Today, we remember Alan Young, the “Mr. Ed” actor who passed away Thursday at age 96. Young and his horse companion made a memorable visit to Dodger Stadium for the 1963 season premiere, highlighted above. Sandy Koufax, Willie Davis, Leo Durocher, Johnny Roseboro and more appear.
Category: History (Page 8 of 35)
Kenta Maeda looks away from the second time around the bases by Noah Syndergaard. (Harry How/Getty Images)
By Jon Weisman
The first time was a shocker. The second time was a stunner.
No, this isn’t about the two home runs Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard allowed. It’s about the two he hit.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
Bolsinger to make rehab start
Mike Bolsinger is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with a start at Triple-A Oklahoma City tonight. Bolsinger has been out since March with an oblique injury.
Mike Bolsinger is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with a start at Triple-A Oklahoma City tonight. Bolsinger has been out since March with an oblique injury.
By Jon Weisman
Dave Roberts told reporters today that the Dodgers are considering bringing up 19-year-old Julio Urias, potentially to pitch out of the bullpen.
Urias is among several options the Dodgers are considering to shore up the relief corps, but could be considered the primary one.
After pitching six no-hit innings Wednesday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, Urias has a 1.88 ERA and 0.71 WHIP with 29 strikeouts and only three walks in 24 innings.
Urias turns 20 on August 12. In the closest recent comparison, Clayton Kershaw made his MLB debut on May 25, 2008, at age 20 years and 67 days.
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By Jon Weisman
Baseball legend Willie Mays turns 85 today. Mays was always a favorite of Vin Scully, and Scully taped a birthday greeting that is more than just platitudes — it’s a celebration of greatness.
Scully’s praise for Mays is for good reason, and not just for his legendary catches. If you haven’t looked at Mays’ stats recently, or recollected anything beyond his 660 home runs, take a moment to refresh.
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Irving Piken, at age 107 believed to be the Dodgers’ oldest living fan and an actual trolley dodger, was profiled in this piece by SportsNet LA’s “Backstage: Dodgers,” in which he meets that young reporter nearly 20 years his junior, Vin Scully.
— Jon Weisman
A.J. Ellis homers in Game 5 of the 2013 National League Championship Series. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)
By Jon Weisman
The most memorable home run of a big-leaguer’s life might not even be in his big-league life. Sometimes, the big blow is an obvious one, but other times, it’s one you might never have known about if you never asked.
So, we asked.
See what we mean in the stories that follow from these members of the Dodger family …
Yasiel Puig and Dave Roberts prior to Saturday’s game
Padres at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.
Kershaw CCXLVIII: Kershawt. Elsewhere
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Trayce Thompson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
Kershaw CCXLVIII: Kershawt. Elsewhere
Yasiel Puig, RF
Kiké Hernandez, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Justin Turner, 3B
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Trayce Thompson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
By Jon Weisman
Behind Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers take the field today trying to stave off the longest winless homestand in franchise history.
According to Stats LLC, via the Dodgers’ public relations department, the Dodgers have had six winless homestands at Dodger Stadium, but none longer than three games. In Brooklyn, the longest winless homestand was four games in 1893.
Overall, the Dodgers’ six-game losing streak is their longest since an eight-gamer from May 1-10, 2013. That was the year the team came back with a 42-8 run to win the National League West and reach the National League Championship Series.
By Jon Weisman
Lost among Wednesday’s weirdness was this: According to my research at Baseball-Reference.com, when Chase Utley, Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson each saw ball four in the eighth, it was the first time three pinch-hitters had walked in the same inning in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
Twenty other times since the franchise began play in Brooklyn, the Dodgers had gotten at least three pinch-walks in a game — one time, they had four — but only twice before did they have three in the same inning.
Yeah, I know, how trivial — but what can I tell you? This is the kind of stuff that interests me.
The only other times this happened in franchise history were in Brooklyn, and both times were real doozies.
Dodgers at Braves, 4:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Howie Kendrick, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Ross Stripling, P
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Howie Kendrick, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Ross Stripling, P
By Jon Weisman
I don’t really have a timely hook for the trivia question I’m posting here, other than the fact that tonight’s starter, Ross Stripling, could conceivably become the next answer — and that Thursday’s starter, Clayton Kershaw, really should someday.
But I was just curious: Who was the last Dodger pitcher to get a complete game and a save in the same season?
Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Howie Kendrick, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Howie Kendrick, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
Alex Wood, P
By Jon Weisman
Howie Kendrick, who shifted from second base to left field late in Tuesday’s game, is making his first start in left since August 13, 2011 and 21st overall.
“In a perfect world, we would’ve gotten him more repetitions (in left field) this spring,” Dave Roberts said, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Daily News. “The way Chase (Utley) is playing, I want to keep him in the lineup.”
Hoornstra added that Roberts believes that left field might be easier than second base physically for Kendrick, who fought off groin and calf issues to make his 2016 debut Tuesday.
Kendrick isn’t by any means the most unusual Dodger left fielder in recent years. Consider these …
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By Jon Weisman
In a breathtaking experience that traversed Dodger history from Don Newcombe to Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully received an emotional tribute before the first pitch of his final Opening Day at Dodger Stadium as the team’s broadcaster.
Al Michaels, who was considered by some a possible successor to Scully four decades ago, hosted the tribute that mixed video (including messages from Henry Aaron and Kirk Gibson) with live presentations.
The roll call of Dodgers that took the field went as follows: Newcombe, Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax, Al Downing, Rick Monday, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Tommy Lasorda and Kershaw, with Magic Johnson and Peter O’Malley then escorting Scully on to the hallowed stadium grass, before an enormous standing ovation from the crowd.
Top series by Jon SooHoo, bottom by Juan Ocampo
A baseball autographed by every participant was then passed down the line to Scully, who truly looked moved by the moment and said afterward he was “overwhelmed.”
Watching him from ground level, as the scoreboard camera circled around him for its closeup, I never felt more how much of a living legend we were privileged to know, and to call our own.
Does it get any better than this? #VIN pic.twitter.com/Fj2c4dUnx8
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 12, 2016
By Jon Weisman
Tonight, the two-night, four-hour documentary “Jackie Robinson” premieres on PBS. In this piece for Dodger Insider magazine, I interviewed Ken Burns about how the documentary seeks to humanize a figure that time has made more mythological.
With each passing year, the stature of Jackie Robinson looms larger in the history of baseball and the United States.
But it has been nearly 70 years since Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier, nearly 60 years since he retired from baseball and well over 40 years since he passed away. And in that time, the flesh-and-blood Robinson has only grown more and more remote.
“This is a person who has become kind of one-dimensional, [because] heroism in our media culture tends to make you just one-dimensional — perfect,” said famed documentarian Ken Burns, who with his daughter Sarah and son-in-law David McMahon directed and produced the four-hour “Jackie Robinson,” airing in April on PBS. …
Read the entire article here, or in Dodger Insider magazine, which officially launches its new edition at Dodger Stadium’s Opening Day on Tuesday.
By Jon Weisman
More than 160 items from the personal memorabilia collection of Dodger legend Don Drysdale are available for auction through April 23 at SCP Auctions.
The collection dates back to Drysdale’s playing days at Van Nuys High. The Hall of Famer died on July 3, 1993 in Montreal while working for the Dodgers as a broadcaster.
The auction has come under some controversy, though it is sanctioned by Drysdale’s widow, Ann Meyers Drysdale.
“We thought this through as a family and decided it was time to share Don’s most prestigious awards and memorabilia with the fans and the collecting community,” she said. “Plus, it provides us with a great opportunity to give back to many of the causes that were near and dear to Don’s heart.”
Hideo Nomo and Kaz Ishii each pitched shutout ball in their Dodger debuts.
Dodgers at Padres, 6:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Kenta Maeda, P
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Kenta Maeda, P
By Jon Weisman
Kenta Maeda, who turns 28 on Monday, tonight will be the 18th Dodger starting pitcher in the past 100 years to make his Major League debut at age 26 or above.
And 48 hours later, barring anything unforeseen, 26-year-old Ross Stripling will become the 19th in that group on Friday.
That list includes such Asian pitchers as Hyun-Jin Ryu, Hiroki Kuroda, Kazuhisa Ishii and Hideo Nomo, who combined to pitch 24 innings and allow only two runs while striking out 26.
By Jon Weisman
It wasn’t the offensive display of 27 hours earlier, but the Dodgers still delivered when needed to win their second straight game over the Padres to start the season.
