Thursday, April 19
Wednesday, April 18
Like baseball’s purity, Vin Scully never gets old: Anyone who thinks the Dodgers’ legendary play-by-play man has ‘lost it’ really ought to just get lost. Or simply listen to Scully enthrall listeners while losing himself in the beauty of the game.
Photo: Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, shown in August 2010, is continuing his “love affair” with baseball in the Dodgers’ booth this season. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times
I am thankful for my memories of driving in the car with my Dad while we listened to Vin Scully give the play-by-play for the Dodgers.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the opening of Dodger Stadium. These images from the USC Digital Library show the stadium’s progress from concept to construction site to sports venue.
To learn more about the history and controversial origins of Dodger Stadium, see L.A. as Subject’s post from last April, “A History of L.A.’s Baseball Stadiums: Stars, Angels, the Battle for Chavez Ravine.”
Dodgertown.
Monday, March 19
"The focus on the Dodgers and in the city of Los Angeles needs to be on the field."
For serious.
My favorite time of year is right around the corner. The countdown to April 10th has begun.
Thursday, March 8
![latimes:
Dodgers’ spring training in Vero Beach, Fla.: The Dodgers trained in Vero Beach, Fla., from 1949 to 2008, when they moved spring training to Arizona. This photo gallery looks back at Dodger spring training — and all those stretching exercises.
[Updated, 9:20 p.m.: And here’s one of Tommy Lasorda with a hula loop, thanks to LAHistory.]
Photo: March 7, 1973: Willie Davis, left, and Steve Garvey use hula hoops during an exercise period at Dodgertown. Credit: Associated Press
Happiness.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0fnugTYQg1qzss4xo1_400.jpg)
Dodgers’ spring training in Vero Beach, Fla.: The Dodgers trained in Vero Beach, Fla., from 1949 to 2008, when they moved spring training to Arizona. This photo gallery looks back at Dodger spring training — and all those stretching exercises.
[Updated, 9:20 p.m.: And here’s one of Tommy Lasorda with a hula loop, thanks to LAHistory.]
Photo: March 7, 1973: Willie Davis, left, and Steve Garvey use hula hoops during an exercise period at Dodgertown. Credit: Associated Press
Happiness.
(Source: Los Angeles Times)
Friday, February 3
Spring training starts in a month. It’s almost baseball season, ya’ll.
It’s time for Dodger Baseball.
(Source: airows, via graydongordian)
Friday, December 9
Oct. 11, 1965: Dodgers, from left, Maury Wills, Sandy Koufax and Willie Davis celebrate after winning Game 5 of the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins. In that game, Koufax pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out 10.
View 130 photos for The Times’ 130th birthday on Framework.
Photo credit: Lou Mack / Los Angeles Times
(Source: Los Angeles Times)
Monday, October 24
Jackie Robinson
January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the first African American to “officially” play in Major League Baseball. When he retired from the game, Jackie Robinson went on to champion the cause of civil rights from his position as a prominent executive of the Chock Full o’Nuts Corporation.
Robinson had grown increasingly impatient with what he regarded as President Eisenhower’s failure to act decisively in combating racism. In this letter, he expresses his frustration and calls upon the President to finally guarantee Federal support of black civil rights.
Shown here is Robinson’s 1958 letter to President Eisenhower, and a photo of Robinson with his son at the March on Washington D.C. in 1963.
Jackie Robinson passed away on this day, 39 years ago.
“…cannot do as you suggest and wait for the hearts of men to change.”
(via todaysdocument)
Thursday, August 18
On today’s Fresh Air, catcher Brad Ausmus (facing towards us.) He’ll tell us what it’s like to catch in the major leagues…and what it’s like to continually squat: “At times, I’ve tried to total up the number of squats I’ve gotten into over the course of a season, and you’d have to go 150 squats a day for seven months.”“
No matter where I live, I will always root for the Boys in Blue.
Thursday, March 31
The Boys in Blue at Fenway, Summer 2010.
Today is opening day at Dodger Stadium and I’m feeling a little homesick. I wish I could teleport to Chavez Ravine for some good old-fashioned rooting for the boys in blue. The deeper part of being homesick and thinking about the Dodgers is missing my Dad.
This is a short piece I wrote around this time last year in my nonfiction writing class. It was a quick assignment, so it’s pretty rough around the edges. But, the writing is just as true today as it was last year.
—-
Bleeding Blue
It’s my favorite time of year right now. It’s the time for hot dogs, garlic fries, and frozen lemonade. It’s the time of year when the field is a dark and light green chess board with an edge of burnt red dirt. It’s the time of year when Vin Scully’s voice is sweet music to my ears. It’s the time of year to sing and do a seventh-inning stretch. It’s the time of year when I don’t leave until the game is over and they play “I Love LA.” It’s baseball season and I am a Dodgers fan.
My love for the Dodgers is as much a part of me as my Japanese heritage, my love for photography, and my very DNA. Like many things in my life, there is a back story to my love. On the surface, I was born and raised in Pasadena, a suburb in Los Angeles County and a short 20 minutes away from Dodger Stadium. They were my home team by the mere fact of simple geography. My parents are Dodger’s fans. My dad has a fly ball he had caught at a game and later had signed by Dusty Baker. One of my parent’s first dates was to a Dodgers game, which was my Mom’s first Major League Baseball game. Both of my older brothers played little league and collected basbeball cards. I distinctly remember going to games as a family when I was younger.
My father’s love for the Dodgers came from his father, who still watches Dodger games or listens on the radio while he wears his blue member’s only jacket. My grandpa loves the Dodgers and sat in the field box with sports photographers, snapping photos of the boys in blue.
When I decided to pack my bags and head East for college, my father told me one thing, “If you become a Red Sox fan, I’ll disown you.” I know my Dad joking, but at the same time, there’s a part of him that means it. For our family, the Dodgers are part of the glue that holds us together. Like faith, and tradition, and love, the Dodgers are another facet of my family.
This is my favorite time of year. It’s the time of year when it’s okay to match my family because we’re all wearing blue. It’s the time of year when I’ll sit on the back porch with my Dad listening to the the crack of a ball and bat transmitted over radio waves and into the cool evening air. It’s the time of year when I will stand up screaming alongside my brother’s when the Dodgers are beating the Giants. It’s the time of year to know my blood runs royal blue just like the rest of my family.
