Blog Kiosk: 3/26/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Pee Wee Reese could soar like an eagle.

Featured above is a 1957 spring training pic taken by Herb Scharfman of Reese at Dodgertown. Per the descriptor on the reverse:

Veteran Captain Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers may not be as young as some of his teammates at the Dodgers spring camp, but he still has plenty of zip and bounce. He is floating over the pitchers batting screen here like a two-year-old.

The above pic is currently available through RMY Auctions (link here). Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1953 the St. Louis Browns returned pitcher Tommy Lasorda to the Dodgers after having just purchased him a month prior. In 1984 Jackie Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony. Rachel Robinson accepted the award on her late husband's behalf. At the time, Jackie was just the third ballplayer to be given the distinction (Moe Berg and Joe DiMaggio were the others). You can watch the presentation here. In 1991 the Dodgers sign free agent catcher and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to a one-year $500,000 contract. 
• Happy Birthday, Jack McCarthy, Joe Klugmann, José Vizcaíno & Frank Lankford!
• ICYMI: Last week the LA Kings hosted the San Jose Sharks at the Staples Center, so the club decided to bring out the big gun. Famed San Diego broadcaster Ron Burgundy stepped into the broadcast booth to call part of the game, and it's fantastic. Matthew Demeke at AM570 shares some of the best clips, here.
• Why am I first hearing about this? Apparently, Dodgers hurler Ross Stripling has a podcast called "The Big Swing", and his most recent discussion includes an interview with Walker Buehler. There is also an interview with Alex Wood and Kyle Farmer (post trade to the Reds). Go here to check it out on iTunes.
• Per Mark Inabinett at AL.com; "David Freese focused on delivering World Series win for Los Angeles."

“Of course, there’s the money," Freese said. "There’s a big difference between $4.5 million and nothing. But basically, I’m good. I don’t think about what a championship would do for me; I think about what it would do for them. …

“I came back here because I want to see them win, see this city win. I spent all winter imagining how crazy it would be if that happened. The city would go nuts. That’s why I’m here.”

• Via B. Ellis at Beyond the Boxscore; "Ross Stripling is the Dodgers’ ace in the hole."
• ICYMI: Via George Miller at MLB TRade Rumors; "Dodgers Sign Justin Grimm To Minor League Deal." He has a shot at making the bullpen.
• Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily takes a look at one of my all-time favorite Dodger sets -- 1959-1961 Morrell Meats. Check out his story here.
• I am super envious. Night Owl Cards, one of the premier card hobby bloggers, received a large package of vintage Dodgers souvenir photos that is absolutely incredible. Check out his post about them here. 
• I've never had much reason to check out GRAMMY Museum in downtown LA, but now I do. Via Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily; "GRAMMY Museum Baseball Exhibit Now Open."
• The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF), in partnership with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and the City of Fontana Community Services Department will break ground on an all-new Universally Accessible Dodgers Dreamfield at Jack Bulik Park in the City of Fontana on World Autism Awareness Day, Tuesday, April 2, 2019. This field will be LADF’s second Universally Accessible field designed for youth with special needs and physical disabilities, and its 51st Dodgers Dreamfield expected to be complete in June. The construction of this $600,000 project is also partially funded by Easterseals Southern California, LA84 Foundation, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and Security Benefit.
• I know he's no longer with the club, but he was still a Dodger. And once a Dodgers always a Dodger. Per Bryce Miller at The San Diego Union-Tribune; "Painful childhood helped shape critical Padres cog Logan White."

“My dad would beat my mom a lot,” he said. “It was a tough thing to watch or be around. But back then, you stayed with who you married. She was so unbelievable, so supportive and positive and would give you the shirt off her back.

“When you grow up in that environment and don’t have a lot, and you experience a parent with problems with drugs or alcohol, you can go one of two ways. You can go bad or you can develop a drive where you don’t want to let your family down.

• Dino Ebel should be mic'd every game. Check out what I mean below, via the Dodgers on twitter:

Dino Ebel, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/btjIFaQ3dz

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 26, 2019

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