What an ugly game this must have been. Featured above is an vintage ACME press photo from a ballgame dated September 2, 1951 that I saw on eBay. On that afternoon the Brooklyn Dodgers were visiting the Giants at the Polo Grounds for a late season match.
As you can see, several Dodger players are walking off the field (towards the centerfield visiting clubhouse) during the game as fans in the outfield seats throw trash at them - no doubt added even more fuel to the already fiery rivalry. Below is what is typed on the caption attached to the reverse:
"NAUGHTY BOYS. New York---A group of Brooklyn Dodgers leave the bench to go to the clubhouse, Sept. 2, after being tossed out of the Brooklyn-New York fracas for arguing and heckling. Umpire Al Barlick ordered five Brooks off the field. Giants whipped the Dodgers, 11-2."Oh boy! They sure were a rascally bunch of Dodgers' back then. After all, the "Boys of Summer" had a five game lead over the Giants with about a month left in the season, but were cognizant of the fact that the lead was as high as 13 games just a few weeks before.
Were they razing the ump for ill perceived slights, or were they aware that the proverbial wheels were falling off?
Likely both. Players always find reasons to blame umpires for their bad times, and as you'll recall this was the year Bobby Thompson made us pay with his pennant clinching home run during the last game. So, the wheels were falling off.
Oy Vey! Why do I keep bringing up bad memories like this?
Below are some links to check out:
- The Dodgers and Rockies played some "Rain Delay Tic-Tac-Toe" on twitter during yesterday's rain. Check it out here.
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Joc's mom knows the big league ropes."
"Joc and his dad are very different, but I definitely know what will happen to Joc along the way [after] having lived it with Stu," she said. "It's harder to be the mom than the wife. With Stu, I was with him, throwing soft-toss, going to winter ball. Joc doesn't have that. But I know what he's going through."
BTW, Stu is Joc's father who also played pro ball for the Dodgers in the 80's.
- Via Carson Cistulli at FanGraphs, "Confirmed: Carlos Frias Still Has a Curveball."
- This time the Dodgers traded away a player for cash. Via Jeff Todd at MLB Trade Rumors, "Athletics Acquire Matt Carson From Dodgers."
- Via Ben Lyons at The Players Tribune, "Real Fan Life: Tommy Lasorda." This is a podcast interview with Tommy.
- Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers’ reliance on home run for scoring evident early in the season."
What I’m saying is, the amount of runs the Dodgers are scoring with the home run is something to keep an eye on. If they’re going to be really dependent on home runs for scoring, that could come back to haunt them come playoff time. There were 57 home runs hit in the 2014 postseason and 55 in the 2013 postseason. That’s over the span of a month and with multiple teams. In the playoffs, the level of pitching tends to be much better than over the course of the regular season.
- I couldn't agree more with what Paul Lukas at Uni Watch writes here. He discusses and expresses disgust at the uniforms and celebrations that occur on Memorial Day in Baseball. This holiday is about remembering our fallen soldiers, and that should be our only focus on that day. BTW, all Memorial Day caps will have camouflage brims. See the Dodgers version on the right.
- Yeah! I loved the Muppet Show when I was a kid (early 80's), and I distinctly remember being confused and sad when they pulled the show off the air. Via Mike Ayers at the Wall Street Journal, "The Muppets Are Coming to Prime Time."
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