Yasiel Puig will be in Home Run Derby

Hopefully, Yasiel Puig can out-slug the competition like how Germany manhandled Brazil this afternoon.  Doh!

It has just been reported, via a tweet from Ken Gurnick, that Yasiel Puig has accepted an invitation from National League team captain Troy Tulowitzki to be in this years All-Star Game Home Run Derby. 

Puig accepted home run derby invite.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) July 8, 2014

I don't know how Puig will do, but I do believe he'll make the event more interesting.  As you know, the guy has a uncanny ability to rise to any occasion.  Furthermore, several top end sluggers have already bowed out of the event; i.e. Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera, so they need some big-time name recognition in order to really sell the event.

On the other hand, the derby is often considered harmful to a batters swing.  Per Mike Axisa at CBS Sports, Miguel Cabrera, for example, said that he doesn't

"want to mess with my swing anymore. I've got enough issues."

So, I don't want Puig going through a swing adjustment just for the derby.  It could have longstanding affects for the remainder of the season.

Personally, I'm agnostic about the whole thing.  All-Star weekend is just a big mid-season vacation for the players, and an opportunity to have a little fun before the season gets into a real grind.  The fact that the game counts is something that I find terrible.  Is the All-Star Game really so important that it has to matter when it comes to the playoffs?  It's just an idiotic exhibition game, and treating it as anything but that is just plain stupid.

Anyway, as you know, each side will have 5 sluggers in the derby.  For the National League side, only Tulowitzki and Giancarlo Stanton (along with Puig) are confirmed participants.  For the American League only team captain Jose Bautista is slated to be there, so far.  (UPDATE:  Adam Jones of the Orioles is also confirmed, Justin McGuire at The Sporting News)  Go here for more details about how the derby will operate.

UPDATE:  BTW, Puig had this to say about his inclusion and potential worries about the derby, via a tweet from OC Register reporter Bill Plunkett:

#Dodgers Yasiel Puig was asked if he was worried about HR Derby affecting swing:  "Why? My numbers are already going down." And laughed.
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) July 8, 2014

UPDATE II:  Via a Dodger press release:

Eight of the 10 participants for the 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby were announced today. The A.L. competitors who will join Bautista include 2013 Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles and second baseman Brian Dozier of the host Minnesota Twins. Joining Tulowitzki as representatives of the N.L. will be Puig, N.L. home run leader Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and third baseman Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds. The final competitor in each league will be announced on Thursday

Pic at the very top via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.

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2014 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions - All the Dodger Cards

If you thought Upper Deck had completely stopped making cards with Baseball players in it then you'd be wrong.  Last week, Upper Deck put out their 2014 Goodwin Champions set, and several Dodger players are available in it.  BTW, this set is a multi-sport filled offering, so just about every sport imaginable is represented.

Like Panini America, Upper Deck does not have a MLB license, so there are no team logos.  Heck, even notations about where a ballplayer played are not included.  Instead, the base cards indicate only the sport they played, and as you can see below they use paintings instead of photos on the cards.

Overall, the cards in this set are aesthetically horrible.  If there was an award for the ugliest set of the year, this one would be the favorite to win it.  Its only saving grace is the inclusion of a couple of long forgotten former Dodger players... Oh, and the card I describe below.

Easily, the best Dodger card in the base set is the Ron Cey card directly below.  He is shown in a tux and fancy top hat.  Maybe it's an homage to his nickname as "The Penguin".  After all, isn't that outfit often referred to as a penguin suit?

Base Set

#4 Ron Cey

#69 Steve Garvey

#129 Mark McGwire

Below is a card of old-tyme former Dodger Oyster Burns.  He played for Brooklyn during the franchise's early years, from 1888 to 1895, and was one of the clubs earliest stars.  Oyster batted .300, OPS'd .810 and stole 172 bases during those 8 seasons.  He lead the league in home runs and RBI's in 1890 with 13 and 128, respectively.  Also, during that season he became the first Dodger to hit for the cycle.

His real name was Thomas, but he was nicknamed Oyster because he sold shellfish during the winter.  Oyster Burns was also an loud and obnoxious sort of fellow.  He was described by the New York Clipper as:

"the noisiest man that ever played on the Brooklyn team. His voice reminds one of a buzz-saw."

Ouch!  That hurts, eh?  Of course, considering that he once stabbed a sleeping teammate during a break in a doubleheader the above description might be too soft.

Base Short Prints SP

#133 Oyster Burns

I decided to include the Joe Kelley card below as a Dodger even though he spent a majority of his Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Orioles.  He played in Brooklyn from 1899 to 1901, and batted .317 during that time period.  Kelley was also an important cog to a club that won 2 pennants while he was with the Superbas.

Base Super Short Prints SSP

#178 Joe Kelley

I know Mark McGwire never played for the Dodgers, but he is our batting coach.  So, I decided to include all of his cards in this post.  Check out a couple of his Goudey cards below. 

Goudey Set

#2 Mark McGwire

Goudey Autographs Set

#2 Mark McGwire

Sport Royalty Autographs Set

#SRA-MM Mark McGwire

Baseball Prospect Autographs

#183 Chris Anderson                                    #195 Joc Pederson

Autographs

#A-GA Steve Garvey

Memorabilia Set

#M-PE Joc Pederson

Memorabilia Platinum Series Set

#M-PE Joc Pederson

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Blog Kiosk: 7/8/2014 - Dodger Links - Honeycutt, Kersahw and Ryu

One of Topps most popular Baseball card sets officially comes out on Wednesday - 2014 Allen & Ginter.  Featured above is a pic of the Pop Star Relic booklet card of Yasiel Puig.  Go here to check out a bunch of preview pics from the set at Topps facebook page.  BTW, individual cards are already showing up for sale on eBay.  In fact, Chris Olds at Beckett tells us about a unique relic insert card featuring clippings of Daniel Nava's playoff beard.  I kid you not.  Check out that story here.

• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Dodgers first-half MVP: Rick Honeycutt?"  I couldn't' agree more.  Honeycutt is our most import coach.

“I think Rick’s just solid at everything he does, from preparation to mechanics,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “One thing nobody talks a lot about is Rick had pretty much every role in his career. He was a starter, he was a long man, he was a late-inning situational lefty. He went through all the stages in his career. His stuff was one way when he was younger. He got older and was pitching through some stuff when his arm wasn’t exactly right.” 

• Via Andrew Grant at True Blue LA, "The sad history of Dodgers Home Run Derby participants."

The year is 2005. America is being rocked to the sweet sounds of Hollaback Girl. Millions wear giant Bluetooth earpieces without being called out for looking like a giant dingus, and Hee-Seop Choi pounds five home runs en route to a 5th place finish at the Home Run Derby. Why do I bring this up? Because it's by far the greatest Home Run Derby performance in Dodger history.

• Via Neil Weinberg at Beyond the Boxscore, "Clayton Kershaw, very pleasant bully."

Well there you have it. Clayton Kershaw was the best, richest, most feared pitcher in baseball five months ago and then decided to get even better. A few weeks ago I asked around regarding which current starting pitchers had a clear path to the Hall of Fame. Verlander, Hernandez, and Kershaw were consensus picks. Some others got votes, but think about this for a second. Kershaw is 26 years old. He's not dominating the league by as much and as young as Mike Trout, but he's not that far off.

• Via Keith Law at ESPN.com, he names Ryu as an All-Star snub.

I might also have tried to sneak Hyun-Jin Ryu on to the roster; he's top-10 in the NL in fWAR, getting great results with his new curveball, and having a Korean-born player in the game would give the game's ratings in Korea an enormous boost.

• Via Mike Petriello at Dodgers Digest, "Carl Crawford’s Rehab Progressing Well."
• Via Vincent Samperio at Dodgers Nation, "Dodgers Sign Outfielder Roger Bernadina To Minor League Deal."  The Dodgers add some depth to the outfield position.  Bernadina signed a minor league deal, so unless there's a rash of injuries I doubt we'll see him in Dodger Blue.  The story was first broken by Chris Cotillo at MLB Daily Dish, via twitter.
• Via Andrew Powell-Morse at Data Visualizations from Best Tickets puts together a great graphic looking at, "The Winners and Losers Of North American Sports."  What I learned, that I didn't know before, is that the Lakers have the best franchise winning percentage of any professional club in North America.  Wow!  The Clippers, who inexplicably sold for $2Billion, is one of the worst of all-time.  The Dodgers are 3rd best in Baseball; behind the Giants and Yankees.  The Kings, not surprisingly, have not been a model franchise historically, but I suspect their overall win percentage will get significantly better over the next several years.
• You sir, are a whiny little child.  Via AM570, "Sleeping Fan Sues ESPN, MLB For Defamation."

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A "Pistol" Pete Reiser Vintage Press Photo for my Collection

Check out the newest addition to my collection.  Featured below is a 1941 Cleveland News press photo, dated June 6, 1941, featuring Dodger wunderkind "Pistol" Pete Reiser. 

Pistol Pete is probably the most remembered and spoken about Dodger player to not have made it really big.  His name evokes memories of a player who could do it all.  Reiser batted like a future MVP and fielded his position like a gold glover. 

Unfortunately, he was also one of the most injury prone players to ever play the game, and it wasn't because he was made of glass.  Instead, no one had less regard for his own well-being while playing the game than him.  Pete Reiser hustled on every play, and often made ill-advised attempts that would cause significant injuries.  In other words, he was as reckless as you can be.

Via a wikipedia entry:

Reiser gave great effort on every play in the field, and was therefore very injury-prone. He fractured his skull running into an outfield wall on one occasion (but still made the throw back to the infield), was temporarily paralyzed on another, and was taken off the field on a stretcher a record 11 times.  Pete was once given his last rites in the ballpark.

How insane is that?  When was the last time you heard of a player receiving his last rites during a game due to his play?  Has it happened at anytime in the last 50 years?

Anyway, Pete Reiser was truly gifted, and if not for his recklessness and a subsequent injury sustained to his shoulder while playing for an Army Baseball team during WWII, he might be regarded as one of the greats.

BTW, I won the photo at a recent RMY Auction.  They are currently running their July 2014 auction that includes some great vintage press photos.  Go here to check them out.

Below is a scan of the reverse of the photo.  As you can see, it includes various markings a collector like myself looks for when deciding to bid.  It includes a bold Cleveland News stamp, and remnants of a description sheet.  Unfortunately, this photo was trimmed to size.  Still, is looks great and presents well.

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2014 Panini Golden Age Baseball - All the Dodger Cards

Panini America released their 3rd Baseball themed card set last week.  It is called Golden Age Baseball, and it includes numerous old-tyme players.  Due to a lack of an MLB license these cards do not include either team logos or even team names.  Instead, the city that each player represents in noted. 

In my opinion, the base card design is horrible.  On the other hand, the insert cards that borrow designs from several relatively unknown vintage card sets are phenomenal.  I especially love the Darby Chocolate cards I show at the very bottom.

Base Set

#32 Zack Wheat

#66 Tommy Lasorda

#120 Dusty Baker

#138 Steve Yeager

#139 Davey Lopes

The Frank Robinson card is the only known Dodger variation card in the set.  As you can see, the only reason he is regarded as a Dodger in the card below is the city notation of "Los Angeles" underneath his photo.  In the normal base card "Baltimore" is indicated underneath Robinson's photo. 

Base Variations Set 

#102 Frank Robinson

1913 National Game Set

#8 Zack Wheat

Historical Signatures Set

#BAK Dusty Baker

#RMO Rick Monday

#LOP Davey Lopes

#STV Steve Yeager

Museum Age Collection Set

#35 Tommy Lasorda

Star Stamps Set

#12 McGraw, Gleason, Mack & Stengel

#28 Mathewson, Young, Jackson & Wheat

All the remaining cards below are box-toppers.  Each box of cards comes with a large sized pack that contains either a 5x7 super-sized card, or a 3-card strip of Darby Chocolate themed cards.  Below are the Dodger players included.

BTW, There is a 5x7 memorabilia card (#9) of Duke Snider available, but I have yet to see a photo of it.  Directly below is the non-memorabilia card of Snider that is available.

5x7 Box Topper

#9 Duke Snider

I just love the design of these Darby Chocolate themed cards.  The vintage versions are super rare, and can sell for thousands in VG condition card.  Below, I highlight two Dodger players from the set.  Zack Wheat, of course, is known as a Dodger Hall of Famer; whereas, Rube Marquard is known more for his years as a NY Giants Hall of Famer pitcher.  Still, Marquard pitched 6 years in Brooklyn; recording 56 wins and helping the club to 2 National League Pennants.

Darby Chocolate 3-card Panel Box Toppers

#23 Zack Wheat & #24 Rube Marquard

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Blog Kiosk: 7/7/2014 - Dodger Links - An All-Star Video, Crawford and a Couple National Convention Dodger Promo Cards

The Dodgers maintained their 1st place standing in the National League West Division with an 8 to 2 win over the Rockies yesterday afternoon.  Matt Kemp had a great game as he collected 4 hits and drove in 2 runs.  Also, Josh Beckett continues to be impressive.  In 5 innings of work he didn't allow a run and walked only 3 batters.  Graphic above via @Dodgers on twitter.

• ICYMI:  Carlos Triunfel has been recalled and Erisbel Arruebarrenahas been put on the 15-day DL.  Via a Dodgers press release:

Triunfel appeared in two games with the Isotopes, going 2-for-7 with three RBI, since being optioned on Thursday, and has a .213 batting average with one home run and 17 RBI in 54 games with Albuquerque this season. The 24-year-old has appeared in 10 games with Los Angeles this year, going 2-for-13 with a home run and an RBI.

Arruebarrena was recalled on Thursday and has gone 5-for-16 with a double and two RBI in eight games with Los Angeles this year.

• Via Brent W. New at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Mattingly mum on Crawford plans."

“I’m not that worried about it, honestly, right now,” Mattingly said about the impending return of Crawford, who has been on the DL since May 28 with a sprained left ankle. “I’ll just kind of deal with it when it gets here. We’re playing pretty good, (and) we don’t expect to make a bunch of changes and mess with what’s going on.” 

• The annual National Sports Collectors Convention is happening later this month in Cleveland and card manufaturers have been unveiling the promotional cards attendees will be receiving.  Panini Amirica's set includes cards for Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig.  Check out the rest of the set here.
  
  

• Paul Post at Troy Record writes about a, "Collector’s quest leads far and wide."  (Hat Tip: Rich Mueller at SCD) 

The Springfield, Ill. resident has a cardboard poster signed by every member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers right after they beat the Yankees to win their first and only World Championship.

“The story that went with the poster is that it was made with cardboard and a laundry marker right in the locker room,” Rooney said. “I’ve always imagined that it was the first thing that group of players signed as the official World Champs.”

The makeshift article was no doubt made in a hurry, in the midst of the Dodgers’ celebration. The words “Brooklyn Dodgers World Champs” are spelled out in large dark letters, no doubt made with a marker. Individual autographs are all in pencil.

• Watch Yasiel Puig, Clayton Kershaw and Dee Gordon being congratulated for being named to the 2014 NL All-Star team in the video below:

Video Link:

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