JACKIE ROBINSON DAY FROM THE DODGER PERSPECTIVE!

Photo: Associated Press

Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. The Dodgers paid tribute to Jackie’s legacy by unveiling a new bronze statue that will be on permanent display in the stadium’s left field pavilion. 

Many baseball fans know Jackie’s story—after making his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the game. He was praised for his poise, integrity, and work ethic as he integrated baseball. He’s often credited for paving the way for minorities to play professionally in other sports leagues. 

The actual statue is quite impressive and shows a rookie Jackie Robinson stealing home plate—a pose that perfectly captures his hustle and competitive spirit. I’m honestly surprised it took this long for Jackie to get a statue at Dodger stadium—even Shaq got a statue at Staples Center before Jackie!—but glad that the new Dodger ownership and specifically Mark Walter recognized that this was something that needed to be done and invested the money to do it. 

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports

The unveiling ceremony featured Jackie’s family—his wife Rachel is almost 95 years old and looks amazing—as well as Dodger royalty Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe, Tommy Lasorda, and Vin Scully. 

Vin, who was a young announcer when Jackie played, recalled the time Robinson had challenged him to a race on ice skates and told the audience of a darker story from Jackie’s playing days when he once received a serious death threat. Scully intimated that on the day the incident was supposed to take place, the locker room was extremely intense and quiet. The silence was finally broken by left fielder Gene Hermanski, who suggested that all the players wear number 42 so the would-be assassin wouldn’t know which one was Jackie Robinson.

“Now that seemed funny at the day,” said Scully. “In 2004, Gene Hermanski’s words in 1950 came to fruition. We’ll all wear number 42…And all across the country, in every major league ballpark, every player will be wearing 42.”

Jackie Robinson statue at Dodger Stadium. pic.twitter.com/Ho9azs92wt

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) April 15, 2017

Engraved on Jackie’s statue is one of his famous quotes:  “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Jackie’s courage helped open the doors for so many people and created social change. His family continues to help others with the Jackie Robinson Foundation which provides college scholarships to young minorities. 

--Alexis Garcia

BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist
Twitter:  @heylexyg

YASIEL PUIG WANTS A HELICOPTER

Yasiel Puig may be a five-tool player, but that doesn’t mean he always has the best judgment.

The Dodgers outfielder—who was benched last year for his chronic tardiness—now wants to purchase a helicopter to get to Dodger Stadium on time. 

The Los Angeles Times follows up with Alex Vega, a Miami garage owner who specializes in custom cars and who considers Puig a loyal client. "His plan is to buy one," Vega told the Times.

Interesting side note: Vega is also responsible for whatever the hell Yoenis Cespedes was driving to Spring Training earlier this week.

.@ynscspds knows how to make an exit. #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/WHFAPiCz2s

— MLB (@MLB) February 23, 2016

There’s just one small snag of course—Dodger Stadium doesn’t have a landing pad and flying aircraft near stadiums is against FAA regulations. 

Thanx to this awesome guys for flying us around video credit to: @aircampilot_ @vamp_la w/ @copterpilot & @robin.at.tam #lastory

A video posted by @yasielpuig (@yasielpuig) on Feb 16, 2016 at 6:13pm PST

If you follow Puig on Instagram, you might not be shocked by the Cuban sensation’s sudden interesting in choppers (and his affinity for video games). He spent some of his offseason taking helicopter tours around Los Angeles. But really, you can’t find any other way to get to the stadium on time? 

Of course at this point, Puig’s pie-in-the-sky dream of flying to Dodger Stadium is now a comedy routine with him and front office staff, but his maturity on the field is a serious concern for the club and fans. This helicopter request only adds to the examples of Puig not being mentally focused for his on-field duties.

Puig is still waiting for a decision from Commissioner Rob Manfred for his alleged involvement in a dust up at a Miami bar last November where he pushed his sister and the outfielder is looking to rebound from a disappointing season that mostly saw him on the injured list. 

But Puig’s return to the Dodgers clubhouse this Spring is giving some hope—he’s physically in top shape—the Dodgers wanted him to lose some of the bulk, which he did—and he’s starting to work more with his former translator who could be a positive influence on his behavior. Now Puig is young and he should enjoy his star status, but really, can we not spend money on a helicopter and just focus on having a successful season? 

   
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg




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CUBS SIGN ARRIETA & BRYANT SWIMS WITH THE FISHES

With only days to go before Chicago and their Cy Young winner headed to arbitration, the Cubs and Jake Arrieta reached a one year, $10.25 million dollar deal late Friday night. 

Arrieta was a key piece in the Cubs first post-season run since 2008 and he ended up beating out Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw to snag the NL Cy Young award. For his efforts he gets a $7 million dollar raise. 

The deal will keep the Cubbie ace in Chicago until at least 2017. I’m sure Wrigley faithful are hoping the club will get Arrieta signed to a longer deal before then.

And while the Cubs narrowly missed a potential stare down with their ace, the clubs Rookie of the Year winner was off in Hawaii courting danger.

After getting engaged this winter, Kris Bryant spent the last couple weeks of freedom before Spring Training vacationing in Hawaii and went swimming…with sharks!

Swimming with sharks✔️ @redbull @gopro

A video posted by Kris Bryant (@kris_bryant17) on Feb 4, 2016 at 12:03pm PST

The slugging third baseman posted video of his encounter on Instagram—and while he was in a protective cage, some Cubbie fans were understandably worried for their star player’s safety. 

From MLB.com: 

Some Cubs fans weren't too thrilled, calling it "so scary" and cautioned Bryant, saying, "Plz don't get eaten." One commenter thought the sharks were lucky Bryant didn't eat them, and suggested he bring teammate Anthony Rizzo next time… Orangetennis4 posted a sentiment most likely shared by other Cubs fans: "Kris, please stay away from sharks. Thank you -- Cubs Nation."

Oh boy.

    
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg 








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CESPEDES STAYING PUT WITH THE METS!

After all the waiting, Yoenis Cespedes is staying in New York with the Mets.

The slugging outfielder agreed to the deal late Friday ESPN reports. His haul will be $75 million over three years and includes an opt out clause after the first year.

Cespedes had one of his best seasons last year after arriving to the Mets—he finished the 2015 campaign with 35 home runs and 105 RBIs. So why did it take so long for him to be plucked from free agency?

As BYB has noted previously, this year’s market had nearly two dozen outfielders up for grabs including marquee players like Justin Upton (who also just signed a deal recently), Alex Gordon, Denard Span, and Jason Hayward. In fact, Yahoo! Sports notes there is enough quality free agents left on the market in January to field an entire team.

So what gives?

One observation is that many teams that have traditionally spent big money are holding back this year. Angels owner Arte Moreno, perhaps still smarting from the Josh Hamilton bust, said early in the fall that he would not be fronting tons of money to fill his void in the outfield. The Yanks also seems to be holding on to their pocketbook as they wait for other contracts to expire says FOX Sports analyst Ken Rosenthal.

Pair this unwillingness to spend with a glut of available talent (the Braves and Reds basically put everyone out for grabs) and lack of trade options and you basically have a buyers market for players.

But don’t feel too bad that Cespedes had to wait so long. His new salary puts him on par with Giancarlo Stanton as one of the highest ever paid to an outfielder. That’s a lot of coffee table books.


   
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg




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THAT TRADE BETWEEN THE NATS & JAYS? IT'S OFFICIAL!

The Washington Nationals are in the midst of a makeover after their disappointing season last year— one punctuated with Jonathan Papelbon choking Bryce Harper in the dugout late in the season.

In their latest move, the Nats have unloaded the guy that Papelbon replaced—closer Drew Storen is heading north of the border to Toronto in return for outfielder Ben Revere.

Revere adds another lefty bat in the lineup (in addition to 2B Daniel Murphy who the Nats added this week) and plugs a hole in the outfield left by Denard Span. Span was signed by San Francisco as a free agent on Thursday.

(In Photo: Daniel Murphy)
Storen performed well with 29 saves and a 1.73 ERA until the Nats got Papelbon. Storen was asked to take over eighth inning reliever role and didn’t get another save for the rest of the season—which ended in September after slamming his dumb in his locker. I don’t see his role changing since the Jays have Roberto Osuna as their main closer, but a fresh start and new locker room for Storen may help him get back to his performance level.

This trade should also give some indication to the looming question for Nats fans on whether the team would keep Papelbon as their closer.

GM Mike Rizzo repeatedly told reporters that he would keep both Papelbon and Storen in the bullpen unless a real baseball offer was made. With this trade of Storen, it’s likely that Papelbon will remain in D.C. unless Rizzo can get another quality arm for unloaded Papelbon.


   
--Alexis Garcia, BYB's "Eye on MLB" Columnist &
Los Angeles Dodger fan
Twitter:  @heylexyg



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A LOT OF PEDs BITCH SLAPPING GOING ON

Since the "steroid era" of the 1990's with home run numbers skyrocketing, there has been a heated debate about whether players accused, or proven guilty, of steroid use should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This year was no exception and with Social Media growing in popularity daily, shots are fired much easier!

Roy Halladay tweeted on Wednesday morning his very strong opinion on the matter, taking a shot at Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds:

When you use PEDs you admit your not good enough to compete fairly! Our nations past time should have higher standards! No Clemens no Bonds!

— Roy Halladay (@RoyHalladay) January 6, 2016

Roger Clemens did not take the shot lightly and even fired back a shot at Roy Halladay, accusing Halladay of using amphetamines by a "strength coach".

Both Clemens and all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds, have had plenty of accusations and have vehemently denied the allegations. However, most of us baseball fans believe that they, along with plenty of other players, former and current, have taken banned substances in order to further their career and earn another payday.

Not everyone believes that Clemens and Bonds should not be in the Hall of Fame though.  BYB writer Alexis Garcia has been at the forefront of this whole conversation even suggesting that it's time to put Bonds and Clemens in Cooperstown.  Alexis wrote in BONDS & CLEMENS DESERVE COOPERSTOWN,  

"I really don’t care that Bonds and Clemens doped. Or that they are Hall of Fame level a-holes. It may seem wrong today, but it’s hard for me to justify punishing them for taking part in an action that the MLB and its fan base all but ignored in the late 90s when the game was struggling to regain relevance after the damaging 1994 strike."

 Garcia was even back by FOX Sports guy Jon Morosi:

Do Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens deserve to be in the MLB Hall Of Fame? Jon Morosi thinks so.
Posted by FOX Sports Live on Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Very interesting take, but I personally disagree.  For me, when it comes to Cooperstown, integrity has to come first. If Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned for life due to knowledge of a scheme, without even participating, and Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader, is banned for life for betting on baseball, why should a player with known or very strong suspected ties to PED use be elected in the HOF? I have to agree with Halladay on this one.

There is no doubt that by stats alone, Bonds, Clemens, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and soon Alex Rodriguez, among others, certainly are deserving of enough votes to be elected. They would have likely produced stats that earned them enough votes without the alleged PED use, but with the asterisk next to their accomplishments that many people bring up, it's going to be very difficult for most of these players to earn enough votes to be elected.

When it's all said and done, will either of these players, or any of the other of the alleged or proven, PED users get in? It's tough to say. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised either way, but if you broke the rules in a way that gave you an unfair advantage, should you be allowed to be enshrined amongst the best of the best? Not on my watch.

Someone had to say it Roy. I'm with you.



 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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THE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES WERE NAMED

The names have been announced.  The names shouldn't surprise anyone really, even though I'm kind of shocked.

Mike Piazza
Ken Griffey Jr.

These men will be elected into the Hall of Fame in 2016 and well deserved even though I disagree.  BYB Senior Writer Ike Dimitriadis put together his list yesterday in his post MY HALL OF FAME BALLOT AT HIGH NOON. Here it is:

Mike Mussina
Lee Smith
Ken Griffey Jr.
Curt Shilling
Gary Sheffield
Trevor Hoffman

BYB Writer Alexis Garcia gave her opinion for why Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should be in the Hall and you should read her thoughts on why in  BONDS & CLEMENS DESERVE COOPERSTOWN.

If you are asking me, I agree mostly with the voting, although I'm not so sure that Piazza should be in, at least right now. I'm shocked actually.  Then again, there can be an argument for making it as well.

I would have also chosen Mike Mussina for his great work a a Balimore Oriole more than with the Yankees, Griffey, Tim Raines, Billy Wagner, Trevor Hoffman and Roger Clemens.

I would have written in Pete Rose and if I was a member of the BBWAA, I would do it every single year. I do not care that he bet on baseball... his play needs to be recognized in Cooperstown. It's a wasted vote, I understand that, but it would have to be done. It would put my mind at ease.

I would have also written in Don Mattingly even though there is virtually no shot he will ever be a member of the Hall... his time may have passed.

Congrats to the inductees. Looking forward to the ceremony.




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MY HALL OF FAME BALLOT AT HIGH NOON

A family member sent me this news clipping from June 14, 1939

This Wednesday, January 6th, the National Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the 2016 inductees. I am not a member of the BBWAA, so I will not get to contribute to some deserving players’ 75% of the vote. Like most of us, including my fellow writers, I have strong opinions on who I think deserves to get in. I am also a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA), which organizes and promotes the growing online baseball media and serves as a digital alternative to the BBWAA. We have our own Hall of Fame vote, and I wanted to share my votes for who I would put in the Baseball Hall of Fame and why. You already read my piece on Mike Mussina: MIKE MUSSINA BELONGS IN THE HALL and Alexis Garcia's piece on Clemens and Bonds: BONDS & CLEMENS DESERVE COOPERSTOWN.  Here are the rest of mine.

Ken Griffey Jr.: For nearly a decade, he was the most feared hitter int eh American League. Four times he led the American League in home runs. Four times he had an OPS over 1.000. For 5 consecutive seasons, he hit 40+ home runs, 100+ runs, 100+ RBI. He is 6th on the all-time list with 630 home runs, 15th on the all-time RBI list with 1836, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, and a 13-time All-Star. This is a no-brainer.

Gary Sheffield: Over the course of a 22-year career, he was a feared hitter who hit for power, hit for average, was a threat to steal, and mastered defense at multiple positions. He is 25th on the all-time HR list with 509. He is 27th on the all-time RBI list with 1676. He won a batting title in 1992. Six times he finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting. Unlike most power hitters, he never struck out more than 85 times in a season. Sheff has earned his spot in Cooperstown.

Curt Schilling: Put down the gun. If you’re evaluating him purely as a pitcher, there is no question. He pitched for 20 seasons and he knew how to win. Every team for which he was a regular starter went to eh playoffs. It is shocking that he never won a Cy Young though he came in 2nd three times. He was a 3-time 20-game winner, twice leading the league in Wins. Three times he threw over 300 strikeouts and a fourth time he threw 293, twice leading the league. He is 15th on the all-time list with 3116 K’s. He was notoriously durable, leading the league in IP twice and Games Started three times. Think durability doesn’t matter? Remember what happened when he went 1-4-7 in the World Series? Or the time he pitched with a bloody sock? Speaking of playoffs, he holds an 11-2 record with an ERA of 2.23, WHIP of 0.968, and a K/9 of 8.1 over 19 career postseason starts. He is likely the most deserving of all starting pitchers on the ballot.

Trevor Hoffman: The only reason people weren’t talking about him more during his career was that he had the misfortune of pitching at the same time as Mariano Rivera. He is second on the all-time saves list with 601 (to Mariano’s 652) and with 40 or more saves in nine of his 18 seasons. He also came in the top 3 in the league in saves nine times. He actually came in 2nd twice in the NL Cy Young voting and top 10 twice in the NL MVP voting, which is remarkable for a reliever. Aside from a Scott Brosius home run to dead center field, his resume is spectacular. Relievers get a bum rap in Hall of Fame Voting. It needs to change, starting here.

Lee Smith: This might sound surprising, but only if you never actually saw him pitch. He is third on the all-time Saves list with 478, and he was int eh Top 4 in Saves in 14 of his 18 seasons.  He was a dominant closer in an era when the value of a closer was just being discovered. People forget he was #1 on the career list for Saves the 13 years before Trevor Hoffman. This will be his 14th time on the ballot, and he should get more votes than he’s gotten in the recent past.

So that’s it for me. This Wednesday’s announcement should be exciting. There will be lots to talk about the winners and about who got robbed. Mike Mussina better be in the winners’ circle.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon







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