Paul Lo Duca was suppose to be one of a long line of great Dodger catchers. Unfortunately, his reign at the top behind the plate ended abruptly as allegations of steroid and doping use hung over his head. Oh well, at least most of my memories of his play are happy ones as I prefer to accentuate the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.
Here is my 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings autographed relic card.
I am a little late on this announcement, but I guess its always better late than never. This past Monday, April 25th, Baseballs oldest living ballplayer turned 100. Connie Marrero, a hero of Cuban Baseball, first came to the Major Leagues as a 39 year old rookie in 1950 with the Washington Senators. By then he was already heralded as a great national hero on the island, and his success on the big stage only solidified that fact. Connie was a Amateur World Series MVP in 1940, was a Cuban League MVP in 1947-48, and a Caribbean Series Champion in 1949 and 1957. He continues to this day to be an ambassador for Cuban Baseball and still relishes a chance to talk about the game.
As a special bonus check out the video below taken just 2 months ago. Video is from Lyman Hardeman- publisher and editor of Old Cardboard magazine.
This video was recorded during an early February 2011 visit with Connie Marrero (the oldest living Major League baseball player) in celebration of his 100th birthday in Havana, Cuba. As background, the person on the left in the video is Kit Krieger, the trip organizer and longtime friend of Marrero. On the right is Clem Axel, interpreter and expert on all things Cuban. In the clip, Marrero, who speaks very little English, is presented with a program from a June 26, 1951 game between the Senators and the Yankees, played in Washington, DC. In that game, Marrero pitched against Yankee superstar hitters DiMaggio and Mantle. He was the winning pitcher, beating Yankee pitcher Eddie Lopat 7 to 3. Although played sixty years ago this summer, Marrero remembers the game in amazing detail--well beyond the facts recorded in the box score in the program.
Paul Lo Duca was suppose to be one of a long line of great Dodger catchers. Unfortunately, his reign at the top behind the plate ended abruptly as allegations of steroid and doping use hung over his head. Oh well, at least most of my memories of his play are happy ones as I prefer to accentuate the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.
I am a little late on this announcement, but I guess its always better late than never. This past Monday, April 25th, Baseballs oldest living ballplayer turned 100. Connie Marrero, a hero of Cuban Baseball, first came to the Major Leagues as a 39 year old rookie in 1950 with the Washington Senators. By then he was already heralded as a great national hero on the island, and his success on the big stage only solidified that fact. Connie was a Amateur World Series MVP in 1940, was a Cuban League MVP in 1947-48, and a Caribbean Series Champion in 1949 and 1957. He continues to this day to be an ambassador for Cuban Baseball and still relishes a chance to talk about the game.
