It was the 75th Anniversary of the First Organ Appearing at an MLB Game

There's really no rhyme or reason for this post other than to share some information tweeted out by Dodgers organist Dieter Ruehle yesterday afternoon.  It was the 75th anniversary of the day when an organ first appeared at a Major League Baseball game.  This happened on Sunday, April 26, 1941 at Wrigley Field in Chicago in a game between the Cubs and Cardinals.  It is assumed that a gentleman by the name of Roy Nelson maned the keys that day.

As for the Dodgers, their first maestro at the ballpark was Gladys Goodding in 1942.  Since that time there have only been six other organist for the franchise.  Dieter, who became the Dodgers seventh official organ player just this season, helpfully tweeted out a list of all those who had come before him.  See it below:

I also thought I would point to an fantastic paper written by Dr. Matthew Mihalka at University of Arkansas entitled "From Town Hall to “Play Ball!”: The Origins of the Baseball Organ."  (Link Here) It was originally presented at a meeting of the American Musicological Society in 2012.  In it he writes a bit about Gladys Goodding:

Weekend Autograph Opportunities: Ceballos, Forsch, Garvey and Shawn Green

Here are this weekends autograph opportunities and events throughout the Southland. As always, be sure to check the Blue Heaven Calendar for other events (a link can always be found on the tab at the top of this page, just left of center), and always confirm with the establishment. Everything is subject to change.  Please email me with any tips about upcoming events in Southern California.  As the rest of the week progresses I'll update this post with other events (if there are any) as I become aware of them.  Also, I don't always list every event below, so be sure to check my Calendar.  I always try to favor free signing events over paying events.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

This is a very busy Thursday for autograph collectors.

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Blog Kiosk: 4/27/2016 - Dodgers Links - Piazza, Oaks and the Kings Came for a Visit

With the Kings now out of the playoffs (boo!) several of them made their way to Dodger Stadium yesterday afternoon for some batting practice.  Photo above via @Dodgers on twitter: from L to R: Luke Schenn, Tyler Toffoli, Milan Lucic, Matt Greene, Andy Andreoff, Jhonas Enroth and Brayden McNabb.

As for the game last night, it was both  a gem and a stinker.  Clayton Kershaw was his usual self through the first five innings - giving up only one hit and striking out eight Marlins batters.  Then the sixth came around and everything fell apart.  Five consecutive hits, climaxing with an three-run bomb by Giancarlo Stanton, scored five runs, and spelled an end to the ace's unbeaten record this season.  The Dodgers lost the game 6-3.  Via Joe Frisaro and Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"That's a tough one to let get away," said Kershaw. "We had a 3-0 lead. My job is to keep it, and I didn't do my job there. Got to do a better job limiting the damage. I obviously missed my spot with Stanton, and that's what he does, makes you pay for stuff like that. And I gave up some two-strike hits. Everything you're not supposed to do, I kind of did that inning."

Below are more links to check out:

• This day in Dodger History:  In 2004, as a Met, Mike Piazza would tie the all-time mark for career home runs by a catcher at 351 at Dodger Stadium. It was hit against Hideo Nomo.
• Happy Birthday, Corey Seager!