Dodgers Blue Heaven: Jul 19, 2012

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Matt Kemp, the Most Interesting Ballplayer in the World

I wish I could take credit for this, but I can't. This was created by PhoeniXaDc and posted up on Reddit. Check out the below Kemp Meme that had me smiling.

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 7/19/2012

You can't argue with the success of a good promotion. There will be a second Hello Kitty Night coming to Dodger Stadium and the above tote bag will be the give-away. It will be on Wednesday, September 5th against the Padres. Only the firs 30,000 fans will get one.

Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts, check out a new book (with Jon as a contributor) called "The Hall of Nearly Great".

The Hall of Nearly Great is an ebook meant to celebrate the careers of those who are not celebrated. It’s not a book meant to reopen arguments about who does and does not deserve Hall of Fame enshrinement. Rather, it remembers those who, failing entrance into Cooperstown, may unfairly be lost to history. It’s for the players we grew up rooting for, the ones whose best years led to flags and memories that will fly together forever. Players like David Cone, Will Clark, Dwight Evans, Norm Cash, Kenny Lofton, Brad Radke, and many others.

Matt Kemp provided some encouragement last night- in more ways than one.

(pic via twitter @Dodgers)

You should be checking out John Thorn's blog called "Our Game"every day. He provides a wealth of knowledge about the history and origins of Baseball. BTW, he happens to be the Official Historian of MLB. see his most recent blog post, here.
Nomo's Sushi Platter shows a couple of Bob Welch autographs he got at autograph alley this past Tuesday.
Eye on LA Sports recaps the Padres series with some autograph "gets".
MLB is currently auctioning off the 2012All-Star Workout Day/Home Run Derby worn jerseys. Check out the Matt Kemp signed jersey (here), and Clayton Kershaw jersey (here).

(MLB Auction Link)

BTW, a card I featured a couple of years ago as a "Card of the Week" has just hit eBay. It is a very rare Manny Ramirez 2000 Pacific "corked bat" relic card. See the auction here. This is the card that took down Pacific as a card company.
Oooohhh! Crapola!!! Ya know, I would normally find this bit of news/rumors extremely distressing, but since the Kings won The Cup this past season I'm strangely ho-hum about it. The NHL and players union are currently negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement and according to a source at Comcast Sportnet you should expect a full work stoppage.

“Last time around, the NHL made its salary cap proposal and barely moved off it,” the source, speaking under the condition of anonymity, told PHT. “This is not an initial proposal. The league is shutting down and it’s ‘come back when you’re ready to accept.’

“This is exactly what happened last time. You heard it here first, we will not play next year.”

Collection: 1991 Dodgers Police Set

I love those Dodgers Police sets so much I just can't stop sharing them with you. Presented here is the 1991 Dodgers Police set, and it marks the very last year they came in a size larger than a traditional Baseball card.

As you can see, the design is simple; as a banner highlighting the year is at top, and the player photo is framed with rounded corners. To see all of the other Dodgers Police sets I've posted about here.

The reverse of the card is similar to previous years. There is a short biography and "Say No to Drugs" message from the LAPD.

Here are the rest of the cards from the set. Of special note is the Gary Carter card below. It's easy to forget that "The Kid" wore Dodger Blue once.