Blog Kiosk: 8/8/2016 - Dodgers Links - Honeycutt, Segedin and AGon!

Much like the Olympics in Rio, one record after another was set or surpassed this weekend at Dodger Stadium.  First, on Saturday rookie infielder Corey Seager hit his 31st double of the season; thereby setting a new Los Angeles Dodgers record for doubles by rookie.  He jumped over former Dodger first baseman Eric Karros, who established the record in 1992 during his Rookie of the Year season.  Per Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA:

“It’s cool. The long history of the Dodgers it’s just cool to get in the books no matter how it is. It’s exciting for sure,” Seager said.

Then on Sunday Adrian Gonzalez become the 140th ballplayer in Major League history to hit 300 hoe runs.  Per Jack Baer at MLB.com:

"I've seen a lot of those homers with me and against me -- 300, that's a big number," manager Dave Roberts said. "He's a guy that is very underrated right now in his career and the stability that he brings to a club. To get that big hit for us, for us to get the extra insurance, but also for him personally, I think that he doesn't really thrive and care much about individual accomplishments, but that's a big number and a lot to be said for his career."

Far more surprising was the performance of longtime minor leaguer Rob Segedin.  After toiling for six years within the Yankees minor league system he finally got into his very first Major League game on Sunday, and he did not disappoint.  Segedin went two for three with a double and set a club record for with four RBI's during a Major League debut.  Per Jack Baer and Quinn Roberts at MLB.com:

"It was great to see him drive in a few runs, a couple big, huge hits," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "When you imagine a debut, 50,000 people, big hits and contributing to a huge win, players going crazy for him, it's something that he'll obviously remember. A non-roster invitee this spring and had a great year in Triple-A, he earned that opportunity and took advantage of it today."

Photos above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2016.  Go here to check out more pics from the game by Jon.  Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodger History:  In 1957 Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley officially announced that the team would be moving to Los Angeles.  In 2000 Dodgers starting pitcher Darren Dreifort hit two home runs in a single game.  Infamously, on this same day a female couple was asked to to leave Dodger Stadium after being seen kissing.  They were told to never "set foot back on the premises" for "lewd behavior".  My, have times changed.
• Via Jack Baer at MLB.com; "Kershaw plays catch for 1st time since setback."

"Just continue to get his intensity up and stretch him out a little more," Roberts said. "Like I've said all along, with Clayton, he's not a guy that we worry about as far as the intensity, the intent to get back, so he'll be back as soon as he possibly can."

• Via Tracy Ringolsby at MLB.com; "Q&A: Honeycutt's path to pitching coach: Baseball vet discusses Majors career, biggest influences, Dodger."

MLB.com: Is it safe to say that the in-season trade from the Rangers to the Dodgers for Dave Stewart back in 1983 was a game-changer for you?
Honeycutt: My thought process about mechanics changed so much after being on the Dodgers and being around Sandy Koufax, Dave Wallace and Ron Perranoski. The Dodgers were my fourth organization, and they opened my eyes to things I'd never heard of, and how they went about it was simple.

• Via Doug Padilla at ESPN; "Sharing their final season: David Ortiz drops in on Vin Scully."

But Scully already had stolen the moment when he said to Ortiz: “I must tell you this, I’ve admired the way you play, but I have respected, with great admiration, the human being that you are.”

• Via Ross Olson at Dodgers Nation; "Yimi Garcia Likely To Miss Remainder Of 2016 Season."
• Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA; "Leonardo Crawford makes Loons debut."
• Via Phil Gurnee at Dodgers, Yesterday and Today; "The LAD have had eleven ROY winners and Frank Hondo Howard was the 1st."
• Via Stealing Home at All Trade Bait, All The Time; "A Wonderful Oddball From Out of Left Field."  He shows off an fantastic collectible that I've never seen before that commemorates Gibson's World Series home run.
• Via David Davis at Zócalo Public Square; "L.A.’s Forgotten Avenue of the Athletes."

Despite an impressive career, McLarnin wasn’t exactly a household name. Which left me to wonder about this mysterious plaque. I’d walked this stretch of the boulevard, through L.A.’s Echo Park neighborhood just north of downtown, countless times but I’d never noticed it.

I quickly discovered McLarnin was not alone—his was just one in a series of similar homages to former sports stars. The plaques are easy to miss. Measuring approximately 17 by 16 inches, about the size of a coffee table book, they don’t exactly pop out of the pavement. Many are blemished with graffiti or dirt. But now that I had noticed them, I set about trying to figure out their relevance to each other and Los Angeles.

My first thought was that the plaques must have some connection with Southern California. McLarnin didn’t fight here, but he spent most of his post-ring career in L.A. This was reinforced when I came upon other greats who made their reputations in Southern California, including Dodgers pitching ace Sandy Koufax, Lakers legend Elgin Baylor, and boxer Armando Muniz. Here also were Pasadena’s own Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and his UCLA teammate, Kenny Washington, the Rams running back who grew up in L.A. and broke the NFL color barrier a year before Robinson integrated baseball.

• Here are some more reports from the National Sports Collectors Convention that concluded this weekend:

• Sports Card Info shares some more pics from Day 3 of the convention (Link Here).

• Via Rich Mueller at Sports Collectors Daily; "National Notes: Hot Cards, Eastern Flavor, Talking Wagner After Wayne."

• Blowout Buzz shares a bunch of pics from Day 4 of the convention (Link Here).  Then they share some pics from Panini's VIP Party (Link Here).  Finally, here are their pics from Day 5 (Link Here).

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