Immediately following his retirement from the game in 1966, Sandy Koufax signed a 10-year contract for $1 Million to broadcast games on NBC's Saturday Game of the Week. He was paired with fellow former Dodger Pee Wee Reese to do color commentating til 1968. Unfortunately, Sandy would only stay on the job for six years; having walked away before the beginning of the 1973 Baseball season. It is said that he never felt comfortable in front of the camera. Featured above is an NBC press photo of Koufax as a rookie broadcaster in 1967 that was for sale at an RMY Auction recently.
Below are more links to check out:
- Via Matt Krupnick at The Guardian, "How TV rights have made the LA Dodgers the greatest team never seen."
“I call it the greatest team never seen,” he said, noting his own anger over Scully’s absence from LA airwaves. “I mean, this guy is a national treasure. That $8.35bn is what’s most important, not the fans.”
- Via Kyle Ringo at Big League Stew, "Jackie Robinson's widow says MLB has work to do in diversity."
"We're talking about very few (black) coaches, very few managers ... so there's room for real progress, where people can come into the sport and feel they're going to be respected and given opportunities," Rachel Robinson said.
- Via Eric Avakian at Dodger Blue, "Zack Greinke & Clayton Kershaw Duo, Dave Roberts Hire Nominated For L.A. Sports Award."
- Via JP Hoornstra at Inside the Dodgers, "Kris Johnson on his Hiroshima Carp teammate, Kenta Maeda."
“One of the nicest young men that I met over there. He’s also like a big kid, likes to have a lot of fun. Joking around with him is easy. He had a Hi-Chew (candy) rep on speed dial. I asked him to hook it up. Each sleeve has five (candies), each box has 12 sleeves, each case has 12 boxes. He comes back with four cases. I was handing them out left and right. That’s just off the field stuff.
- Blowout Buzz has some preview pics from Topps 2016 Archives set; expected to be in stores in June. One of the insert sets will focus on the movie Bull Durham. Check out the Nuke LaLoosh card on the right. Check out more preview cards here.
- Dodgers prospect Jose DeLeon was named by MLBPipeline.com as the #5 top right-handed pitching prospect in the game. Via Jim Callis at MLB.com:
De Leon has skyrocketed from his lowly Draft status and a 6.96 ERA in his pro debut to leading the Minors with 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings and reaching Double-A in 2015, just two years later. De Leon's stuff and command have gotten a lot better since he improved his conditioning and mechanics, giving him a riding 92-96 mph fastball, a plus changeup and an effective if inconsistent slider.
- Just a fun story about the kid who got away. Via Mark Sandritter at Lookit, "Dee Gordon signed a $50 million contract and immediately went to get McNuggets."
- Ha! Via Blowout Buzz, "Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton among politicians getting Garbage Pail Kids treatment from Topps."
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