The Glory of Will "The Thrill" Ireton

If you've been paying attention to the Dodgers over the past several months then you've no doubt encountered the name Will Ireton.  He is Kenta Maeda's Japanese translator and lovable sidekick.  Furthermore, he has become a Dodger players' favorite.  In fact, Dave Roberts called him the team mascot today after he accomplished a challenge made by Kenley Jansen, per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

"That was Will the Thrill, our team mascot. He was challenged by a couple players that he couldn't deadlift 405 pounds,” Roberts said. “As I got wind of this wager, I wanted to see it first hand, so we brought the weight room into the clubhouse this morning. Suffice it to say, he was successful.”

Blog Kiosk: 3/14/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Spring Odds and Ends

Kenta Maeda was fantastic in his spring start against the Angels yesterday.  He went 3 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit - a solo homer to Albert Pujols.  Overall, he struck out seven batters.  Per Doug Miller at MLB.com:

"The life of his fastball in the zone, and the conviction he had throwing it, was really good," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Maeda. "He's got such good command, but sometimes he tries to be too fine. Today he was down in the zone and he executed all day."

You can also watch Maeda talk about his outing with SportsNet LA here.   BTW, in the video, standing on Kenta's left, is Dodgers Japanese translator Will Ireton, and he has become quite an sensation for the club.  To see what I mean check out these two videos posted up this morning by Alex Wood, here and here.

Photo above via @Dodgers on twitter.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1932 the Dodgers sent 23-year old future Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi and the still very effective Babe Herman to the Reds for Joe Stripp, Tony Cuccinello and Clyde Sukeforth.
• Happy Birthday, Bill Holbert, Jud Daley, John Miller, Mike Strahler, Kevin Brown & Jose Nunez!