Today marks the anniversary of the greatest Baseball contract holdout in history. Thirty-two days later Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale ended it. Featured above is a 1966 UPI Telephoto of the dynamic duo board a plane to begin their spring workouts. Per the descriptor:
Dodgers pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale wave goodbye as they board an airliner bound for Phoenix, Ariz. to join their teammates after a much celebrated and publicized 32-day holdout in which the pair asked for a million dollars combined salary over a three year period. They signed for a one year contract and and undisclosed salary.Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1966 the great Koufax/Drysdale contract holdout commences. They are seeking a collective three year $1MM contract -- to be split evenly. In 2002 the Dodgers signed free agent Japanese starting pitcher Kaz Ishii after posting a $11.26 million bid to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows for the right to negotiate with him. He would eventually sign a four-year $12.3 million contract with the team.
- Happy Birthday, Al Humphrey, Orlando Alvarez & Trent Oeltjen!
- Video: Will Smith Visits Louisville Slugger Museum (YouTube video link).
- Someone... Anyone... Please sign Russell Martin! Via Connor Byrne at MLB Trade Rumors -- "Mets, Others Have Shown Interest In Russell Martin."
- This mornings Baseball America Prospect Report makes note of Dodger hurler Tony Gonsolin:
Gonsolin pitched two scoreless innings with one hit allowed, no walks and three strikeouts in his second start of the spring. The Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect is putting up a fight for one of the Dodgers’ last two starting rotation spots.
- Via Shane Reiner-Roth at The Architect's Newspaper -- "Renovation of Dodger Stadium set to be complete by June."
The new center field plaza is poised to be a major new attraction and will include a wealth of amenities including sports bars, a children’s play area, a live music venue, and vendor areas for food and drink, while the series of bridges will allow visitors to look out onto the along the stadium’s perimeter with unobstructed views for the first time in its history. Yet the most significant improvement will likely be the repositioning of the main entrance from left-field to the front, opposite to its dramatic view of the Chavez Ravine. A bronze statue of Jackie Robinson, a former Brooklyn Dodger and the first African American to play Major League Baseball, will grace the side of the new entrance.“We’re finally going to have a front door with this entertainment plaza we’re building below and beyond the pavilions,” said Stan Kasten, Dodgers president and chief executive, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s going to act like a two-acre tailgating area pre- and postgame.”
- This weeks 2020 Topps Throwback Thursday online exclusive set features the 1974 Topps Traded design and includes Mookie Betts in a Dodger uniform -- his second card made available through Topps online showing him in Dodger Blue. Check it out on the right. Go here to order.
- Per Ben Clemens at FanGraphs -- "How Should the Dodgers Use Ross Stripling?"
What’s the point of all this analysis? To me, it says that Stripling is a good bet to continue his recent form. It’s not all smoke and mirrors; he has a strategy that works, and he’s leaning into it by throwing more curves. There may even be room for more fastballs and more curves, given his excellent results when pairing the two.The slider and changeup are palate cleansers; they keep batters from seeing the two main attractions too often, and because they’re so separated in movement and location from the fastball and curveball, batters can’t guess wrong and get bailed out with a small adjustment. They’re useful, but only as secondary attractions.
- Per Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest -- "2020 Dodgers Top 100 Prospects: No. 9, 3B Kody Hoese."
- Per Howard Cole at Sports Illustrated -- "Dodgers Prospect Watch: Miguel Vargas."
The Dodgers love players with "bloodlines" and this Vargas is the son of Cuban standout, Lazaro Vargas, who hit .300/.417/.372 from 1997 to 2002 with the Industriales de La Habana. Miguel appeared in eight games with his dad's old team at 14, hitting .115.
- Via Carson Field at Baseball America -- "Josiah Gray Takes Unlikely Path To Big League Dreams."
"I don’t know how it came to be,” Gray said. "To be minor league pitcher of the year for this organization says a lot to how much they’ve helped me and how much I’ve grown in the last two or three years as being a pitcher. Every day I’m grateful for it.”
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