Blog Kiosk: 1/10/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Check out who's on the cover of the most recent issue of Baseball America -- stud catching prospect Keibert Ruiz

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1984 Don Drysdale was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame; along with Luis Aparicio and Harmon Killebrew. It was Drysdale's tenth year on the ballot. In 2006 the Dodgers hire Hall of Famer Eddie Murray to be their hitting coach. He would remain a Dodger til June 2007. In 2017 the Dodgers signed closer Kenley Jansen to a five-year $80 million contract.
• Happy Birthday, Ed MacGamwell, Gary Rath, Marty Hermann, Johnny Peacock & Adam Kennedy! 
• Podcast: Bye Bye Puig, Hello Harper? | Episode 36 | Blue Heaven Podcast (Podcast Link).
• Video: Caleb Ferguson joins Hot Stove to discuss what he learned from meeting Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax (Video Link).
• Check out Baseball America's MLB Farm System Rankings In The NL West For 2019.

STRENGTHS:  The Dodgers have the best group of catching prospects in baseball without much competition. Keibert Ruiz leads the way as the No. 1 catcher prospect in the game, complemented by Will Smith, Connor Wong and 2018 international signee Diego Cartaya. While that side of the battery is unmatched, the Dodgers also have a large group of talented, close-to-the-majors pitchers. Caleb Ferguson and Dennis Santana have already reached the big leagues, while Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Mitchell White all have Double-A experience.

• The second 2019 Throwback Thursday set is now available and it includes Dodger Hall of Famer Duke Snider on a 1976 Star Trek card design. Go here to check it out and order. See a pic of the Snider card on the right.
• In case you're interested -- Per Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors; "Nationals To Sign Brian Dozier."
• BTW, Yasmani Grandal has also agreed to a one-year deal with the Brewers, via Ken Rosenthal on twitter.
• Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com; "Jarrin to get Pioneer Award from scouts group."

The Dodgers' Hall of Fame Spanish-language play-by-play icon will receive the Pioneer Award at the 16th annual Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation awards dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Among other honorees will be fellow Hall of Famers Frank Thomas and Jim Thome.

...
"I've always enjoyed sitting with the scouts having dinner before the games and hearing their stories," said Jarrin, 83. "They are so well informed, are so insightful into the game and the players. It's always a delightful time for me to hear their anecdotes and it's a learning time for me, because I often use that information during the broadcasts.

• Why not both? Via Michael Munger at the American Institute for Economic Research; "Capitalism, Not Morality, Ended Baseball’s Color Line (Ht Tip: David Pinto at Baseball Musings).

The problem was that the best black players were much better than the worst white players, and were in many cases better than the best white players in some clubs. The desire to win, and the fact that black players were willing to accept salaries that white players would reject, meant that competition forced the bigots to pay too high a cost, either in lost pay for forfeited games or lost bonuses because when all-white teams did play they would lose to more talented mixed teams.

The solution, as is always the case, was institutionalized racism, or the use of force to oblige even non-bigots to act as if they were bigots. A “gentleman’s agreement” was struck, beginning with the end of the 1884 season. It was not written down, but it was clear: no team in the National or American League could sign a black player. On July 14, 1887, the issue was settled by two events. Anson managed to force George Stovey, a black pitcher, to be benched in a game between the White Stockings and the Newark Little Giants. And the owners of the International League, the “high minors” of baseball, the feeders for major league talent, voted six to four to ban any new, and to invalidate existing, contracts with black players.

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