Blog Kiosk: 3/13/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Here's another one of those photos that used to reside within the collection of famed sports broadcaster George Michael. Featured above is a live view of Pistol Pete Reiser stealing home (eBay auction link). Per the descriptor on the reverse:

Brooklyn, May 16, 1946... The Dodgers great Base stealer Pete Reiser shows his style in this sequence of photos ar Ebbets Field today. With Stan Rojak at bat, Reiser makes his dash for home. He leads the league in steals and stealing home has become his specialty.

In 1946 Reiser stole home seven times. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1917 Dodger skipper Wilbert Robinson performed some spring antics on the field. After hearing that Gabby Street caught a Baseball thrown from the Washington Monument, Robinson bragged that he could catch a ball dropped from an airplane. So, the stunt was set up, but as legend has it young outfielder Casey Stengel had something else in mind. He substituted a grapefruit for the Baseball. Said fruit was then gloved by Robinson as it fell, but it exploded on his chest. Having seen the fruits red innards splashed all over himself Wilbert exclaimed, "Help me, Lads, I'm covered with my own blood!" Then, he tasted it. On a side note, it has since been revealed that Stengel was not the genius behind this prank. Ruth Law, the pilot, substituted part of her lunch when she realized she forgot to bring a baseball.
• Happy Birthday, Chappie McFarland, Tom Flood, Mal Eason, Lew Malone, Don Bessent, Don Miles & Mariano Duncan!
• Via Blake Harris at True Blue LA; "Russell Martin discusses versatility, compares Julio Urías to Clayton Kershaw."

“I can play anywhere, I just haven’t pitched yet,” Martin said with a huge grin. “Maybe at some point I’ll be able to do that too. Maybe get an inning here or there. Third base, shortstop, and anywhere in the corner outfield I’ll be comfortable.”

...
“When it comes to the power of the arm, they both threw probably just as hard. Kershaw’s delivery was a little funky, but more explosive. Urías is a little smoother. The thing about Urías is that he stays in his lanes really well. He doesn’t really miss. He’s super polished. Kershaw’s stuff was just electric. His curveball was the best I had ever seen. They are different, but the similarity I think is their attitudes. Kershaw is a super competitor, and with Urías, you can see he’s a competitor. He doesn’t look like he’s intimidated by anything. There’s a combination of ability, and a mindset that’s necessary to be a really good pitcher at the highest of levels.”

• Per Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest; "2019 Dodgers Top 100 Prospects: 20-11."
• The Kirk Gibson seat in the Right Field Pavilion, introduced last season, will stay. I guess it'll be like our Ted Williams seat at Fenway park. As you know, this is the location where Gibson's historic walk-off home run landed during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series - Section 302, Row D, Seat 1 - which is painted blue, and adorned with Gibson’s painted signature and a historical marker. Go here for information. Per a Dodger press release:

Tickets for the Kirk Gibson seat and a companion seat must be purchased as a pair, and include two commemorative t-shirts as well as food and drink in the Coca-Cola Right Field Pavilion. The pair of tickets cost $300, which includes a $200 donation to the Kirk Gibson Foundation to raise money and awareness for Parkinson’s Research. The Dodgers will also donate remaining proceeds from the sale to the Kirk Gibson Foundation.

• I just goes to show you that the rumor mill is often filled with lies. Via Joseph Zucker at Bleacher Report; "Bryce Harper Says He Never Met with Magic Johnson During Free Agency."

"My favorite was the time we met with Magic Johnson and the Dodgers," Harper said as he and his wife recapped the various gossip they had heard. "That was a good one. We never met with him."

• Here's the buzz. Per Tim Rogers at Dodgers Nation; "Could Brad Miller be the Next Max Muncy?
• Per Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com; "LA farm keeps producing despite MLB success."

“It starts with a tremendous group of scouts who continually gives us high quality players,” Dodgers farm director Brandon Gomes said. “They’re seeing and identifying traits they think our player development system can help with. Scouts are doing a great job. We have a nice working relationship with them, where it’s a collaborative unit. We take a lot of pride in our coordinators and coaching staff, that they can get guys better, using all of our resources to get the most out of every single guy with an individualistic approach.”

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *

* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *

* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *