The Trolley Dodger

The set of people who are both readers of this site and users of the Mac flash card program iFlash is probably quite small, but just in case I’ll let you know I uploaded a “Dodgers Retired Numbers” deck to their Deck Library if you’d like to memorize those.

Here’s the Dodgers Retired Numbers page on Dodgers.com as well.

(I discovered over the weekend that you can also sync up iFlash decks with an iPhone/iTouch app for on-the-go memorization, so that’s pretty handy. I grabbed a couple of GRE vocab study decks to keep up my vocabulary chops. :)

(From MLB Network PR)

MLB NETWORK TO AIR SPECIAL DON DRYSDALE SEGMENT ON MONDAY, JUNE 15

Bob Costas to voice special segment on Drysdale’s sixth straight shutout game on the night of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination

June 12, 2009 – MLB Network will air on Monday, June 15 a special feature narrated by Bob Costas about Don Drysdale’s sixth straight shutout game, pitched in 1968. The game, held on June 4, 1968 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates, coincided with Robert F. Kennedy’s victory in the 1968 California primary. In the first words of his acceptance speech, Kennedy congratulated Drysdale; moments after the speech, Kennedy was assassinated. Four days later, on June 8, Drysdale broke a 55-year old record for consecutive scoreless innings and wore a black arm band to honor Kennedy’s memory.

The piece includes original interviews with Drysdale’s former teammates former Dodgers first baseman Wes Parker and Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, Drysdale’s widow Anne Myers and Kennedy’s speechwriter Jeff Greenfield.

“Baseball’s past is incredibly important to today’s fans and this feature shows how baseball intersects with all aspects of our country’s history,” said Tony Petitti, President and Chief Executive Officer of MLB Network. “We feel a responsibility to baseball fans to describe and relive these key moments.”

The piece will first air between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET and re-air throughout the night on MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch.

About MLB Network
MLB Network launched on January 1, 2009 and is currently in 52 million homes. With live games, original programming, highlights, classic games, and coverage of baseball events, MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans. For more information, go to mlbnetwork.com.

As I’m observing my 40th birthday this week, I thought I’d have a look see at the 1969 Dodgers season. This was the 7th year in Dodger Stadium and 11th in California.

100th anniversary celebrations for MLB saw the addition of four expansion teams in 1969: the KC Royals and Seattle Pilots in the AL, and the Padres and Montreal Expos in the NL.

Not a great finish for the Dodgers in 1969: 4th place in the newly formed National League West division. The teams in the NL West from 1969-1992:

• Atlanta Braves
• Cincinnati Reds
• Houston Astros
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• San Diego Padres
• San Francisco Giants

(Colorado was added in 1993, while the Braves, Reds, and Astros moved away in 1994. Arizona came in 1998.)

The Dodgers finished 85-77, eight games back from the division-winning Braves. The opening day Dodger starters:

• CF Willie Crawford
• RF Len Gabrielson
• 3B Bill Sudakis
• 1B Ron Fairly
• LF Andy Kosco
• C Tom Haller
• 2B Jim Lefebvre
• SS Ted Sizemore
• P Don Drysdale

That was April 7, 1969, at Cincy. LA won, 3-2. Don Drysdale won, with Bill Singer getting the save — the first official save in baseball history.

While the 4th-place finish wasn’t great, it was a bit of an improvement over their awful 76-86 and 73-89 performances the previous two years. One step closer to the glory years of the mid-to-late 1970s.

Two highlights from 1969:

• On January 21st, Roy Campanella was elected to the Hall of Fame.
• On August 11th, Don Drysdale retired. He was the last active Dodger who had also played in Brooklyn.

Transactions that year (from Wikipedia):

• March 30: Acquired Jimmie Schaffer from the Cincinnati Reds for Ted Savage
• April 17: Acquired Al McBean from the San Diego Padres for Tommy Dean and Leon Everitt
• June 5: Bob Randall was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft (Secondary Phase).
• June 11: Acquired Maury Wills and Manny Mota from the Montreal Expos for Ron Fairly and Paul Popovich
• August 15: Acquired Jim Bunning from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Ron Mitchell, Chuck Coggin and cash
• September 1: Acquired Jack Jenkins from the Washington Senators for cash

More info:

• 1969 Dodgers at Wikipedia
• 1969 Dodgers at Retrosheet
• 1969 Dodgers at Baseball Reference
• 1969 Dodgers at Baseball Almanac
• 1969 MLB season at Wikipedia

Yeah, this guy was a little intimidating:

SI.com has a cool feature that allows you to browse Sports Illustrated covers of days gone by, and even to search by team. Like this for the Dodgers, showing 41 covers with Dodgers on them, from Don Drysdale on August 20, 1962, to Sandy Koufax on July 12, 1999, and lots in between. You can even buy covers at sicovers.com.