NOTE: I had a request to use this as a topic, so the research is on.
Vietnam
Going to go backward though, and start with a guy who was discussed on here before. Roy Gleason. Gleason was a fleet-footed switch-hitting outfielder. Gleason had signed with the Dodgers in 1961. He started out at Reno, a class C team in 1962. He hit .234 with 22 long balls and 76 RBI’s. In 1963 he moved up to Class A Salem in the NW League. He hit .254 with 16 and 60. He was called up to the Dodgers in September and got into 8 games, mostly as a pinch-runner. He ended up with 3 runs scored, and he got a hit in his only at-bat, a double against the Phillies. It would turn out to be the only hit he would ever get in the majors and he finished his time in the majors with a 1.000 BA. In 64, 65, and 66, he bounced around the Dodgers minor league system not getting above AA. His BA was not impressive, but he had double-digit HR every year.
In 1967, Gleason was drafted into the Army. I was in the Army at that time, stationed in Korea. I had taken basic training at Ft. Bliss in Texas. One of the guys in our battalion was Johnny Crawford, the co-star of The Rifleman series. Over the years, pro athletes and film stars usually seemed to get soft duty. But Gleason took basic at Ft. Lewis, Wash, and then was sent to advanced infantry training at Ft. Polk Louisiana. He was then assigned to the 39th infantry regiment, then to the 9th infantry regiment. They were stationed at an old French fort called Ft. Courage, near Saigon by the South China Sea.
Gleason had many close calls with death as the fort was under mortar attack often. Once 5 men were killed and the attack took off the leg of his company commander. In March of 1968, his platoon came under heavy fire crossing a rice paddy. Two were hit and Gleason carried them to safety even with heavy fire continuing. As a result of that action, he was meritoriously promoted to Sergeant in June becoming the Platoon Sergeant.
Shortly after his promotion, on July 24, 1968, he was walking point and his platoon walked into an ambush. Almost immediately he was wounded in the wrist and lower leg. He fashioned a tourniquet, he returned fire. Many of his buddies were wounded and killed that day. Eventually, helicopters came in and they were evacuated. That ended his tour in Nam.
He returned to baseball in 1969, but his wounds kept him from returning to the majors and he was out of baseball by 1970 at the age of 27. He went on to do some movie work, including starring in Branded with Chuck Connors and doing a Batman episode. He wrote about his baseball and Viet Nam experiences in his biography, Lost in the Sun. I have the book and recommend you read it if you get the chance.
Donny Tidwell
I must admit, I had never even heard of this kid. I found him while reading about Gleason. Tidwell was selected in the 42nd round of the 1966 first-year player draft. Tidwell was sent to Ogden where his manager was Tommy Lasorda. His roommate was Justin Dedeaux, son of legendary USC baseball coach, Rod Dedeaux. Some of his teammates included Billy Russell and Charlie Hough. He posted a record of 4-3, in 19 games and started 12. After the season, feeling a sense of duty, he enlisted in the Army. He had been in Viet Nam only 2 months and 12 days when he was killed on April 12, 1968, at the age of 21. In 2018 when his high school in Diana Texas named the field in his honor, Lasorda sent his family a message. The gist of which was he could not think of that 1966 Ogden team without thinking about the young pitcher who had major league dreams.
Korea
The list of Dodgers who served during the Korean conflict is 12 players long. The biggest star to serve was Don Newcombe. All his service was stateside. John Roseboro missed the 1954 season due to military service. Also, missing time were Danny McDevitt, Norm Sherry, Roger Craig, Jim Baxes, and Darryl Spencer. None were in combat.
WWII
The list of Dodgers in WWII is long, Rex Barney, Boyd Bartley, Jack Bolling, Bobby Bragan, Al Campanis, Hugh Casey, Claude Corbitt, Cliff Dapper, Dutch Dietz, John Douglas, Red Durrett, Herman Franks, Larry French, Roland Gladu, Ray Hathaway, Chris Haughey, Ed Head, Billy Herman, Gene Hermanski, Kirbe Higbe, Gil Hodges, Chet Kehn, Cookie Lavagetto, Vic Lombardi, Cal McLish, Gene Mauch, Rube Melton, Eddie Miksis, Mickey Owen, Don Padgett, Pee Wee Reese, Pete Reiser, Lew Riggs, Johnny Rizzo, Jackie Robinson, Stan Rojek, Bill Sayles, and Duke Snider. Also, GM Larry McPhail left the team to join the Army. When he got out of the Army he was a Colonel. He moved on to run the Yankees.
Reese served in the Navy and was in the Pacific. Hodges, was in the Marine Corps and was an anti-aircraft gunner in the 16th anti-aircraft artillery battalion and served on Tinian and Okinawa. He was awarded the Bronze Star with a V device for heroism under fire. Reiser played baseball for an Army team. Snider and Owen went into the Navy just prior to the end of the war. Herman missed two seasons to the war, Hermanski spent time in the Navy’s aviator training program. Franks was also in the Pacific and attained the rank of Lt JG in the Navy. Lavagetto lost 4 full seasons to the war, serving in the Navy. McLish was in the Army and served in Europe. Higbe joined the Army and saw combat in Europe, his outfit was then sent to the Philippine’s but Japan had surrendered.
Barney served in the Army in Europe and was wounded twice receiving 2 purple hearts and a bronze star. Bragan spent two years in the Army stateside. Campanis was in the Navy rising to the rank of Chief Petty officer. Casey also served in the Navy for two years.
Some non Dodgers that served and are well known, DiMaggio was in the Navy, but he mostly played baseball. Yogi Berra was a gunners mate in the Navy and participated in the Normandy landings where he was wounded. Warren Spahn the great Braves pitcher, joined the Army and was a combat engineer. He was at the Battle of the Bulge and Ludendorff Bridge, earned a battlefield commission and a purple heart.
Ted Williams
Teddy Ballgame, the Splendid Splinter. Williams was one of the best there ever was. But when the war started, he was playing for the Red Sox. He was drafted in 1942 and classified 1-A. A friend suggested that he get in touch with the Advisor to the Governor’s selective service board. Simply because he was the sole support of his mother. Williams was reclassified 3-A ten days later. But the reaction of the public was negative. So in May of 1942, he joined the Navy Reserve. He went on active duty in 1943 and was commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps as a Naval Aviator.
Williams played ball and trained new pilots. He was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders to be a replacement pilot when the war ended. Williams returned in 1946. Williams was recalled to service in 1952. He was not exactly happy about it, but he passed his physical and began refresher training and qualification. Williams flew fighters in Korea. He had more than 30 missions.
Moe Berg
Moe Berg is probably one of the more interesting ballplayers who ever lived. Berg was an average catcher who had degrees from Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was known as a brainy guy and appeared on radio quiz shows. Berg had gone to Japan with barnstorming teams a couple of times, and after stayed to tour the country and go to China. On his second trip in 1934, he was with a group that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. When the team arrived in Japan he gave a welcome speech in Japanese and was invited to address the legislature.
Berg had brought a 16mm Bell and Howell camera with him. He had contracted with Movietone News to film the sights from his trip. On the 29th of November, while the rest of the team was playing a game, he went to St Luke’s Hospital in Tsukiji, ostensively to see Ambassador Joseph Grew’s daughter. Instead, Berg went up on the hospital roof, one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, he filmed the city and the harbor, giving US intelligence services their only view of the city. After the games, he found out he had been released by the Indians and continued to tour going to the Philippines, Korea, and Moscow in the Soviet Union.
When WWII broke out after the Pearl Harbor bombing, Berg accepted a position with the OSS, Office of Strategic Services. He was assigned to the Balkans desk and monitored the situation in Yugoslavia. He prepared Yugoslavian agents for the dangerous drops into Yugoslavia to collect intelligence. In 1943 he was assigned to Project Larson which was a plan to kidnap Italian rocket and missile specialists and bring them to the US.
The US was interested in a couple of German Physicists, Werner Heisenberg and Carl Frederich von Weizsacker. When the OSS learned Heisenberg was speaking in Zurich they sent Berg to attend the lecture. If he felt the Germans were close to the bomb, he would shoot Heisenberg. Berg determined they were not close and he remained in Zurich where he became close friends with physicist, Paul Scherrer. After the war, Berg resigned from the OSS. In 1951 he begged the CIA to send him to the new nation of Israel. This is something a Jew must do he said. They did not send him, but in 1952 he was hired again to use his old contacts and gather information on the Russian bomb projects. He was paid 10,000 plus expenses, and the CIA received nothing for their money. His handler called him flaky.
For the next 20 years of his life, Berg had no job and lived with his relatives. He got a handful of HOF votes. He passed away on May 29th, 1972 after a fall at home. His final words were, how did the Mets do today? They had won. He was cremated and his ashes scattered on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. Quite a life, quite a character. Berg never married,
WWI
Three who were members of the Dodger organization, and all Hall of Famers, served in WWI. Burleigh Grimes, the last of the spitball pitchers spent some time in the Army in 1918. Casey Stengel, the ole professor, was in the Navy for a time at the end of the war. Branch Rickey, the architect of the minor league system and later president of the Dodgers served in France with the army as an officer. He commanded a chemical training unit that included Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson. He was in the 1st Gas Regiment during the war and spent 4 months as a member of the Chemical Warfare Service.
Well, there are the Dodgers and a couple of others who have served in a time of war. There were 8 major league players who died during WWI, 3 were killed in action. There were more than 40 minor and semi-pro players also who died or were killed. In WWII, 3 died during the war, two were killed in action, one, Lt Harry M. O’Neill, a former catcher for the A’s. He was killed on Iwo Jima by a sniper. He had previously been wounded on Saipan. He along with Elmer Gedeon were the only MLB players killed in action in WWII. But the toll did not stop just with those two. There were well over 100 young ballplayers who died during the war, minor league, semi-pro, and college players who were either killed in training accidents, died from illness, or were KIA in combat. Most of those names we will never know. But you can see a list of them on baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com. Not only did US baseball have losses, the Japanese leagues had a lot of players killed also. In the Korean war, only one MLB player was listed. Major Robert Neighbors, an Air Force pilot was shot down and missing in action. His body was never recovered. Considered KIA. 16 minor or semi-pro players were KIA or MIA. Considering the fact that none have ever come home, you could think they were all KIA. 14 in Viet Nam. 5 in the middle east wars. So, baseball has made its sacrifices to war. Other players came home with scars other than wounds. Some dealt with so-called shell shock, which we now call PTSD. Others from the effects of chemicals and wounds. Christy Mathewson was accidentally gassed during a training exercise and developed tuberculosis. It eventually killed him in 1925. Grover Cleveland Alexander was exposed to mustard gas and had a grenade explode near him which led to the onset of epilepsy. He also suffered from PTSD. The epilepsy was sometimes mistaken for drunkenness, which added to his drinking problems. He continued to pitch and pitch well but finally left the game in 1930. He lived to be 63 years old despite all his physical and mental problems.
Well, there it is. About as good as I can do. Some of the players’ military records are a little hard to find, or there is very little information on them. As a vet myself, I respect all of them for their service to their country. Some were patriots, some were drafted and went reluctantly. But they served.
Discussion (43)
Disagree, not disagreeable
One reason Quackenbush’s ERA was so low at OKC is that runs scored under these extra inning rules are unearned. Well at least the runner placed on second is. He picked up a few losses that way I believe.
Great to win a series but still a bit disappointing weekend. Giants taking two from the Brewers and the Dodgers give a game away and have the much tougher schedule this week.
Rizzo was one of the anti-vaxers who kept the Cubs from reaching the relaxed protocols What a dumbass.
I took my son’s team to practice on the Field of Dreams years ago. There’s one road in and out of there. That’s going to be a mess.
Pardon me for asking a dumb girlie question, but what exactly is “groin soreness?” First Anthony Davis, and now JT. Maybe he should study ballet?
What a great article and read again today. Thanks Michael.
Trea Turner is exciting to watch, and adds a different dimension, even more than Mookie.
Under no circumstance do I ask JT to steal a base. Ever. Injured on his very next play.
Bellinger had been hitting some HRs but all of them on breakthrough throwing and I would say until I hit a HR on a fastball, in the zone where he is being overtaken, then I will believe an advance, in an improvement, today he did it and I feel very optimistic and hopefully the beginning of the return to their level.
Well, it’s pretty hard to get excited about a couple of soft-tossing bullpen adds, one from each side. You can tell that their success is due to some completely filth breaking pitches, but it gives me an ulcer to see 87 flash on that radar gun. There’s definitely more than one way to skin a cat. We’ll see how that plays out, I’m pretty sure I’ll be more excited to see Knebel join the pen on Tuesday.
Pollock is on fire and seems to be able to take 3rd anytime he wants to. He’s 6-0 in SB attempts and at least half of those were 3rd base. I’ll always remember Eric Davis insisting that it’s easier to steal 3rd than second because of the sizable lead you get.
Is everyone ready to agree that Cody will be fine and it’s important to have the best Cody available come playoff time? Especially with Mookie’s hip pointer and Turner tweaking his groin. Chris Taylor is most valuable to this team doing exactly what he’s doing. He’s gonna get a whole lot more than 10M / year and someone’s going to offer him a starting job next year. It will be up to him if he wants to be a regular or a super sub and a perennial contender.
It’s a whole lot more fun to have Albert on this team than I anticipated. He really got all of that one today and against his former team must have made it that much sweeter for him. He’s a baseball Deity and super nice guy. The other players seem really enjoy having him there and he’s doing enough to keep earning whatever playing time he gets.
I love Trea Turner and I love his pig pen uniform. Maybe he’ll teach Seags how to dive for a ball. He’s like having a second Mookie on the team and we went from a struggling rookie to one of the best players right now at our weakest hitting position.
CT3 is a godsend on this team. He’ll most likely rest Justin Turner’s groin on Tuesday and my worry is if he’ll ever get to take a day off himself. Pollock, Turner and Mookie are going to need regular rest and it won’t hurt to give anyone else a breather. I just hope Doc doesn’t feel the need to keep Beaty and McKinney “relevant”. Just let them pinch hit and come into the game during blowouts or when two guys have to rest on the same day.
The Phillies are hot right now, but so were the Nationals when we turned them into deadline sellers. That could have been a big turnaround series for us, instead we lost Bauer and Kershaw shortly afterwards. It’s been bullpen games, blown saves and building up replacements ever since. Everytime we start to look complete, someone else goes down. They’re gonna need to fire the training staff in the offseason.
Pepiot loads the bases in the 3rd on 3 hits with one out and gets out of the jam. 71 pitches in 3 innings. Lux up 2nd in the top of the 4th. McKinstry has not regained his stroke at OKC, he is hitting .179. OKC’s hitting coach, Emanuel Burris thrown out of the game by the umpire. And Lux walks in his 3rd AB. Matt Davidson hits a HR to right, # 18 scoring Lux. 10-5 OKC in the top of the 4th.
Lux 0-2 so far with a run scored. OKC up 8-4 in the second. Pepiot has given up 4 in 1 2/3rds of an inning. His ERA is now 8.10. He has allowed 3 triples and a HR this inning. Davidson, Raley and Marte have driven in 2 apiece. Correction, Pepiot allows the 2nd HR of the inning and it is now 8-5 in the bottom of the 2nd inning. ERA now 9.45. Do not think the kid is ready for prime time. Took Pepiot 49 pitches to get through 2 innings.
Nice win. Trea Turner is my new favorite Dodger and he is wearing Garvey’s old number. Charlie Culberson wore 6 when he was here. Turner is an igniter. And this offense is going to benefit a lot from his play. Him scoring on that little dribbler through the infield was one of the most exciting plays I have seen all year.
Great great article, Bear! I should give you my creative writing degree!
I’m wondering about why so many of our AAAA pitchers come up lame after a wobbly performance. Any idea?
Thank heaven “Ground Hog” Phil stays healthy and sharp!
Justin Bruihl just made my day. I love it when undrafted players make it to MLB. Five outs – three groundouts and two strikeouts.
There may well be some days that don’t go well as with all players but Justin has really improved his game over his three-year minor league career. He has a three-pitch mix, has been able to keep the ball on the ground and in the park. In 111 minor league innings he has given up four home runs.
Thanks Bear for the fantastic article! Great research, and I have to pick up the book on Roy Gleason.
And thanks to Bear, Badger, 2D2, and other veterans for your service!
Your sacrifices are greatly appreciated.
I think I can throw harder than Quackenbush, but Bruihl looks solid.
Why are so many here high on Quakenbush? I never even heard of him….
Great article Bear, and read! I’m late to the comments, on the weekends I am so busy around the house, garden, etc. so it’s hard to post for me sometimes but I read all the posts/comments. It’s unreal how the Giants keep scoring in the late innings and winning games. Trea Turner is a special player and I knew once he was in Dodger Blue he’d shine. Be nice to win this series and on to the East Coast for series with Phils/Mets. I love the east coast games as I live in CST and it’s tough to see all the games on west coast to end.
Looking forward to the game in Dyersville, Iowa on Thursday night at the Field of Dreams movie site. Still haven’t gotten any tickets for it.
Dodgers are going to have to take care of their own business, especially against the hot Phillies and the Mets. Giants next 7 games are against the D-Backs and Rockies,
Another Bellinger bomb. Is he back?
Tio Albert blows a kiss to Arte Moreno
Trea Turner!!!!!!!
Thank you Bear for all of your awesome contributions to this site!!!!
OBTW Shout out to our female poster come on back
This Trea Turner guy might be pretty good, He just scored from first on an infield hit. Holy crap. What an exciting player! All right Albert!! Just crushed a monster HR.
Damn, Giants just won another one run game.
Treat turner is great. Dodgers stat to hit. Now we just waiting for the Giants to begining to lose
The good news:
We are out in front.
The bad news:
After 1 inning we are 1 for 5 WRISP.
How is that even possible?
Giants tie the game in the 7th, 4-4 with a 2 run PH HR by Belt, his 4th of the weekend.
Knebel will be activated on Tuesday in Philly. Lux is going to OKC for a rehab assignment. Scherzer and Price for games 1 & 2 in Philly. Anderson leaves Brewers game with leg injury in top of the 6th. Scherzer will face Nola.
3=1 in the 5th. Brewers on top.
Old friend Brett Anderson is pitching for the Brewers against Cueto today. Brewers up 2-1 in the 5th on a Narvaez HR in the 4th.
DODGERS SELECT JUSTIN BRUIHL
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl and placed left-handed pitcher Garrett Cleavinger on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain.
Bruihl, 24, is 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA (11 ER/37.2 IP) and 50 strikeouts in 26 games (one start) between Triple-A Oklahoma City and Double-A Tulsa. His next appearance will be his Major League debut. In three minor league seasons, he is combined 14-2 with a 3.73 ERA (46 ER/111.0 IP) and 145 strikeouts in 72 games. He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 15 out of Cal San Luis Obispo.
Cleavinger, 27, suffered the loss on Friday night, allowing two runs (one earned) in 0.1 innings against the Angels. On the season, he is 2-4 with a 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) and 21 strikeouts in 22 games for the Dodgers this season. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Phillies on December 20, 2020. He was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft by the Phillies out of the University of Oregon.
There are a couple of movies about Moe Berg you might want to check out. “The catcher was a spy” & “The spy behind home plate”.
Today’s Sunday lineup:
2B Trea
1B Max
LF AJ
3b Justin
SS Corey
CF Chris
C Will
RF Cody
P Walker
No Mookie
Competition officially over in Tokyo, US finishes with 113 medals, 39 gold, 41 silver and 22 bronze. 25 more than China, 42 more than ROC, which was made up of Russian’s. This is due to Russia’s two year ban from competing in international sports. Ban is for doping. Gold in Basketball, Silver in baseball. Congrats to Mike Scioscia on his team’s effort.
Giants DFA’d Sanchez, Brebbia and Gausman reinstated to the roster, Thairo Estrada sent to AAA.
Giants signed Chatwood and Shoemaker to minor league deals. Farhan using the AF system of load up. Rizzo to the Covid IL> It has to really suck to be a Yankee fan right now. They trade for a guy, go on a winning streak and he gets sidelined by a virus. Angels pitcher today, Detmers, has an ERA of 12.
Pretty cool video comparing Pages to JT
https://twitter.com/jokeylocomotive/status/1424144173477732352?s=20
Seems like I was at Dodger Stadium when the team recognized Roy Gleason many years ago. As I recall the LA Times did a big write-up about him.
Hey, the Dodgers can sign pretty much any and all of their current players, including Corey Seager, Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Clayton Kershaw and Trea Turner. Lots of payroll coming off the books in the near future, low cost prospects coming up through the system to help with the payroll. So the question is not can they afford it? It’s trying to figure out how to move forward and stay on top.
Good article about the four free agent shortstops in Baseball Digest. Experts seem to think Seager is the best of the bunch, a better hitter than Lindor, who signed with the Mets. I agree with that assessment. Corey would my choice and I think the Dodgers would like to have him, but not at a $300 million plus contract.
Plus he doesn’t want to change positions. Just a guess, but they now have Trea Turner, who is really good. . Game changing speed, power and his defensive skills are really good and it wouldn’t surprise if the Dodgers extend him before next spring.
All four of the upcoming free agent shortstops are expected to be well paid, but there isn’t a $300 million player in the group and if someone goes that high, there will a lot of risk and it’s doubtful any of the four can deliver on expectations. Lindor certainly hasn’t. Neither has Anthony Rendon or arguably Bryce Harper. Okay, moment of reality. Is there a player in the majors now who is worth $300 million? Maybe Otani. Perhaps Trout and Betts if they can stay healthy.
As much as I like Corey and like to see him finish his career in LA, I’m guessing Scott Boras wants to top Lindor’s amount. The Dodgers could do that, but I’m guessing they won’t.
I think they would be wiser to re-sign Chris Taylor, who starts everywhere, and move Turner to short and work on an extension.
It’s unfortunate that we’ve only seen a part season of a healthy Seager lately, legitimate clutch hitter. But being unable to see him produce at a high level for an entire season after a spectacular performance in 2020 certainly hurts his value. But wouldn’t be surprised to see the Giants pursue him, which might challenge the Dodgers willingness to outbid their rivals. We’ll see. They outbid (actually both offers were somewhat similar) the Giants for Zack Greinke only to see Arizona make a crazy offer and snatch him away.
At this stage you could argue that Taylor is the team MVP. He delivered again last night. So re-signing him is a must, just as Justin Turner returning was a must.
This past week the Giants got incredibly lucky and won can two games they should have lost. Baseball is not just a game of skill.
Bear you may have outdone yourself this time. What a great article. Thanks for all the research and a great read. And thanks to all the veterans on this site. I have great old pictures of my dad from Hawaii in WWII. He was a good athlete and had attended a fast pitch softball game, which he’d never seen. He decided to try it as a pitcher. He said when he started, he recruited a Navy buddy to catch. He said it was more fetching than catching. He said he couldn’t hit the side of a hangar. As with everything he tried, he didn’t quit and became a very good pitcher. He pitched with and against the Great Eddie Feigner. That event in Hawaii changed his life. He pitched until he was 50 and coached pitching until he died at 75. That’s were my interest and love for baseball and softball came from.
Well it looks like we now have the lineup we’ve been waiting for. There’s no breaks in this line up and I look for us to make a run at the Giants.
I watched the Giants tie up Brewers in 9th, yesterday. With 2 outs in the 9th the Brewers right fielder misplayed a fly ball that tied the game. It was unbelievably rules a triple. After the gift the Giants won in the 10th.
What a nice debut by TT. Seager made a great bare-hand play too.
Muncy dropped the pop up in the infield and it was originally ruled a hit. Joe Davis even wondered if it was a hit. Is this Little League? Error all the way.
Urias had squat and navigated through 5 with 95 pitches. I’m looking for a strong game from Striker today.
TT hit an outside pitch, maybe off the plate, to right for a knock. I wonder how long it will take our hitting coaches to convince him to take that pitch?
It takes no talent to hustle and I get irritated when players don’t. Top 8, 1st and 2nd, base hit to right. Mookie threw high to Seager on the cut and almost overthrew him. If that throw gets to JT, we’re a bad hop away from advancing two runners. All the while Graterol is standing on the mound. watching the game. He was too lazy to get his big ass off the mound to back up third. It amounted to nothing but could have. Little things matter and we have no room to piss away games.
It’s time to start a run at the Giants and we have the pieces to do it.
Badger, I share your concern over Mookie.
Roy Gleason …..and now I know something about this minor league Dodgers player I never thought I would know. Thanks Bear.
Last night:
Well, I thought we would bounce back and we did. And so did the Giants. I hate to say this, but I’m very impressed with that team. Other than Posey, no BIG names (Bryant is good, not great), but look at their box scores every day. A different guy chips in every game. I agree, they don’t have the marquis names like we do, but maybe they don’t need them. But I still think it comes down to pitching. They have been solid all season, especially in the bullpen, and unlike us, they seem to have a dependable closer in Jake the Snake. He doesn’t look like he is wearing down either. They have two other guys with ERAs under 2.
Now everyone knows I jumped off the Cody bandwagon this year and was open to trading him. We didn’t, so he’s still a Dodgers and I will root for him. I know several are feeling he will break out because he had a few games where he had some infield hits and then hit a towering HR last night. I mentioned this on the other thread, I believe he hit a mistake. It was not a high hard fastball….the ones Cody can’t hit. Instead, it was a curveball that was at the knees. I’m sure the book doesn’t say this is where you should pitch Cody. But he did, and Cody hit it. I’m glad, but I’m not getting too excited about last night because look at who was pitching? A guy with 3 starts this year and a 4.21 ERA. It’s not like Cody hit the HR off of a proven solid MLB pitcher. We all can agree, it’s much easier to get a hit off of a 4-5 pitcher than a 1-2 pitcher, right? Let’s see Cody do that off of proven 1-2 pitchers. Oh, and I hate to sound negative here, but you did see his weak pop up when we had 2nd and 3rd with one out? He couldn’t even bring in one run, let alone two. So, no, I’m not popping open the bubbly stuff today…I need to see much more.
Now what pleased me more was the other guy whose bandwagon I jumped off- Kenley Jansen. I love how he didn’t fool around and didn’t walk anyone or allow a base runner. 9 pitches, three outs, against a few pretty good guys too. Way to go, KJ. Keep it up, and I will be back on board.
Trea Turner….the real deal. I can’t believe he was a throw in without even having to give up Lux. Oh, by the way, I would have gladly added Lux to the 4 prospects to get Turner and Scherzer. Can’t believe Nats didn’t demand more! Anyhow, Trea can do it all…did you see that catch he made for the final out. Muncy probably would not have caught it. And those legs….oh my…..Run Forest Run! Please extend he and CT3 as top priorities (I know we don’t have to extend Turner this off-season, but why not get it done quicker?). Resign Seager too as secondary priority after those two.
A much more relaxed,
TM
08/07/21 Los Angeles Dodgers sent RHP Yefry Ramirez outright to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Great article, my hat goes off to all of those who served and I just want to say “Thank you” to Badger, Bear and any others on this site who served to protect our Country. Thank you, thank you.
I agree with Mark about Vesia. This guy is tough to go up against. There’s something very weird about his fastball making opposing hitters look like Bellinger, swinging right through it even when it’s in the middle of the zone. Doc says he’s becoming more of a leverage guy, so expect him to throw some big innings as the primary lefty until V-Gone gets it back.
Best part about last night was watching the Bazooka soft toss 102 right by Ohtani after feeding him a couple of sliders down and in. Doc said that JT suggested that Brusdar slow down his delivery to make him more unhittable. It apparently has worked.
Don’t look now, but Belli has a 5 game hitting streak! He’s expected to be in right field today against a lefty, one day after Doc said he would sit against lefties. Instead, Mookie needs a day so Belli plays RF.
Man, I really wanted to see Quackenbush pitch last night after getting called up. Maybe they were saving him to pitch after Kenley, who’s butt has apparently healed enough to pickup saves again. For those who are unfamiliar, Kenley’s butt was injured when he wasn’t selected to the All-Star game and it’s been a slow and painful recovery.
Trea Turner’s first game was exciting to watch. His line score was fairly academic, but he sure impacted the game in a lot of ways. After his first inning walk, the threat to steal a base made the pitcher feed Muncy with fastballs which is a recipe for disaster. He scored on a liner to right from first base with no one out. He went the other way and singled through the hole on the right side and of course, stole a base. Too bad no one picked him up from there. He made at least 2 great plays in the field that could have been trouble for others.
All in all it was a nice game, sans that botched pop-up on the infield. Urias didn’t have his best stuff but grinded out a pretty good game in the end.
Fun story. I watched the game at my cousin’s house last night. His sister was prom queen in High School. The king was none other than Joe Kelly Sr.
Great read Bear! Roy Gleason’s son was married to my secretary’s daughter. Several years back, she gave me an autographed copy of Lost in the Sun, Gleason’s signed baseball card and a baseball signed by him for Christmas. They’re my most prized baseball memorabilia.
Lost in the Sun is a great little book. It captures the times and how Vietnam was viewed by everyday people as well as any book I’ve read. If you lived through that era, it brings back a flood of memories.
Badger – your MC baseball experience brought back memories of things I was promised while in the Marines that never came to fruition. While on float, our convoy stopped in Taiwan and we did play a basketball game on the flight deck of the USS Okinawa against a team of players trying out for their Olympic team. We held our own but they beat us.
Fantastic write up Bear. The time and research skills are amazing not only this article but all the others as well. How fortunate are we to have the contributors we have on this site?
Per last night’s game: Now was that so difficult? The Dodgers got some good starting pitching from Urias. He may be hitting a wall with his innings pitched and could use a pass when his turn comes up to reset. But, he kept the team in the game. The BP was outstanding. A couple of timely hits in the first inning and later by Taylor. And, of course, a big HR from Bellinger to give us the lead. A fun game to watch.
Trea Turner sure put on a show in his first game with the Dodgers. I knew he was fast, but when he scored from first on Muncy’s double. WOW! You could tell he was new to the Dodgers because he made it home without getting injured. Imagine that. LOL. Trea is an incredible athlete with fantastic baseball skills. He’s going to be fun to watch. With Betts (when healthy), Bellinger, TT, and maybe Taylor the team has some of the most athletic players in baseball. It makes for some exciting baseball moments for the fans.
Bear Wow!!!
Bear Billy Cox was not a Dodger when he served. He came to the Dodgers in 1947. I only know about his service becasue I had written an article about him.
In February of 1942, he had entered the military service and spent four years with the 814th Signal Corps.
For the next four years, he served his country seeing action in North Africa, Europe, and Guadalcanal. Dealing with the sands of North Africa and the swamps and mud of Europe, along with contracting Malaria, his weight fell to 132 pounds on his 5’9” frame. His health never really fully recovered following the war.
Intent on resuming his baseball career, the 26-year-old Cox never complained: “I lost a good part of my career,” he told The Sporting News on May 2, 1946, “but I’m not kicking. I went through four years of the war and came out whole, so I guess I am lucky.”
Great read Bear. Where do you find the time with the extensive research involved to write these informative articles?
When I was stationed in San Diego after boot camp I tried out for the Marine Corps baseball team and was told by the Captain who ran it I was in, but it would take a couple weeks to get the orders cut. I continued to work out with them, didn’t play any games, and when my orders came through they were WestPac. I asked the captain what happened and he said he tried but they were cut in Washington and there was nothing he could do. Had I tried out a month earlier it might have made a difference. Playing baseball for the Marines was about as light a duty as one could get. Promotion to E-5 and just played baseball all year, mostly against college teams all over the US. There was even some talk of going to Europe and Japan. I had some interest from the Dodgers when I was in high school but they were no longer interested 3 years later. Oh well. Destiny plays out.
I tried to post a question on the other thread but it closed. I agree we should extend Taylor but at 30, this is statistically likely his best year. He’s a Zobrist type player so I’d attempt to keep him, but I think he might get higher offers. Also, this one was directed at Mark but I’ll ask everyone – what are your best early guesses for shortstop going forward? I’d like to try to keep Seager but Turner is the guy I extend for that position. Seager? Third base or adios.
Michael,
I know how much effort this research takes. I thank you and I am sure our readers thank you. Great job!
Hopefully, everyone slept better after last night’s game.
For five straight games, Bellinger is showing signs of life. Progress is not linear, but he is definitely working with the coaches to break out. When you are in a slump, it often gets into your head and that makes it that much more difficult. Hitting is in very large part, confidence. I am fine platooning Belli and CT3… at least for a while, but Bellinger’s GG Defense is a thing too!
The Dodgers will extend CT3… in a Fairy Tale. His agent will see that they don’t!
Alex Vesia and Phil Bickford should be part of the playoff bullpen. After all the bitching and moaning about trading Dylan Floro for Alex, I would argue that Alex is now a better pitcher… right here, right now… and he has even more upside. He’s 5 years younger than Floro and has a swagger! Vesia’s WHIP is 0.969 while Floro’s is 1.241.
Bickford has been a God-send. By the way, that is how you build a bullpen: You don’t go out and trade for or sign the most expensive guys. Andrew Friedman learned his lesson with Kenley Jansen: Big deals to relievers seldom work. Look no further than how the Giants bullpen was built.
Now, let’s get Knebel back and see if The Quack can Duck into the bullpen (see what I did there?)
Trea Turner is a game-changer.