and new manager Garry Templeton is looking for talented players to help the club return to the playoffs.

"I want to find the best players at the tryout and bring them to our camp," Templeton said. "You find good players that show up and guys that have been released [from affiliated clubs] and are looking to catch on with us, so there's talent out there."

Players interested in trying out are encouraged to register early with the Armada by calling the team office at (562) 427-4487. Early registration is $60, and walk-up registration is $75. Registration and check-in will be from 8am-9am on Saturday, March 28 with tryouts beginning at 9am. The address for Irvine High School is 4321 Walnut Ave, Irvine, CA 92604. Participants should be at least 19 years old.

Manny Billboard

I was just sent this a moment ago, so I thought I'd share it with all of you. Here is a video of a Manny Ramirez billboard going up. Mannymania is about to begin anew.

YouTube Link:

News For the Collector

There has been some significant news lately that concern collectors.

• Mastro Auctions who, reportedly, have been under a federal investigation has been sold outright to a newly formed company called "Legendary Auctions." Former owner Bill Mastro will not be involved in this new venture. In fact, this move may be a precursor to some potentially damaging news for him.

  "Circumstances make it clear to me that the business needs to move in a different direction at this time and Legendary Auctions is a positive step that allows everyone to be taken care of, especially our customers who have been so loyal," said Mastro. "I am looking forward to taking some time off for now, and wish Legendary Auctions only the best as they move forward."

  As you may know, Mastro was being investigated for "shill" bidding and other unsavory auction tactics.
• Panini, the maker of sports sticker albums, not only gets and exclusive license to produce NBA cards, but buys American card manufacturer Donruss as well.
• 3D cards? Really? Topps will be producing some 3D Baseball cards. Hat Tip SCD:
  

Must Download Now!

There is no reason you shouldn't go to the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) website and download The Emerald Guide to Baseball 2009 edition. It is free and was put together by the most thorough group of Baseball fanatics in the world.

The Emerald Guide distills the 2008 season down to 586 fact-filled pages that contain the pitching, fielding, and hitting statistics for every player active in the major and minor leagues in 2008.

This guide will be your one-stop shop for data and information about the 2008 season. Think of it as a modern version of the old Sporting News Baseball Guides.

Blog Kiosk 3/8/2009

Better Late Than Never

• Garvey Cey Russell Lopes shares a couple more Goose Joak originals of Matt Kemp.
• Check out this new Dodger blog called "Baseball and the Blues."
  
• If you haven't read this already then you need to check this out. "How Manny's Deal Finally Got Done."
  
• Spring Training '09 features the 45 worst contracts in Baseball that includes 2 Dodgers. No surprises here. Jason Schmidt and Juan Pierre are featured. Another strange thing to note is that it appears that 2006 was a good year for bad contracts.
  
• Rest In Peace, Curtis "Bingo" Lloyd.
  

  Although there was a lot of love between them, Bingo had a mistress. It was baseball. And with his personal stories about Cool Papa, Ol' Satch and the Dayton Marcos for whom he played, he truly was a treasured timepiece when it came to sports.

  Eight years ago, the Dayton Dragons had him throw out the first pitch. When they asked him if he was ready, he grinned: "I'm like cold potato salad. I'm always ready."

  (Hat Tip: SCD)
  
• Here is a fascinating blog called "The Mind of Maurice Clarett." He was a former Ohio State tailback who now resides in jail.
  
• Robots! Check out more pics here at Boston.com.
• No!

YouTube Link: obie666:
Hat Tip: Battle of California:

They Just Walked Through The Door

Here is another great find that one day just showed up at a Louisville Slugger Museum appraisal fair in November last year.

Delores Knox walked into the Louisville Slugger museum holding a cloth bag full of her father's old photographs. By the time she left, she knew she was holding some of the rarest Negro League memorabilia on earth.

The daughter of former Negro Leaguer J. Leonard Mitchell showed up with her fathers lifetime collection of memorabilia. There were cards, advertising broadsides, photos, tickets, game used equipment and ephemera. Much of the items were Negro League related, but he also had a large collection of vintage entertainment, football, basketball and All American Girls Baseball League photos.

The J. Leonard Mitchell Collection will be made available to collectors on March 7th, as part of Hunt Auctions' live event in King of Prussia, PA. Company president David Hunt says that he rarely comes across anything he hasn't seen before when he's out on the appraisal trail, so it's a special day when such rare items turn up.

"With this group, about 60 to 75 percent of it was unique to me," he says. "Establishing prices was difficult. Bidding gets pretty aggressive because nobody has a set idea of what these things are worth. The market is established right in front of your eyes."

Here are some choice items. Below is a extremely rare advertising broadside featuring the great Satchel Paige. Authentic Negro League broadsides are very difficult to find in any condition.

Auction Link: Satchel Paige Broadside:

This advertising trade card for the Pittsburgh Crawford features Willie "Schoolboy" Rowe and was previously unknown. Mitchell's collection had 3 examples.

Auction Link:School Boy Rowe Trade Card:

Here is a circa 1940's photograph of the Ethiopian Clowns.

Auction Link: Ethiopian Clowns:

Below is a photograph of the 1941 Kansas City Monarchs that includes "should be" Hall of Famer Buck O'Neil.

Auction Link:Pittsburgh Crawfords:

Roy Campanella is featured in this 1942 broadside advertising a couple of games.

Auction Link: Cincinnati Clowns vs. Baltimore Elite Giants w/ Campanella Broadside:

This is one of the nicest items here. Below is a photograph featuring the Homestead Grays that includes Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard.

Auction Link: Homestead Grays Photo:

Game-used equipment from the Negro Leagues is basically non-existent. Here are some cleats and a catcher glove found within Mitchell's belongings and was most likely used in some games.

Auction Link: J. Leonard Mitchell Game-Used Equipment:

Below is a small sample of 80 photographs from the All American Girls Baseball League.

Auction Link: AAGBL Photos:

Hat Tip: SCD: