Vin Scully. Ty Cobb. Jim Thome. Luke Easter. Prince Fielder.

•August 30, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Vin Scully is returning for his 63rd season as announcer for the Dodgers. So awesome. I must admit when I was younger I disliked Scully’s voice and his solo announcing style but over time I realized the error of my ways and learned to appreciate the legend.

Thanks to one of my favorite current Baseball Tumblr blogs, “Pitchrs & Poets” for sharing this video.

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Ty Cobb as a 18 year old member of the Detroit Tigers in 1905. A very cool photo if you ask me. Is it me or did Baseball players from the late 18th/early 19th century always look 10 to 20 years older than they actually were?

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Jim Thome is back in Cleveland where he belongs. With that said I find it funny how he was embraced last week at Jacobs Field after how he was treated when he returned back to Cleveland as a member of the ChiSox in 2006. In retrospect it makes many Indians fans look bad, but we know Thome is bigger than all that drama and that’s why we all love him.

By the way, I refuse to acknowledge the name Progressive Field.

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1949. One of my favorite players from yesteryear, Luke Easter takes a swing as a member of the San Diego Padres against the Los Angeles Angels. I absolutely love this photo.

Just a side note: This photo was taken at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, which is where the vintage “Home Run Derby” television show was filmed. This was due to it’s symmetrical dimensions as they did not favor either right or left handed batters.

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May 4th, 2006. This collision crossed my mind today and I decided to find photos of it. I was caught off guard when I realized it’s been over 5 years since this happened which is crazy. I guess time does fly. Anyways, this was one of the more gnarlier collisions in the last decade. I remember Greene was never the same after this as he retired the following Spring while trying to make the Padres club. To see video of this, click HERE.

While this was terrible for Greene, I still feel it was clean Baseball as far as I am concerned. This is applicable to Buster Posey’s injury too. If you’re blocking home plate or you’re physically in the base path on any level you got to be prepared to feel the repercussions of a potential collision.

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Charlie Hustle. Latos as Jones. Varitek vs Crawford. McGwire. Negro League Day in Detroit.

•August 26, 2011 • 1 Comment

What a great photo of Pete Rose sporting a vintage Reds uniform, stirrups, and a flap-less helmet. This has got to be the first inning of a game as Rose’s uniform is completely clean.

Charlie Hustle was definition of cool. Well, until the whole gambling thing got out.

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Earlier this season the San Diego Padres wore their always classic 1984 uniforms. Mat Latos took it upon himself to to do an impression of one of his pitching mentors, Randy Jones. Very funny and cool if you’re a San Diego fan.

Whatever uniform changes the Padres decide to go with for the 2012 season they better bring back the brown. According to hints dropped by Team President Tom Garfinkel, the new uniforms will be a nod to their 1936 PCL uniforms and/or a nod to brown uniforms of the past. I can’t wait.

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Future teammates Jason Varitek and Carl Crawford had themselves a nice little collision at home plate in 2008. As easy as it is to rag on the AL East at times, you got to admit they play extremely hard against each other and there is always the flare for the dramatic between the teams.

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April 5th, 1994. Mark McGwire wears a Oakland Oaks uniform during a late spring training game against the Giants. Both teams wore uniforms which honored the legacy of their local Pacific Coast League teams. To see a photo of Barry Bonds wearing his Seals uniform that day, click HERE.

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June 12th, 2010. The Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated Negro League Day at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers represented the Detroit Stars while the Pirates sported very cool Pittsburgh Crawfords uniforms. I love this photo because you see the players chatting and I’d like to think they are discussing how much they like their throwbacks. At least that’s what I’d like to think as that’s what I would be excited about that day.

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Ty Cobb and Friends.

•August 25, 2011 • 5 Comments

Ty Cobb. The name conjures up thoughts of a man who played the game harder than most and of a man who hated more than most. As one of the most controversial players in Baseball history there is much to like and dislike about Ty Cobb. I have always felt conflicted in regards to his legacy as I love his intensity, his dedication and obvious love he had for the game but I could do without his bigotry and violent tendencies.

If you have watched the movie “Cobb” featuring Tommy Lee Jones or read the book by Al Stump for which the movie was based on then you know it’s hard to gauge how Cobb truly was as a person. I suppose the truth lays somewhere in the middle due to the fact that like most legends, certain stories are exaggerated while others are downplayed.

Over time I have collected a lot of Cobb photos that are downright odd to me so I have decided to share them. These are odd because it seems to me that after his playing career was over he chilled out and made it a point to stay involved with the game. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Baseball as a whole felt they could do without him as he burnt so many bridges during his career? Maybe he felt he owed the game something for how he often treated others? Whatever the reasons, here are the photos I speak of.

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Here we have Ty Cobb giving Hank Aaron and other members of the Milwaukee Braves some hitting advice during the 1957 World Series. Wasn’t Cobb supposed to be a racist? This photo is a trip in so many ways.

(UPDATE: A reader of the blog named Jim gave me a heads up that this photo is  not from the 1957 World Series. He recognized that  both Bobby Thomson and Chuck Tanner are standing behind Aaron and informed me that they were traded during the actual season…So the photo had to be TAKEN during the 1957 season. Thanks Jim!)

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This photo captures both the ultimate good guy and bad guy in Baseball history as Ty Cobb and Stan Musial pose together for a photo. This makes no sense to me and to some of my preconceived notions regarding Cobb. I would love to ask Stan The Man about this meeting with Cobb.

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Ty Cobb and Mickey Mantle. This photo is humorous to me because I can visualize Cobb trying to tell Mantle what he’s doing wrong at the plate while Mickey just brushes off his advice. I am sure the young free spirited Mantle did not see eye to eye with the elder Cobb on any level.

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Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio share a playful moment together during an old-timer game at Yankee Stadium in 1957. The fact that these two former players potentially got along doesn’t surprise me. They were both moody players who demanded respect (and privacy) from others while making life absolute hell for opposing Pitchers.

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Ty Cobb shaking Don Newcombe’s hand prior to game 1 of the 1949 World Series. Once again the supposed racism comes to mind when looking at this photo. Newcombe had to be aware of Cobb’s reputation and I think that this may have been an awkward meeting. I wonder if Cobb changed his views on race relations later in life?

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Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, Dom DiMaggio and Lefty O’Doul hanging out at San Francisco’s Seals Stadium in October of 1937. This is easily my favorite photo in this post due to my personal interest in the Pacific Coast League. To read the very cool description of the photo, click HERE.

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Satchel in LA. The Babe & Bush. Addie Joss Benefit Game. Dodgertown. Roy & Willie.

•August 23, 2011 • 6 Comments

A very cool photo from 1944 of the one and only Satchel Paige in Los Angeles. I am curious if this was a barnstorming trip which took him out to California? I assume so but the Monarchs cap makes me wonder if it was during his short time as a member of the Monarchs “B” team while dealing with his dead-arm and trying to get back into the Negro Leagues? I need to re-read his book “Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever” and figure this out.

(Thanks to It’s a Long Season for sharing this gem via New Amsterdam Lemonade)

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1948. A pretty neat photo of Baseball legend Babe Ruth as he meets with future President of the United States and Yale Baseball player George Bush Sr.

While I don’t agree with both Bush Jr & Sr in regards to politics, I do admit that I give them props for having a love for the game of Baseball. Nothing more, nothing less.

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(NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTO FOR CLOSE UP. YOU WON’T REGRET IT)

July 24th, 1911. The above photo is from the Addie Joss benefit game which was held to raise money for his widow. Joss was a Hall of Fame Pitcher for the Cleveland Naps’ who died a few months prior due to tubercular meningitis. The game was held between the Naps and a group of American League “All-Stars.”

This game is recognized as the first Major League “All-Star” game and was played even after American League President Ban Johnson threatened to punish any players who partook. Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Joe Jackson all played for the Cleveland Naps that day but the All-Star team still managed to beat them to a score of 5 to 3.

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Leo Durocher and Gil Hodges participate in some Spring Training drills down in Vero Beach. How awesome would have it been to partake in Spring Training at Dodgertown in the 1950s? It’s an absolute travesty that the Dodgers no longer have Spring Training at Dodgertown. Some things in Baseball should never change and this was one of them.

Also, I’m convinced that in my former life I was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1950’s. I played with Jackie, The Duke, Roy, Gil, Pee Wee and all the guys at Ebbets Field. We all got along great but for some reason we all thought Don Zimmer looked like a gerbil. With that being said, we didn’t invite him to hang out after games.

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Nothing to see here, it’s just Roy Campanella in action as Willie Mays crosses home plate behind him. Campy looks so awesome with his arm cocked back ready to fire the ball to First Base. I am assuming this was a uncaught 3rd strike and therefore Campanella is ready to nail the guy out at at First for the 3rd out of the inning. Hence this is why Willie is crossing home plate without notice or care from the Dodgers’ Catcher or Umpire. I very well could be wrong but it makes sense in my head when looking at this photo.

The fact that I can make this assumption and visualize the entire play in my head is one of the many reasons why Baseball rules. You’d be hard pressed to make accurate assumptions like this based on an action shots of most other sports.

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30 Teams. 30 Posts: The Dodgers

•August 18, 2011 • Leave a Comment

Today we have another segment in my 30 Teams. 30 Posts project, this time I tackle the Dodgers. Even with their recent issues with owner Frank McCourt, I still consider the Dodgers baseball royalty in the sense that they have a storied past with some of the most likable and legendary players of all time. It’s no secret that I am a Padres fan and even with the Dodgers being one of their chief divisional and geographical rivals, I still have always had a place in my heart for them on one level or another. With that said, I’d by lying if I didn’t admit that they haven’t frustrated me beyond belief at times when playing my Padres. In any case, there are 2 reasons for my initial embrace of the Dodgers:

  1. Jackie Robinson. When I was in 2nd grade at Holmes Elementary in San Diego, My teacher Miss Sakaguchi taught the class about the Civil Rights Movement and that lesson included Jackie Robinson. I instantly fell in love with the man, his legacy, how he played the game, etc. Although I was very young and didn’t understand everything about Civil Rights Movement or the Baseball Color Line, I knew that Martin Luther King Jr and Jackie Robinson were the first “heroes” that I ever had. This in turn made me like the Dodgers.
  2. 1988 World Series. My first memory of watching the World Series was in 1988 when the Dodgers played against the Athletics. At this time I lived in Medford, Oregon which is A’s land due to one of their Minor League affiliates (The Medford/Southern Oregon A’s) being from there. I love the A’s due to this reason and obviously rooted for them. However that 1988 Dodgers team with Tommy Lasorda as Manager and league MVP Kirk Gibson made fall in love with the game of Baseball on an whole another level as there was something special about that team. Needless to say, I wasn’t too upset with the A’s when they lost the series. I only remember being bummed when I realized that I had to wait 6 months to watch Major League Baseball again.

So that’s it in a nutshell. As usual, here are 5 of my favorite Dodgers related photos.

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The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, potentially my favorite Major League Baseball team of all time. I am convinced that if you do not like or at least appreciate the ’55 Dodgers then you don’t love the game of Baseball. Such a great story, such great players.

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One of the first professional Baseball players I was nuts about was the one and only Fernando Valenzuela. Unfortunately, I was too young to fully experience the peak of “Fernando-Mania” which is kind of a bummer. At least I wasn’t too young that I missed all of his productive years. If you ever get a chance to watch the ESPN 30 for 30 for documentary “Fernando Nation,” do yourself a favor and check it out. You can watch a clip of it HERE.

How great is this photo of young Fernando? Tommy Lasorda giving him a hand in the dugout is pure Baseball gold.

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Kirk Gibson, Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Need I say anything else? To this day, still one of, if not the greatest World Series moment ever. To watch video of the bottom of 9th inning from that incredible game, click HERE. I have watched this countless times in my life and still do not get sick of it.

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Orel Hershiser. In 1988, the Bulldog literally destroyed the opposition that season. On September 28th of that year he broke Don Drysdale’s scoreless innings record of 59 innings which still stands to this day. In addition to the record, that season he won the Cy Young award, a Gold Glove, World Series MVP, Sporting News Pitcher of the Year and the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award. He was also an All-Star. Basically everything Orel did in 1988 was awesome.

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Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Imagine if these two studs were the number 1 & 2 Pitchers in favorite team’s starting rotation. National League hitters must have been so bummed out when playing the Dodgers and had to face both Drysdale and Koufax in the same series.

If National League hitters happened to miss facing both of them in a series against the Dodgers then they must have celebrated like it was a gift from the Baseball gods.

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