Dodgers Memorabilia at Hunt Auctions Available at All-Star FanFest

Once again Hunt Auctions is hosting a live memorabilia auction at the All-Star Game FanFest, and there are some great Dodger goodies to gawk over. Most notable is the below game-used Brooklyn cap with two composite shell plates sewn in as protection that was purportedly worn by Jackie Robinson. (Auction Link)

Last year a similar Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers cap came up for auction at Lelands (link here) that had excellent provenance. That cap came from Jackie's wife, Rachel, and sold for an unbelievable $590,994 -- breaking a record established in 2012 when David Wells paid $537,278 for a Babe Ruth cap.

Shot Heard 'Round The World Relic Available at Goldin Auction

Dodgers fans both young and old know this story well.

In 1951 the Brooklyn team held a 13.5 game lead over the New York Giants with 44 games left to play. Remarkably, this lead wasn't enough. The Giants would pull off a monumental run that saw them win 37 of their final 44 games to pull into a tie with Brooklyn at the end of the regular season.

Quickly, a three-game playoff series was scheduled to determine the pennant winner. The Dodgers would lose the first game at Ebbets Field, 1-3, then win game two at the Polo Grounds, 10-0. The third and deciding game, played in upper Manhattan, came down to the wire. With the Dodgers leading 4-1 in the ninth the Giants rallied to score four runs to win, 5-4 -- with the dagger to the heart coming on a walk-off three-run home run by Bobby Thompson off of Dodger hurler Ralph Branca.

With that the "Shot Heard 'Round The World" was born.

Blog Kiosk: 7/13/2018 - Dodgers Links - First Place!

(Pic via Campbell Dunn/MLB.com)

The Dodgers now sit alone in first place in the NL West after they defeated the Padres last night, 3-2. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"Beats being in second place," said manager Dave Roberts, who promised when his club was at its lowest that it would rebound as it has.

"Beats being in fourth place. This is what we expected. Made it a little tough on ourselves early, but we righted the ship. We've got a long way to go." 

The Dodgers are 8-3 in July and 35-17 since May 24. Their .676 winning percentage since June 1 is the best in the National League.

BTW, I made the above Cody Bellinger fantasy Baseball card after seeing his Moms Instagram post celebrating her son's 23rd birthday today. She posted a Cody toddler photo and I knew I had to do something with it. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1954 Brooklyn's rookie manager Walter Alston makes the first of a record nine appearances as National League manager in the annual All-Star Game. Unfortunately, the National League would lose this game to the American League, 11-9.
• Happy Birthday, John O'Brien, Daryl Spencer & Cody Bellinger!