Receiving Solace on this Anniversary Day from Vin Scully

I've struggled a bit the past couple of days on whether I'd write anything related to the September 11th tragedy that occurred fourteen years ago today.  It's a moment in time that I still find difficult to put into words, and I don't really have the capacity to appropriately convey my thoughts and emotions.

I can't really explain why.  I didn't lose a family member that day, nor a friend or acquaintance.  Certainly, I was far removed from any direct relationship to those events.  Still, I feel a great loss and I suspect many of you are in the same boat as myself.

I dunno.  This is a day I don't like to think about.

But then I was pointed to a video (via Reddit) featuring Vin Scully talking about it all, and suddenly I realized I should at least share it here.

Feel free to take a moment to let Vin put you at ease.  Below are two separate videos to watch.  The first video is from the Dodgers first home game following the tragedy on 9/17/2001.

Video Link:

This next video is from the ten year anniversary, on September 11, 2011.

Video Link:

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Fantastic 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms Scorecard at Goodwin & Co. Auctions

Here is something you don't see everyday.

Featured here is a 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms scorecard.  As you may know, this year was the franchises last as a member of the American Association.  The following season they would join the National League where they continue to this day.  BTW, the Bridegrooms moniker is one of the many different nicknames given to the Brooklyn club.  At the time, teams did not have official names.  As for how Bridegrooms became popular, as the story goes several of the teams players got engaged at the same time, so naturally the fans (and the press) chose what was most suitable. (If you're interested in reading a biography focused on the club when they were known as the Bridegrooms I suggest reading Ronald Shafer's book called "When the Dodgers were Bridegrooms."  Check out my interview with the author here.)

This scorecards is one of the earliest artifacts of its kind from the Dodgers franchise.  Best yet, Goodwin & Co. auction house was kind enough to share pics of several of the pages within it in their auction listing.  I've captured all of those photos below, and included the biographies created for each individual player so that you may learn a little bit more about a few of the earliest Dodger players.  Since the pics provided aren't particularly clear I've done my best to recreate them.  Check out these pics and biographies below the fold.

As you can see below, the club was playing their games at Washington Park; their very first home and onetime headquarters for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War.  I had previously written extensively about this ballpark here. 

Blog Kiosk: 9/11/2015 - Dodger Links - Some Odds and Ends

Just awesome!

Check out this fantastic 1939 photograph of future Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson on the football field for UCLA training camp.  Photo via the Jackie Robinson Foundation on twitter.

Here is something you probably didn't know.  Jackie Robinson, for a brief period, played professional football.  In 1941 he played for the semi-professional Honolulu Bears - a racially integrated football team.  Then returned to California later that year to play for the Los Angeles Bullfrogs of the Pacific Coast League.  As fate would have it, Pearl Harbor was bombed that December and the Bullfrog's season came to an abrupt halt.  The following year Jackie would be drafted into the Army.

Below are some links to check out:

• Check out the potential postseason schedule for the Dodgers here.  Also Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider lets us know about registration for Dodger playoff tickets, here.
• I didn't know that!  Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "3 straight postseason appearances would be a Dodgers franchise first."  Sounds ridiculous, but it's true.
• Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest shares his picks for, "2015 Dodgers’ Minor League Players of the Year."  Cody Bellinger is his "Hitter of the Year" and Jose DeLeon is his "Pitcher of the Year."
• Vincent Samperio at Dodgers Nation notes that a Dodger milestone that was just broken, "Justin Ruggiano, Scott Schebler Join Record Book."

The consecutive leadoff home runs were the first time that has happened since 1951, when Carl Furillo accomplished the feat on his own against the Chicago Cubs as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

• As a part of today's commemoration of September 11th the entire league will be wearing special caps with a stylized American flag on its side.  See the Dodger cap on the right.  Go here to check out and order a cap from New Era.  All MLB proceeds from sales of these caps will be donated to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Pentagon Memorial and the Flight 93 Memorial. 
• Bill Plunkett at the OC Register shares some quotes from some Dodger players about the city's ban on chewing tobacco.

“Good. Ban it. Do me a favor,” said Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell, a dedicated tobacco user since his college days.
...“If they banned it, I’d be fine with that,” Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson said, describing himself as only an occasional user. “This could be my last one forever. I’ve never been addicted to it. It’s just something I do out of boredom.”
...
“Honestly, knowing that kids are watching and cameras are on you all the time (prompted him to quit),” Mattingly said. “And knowing it was bad for me.”

• Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, "Justin Turner voted Dodgers nominee for 2015 Marvin Miller Man of the Year award."

Honored to be voted by my teammates to represent the @Dodgers for the #MarvinMiller Man of the Year award!

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) September 10, 2015

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