Doesn't this photo above give you the chills?
It's of Hall of Famer Roy Campanella playing catch near 1st base during a Spring Training workout at what I think must be Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL. According to the seller on eBay (Hyee_Auctions) it is dated February 29, 1956 (a leap year), and it states that Campy is playing catch with youngster Sandy Koufax.
Furthermore, the auctioneer has numerous other Dodgers available currently, so I'll have an individual post featuring many of them soon. BTW, what is available for sale is the actual color transparency (taken by Cranston & Elkins), so you can certainly make multiple prints to hand out to friends. This is rather unusual item since color photos (let alone a transparency) from this time period are scarce. Black & White pics were the prevalent medium at the time.
Below are more links to check out:
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wrote a piece at MLB.com, "Reflecting on Jackie's influence."
Observing Black History Month is important for baseball. For me, I became aware of Jackie Robinson right around age 15-16. My father is African-American. He told me as I was getting more further along in my athletic career, he kind of educated me about Jackie and his story. So as I got older and more educated and wiser, just kind of digging more into his story, and I ultimately went to UCLA, and so I played at Jackie Robinson Field. So just seeing that really resonated with me and what an impact Jackie made on society and what a leader he was.
- Via August Fagerstrom at FanGraphs, "Projecting Byung-ho Park, Hyun-soo Kim, and Kenta Maeda."
Ben Badler of Baseball America’s most recent scouting report on Maeda, from this December, notes that Maeda has recently improved his changeup, flashing plus in front of scouts at the Premier 12 tournament in Taiwan last month, getting swings and misses with sink and fade in the low 80s.
- Via Jorge Morejón at ESPN, "Yasiel Puig embracing change in 2016 season."
"I am working to strengthen the legs and prevent injuries like last year and focused on continuing adjusting to my new life in the majors, to get along with my teammates and try to help the team," Puig said Friday in an interview with ESPN Deportes.
- Robert Murray at Baseball Essential interviews Dodger prospect Cody Bellinger.
His dad, Clay, played in the big leagues for four seasons with the New York Yankees and the Anaheim Angels and he is still a big influence for him.
“He’s taught me all I know,” Bellinger said of his father. “On and off the field, he taught me to play the game with respect.”
- Via BlowoutBuzz, Topps Spring Fever in-story hobby shop program to begin this coming Wednesday. At participating stores a $20 purchase will get you a redemption card for a 5-card pack of 2016 Topps Spring Fever cards. Redemption cards can then be exchanged a week later at the same store for the pack (beginning Feb. 22). The Spring Fever set consist of 50 cards, and there randomly inserted autograph cards, as well. Dodger players available include Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager. Of note, Zack Greinke has a card, but he is featured in an Diamondbacks uniform for the first time. See it on the right.
- Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Dodgers coaches helping lead Team New Zealand."
Chris Woodward and Josh Bard, members of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' new coaching staff, are currently halfway around the world, doing their part in the globalization of baseball. Woodward will be the Dodgers' third-base coach when Spring Training opens, Bard the bullpen coach. But for the next two weeks, Woodward is manager and Bard his coach on the New Zealand national team, which competes in the World Baseball Classic qualifier in Sydney, Australia, next week.
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