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Tribute to Davey Lopes and “The Infield”

June 23, 1973: Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, opponent, the Cincinnati Reds. In the second game of a doubleheader, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey, and Bill Russell, started a game together as an infield for the first time. They would make up the infield for the next eight…

By Michael "Bear" Norris16 min readJump to 84 comments

June 23, 1973: Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, opponent, the Cincinnati Reds. In the second game of a doubleheader, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey, and Bill Russell, started a game together as an infield for the first time. They would make up the infield for the next eight years. Their actual first game together had come on June 13th against the Phillies. Garvey entered the game in the fourth inning, replacing Tom Paciorek, who moved to CF in place of Willie Davis in a 16-3 drubbing by the Phillies at Veterans Stadium.

On the 23rd, Garvey appeared in game 1 as a pinch hitter for Andy Messersmith and singled off of Fred Norman in the 8th inning of a 5-1 loss. Cey hit a homer in the 9th off of Norman for the Dodgers lone score. Tommy John started game 2 and had a complete game 5-1 win. Garvey went 2-4 with a double. Cey was 0-1, he left and was replaced by Ken McMullen who hit a 3-run homer. Lopes 1-3 and Russell, 0-3.

Although they did not play the entire rest of the season as a group, they were together a majority of the games. Cey missed several games in June. Garvey hit his first homer of the year on June 24th off of Don Gullett. Garvey displaced Bill Buckner as the starting first baseman and Bill moved to left field most of the rest of the season. Garvey played 76 games at first that season. His line, .304/8/50.

Cey .245/15/80, Lopes .275/6/37 and Russell .265/4/56. Lopes stole 36 bases but was caught 16 times. He and Cey tied for 6th in the ROY voting. 1974 would be the group’s first full season together. Cey and Garvey made the All-Star team. Garvey won the MVP award over Lou Brock who stole 118 bases that year. Jimmy Wynn finished 5th. Garvey .312/21/111, Lopes .266/10/35, Cey .262/18/97, Russell .269/5/65. Lopes stole 59 bases, most by a Dodger since Maury Wills.

Garvey and Russell hit .389 in the NLCS against Pittsburgh, Cey hit .313, and Lopes .267 and stole 3 bases. Garvey 2, and Cey 1, slugged homers. Garvey was the only member of the quartet to hit well in the series with a 8-21 performance, but all his hits were singles, and he drove in just 1 run. Russell had 4 hits, one being a triple. Lopes 2-18, and Cey 3-17 had no extra base hits.

LA would finish 2nd in 1975, but they were 20 games behind the “Big Red Machine”. Garvey hit .319/18/95, Lopes .262/8/41, but he stole 77 bases and led the league. Russell .206/0/14 was injured most of the season and played in just 84 games. Cey .283/25/101, led the team in homers and RBIs. Injuries struck Russell, Buckner, and Mike Marshall, derailing the Dodgers pennant hopes.

There were some major roster changes in 1976, Dusty Baker joined the team in the Jimmy Wynn trade. Reggie Smith came over at mid-season in a trade with the Cardinals for two minor leaguers and Joe Ferguson. Lopes had a down year with the bat hitting just .241/4/20, but he stole 63 bases. Garvey hit .317/13/80. Cey again led the team with a .277/23/80 line. Russell .274/5/65. At the end of the season when the Dodgers finished 2nd again, this time 10 games back of the Reds, Tommy Lasorda replaced Alston as manager.

Buckner was traded to the Cubs for Rick Monday that winter and he joined the starting 8. Lasorda was a totally different kind of manager. He had the starters running in the outfield together prior to games to show team unity. Whatever his method, it worked. For the first time in baseball history, four players on a team hit 30 or more home runs. Garvey .297/33/115, sacrificed a little average for more power. Cey .241/30/110, Baker rebounding from an awful first year .291/30/86 and Smith .307/32/87 were the quartet who accomplished the feat. Russell .278/4/51 and Lopes .282/11/53 also made big contributions.

LA won the West, then defeated the Phillies 3-1 in the LCS. Baker hit 2 homers and drove in 8, Cey had a grand slam in game 1 off of Steve Carlton in the only game LA lost. They would lose the Series in six games to the Yankees. Cey, Garvey, and Lopes all homered in the Series, Smith though hit 3. Game six was the famed Reggie Jackson 3 homer game.

BRONX, NY – OCTOBER 28: Pedro Guerrero #28, Steve Yeager #7 and Ron Cey #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers hold up the number 1 sign after being named co-MVP’s of the 1981 World Series after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 6 of the 1981 World Series on October 28, 1981 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)

1978 would be another pennant winning year for the team. None of the four players who hit 30 or more in 77 would hit 30 in 78. Smith came close with 29. Garvey .316/21/113, Lopes .278/17/58, Cey .270/23/84, Russell .286/3/46 were as steady as usual. Lopes won his first and only Gold Glove. LA whipped the Phillies in the LCS, 3-1. LA hit 8 homers in the four games, Garvey had 4 of them, and Lopes hit 2. The team dedicated the World Series to coach Jim Gilliam, who had passed away suddenly in October.

They faced the Yankees again in the series. The won games one and two in LA, 11-5 and 4-3. Game two featured and epic at bat with Reggie Jackson being struck out by Bob Welch. But they lost the next four with only game four being a close game, 4-3. Lopes led the team with 3 homers and 7 driven in.

In 1979, the Dodgers record dropped below ,500, 79-83 and they finished 3rd in the West. Smith was injured for most of the year and played in just 69 games. Garvey, Cey and Lopes each hit 28 homers that year, Baker added 23. Garvey hit .315 and had 204 hits. Russell had 7 homers and drove in 56. Joe Ferguson returned to the team and added 20 homers in a utility role. Rick Sutcliffe joined the rotation and was named Rookie of the Year. The pitching was less than stellar, thus contributing to the down season.

In 1980, the Dodgers would be in the thick of the race until the very last game. They would end up having to win the last three games of the season against the first-place Astros. They would do so and then lost game 163 to finish 2nd in the West. Garvey .304/26/106, Lopes .252/10/49, Cey .254/28.77, Russell .264/3/34 were a little below their career averages. Baker led the team with 29 homers. Smith played 92 games and hit .322. Jerry Reuss, in his 2nd year in LA was their ace, all the starters won in double figures except free agent signee, Dave Goltz, who also was the starting pitcher and loser in game 163. A young Mexican left-hander made his debut and pitched in 10 games going 2-0. He would impact the 1981 season greatly.

1981 would prove to be the last season that the infield would be together. 1981 would also be a strike year. The players went on strike in June and did not return until August. So, the season was split into two parts with a first and second half champ.

The first half of the season started for the Dodgers with the young lefty having to pitch on opening day because Reuss was injured. What did the kid Valenzuela do? He shut out the Astros. He would end up pitching 8 shutout’s, 11 complete games, leading the league in strikeouts and he won the Cy Young and the ROY, the only player in MLB history to do that. For those of you who thought Skenes did that, he won the ROY his rookie year, and the Cy Young in his second.

In 81, all of the members of the infield had down years. Garvey .283/10/64, Lopes .206/5/17 in just 58 games. He did steal 20 bases. Cey .288/13/50, Russell .233/0/22. LA had some new players in the starting lineup, Landreaux replaced Monday and Pedro Guererro replaced Reggie Smith. Steve Sax made his debut and played in 33 games. LA won the first half, and the Astros won the second. The team in the NL that won the most games, did not make the playoffs. The Reds had a combined 66 wins. They finished 1/2 game behind the Dodgers in the first half, and 1.5 games back of Houston in the second.

Because of the split season, LA now had to play in a division series as well as a championship series to get to the World Series. They lost the first two games of the division series to the Astros in Houston. They won game 3 behind Burt Hooton, 5-1 in LA. Valenzuela then outdueled Vern Ruhle 2-1. Jerry Ruess then shut out Houston winning 4-0 over Nolan Ryan. Garvey hit 2 homers and drove in 4 in the series.

They faced the Expos in the LCS. They split the first two games in LA, winning 5-1 behind Hooton and losing 3-0 to Ray Burris who bested Valenzuela, I was at that game. Back in Montreal, they lost game three, 4-1 to Steve Rogers.

With their backs against the wall, the won game four, 7-1 behind Hooton, beating Gullickson for the second time in the series. Valenzuela faced Burris in game five. Both pitchers were nails allowing just 1 run. In the 9th inning, Rogers came in replacing Burris. He retired Garvey and Cey. Monday came up and hit a ball over the fence in center field. LA led, 2-1.

Valenzuela got into some trouble in the 9th and with 2 outs, he was replaced by Bob Welch. Welch threw one pitch and got the final out. It would forever be known in Montreal as Blue Monday. They would not play another playoff game in Montreal. The franchise would next appear in the playoffs 31 years later as the Washington Nationals. LA headed to the World Series to face the Yankees.

The 81 World Series would prove to be “The Infields” swan song. In a reverse of the 78 series, LA lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium putting them in a huge hole. Back in LA for game three, Valenzuela started against Dave Righetti. LA jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first behind a 3-run homer by Cey. The Yankees came back scoring 2 in the second and 2 in the third putting Valenzuela on the ropes.

Righetti was gone after 2 innings, replaced by George Frazier. Down 4-3 in the fifth, LA rallied against Frazier scoring 2 runs to take a 5-4 lead. One of the runs was unearned and the other was driven in by Pedro Guererro. Valenzuela was in trouble the entire game allowing 9 hits and walking 7. He made 147 pitches and got the complete game win.

Game four was started by Rick Rueschel and Bob Welch. Welch did not make it out of the first inning giving up 2 runs without allowing a hit. Goltz relieved him and got out of the inning. But he allowed single runs in the second and third innings putting the Dodgers in a 4-0 hole.

LA began chipping away at the lead in the third as Lopes had an RBI single and Cey drove in a run with a ground out. May replaced Rueschel. In the fifth, Garvey doubled and Cey drove him in. 4-3 NY. In the top of the sixth, the Yanks scored 2 off of Tom Niedenfuer on RBI singles by Gamble and Watson.

In the bottom of the sixth with Ron Davis now pitching, he walked Scioscia with one out and then allowed a 2-run PH homer to Jay Johnstone. Lopes lifted a fly ball to right that Jackson lost in the sun for an error. Lopes then stole third and scored on a single by Russell.

In the bottom of the 7th, with George Frazier now pitching, Baker led off with an infield hit. Monday then hit a ball to center that Brown tried to make a shoestring catch on but missed allowing Monday to reach second with a single. Guererro was walked intentionally, and instead of bringing in Gossage, Lemon brought John in out of the pen. Yeager pinch hit for Scioscia and hit a sac-fly giving the Dodgers the lead. Lopes then scored Monday with an infield hit making it 8-6 LA. No more runs scored as John managed to get out of the inning stranding Guererro at third. NY scored a run in the eighth making it 8-7 when Jackson homered off of Howe. Howe shut down the Yankees in the 9th for the win and the series was tied.

Ruess outdueled Guidry in game five, a 2-1 win that was powered by back-to-back homers by Guererro and Yeager in the 7th inning. The teams went back to New York for game six. Hooton against John. The game had been postponed a day due to rain.

NY got on the board first on a solo shot by Randolph in the third. LA tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single by Yeager. In the bottom of the fourth, Nettles doubled. Hooton then retired the next two hitters and intentionally walked Larry Milbourne to face John. Lemon made what would be a much-debated decision and pinch-hit Bobby Murcer for John. There was no DH in this series. Murcer lined out to center ending the threat.

George Frazier replaced John. LA jumped on him with an RBI single by Cey and then a 2-run triple by Guererro. Frazier would eventually be charged with his 3rd loss of the series. The first pitcher to lose 3 in a best of seven series and the second pitcher to lose 3 in any series. The first was Lefty Williams, a member of the Black Sox who lost the 1919 series.

The game was basically over. LA tagged on 4 more runs in the sixth. With Davis pitching, he walked Hooton and Lopes with 1 out. Russell singled to short left, and Winfield slipped on the wet grass allowing Hooton to score. Lopes and Russell pulled of a double steal after Rueschel replaced Davis. Garvey was walked intentionally. Derrell Thomas hit into a run-scoring force out. Baker reached on a Nettles error. Guererro then singled in 2 runs making it 8-1 Dodgers. The Yankees scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on a pinch-hit single by Pinella.

Howe replaced Hooton. Guererro capped a five RBI night with a solo blast off of Rudy May in the eight. Howe shut the Yankees down the rest of the way and LA won 9-2 winning their 4th title in LA. Cey, Yeager and Guererro were named Co-MVPs of the series. Members of the infield did well in the series.

Garvey led the team in hits with 10 and batted .417. Oddly, he did not have a homer or an RBI. Cey hit .350 in the series with a homer and 6 driven in. Lopes hit just .227, but he scored 6 runs and stole 4 bases. Russell hit .240 and drove in 2 runs.

After the season, LA traded Lopes to the A’s for Lance Hudson a minor league infielder. This opened a spot for Steve Sax. Garvey and Cey would both leave after the 1982 season. Garvey as a free agent to the Padres, and Cey was dealt to the Cubs to allow Guererro to move to third so Mike Marshall could take over in the outfield. Bill Russell played his entire career in LA. It spanned 18 years, tying him with Zack Wheat for the longest tenure in a Dodger uniform. He also coached for the team and was the manager after Lasorda’s heart attack.

No infield in MLB history has been together as long. With free agency and such, it is doubtful that anyone will come close. As a group, they had 21 All-Star game appearances, winning four pennants and one World Series. Garvey received 4 gold gloves and Lopes one. Davey will be missed.

4/14/26 – Down on the Farm by Mark (AI)

It’s a pain to do the report every day, so I had AI create it. What do you think?

The Dodgers’ farm system spent Tuesday doing what it often does: scoring runs, growing prospects, and generally acting like the baseball equivalent of a well-funded secret lab.

Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A)

Final: OKC 9, Albuquerque 6

Game Recap

The Comets came out swinging and built a 9-2 lead, then spent the late innings trying not to turn a comfortable win into a public stress test. The signature moment belonged to Zach Ehrhard, who blasted an inside-the-park grand slam, the kind of play that makes a box score sit up straighter. Noah Miller added a two-run homer, and Ryan Ward kept being an absolute menace at the plate. (milb.com)

Key Stats

  • Zach Ehrhard: inside-the-park grand slam (milb.com)
  • Ryan Ward: 3-for-3, double, 2 walks, reached base 5 times (milb.com)
  • Noah Miller: 2-for-5, HR, 3 RBI (milb.com)
  • Cole Irvin: 6 IP, 2 R, quality start (milb.com)

Outstanding Player

Zach Ehrhard
Any time you hit an inside-the-park grand slam, you win the evening’s chaos crown by default. (milb.com)


Tulsa Drillers (Double-A)

Final: Tulsa 4, Arkansas 3

Game Recap

Tulsa played the role of the calm professional, at least until the seventh inning tried to throw a wrench into things. After losing the lead, the Drillers answered in the eighth with a clutch rally. Chris Newell doubled, Josue De Paula followed with another double, Kyle Nevin tied it, and Zyhir Hope delivered the go-ahead RBI single. This club is starting to feel less like a minor league team and more like a preview trailer. (milb.com)

Key Stats

  • Zyhir Hope: 2-for-3, game-winning RBI, 9-game hitting streak (milb.com)
  • Josue De Paula: batting .342, huge 8th-inning double (milb.com)
  • Luke Fox: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 6 K (milb.com)
  • Kelvin Ramirez: scoreless ninth, first save (milb.com)

Outstanding Player

Luke Fox
The offense got the headline finish, but Fox was the guy who kept Arkansas mostly trapped in a soundproof room for nearly six innings. (milb.com)


Great Lakes Loons (High-A)

Final: Great Lakes 2, Dayton 0

Game Recap

The Loons won this one with the elegance of a locked door. Aidan Foeller dominated for six shutout innings, striking out eight and walking nobody, and the bullpen finished the job. The offense was a little stingy with the dramatics, going just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position, but Eduardo Guerrero cashed in the two runs that mattered. Sometimes a game is a symphony. This one was a switchblade. (milb.com)

Key Stats

  • Aidan Foeller: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 8 K, 0 BB (milb.com)
  • Eduardo Guerrero: 2-run single, game’s only scoring (milb.com)
  • Chuck Davalan: double, single, stolen base (milb.com)
  • Alex Makarewich: 2 K, save (milb.com)

Outstanding Player

Aidan Foeller
Six scoreless, eight punchouts, no walks. That is less a start than a formal complaint filed against opposing hitters. (milb.com)


Ontario Tower Buzzers (Single-A)

Final: Ontario Tower Buzzers 12, San Jose 6

Game Recap

The Tower Buzzers fell behind 3-0, looked mildly annoyed, then answered with 10 runs across the middle three innings and turned the rest of the afternoon into a noise ordinance violation. The rally started with two-run singles from Slate Alford and Marlon Quintero, then kept rolling with RBI knocks from Gabriel Davalillo and Lucas Ramirez. Ramirez later added his first homer of the year, because once the Buzzers got going, subtlety left the building. (milb.com)

Key Stats

  • Lucas Ramirez: RBI hit and first homer of the season (milb.com)
  • Kendrey Maduro: RBI on a fielder’s choice plus a 2-run single (milb.com)
  • Slate Alford: 2-run single to spark the comeback (milb.com)
  • Marlon Quintero: 2-run single, major rally fuel (milb.com)
  • Fulton Lockhart: scoreless ninth to finish it (milb.com)

Outstanding Player

Lucas Ramirez
A run-producing day plus his first homer of the season earns the crown for Ontario’s loudest buzzer. (milb.com)


System-Wide Takeaways

OKC: offense like a chainsaw, with just enough pitching to keep the furniture intact. (milb.com)
Tulsa: winning, polished, prospect-heavy, and increasingly fun. (milb.com)
Great Lakes: elite run prevention carried the night. (milb.com)
Ontario Tower Buzzers: early deficit, huge counterpunch, then a 12-run exclamation point. (milb.com)

Farm System Player of the Day

Zach Ehrhard, OKC
Inside-the-park grand slam. That’s not baseball, that’s a pinball machine wearing spikes. (milb.com)

Discussion (84)

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Be civil — moderation is real. Links may need a moment of review.

  1. Watford DodgerApril 15, 2026

    Dalton is in the wrong sport then….

  2. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    Jimmy Loudcontact

  3. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    I think you are on to something. That has to be it! 😉 Hitman?

  4. porpoiseboyApril 15, 2026

    Do you think a last name change might help him? Perhaps the last name Outman is too prescient.

  5. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    Happy for Tucket

  6. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    I’m hooked!

  7. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    James Outman: 0-18 10 K’s YIKES!

  8. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    It’s certainly better than what I can do… way faster too!

  9. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    Fastbal looked live

  10. Shawn MurphyApril 15, 2026

    Mark – I, along with many others, am so looking forward to reading your book! I know you don’t need our monies, but maybe offer up a worthy cause you would like us to contribute to in exchange for a book.

  11. Shawn MurphyApril 15, 2026

    That is a pretty impressive AI generated Milb report. Keep up the good work!

  12. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    Whenever Doc brings in a pitcher, and he executes, he’s a genius. When that pitcher gets bombed, Doc is an Idiot@!

  13. DodgerdadApril 15, 2026

    Well Supermoto was dominant again last night! One pitch was the only mistake he made! I honestly hope and pray that the Dodgers give him run support this season. Now McLean was filthy last night. So we should give them a pass for last night’s performance. But typically they don’t score much of anything when he pitches. That could be the only thing that prevents him from challenging Skeenes for the Cy Young Award. While I’m not saying Doc is a genius, you have to be impressed with his decision to bring inTrienan to face Robert ! Maybe one or two batters maximum and Blake can be lights out! Vesia looks like a man on a mission! Love his fire! And hats off to Kristen Watson for her postgame interview! Well done and very sincere! She belongs!(sorry Alana!) Mookie looks healthy to me!!!! Play him!!! (Just kidding!) Kim did not look good at the plate last night. It comes and goes. Defensively? I give him a B+. Offensively? C- It’s not going to happen overnight. Let’s just hope it happens! Diaz? Is it a matter of rest? Is a matter of just a bad outing? Is it age catching up with him? Is it something in that elbow? Is it why the Mets let him walk? Maybe it’s none of the above. Let’s hope he’s ok. If not, Mr. Scott will have to earn his money! Good for Kyle Tucker!!! He’s been pressing a little in my opinion. He will be fine. He’s too good of a player to continue to struggle! Padres are hot! Do we really care? Giants are not! Rockies are actually better than we thought so far! Dbacks are somewhat dangerous! Oh well. If LA stays the course, they will win the west by 10 games. Pittsburgh could be a sneaky good team! With that pitching? The longer they stay relevant, maybe they can add more offense? Gotta love it! What’s happened to the vaunted Yankees? Looked at the standings this morning and the Rays are in first place! I know it’s early! Looks like the Dodgers are the only playoff team from last season without any hangover!! Imagine that!!

  14. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    OK, here a teaser (part of the Introduction): Introduction “Have you ever had a bad day? I know about bad days… boy do I. I don’t have them anymore. A large part of this story is about a bad day that lasted nearly ten years! If I had ever known that it would last that long, I am not sure that I could have endured it. I was too dumb to know that, so I did those ten years “one day at a time.” Sometimes, it’s good to be “dumb.” As I write this as an old man of seventy-three years, those bad days included seven years, five months, and five days of being imprisoned on false charges. I never accepted the fact that I would end up doing seven and a half years in prison, so I did them “one day at a time.” Actually, I was sentenced to forty years in prison, however, I refused to accept that number, and it turned out that it was all overturned. However, getting it overturned was not accomplished in the normal or regular way. No attorney could do what I had to to do myself. It would have been political suicide… so I did it myself! This is the incredible and unlikely story of how that happened. I wish I were able to give you some magic formula as to how I overcame the challenges I faced. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a magic wand or silver bullet. Some things though will forever be true, including the ability to alter your life by changing your thinking. Changing your thinking involves modifying your focus. If you focus on your problems, you ruminate and obsess on them to the point that is all you can see. You think that you are a victim, and you accept that fate. In many ways, you are like a dog chasing its tail. You have to break that cycle and focus upon the solution… not the problem, if you ever want to break free. This is a story much like the Biblical story of Job which has to be one of the most profound stories in the Bible or in any other archive as it delves into human suffering, faith, and the limits of human understanding. It is a story about a man losing everything, not just once, but twice! It is a story of great suffering, and despair and finally a story of redemption and restoration. It is a story about faith and that when you see the invisible, you can do the impossible. This book is about losing everything, the despair, and the redemption as well as the work that it takes to achieve that. I use the word “work” because moving mountains, by its nature, is work… HARD WORK. When I was first convicted, I sat in prison for five years, waiting for the legal system to act and a miracle that never came. I did it one day at a time… always thinking I would get out the next day. I knew that I wasn’t guilty and thought justice would just arrive and I would be set free. I finally came to the realization that no one was going to do it for me. The system, the elected officials, and the Police were rigged and/or corrupt and I had to expose it. This was politically motivated, and no attorney would assassinate the character of these officials; it would be political suicide! I had to do it myself. I was in for the fight of my life, but I realized I had a mountain to move. The first step in moving mountains is to accept that a mountain exists and you have to move it. No mountains can be moved… unless you KNOW mountains can be moved! I have had attorneys research this, and they can find no other case in the annals of American Jurisprudence where a prison inmate who had been sentenced to a substantial amount of time (forty years to be exact) was able to get it overturned by acting as his own attorney. I am the unicorn! If someone knows of a similar case, I would like to know about it.”

  15. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    In order to move mountains, you first have to kick some pebbles.

  16. Brian PerkinsApril 15, 2026

    Who is Marlon Quintero?

  17. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

  18. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    I went over to Jeff’s old site, and it’s been hacked. Do not click on anything, or you will be SOL. I am spending several thousand dollars a year on spam filters (Askimet). So far this week, there have been 1,694 attempts to hack the site. These hackers are crazy. I get 1,000’s of spam messages as well, which is why your comments are sometimes in jail. I have no one blocked, it’s just the software.

  19. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    Well, I did nothing except copy and paste. I get an email at 7 AM every day from AI, and I copy and paste. Easy peasy!

  20. JohnApril 15, 2026

    Mark, you did a great job covering the milb. Seriously I like the report. Bear excellent as always. I’ll have to check the weather in Denver. I was thinking of running up there. Happy Jackie Robinson day to all my Dodger friends.

  21. Mark TimmonsApril 15, 2026

    New Update above. It’s a gigantic pain to do a Minor League Report… every day. To do it right takes me about 20-30 minutes, and I don’t have the time (or the inclination). However, I think it would be awesome if LADT could be a source of a reliable Minor League Report, so today, I had AI create one. It was created while I was pouring a cup of coffee, and I copied and pasted it. Tell me what you think, and if you like it, I’ll have it every day. It took less than a minute.

  22. Daytona JackApril 15, 2026

    Great article and fond memories. Like you, I have been following the Dodgers since 56. After they moved to LA I was regulated to day late newspaper sports in the local PA papers. But it was a fun way to follow baseball, using your imagination to relive great plays. Currently on a 44 day cruise and it’s back to the old days, but this time I get way more information with the Internet and following the action on game day. Your article brought back some great in memories of Garv, Penguin (remember when he kicked the Phanatic’s ass and stole his cart?) Cey band Russell. Thanks again.

  23. BearApril 15, 2026

    Low A. Can’t take much from that other than he was filling the strike zone.

  24. BearApril 15, 2026

    Wills and Izturis are the only Dodgers to ever win a gold glove as a SS. Wills did it twice. 61-62 and he made 29 errors in 61 and 36 in 62. Standards were a lot different then. Thomas was a slick fielder wherever he played.

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By Mark Timmons · July 15, 202652

Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor

I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…

By Michael "Bear" Norris · July 14, 202676