It's Official. Vin Scully Gets a Bobblehead, but it Makes Me Worry

The Dodgers are going all out in this coming season promotion schedule. They will no doubt win a lot of fans back with their announcement today that Vin Scully is one of ten bobbleheads that will be released this season. Press release is here.

The Dodgers unveiled today the final three collectibles in the Dodger Stadium Greats Bobblehead Series which will be given away as part of the 2012 promotional schedule and now features the first-ever bobblehead of Hall of Fame Broadcaster Vin Scully. The complete set of ten includes Eric Karros’ first Dodger Stadium bobblehead on June 28 (vs. NYM), Kirk Gibson on July 31 (vs. ARI) and Hall of Famer Scully on August 30 (vs. ARI).

A photo has yet to be released, but an old mock-up can be seen at P-Squared. See it below. I think it's likely a new design will be used.

On a side note, this announcement does worry me a bit. Scully has always been shy about having a bobblehead made in his honor- preferring to stay away from the limelight. So, what could be the reason for the change of heart? Is this his 'last hurrah?' Could this be a signal that 2012 might be his last in the broadcast booth?

(Pic Link)

Date	Bobblehead
Sat, April 28	Don Drysdale with Maury Wills
Tues, May 15	Orel Hershiser
Tues, May 29	The Infield: Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey
Tues, June 12	Mike Scioscia
Thurs, June 28	Eric Karros
Satur, July 14	Tommy Lasorda with Walter Alston
Tues, July 31	Kirk Gibson
Tues, August 7	Sandy Koufax
Tues, August 21	Fernando Valenzuela
Thurs, August 30	Vin Scully

Larkin Joins Santo in the Hall

A hearty Blue Heaven congratulations to Barry Larkin on his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame. BBWAA press release is here. He joins Ron Santo in this years class of inductees.

The nice thing about Larkin's entry into the Hall is how easy it should be for card collectors to add him to their collection. His rookies cards, from 1987, are embarrassingly inexpensive; especially considering that he is now a Hall of Famer. On top of that, considering the level of overproduction from that era it is doubtful they will ever see an appreciable increase in value. I am pretty sure any collector from that time period has a nice healthy stack sitting somewhere. Check out samples of them below.
UPDATE: I'll make the prediction now. Jack Morris finally makes it in for 2013. At 66.7% voting for him in 2012 during his 13th year on the ballot he is likely to get another 20 votes to pass the 70% threshold by next year.

Blog Kiosk: 1/9/2012

A pic from Dyland Hernandez of LA Times on twitter of Dodgers Winter Development Camp at Dodgers Stadium this morning. (Pic Link)

• Discovery Channel has a new show coming up called "All Star Dealers." It is about Grey Flannel Auctions and their search for vintage sports material to sell in their auction. As a collector it should be interesting to see what they go through to authenticate memorabilia. Go to the Auction Report for more details about the show and a clip. It premiers on Jan 24th.
  
• MSTI has a nice rundown on potential Dodger buyers.
  
• Clayton Kershaw is in Africa with Arise Africa- a nonprofit established by him and his wife. Read all about this trip on their blog.
• Jon at Dodger Thoughts makes note of this years 'Shrine of the Eternals' nominees that includes Hideo Nomo and Bill Bergen.
  
• Baseball: Past and Present looks at the career of Pedro Guerrero and reminds us that he was "the best hitter God has made in a long time."
• Bill Shaikin of the LA Times notes that the family of the late Roy Disney is bidding on the Dodgers. As long as it's the Disney family (which I have great respect for) and not the Disney Corporation buying the team then I give this a big thumbs up.

  The Roy Disney family would hold the Dodgers as a private investment.

  "They would guard the Dodger name the way they guard the Disney name," the person said.

• Here is another great post by Tom at Baseball by the Letters as he hears back from white Negro League ballplayer Louis "Grey Cat" Clarizio.
  
• Don't you love Sean Connery.
  
• Before It's News has 40 photos of the saddest fans in sports. And I laughed.
  
• I do not think Joshua Macciello is a real bidder for the Dodgers, but he sure has gotten a lot of free publicity. Vin Scully is My Homeboy has some details. All I could find is a similarly named guy who happens to play poker, and cashed in on a tournament in 2010. Is that the same guy?
  

eBay: Drysdale Signs Dodgers Contract

I saw this on eBay a few days ago and just had to put it up. It features a dashing Don Drysdale hugging his equally gorgeous wife, Ginger, after signing a Dodgers player contract for the 1961 season for $32,500, which is a 30% raise over his pay from last season ($25,000). Adjusted for inflations this equates to approximately $235,000.00 today.

At this time he was just a one-time All-Star, so his path to Baseball immortality was far from assured. He certainly was on the right path, though. Drysdale led the league in strike outs for the second straight season while leading all pitchers in hit batsman for the 3rd straight season. The latter pays homage to how feared batters became of him. Shortly, he would become a perennial All-Star. With Sandy Koufax coming into his own the next season, Drysdale would be a part of a pitching duo that would rule the 60's.

(Auction Link)