Oh ya' know, just learning from the pros. No big deal. #DodgersCaravan https://t.co/xJ5DBOVToS
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 26, 2015
By Jon Weisman
Despite this afternoon’s rain, the 2015 Pitching in the Community Caravan, presented by Bank of America, got off to a happy start today with a baseball skills clinic featuring Dodger first baseman Adrian Gonzalez at Garfield High School.
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By Jon Weisman
“On a Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, the crafts of pitching and broadcasting came as close to perfection as we’ll ever see,” said Tom Verducci at Saturday’s Baseball Writers Association of America dinner as he introduced the Willie, Mickey & the Duke Award, going to the Cubs’ Bob Hendley and the Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax and Vin Scully in recognizing the historical significance of the September 9, 1965 night that Scully broadcast Koufax’s perfect game beating Hendley’s one-hitter.
“The broadcast of the game, we’ve heard it a lot – at least I have,” Koufax said, “and Vinny was so special, it’s probably more exciting listening to him than it was doing it that night.”
Hendley, who joined Koufax in accepting the award, noted that Saturday was the first time he had actually met Koufax. He also charmingly pointed out that five days after the perfect game, he outdueled Koufax with a four-hitter in a 2-1 victory, meaning that in the two games combined, each pitcher allowed exactly two runs on five hits.
But Hendley could not have been more gracious to Scully or Koufax.
“If you get beat, get beat by class, get beat by the best,” Hendley said. “And he is the best, and he is class.”
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By Jon Weisman
Quite a weekend for Clayton Kershaw: One day after his first child was born, Sandy Koufax presented him with the 2014 National League Cy Young and MVP Awards at the 2015 Baseball Writers Association of America dinner in New York.
“If the writers still have their notes from last year, change 25 years of age to 26, change two Cy Youngs to three, add one MVP and you’re done,” Koufax said.
Kershaw’s speech was filled with thanks to Dodger teammates and staff, kicked off by gratitude to Koufax …
“Sandy, I don’t know where to start,” Kershaw said. “It’s tough for me to put into words how honored I am that you would even want to be here tonight.”
… a tearful acknowledgment of his wife, Ellen.
“She’s makes it all worth it,” he said.”
… and even a nod to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Thank you for reminding me that you’re never as good as you think you are,” Kershaw said.
By Jon Weisman
This is a big honor, to say the least. The school of communications at Bradley University is being named after Dodger broadcaster Charley Steiner.
The Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication becomes the first named sports communication school in the nation. It was announced during Bradley’s 15th annual Hollywood Gala Reception at the Skirball Center tonight.
By Jon Weisman
Mike Piazza nearly became a Hall of Famer today, falling 28 ballots short with 69.9 percent of the vote. Other former Dodgers include Jeff Kent at 14 percent, Fred McGriff at 12.9 percent, Gary Sheffield at 11.7 percent and Nomar Garciaparra at 5.5 percent.
Dodger manager Don Mattingly, in his final year on the ballot, had 9.1 percent of the vote.
Here’s how the four electees performed against the Dodgers in their careers:
Next year’s Hall of Fame ballot could include such former Dodgers as Garret Anderson, Mark Grudzielanek, Chan Ho Park, Jeff Weaver, Brad Ausmus and Russ Ortiz.
By Jon Weisman
You’re familiar with the seven Hall of Fame players who have had their numbers retired by the Dodgers: Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Don Sutton, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and Don Drysdale.
Who gets left out of the conversation?
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Clayton Kershaw on Saturday won three MLB.com Greatness in Baseball Yearly Awards (GIBBYs). Ken Gurnick of MLB.com has more.
— Jon Weisman
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Dodger ownership partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson has become the second ever recipient of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Legacy Award, which “celebrates individuals whose dedication to the ideals of sportsmanship has spanned decades and whose lifetime of achievement in athletics has directly or indirectly changed the world.”
Sports Illustrated today announced the award, whose only previous honoree was Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 2008. More from Ben Golliver at SI:
A smiling Stan Defehr raced from first to third and just beat the throw.
By Jon Weisman
November is awards month in Major League Baseball, and it was no different at the Dodgers Adult Baseball Camp at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach.
Time for the NL #MVP to celebrate. pic.twitter.com/QP3UYhkYDK
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 14, 2014
By Jon Weisman
It’s been a busy week of interviews for National League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, but he squeezed in one more conference call after today’s latest honor. Here are some excerpts:
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— Jon Weisman
![LAD_14-Kershaw-MVP-IG[2]](http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/lad_14-kershaw-mvp-ig2.jpg)
By Jon Weisman
In the crowning individual recgonition of a stupendous season, Clayton Kershaw has become the 11th Dodger to win the National League Most Valuable Player award and the first NL pitcher to do so since Bob Gibson in 1968.
Kershaw had 18 first place votes and 355 points overall, topping Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton (eight, 298) and Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen (four, 271).
Finishing seventh in the balloting was Adrian Gonzalez, while Yasiel Puig and Dee Gordon also received top-10 votes.
What was your favorite part of Kershaw’s season?
Share your thoughts in the comments below. Congrats to Kershaw!
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw, speaking to SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo today after winning his third National League Cy Young Award, on what was missing in 2014:
“Obviously, the postseason hurt. That’s something to keep me motivated. … It doesn’t feel good to fail, especially in those situations. To get to raise the trophy at the end of the year with your teammates, that’s the ultimate goal. Not to try to take away anything from Cy Young awards or anything like that, but if I were able to do that, that’d be pretty special.
“It’s the same way as last year, unfortunately. You just think about it until your next start, and it’s gonna be a while for that next one. You try to take your mind off it … but obviously it’s going to be in the back of my mind all next year, and hopefully we get in the playoffs and I go deeper.”
— Jon Weisman
By Jon Weisman
No apologies necessary.
Earning unanimous support on all 30 ballots from the Baseball Writers Association of America, Clayton Kershaw has won his third National League Cy Young Award in four seasons.
The Cy Young Award is a regular-season honor. It’s not a World Series trophy, and Kershaw would be the first to explain the difference.
But the Cy Young is the rightful prize for a pitcher who has been as dominant as Kershaw, and one to celebrate, not denigrate.
Kershaw tied Sandy Koufax with the most Cy Youngs in Dodger history (likewise in a four-year span); together they account for half of the 12 Cy Youngs the Dodgers have won, most in the Majors.
The 26-year-old lefty, who became the first to lead the big leagues in ERA for four consecutive seasons, is also the first in MLB history to win three Cy Youngs before turning 27.
I think back over all the joy Kershaw brought us this year — the no-hitter, the scoreless streak, the start-after-start sensations — and I truly get chills.
“Make no mistake,” wrote Jeff Sullivan in his analysis of Kershaw today at Fangraphs, “what Kershaw did in 2014 was of historical significance.”
It was an extraordinary year, and the Dodgers offer Clayton Kershaw their most sincere congratulations.
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Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Cary Osborne
Clayton Kershaw clearly doesn’t enjoy talking about himself. His body language shows it when he steers questions about himself into answers about the team.
Even after his magnum opus on June 18 at Dodger Stadium — his first career no-hitter that was an error away from being a perfect game against the Colorado Rockies — his eyes drifted in the interview room. The 26-year-old slumped in a chair, looking like he was sitting on jagged rocks.
What happens when three old friends in crisis fall into an unexpected love triangle? In The Catch, Maya, Henry and Daniel embark upon an emotional journey that forces them to confront unresolved pain, present-day traumas and powerful desires, leading them to question the very meaning of love and fulfillment. The Catch tells a tale of ordinary people seeking the extraordinary – or, if that’s asking too much, some damn peace of mind.
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