Blog Kiosk: 1/22/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Dodgers wedding #6 happened over the weekend. Congrats, Mr. & Mrs. Barnes!

Barnes, Pederson, Ryu, Wood, Stripling and Turner have gotten married this winter.

Photo above via Barnes on Instagram. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1988 seven ballplayers are declared free agents as a result of an Players Association's 1985 collusion lawsuit against the owners. Kirk Gibson is one of those players, and he would eventually sign with the Dodgers seven days later. The rest, as they say, is history. In 2007 the Dodgers signed amateur free agent Pedro Báez as a 19-year old third baseman out of the Dominican Republic. He would eventually convert to a relief pitcher in 2013.
• Happy Birthday, Jay Hughes, Jeff Treadway, Chone Figgins, Wayne Kirby & Carlos Ruiz!
• Podcast: Stan Kasten joined "Lunchtime" with Roggin and Rodney (link here)
• Per a Dodgers press release: Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour presented by Bank of America launches Monday.
• ICYMI: Today, FanFest Autographs and VIP Experiences at the Dodgers FanFest this coming Saturday go on-sale. Season ticket holders can begin purchasing voucher tickets at 10:00 AM (now), while the general public can begin ordering at 2:30 PM (boo!). Go here for more information.
• Apparently, the Dodgers have just signed 29-year old right-handed relief pitcher Andrew Robinson, per his twitter:

Excited to announce I’ve officially signed with the @Dodgers for 2018!!
I’m excited for the new opportunity! #Dodgers #baseball pic.twitter.com/LaAMTlAPCD

— Andrew Robinson (@ARob2627) January 21, 2018

(pic via CSUB Runner on twitter)

• Via Vincent Perez at The Runner; "Bellinger Delights Crowd at 5th Annual Hot Stove Dinner."

Cody Bellinger, first baseman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, was the main attraction of the guests in attendance at the 5th Annual Hot Stove Dinner to benefit CSUB baseball.

Bellinger, 22, played minor league baseball in 2015 with the Bakersfield Blaze, is familiar with Bakersfield. He relaxed before the fundraiser. He said, “We golfed today, and the course was nice. This is a great event and I’m glad to be here.”

• Per Bill Plashcke at The LA Times; "Dodgers test fans' loyalty with steep increases for season tickets even in the cheap seats."

They sit in the top deck. It’s the cheapest section in the building. It’s steep and uncovered and so, so far away. Yet this winter the Dodgers reached all the way up there and slugged them in the gut, the total cost of the tickets is now $2,649, or $820 more than two seasons ago, $505 more than last year.

This sort of increase usually hits the corporate types. Snoberger and Jones never thought this would be happening to people in the cheap seats.

• Baseball America released their "TOP 100 MLB PROSPECTS 2018", and it includes four Dodger players -- Walker Buehler (#13), Alex Verdugo (#37), Keibert Ruiz (#40) and Mitchell White (#69). The 12-year old inside of me is laughing at us being both #13 and #69.
• Per Mike Oz at Big League Stew; "Ex-MLB closer Brian Wilson re-emerges, beardless and on a British car show."
• Andre Ethier is a collector! Per Rick Firfer at Sports Collectors Digest; "MLB players share collecting stories as MLB season comes to an end."

One of Ethier’s greatest collecting memories involves his kids and a player that everyone admires, Bryce Harper. Ethier related that he had brought his two sons to a game between the Dodgers and the Nationals and he was walking with them through the players’ tunnel before the game when one of his sons, a huge Harper fan, pointed out that Harper was about to walk by them. So Ethier urged his son to go over and say hello. His son did him one better when he went over to Harper. He said hello and then asked Harper for one of his bats. Somewhat taken aback, Harper acknowledged the boy but then kept walking. No bat. Bummer.

Imagine Ethier’s surprise then, when a little later two signed Bryce Harper bats were delivered to him in the Dodgers’ locker room, one for each of his sons. Ethier could not figure out what happened until he learned later that Harper’s father had witnessed the encounter between Harper and Ethier’s son and instructed Harper to send those bats over. Or else. Ethier’s sons are older now, but to this day they still have and treasure those bats, according to Ethier.

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