Blog Kiosk: 3/20/2020 - Dodgers Links & News - Some Odds and Ends

This is just charming. Featured here is a vintage press photograpgh (P&A Photos) of former Dodger owner Charles Ebbets with his wife Grace (eBay auction link). Per the descriptor on the reverse:

"Squire" Ebbets, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers and his wife picking oranges at Clearwater, Fla., where his team is in training. The "Squire" has always been a shrewd business man and a judge of good baseball material. Here's hoping that he hasn't picked any "Lemons" on his team.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1934 the great Babe Didrikson pitched the first inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers during an spring training game against the Philadelphia A's at McCurdy Field in Frederick, Maryland. She walked one and gave up no hits. In 2005 the Dodgers traded starting pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii to the Mets for catcher Jason Phillips. In 2008 the Dodgers make their Cactus League debut. For the first time they would spend their spring training in Arizona. They would beat the White Sox in Phoenix, 8-2. 
• Happy Birthday, Pat Corrales, Mike Griffin, Joe McGinnity, Johnny Butler, Jim Golden, Terry McDermott, Rick Parker & Will Brunson! 
• Giovanni Balistreri at When Topps Had Balls shares a fantastic fantasy card of veteran Dodger shortstop Bill Russell.
• Via AP at The New York Times -- "Twilight Time: Long-Lost Rod Serling Baseball Comedy on Deck."

It's a screwball romp, with a side of whimsy: At the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, a Soviet Embassy worker fritters away time rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, then skips town with a comrade who suddenly becomes the greatest slugger ever for the Cincinnati Reds.

...
For Anne Serling, such sounds bring back fond memories of driving around the Los Angeles freeways with her dad, listening to a ballgame. 

“He loved the Dodgers, hearing Vin Scully on the radio. I can recall him being quite enraged, slapping his palm against the wheel when things didn't go right for them.”

• Via David Adler at MLB.com -- "Grandy's charity helping those affected by virus."

On the Grand Kids Foundation website, people can donate to help children and their families who are in need of meals due to school closures from the coronavirus situation. Granderson is also activating his foundation's annual Grand Giving Campaign, which donates meals to children and families in need.

Those interested in donating through Granderson's foundation or learning more about its initiatives can go to grandkids.org/covid-19.

• Arriving in stores next week (assuming you can even get out to one) are the 2020 Topps Baseball Factory Dodger Team Sets ($5.99 MSRP) featuring all the Dodgers found in the Series 1 release. It is possible that some of the cards may feature a different photo than in the Series 1 offering. Also, these cards are all numbered differently than the Series 1 cards. You should be able to find these at places like Walmart and Target. All 30 MLB teams will be available. Check out the Dodgers team set in packaging on the right. Go here for a complete checklist.
• Via Bill Plunkett at Press Telegram (OC Register) -- "Dodgers’ Stan Kasten on the ‘complicated’ business of MLB during coronavirus shutdown."

“We literally have conference calls of one kind or another every day – whether it’s with staff or outside experts or MLB – on various topics in our business,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “There’s just a lot going on. It’s very complicated.”

• These were good times! Per Blake Harris at True Blue LA -- "A look back at the debut of Yasiel Puig."

”To compete at the highest levels for the best players, whether it’s Latin America or Asia, to be able to compete and have your scouts go out and do their jobs, that’s how this organization really made its mark in the ‘60s and ‘70s and onward in the ‘80s,” Colletti said. “It was able to scout and develop some of the best players. It’s a rare opportunity. These types of players with that speed and power combination are very rarely available. All things considered, we had to be aggressive. The chance and the opportunity to do what we did were in a very short period of time. After that, all dynamics change.”

• Via Howard Cole at Sports Illustrated -- "Book Excerpt: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale 1966 Million-Dollar Contract Holdout."
• Here is something less serious. Please don't get a LA Dodgers face tattoo. I know our logo is awesome - likely one of the best ever created - but it doesn't belong on your face. Per Margaret Abrams at ES Insider -- "Cindy Crawford's model son Presley Gerber shows off yet another new face tattoo." Listen to your parents, kid.
• Via Doug Gray at Redleg Nation -- "The fake true story of Morris Buttermaker."

The story, as told by Buttermaker, is that he struck out (Ted) Williams several times that day – an impressive feat given that he had struck out just 47 times the previous season in 154 games played. He goes on to describe the final encounter, “March 15th. Score tied, nothing to nothing. It was the top of the ninth. No, it was the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded. There was ole Ted, coming to the plate and swinging a menacing bat. Strike one.”

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