Gary Carter's First Game at Dodger Stadium

Rookie Gary Carter in 1975

Gary Carter was a good man and the world is a lessor place today with his passing.  A player with an infectious smile and a man that lived with tremendous faith.  Everyone that came in contact with him has positive things to say.  He was a man that knew the proper priorities in life and put his family first.  He was a Hall of Famer in life as well as baseball.

The "Kid" was a SoCal phenomenom, out of Fullerton's Sunny Hills High School, and many of us were aware of him before his arrival to the big leagues.  Starting the '75 season for Montreal in right field the day before his 21st birthday, Gary went 3 for 4 with a homer on opening day.  By May 12th, veteran Expo Manager Gene Mauch decided that the enthusiastic "kid" was to replace journeyman catcher Barry Foote behind the dish. I remember attending his first Major League game in Southern California.  Many were excited to see the young local boy start his first game at Dodger Stadium.  It was June 9, 1975.  I'm sure for Gary, it was to be a special night.  It didn't turn out that way.  As you can see by the box score.

Montreal

Batting            AB R H RBI BB SO BA  OPS

Mangual CF    4   0  0  0    0    2    .270   .697

Lintz 2B            4   0  0  0    0   1    .242   .578

Coggins RF    3   0  1  0    1   0    .286   .734

Biitner LF    4   0  2  0    0   0    .383   .901

Jorgnsen 1B    3   0  0  0   1   1    .229   .729

Scanlon 3B    4   0  0  0   0   1    .244   .764

Carter C         4   0  0  0   0   4   .262   .768

Foli SS            2   0  1  0  1   0   .222   .546

Fryman P    2   0  0  0  0   2   .174   .469

DeNola P    0   0  0  0  0   0   .000   .000

Bailey PH    1   0  0  0  0   1   .212   .536

Taylor P            0   0  0  0  0   0   .000   .000

Totals  31   0  4  0  3 12   .129   .335

TB: L Biitner 2; R Coggins; T Foli.

Team LOB: 7.

With RISP: 0 for 4

Los Angeles

Batting       AB R H RBI BB SO BA  OPS

Lopes 2B       4   0 0 0 0 1 .249  .723

Paciorek LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .183  .494

Wynn CF 3 2 2 1 1 0 .286  .961

Cruz PR-CF 0 0 0 0 0 0 .235  .542

Garvey 1B 4 1 1 1 0 1 .321  .824

Cey 3B         4 0 1 1 0 0 .269  .788

Ferguson RF 3 0 1 0 1 0 .199  .628

Yeager C 2 1 1 0 1 0 .210  .586

Auerbach SS3 0 1 1 0 0 .191  .536

Messrsmth P 3 0 0 0 0 1 .283  .676

Totals 30 4 7 4 3 3 .233  .736

2B: R Auerbach (8, off W Fryman)

3B: S Garvey (4, off W Fryman).

HR: J Wynn (12, off W Fryman; 5th inn. 0 on, 1 out to LF).

SH: S Yeager (2, off D DeMola).

TB: J Wynn 5; S Garvey 3; R Auerbach 2; J Ferguson; R Cey; S Yeager.

RBI: R Auerbach (10); R Cey (33); J Wynn (36); S Garvey (38).

2-out RBI: S Garvey; R Cey.

Team LOB: 6.

With RISP: 1 for 6.

Montreal

Pitching      IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BF

Fryman, L (5-3) 5       5 4 4 3 1 1 2.78 23

DeMola     2       2 0 0 0 2 0 2.88 8

C Taylor     1       0 0 0 0 0 0 4.28 3

Totals     8       7 4 4 3 3 1 4.50 34

Los Angeles

Pitching    IP     H      R ER BB SO HR ERA BF

Messrsmth        9     4       0 0 3 12 0 1.90 34

W, (9-2)

Totals    9     4       0 0 3 12 0 0.00 34

Balks: None.

WP: None.

HBP: None.

IBB: None.

Pickoffs: None.

Umpires: HP - Andy Olsen, 1B - Terry Tata, 2B - Ed Sudol, 3B - Bill Williams.

Time of Game: 1:57.

Attendance: 22,701

*********************************************

With family and friends in attendance and excitement and butterflies in his belly, Gary struck out four times against veteran pitcher Andy Messersmith who threw a 4 hit shutout in less than two hours.  I'll never forget the kid in his final at bat in the bottom of the ninth.  With the Dodgers up 4-0, the Expos mounted their first threat of the night.  Messersmith had walked the first batter and then gave up a single to Larry Biitner.  After retiring the next two hitters, the young rookie eagerly stepped to the plate amongst a lot of fanfare.  He wanted to redeem himself desperately and there was a lot of excitement in the air.  Carter swung from the heals on two pitches as any eager Rookie would, coming up empty and then Messersmith pulled the string on a slow breaking ball that hit the corner, faking Gary out of his shoes as he took it for a called third strike to end the game.  Home plate umpire Andy Olsen emphatically called him out and the crowd went wild as the Dodgers ran off the field victorious.  

Carter twisted and swung his bat in the air in frustration as he complained at the called third strike and stomped back to the dugout.  Many in the crowd laughed as the young rookie ended his disastrous home town debut in dramatic fashion.

The next night was more favorable to Gary as he went 1 for 3 in an Expo 5-4 victory over the Dodgers.

I was hoping to have the opportunity to one day talk to Gary about that first night against the Dodgers that I witnessed.  I even had purchased an Carter Expo jersey made by Mitchell and Ness and was ready to purchase a ticket for a signing last May at the San Francisco Cow Palace where he was to appear.  Sadly, his illness surfaced and the cancellation was in order.

I sent Gary a get well card, and hoped and prayed for him and his family.   Fullerton mourns the loss of one of their great sons.  Fellow Fullerton Hall of Famer Walter Johnson now has a batterymate to catch that slingshot blazing fastball of his.  Rest in Peace Gary, you were one of the greatest.       

Everyone Else is Writing About Ethier, So Why Not Pile On?

Steve Dilbeck put out a piece yesterday in the LA TImes blog saying that the Dodgers should sign the always moody Andre Ethier to a multi-year deal now before he becomes a free agent at the end of this season.  He makes a good point that they could probably ink him to a favorable multi-year deal now since he's coming off a sub par injury plagued season.  Adding that if he gets off to a tear this year, he just might price himself out of the Dodger market.

Mike Petriello opines that Andre needs to have a successful year to sign for decent money in 2013.  He believes that for Ethier personally, this may be his big chance for a big payday, and that there aren't many players of his caliber that will be available on the free agent market.

I'm sure I'll take some heat for my opinion here but as much as I think a lot of Ethier and will admit that he is probably one of the greatest clutch hitters that ever wore a Dodger uniform, I believe that signing Andre to a long term deal might be a bad idea.  Here’s why:

1. He can’t hit southpaws.  Look at the numbers.  They are so bad that it makes perfect sense to platoon Ethier and have him only face righties,.  For  2011 his numbers against left handed pitching were: .220 BA, .258 OBP, .305 SLG, 1 homer in 151 PA.  Previous seasons aren't much better.  As much as I believe Larry Bowa was a negative influence on the Dodger clubhouse during his tenure as their third base coach, he was spot on accurate a year ago in January when talking about the Dodgers 2010 season.  He made the following statement on the MLB network before last season began: “Loney and Ethier hit a total of five home runs last year off left handed pitching.  It got so bad from the 7th inning on, all the other manager would do was bring in another left hander to face them, in the middle of an inning, it didn’t matter who, because they struggled.”  
2. His defense is shaky.  Yes, I know he got the gold glove award, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out how unless voters are basing it solely on fielding percentage, which for Ethier was 1.000 in 2011. The reality of the situation is that Ethier’s defense has been suspect for years.  Yes, he can hold his own, but it has never been much to write home about.    I’ll admit that his UZR improved in 2011, but we all know he is best suited as a left fielder and for some crazy reason, he carries enough clout on this team to be granted the right field slot without question.   And that pouting that Ethier does to get his way is addressed in my fourth point below.
3. The Dodgers have Jerry Sands waiting in the wings who proved in September that he is ready to step in and be a respectable power hitter in the big leagues.  Additionally Jerry runs better, fields better and potentially will have more power.  Ideally, the Dodger outfield should be Sands in right, Kemp in center and Ethier in left, but with Rivera signed for big dollars, Sands may unfortunately be heading back to Albuquerque.
4. Ethier has foot in the mouth disease and pouts when unhappy. He said at the eve of opening day last season that “this might be my last year as a Dodger,” insinuating he might be non-tendered after the season...which was a ridiculous assumption.  He later hinted that he wanted to play with his buddy Pedroia in Boston  at the trade deadline.  He whined to T.J. Simers that Dodger management was forcing him to play hurt (which was news to Mattingly).  It’ll be interesting if Mattingly is able to put being backstabbed in the public eye behind him, because he was obviously perturbed by Ethier’s comments last August saying :“I talked to ’Dre about it to see if he felt that the way it came out was accurate. To me, the way I read it, was that ’Dre’s been telling us he can’t play and we just said: ‘Well, you’re playing, anyway.’ And that’s definitely not the case. I would never do that. That’s not part of my DNA. To me, that takes a shot at my integrity, the organization, the training staff, and Ned. But it really gets back to me, personally — that I would put a guy out there that was hurt and was taking a shot at hurting his career. I would never do that. And I told ’Dre that, too.”   Ethier, for being a veteran guy, hasn’t learned to keep is mouth shut at the appropriate moments.
5. Turning 30 years old in April, his best years are behind him.  Statistics prove it.  The peak years are 26-28.  Ethier is the perfect example of those being peak years for most major league players, because that has been the experience of his career.
6. Last year he proved to be is injury prone.  The pinky finger and then the knee.  Hopefully 2011 was an anomaly on his career and is not a sign of things to come.

I’ll admit though, Andre is one of my favorites.  He cares, he wants to win and he is gritty.  I want nearly all of my six points above to be wrong (the exception being Jerry Sands playing every day), but a lot of things will have to fall into place for Andre to step outside the norm and have a spectacular 2012.

 You’ll meet no nicer Dodger when signing for the fans.  I have seen him with children and he's great.   He gives of his time and he's an exceptional role model.  I just wish he could hit lefties.

An Anniversary Worth Noting

In about a week, it will be the 65th anniversary of an interesting footnote in Dodger History.  On February 20, 1947, the Dodgers arrived in Havana Cuba for Spring Training.  Many remember 1947 Spring training as the year the Dodgers spent in Havana and as the Spring Training intended to groom Jackie Robinson for the Major League Roster.   And that was partially true.  The distractions of racial tensions would not fester during the Spring Training games on the island.  Cuba had, after all, integrated their baseball league in 1900, a full 47 years earlier.  What few people recall about the Dodgers arrival in Cuba that year was that they were not greeted with much fanfare.  The fact was they were pretty much ignored by the Cuban baseball faithful.  They had other things that occupied their interest.

Jackie Robinson signs autographs during Spring Training in Havana, Cuba, a few months before his Major League debut in 1947.

In 1947, the Cuban Baseball League had a fierce championship series being contested between the two Cuban baseball powerhouses at the time.  The Havana Reds (known as the Leones), and the Almendares Blues (Scorpions).  These teams had been battling each other as far back as the 1870s with a rivalry that was as emotional and contentious as any Dodger/Giant battle.  

Almendares had made a stunning comeback at season’s end to reach the final against Havana, being 6 1/2 games behind with 13 to play.  They were able to tie Havana in the standings by the end of the regular season.  The final game was on February 25, 1947 and 40,000 fans packed into the Gran Estadio de la Havana which was about 5,000 over capacity.  The Stadium was of Major League caliber and only a year old, complete with modern lights and a perfectly manicured playing surface.   Almendares won behind a complete game by South Carolina Native and former St. Louis Cardinal Max Lanier who won his second game in three days by accepting $500 to pitch on one day of rest.

As the Dodgers attempted to get their work in, there were celbrations in the streets of Havana celebrating the Blues victory.  Hall of Famer Buck O’Neill was a first baseman for Almendares and he described the scene as euphoric.  “Whew, they turned out...everybody was excited.  They had people riding all over the streets on top of cars, hanging onto streetcars,  blowing horns, with ribbons and banners and everything.  Oh, Havana, was outstanding really.”

With the Dodgers ignored by the locals, they went about their business for season preparation while Cuban broadcaster Felo Ramirez described the final series game as tense.  “Cuba was paralized,” he said.  “The country shut down...no one worked that day.”  And following the game? “Bedlam” was the word used to describe it.

Almendares Manager Adolfo Luque, was a fierce competitor in the majors.  Pitching for the Reds much of his career, he won 194 major league games including 27 in the 1923 season.   He was a Dodger  for two seasons (1930-31) .

Nobody even noticed that history was to be made in the U.S. with the integration of the Major Leagues.  To the Cubans, this was no big deal.  Their professional league was packed full of black players and Negro League players were always a part of the Cuban League who were familiar with such greats and Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Satchell Paige and the aforementioned Buck O’Neil.  Jackie had arrived as a ballplayer and was coming off a AAA Montreal campaign in which he batted .349.  The Major League roster spot was his for the taking.

With Dodger teams facing stellar All Star Cuban competition, Minnie Minoso amongst them, Cuba was ideal training ground for the Brooklyn club.  The facilities were the best and considered to be of major league caliber.  There were to be no confrontations with contentious Florida baseball fans that didn’t want the league integrated.  The interruptions that could distract Robinson, Campanella, and Newcombe weren’t existent on the Island.  But Branch Rickey had other motives for the Cuba Spring Training venture.

In 1946, the Mexican League, operated by the Millionaire Customs Brokers, the Pascual Brothers, were a serious threat to Major League baseball.  They were offering some attractive dollars plus interesting incentives to Major League players to defect to the Mexican league and were successful at luring away some top talent, 18 players in fact.  Such as Sal Maglie, Mickey Owen and the aforementioned Max Lanier.   It was reported that Ted Williams was offered $300,000 to jump leagues, worth $3.6 million in today’s money.   MLB Commissioner Happy Chandler issued an edict to all players that defected, which was a five year ban from returning to the U.S. to play in the Majors.  The Dodgers training in Havana had an ulterior motive too, and that was to shut down the upstart Mexican League.  Rickey made an effort to let Latin players know, especially the Cuban players,  that if they played in Mexico, they wouldn’t be allowed to play in the U.S. Major Leagues.

Additionally MLB pressured the Cuban league to issue a similar ban and not allow Cuban players that participated in the Mexican league to also play later in their home soil in the Cuban League.  This was a secondary tactic to shut out the Pascual Brothers and their intent of creating a rival baseball league.  For the most part, it was successful and the Mexican League never materialized into a major force.  A sad reality of all this was that this decision destroyed the Cuban Leagues.

Cuban players that played in Mexico too were banished.  As a result, a rival  baseball league  was created in Cuba for those players that dared play in Mexico.  Cuba now had two diluted leagues instead of one powerful one. When Fidel Castro took political control in 1959, the Cuban baseball leagues were dissolved and replaced by Cuban Amateur baseball that continues to this day.

It should be noted that though the perception exists that Rickey moving the Dodgers would allow the Dodgers black players to avoid Jim Crow laws of the south.  The reality of the situation was that Cuba too had segregated accommodations for their players.  The Dodger stars stayed at the plush Nacional Hotel while Robinson, Campanella, and Newcombe were lodged in dumpy third rate hotel.  

There is much more to the Dodgers ’47 Spring Training story that could have volumes dedicated to it, but in the end it served the two purposes successfully, preparing Robinson for his MLB debut and shutting out the Mexican League defections.  By 1949 the Dodgers had found a permanent home in Vero Beach for the next 58 years.  Would the Dodgers ever return to Cuba?  Why yes, they would in 1959 for some exhibition games, a few months after Castro grasped control before an interesting crowd of “barbudos” revolutionaries.  But that is another interesting story I’m sure.  Another post for another day.

 

Sources for this post: Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria article, 1998  and Baseball Alamanac Article

Tourney Tales

My body has identified every muscle that it possibly has.  After three games playing with a great group of guys and gals at the Dodger Bloggers Tournament, I now realize that even the joints of my toes have muscles screaming at me.

Team Opinion of Kingman's Performance, 2012 Front row (L-R) Brett Bladh, Ron Lenatti, John Beyer, Benjamin Bladh, Jeanine Lussier, Emma Amaya, Esperanza Bladh, Evan Bladh  Back Row (L-R) Taylor Bladh, Joshua Bladh, Tom Hanks, Patrick Gurierrez, Rob Robinson, Jim Polder, Ron Cervenka

We left sore, sunburnt and a happy group.  We got our hats handed to us twice.  In one of the routs we played the ’27 Yankees of Softball.  They had a roster made up of players about half our age and with 20 times our talent.  But in game number two, we actually got a “W” with a gritty 11-5 victory over LF Pavilion 1 that buoyed the spirits of everyone.  It helped a bit that our opponent walked about 10 batters in the game.  But our defense was steady and there were some timely hits that broke the game open.

First Baseman Rob Robinson rips a single past third base in the first inning of game vs. Vin Scully is My Homeboy 2

It was a day when I reunited with family and friends, reminisced with some old friends that I had known since elementary school, made new friends with some fantastic readers of this blog and laughed at great jokes, stories and our overall antics on the diamond.

Pitcher John Beyer delivers a pitch while yours truly is in the background at shortstop.

We watched Josh Macciello hob nob with the fans and bloggers, Jon Soo Hoo blast a 3 run homer out of Tiger Stadium, Roberto Baly battle against us in a game one blowout in our first game.  My wife got bragging rights over me in game one while reaching base twice and scoring our only  run while I lazily flied out in my two trips to the plate.

Ron Cervenka singles to left.  Ron chronicles his day over at his ThinkBlueLA.com forum.  He had a very interesting conversation with Josh Macciello ( LINKED HERE)

In between games, we talked a lot of Dodger baseball.  Someone pulled up footage on their I-Phone of the Lasorda rants about Kingman and Bevacqua.  Ron Cervenka of the ThinkBlueLA.com forum showed up and laced a single in his first at-bat.  Rob Robinson batted .800 on the day.  My nephew Joshua Bladh flashed the leather at shortstop with his photo showing up on Jon Soo Hoo's Dodger Photo blog.

My nephew, Joshua Bladh, fields a grounder and turns two.  This photo is from Jon Soo Hoo, the Dodger photographer who was on the opposing team.  He took some time out at take pictures while sitting on the bench.   Jon Soo Hoo's photos are linked here

In game number three, as the '27 Yankees from the LF Pavilion 2 routed us.  We decided to order pizzas by the third inning.  The general consensus was that we might as well have some decent food while the route was on.  After the first three hitters smashed absolute ropes all over the field, my first baseman Rob turned to me (playing 2B) and said as prophetic a statement as I ever heard on the day:  "I think we might be in a little bit of trouble here."  

Ron Lenatti smahes a line drive to right field, unfortunately for him, it was a shot right at the rightfielder for a line drive out.  Ron has been playing in a softball league with me since 1996 and he also made the trip from San Francisco.  Yeah, he's a Giants fan...but a man that respects baseball history and a knowledgeable follower of the game.

I have no idea who won the tourney, though if I were a betting man, I probably would have put my money on the '27 Yankees that smoked us in Game three, (LF Pavilion 2).  I understand that Dodger Thoughts had a fine record and also VSIMHB2 as well.  But I'm fairly certain that LF Pavilion 2 was on their way to winning the tournament.  

We had Emma on our side.  She is probably the biggest Dodger fan I have ever met in my life.  NOBODY is more diehard Dodger than Emma.  Her blog is fantastic too. ( Linked here)

Donations to the LA Regional Food Bank were plentiful.  Emma Amaya, one of our catchers brought a few shopping bags worth of food alone.  There was a lot of stuff donated that are going to the LA Regional Food Bank and word has it that Josh Macciello himself donated $5,000 to the cause.

My wife, Esperanza, flashing her cute smile.  

Next year we'll do it again.  Our thanks to Mike Brown of LFPavilion for organizing the event.  It was a great day and all the soreness was definitely worth it.

A Guest Post - A Fantasy Come True...And Then Some

It has been a few days since I became acquainted with Ron Cervenka, but we have so much in common, I feel like I've known him for a while.  He runs a superb Dodger related forum called : www.ThinkBlueLA.com.  It has some devout Dodger followers, many with roots dating back to Brooklyn.  These guys are diehards and they know their Dodger baseball.  I could peruse the postings over there for hours.  I highly recommend that everyone check it out.  Just be ready to dedicate some time to it though.


One of Ron's ThinkBlueLARon's followers, Harold Uhlman, answered a question I posed this site a few weeks ago and won an Opinion of Kingman's Performance T-Shirt,   Harold requested that I send it to Ron, because in the end...he was the one that provided the answer to the question that I posed, so I did.


A few days later I received an email from Ron in which he thanked me for the shirt.  I checked out his site, we have posted back and forth through emails, he posted on this blog, I posted on his forum.  To make a long story short, we have a lot in common.  Today he sent me an article that he wrote detailing his first Dodger Adult Baseball Fantasy Camp experience.  He submitted it elsewhere, but it didn't get posted for various reasons.  I feel privileged to be asked to post it here.  After reading this piece, I KNOW I have to go to the next fantasy camp.  It is a true adventure and Ron appropriately titled it: 


"A Fantasy Come True...And Then Some"
  by Ron Cervenka

Beautiful Holman Stadium

Having been a Dodger fan my entire life - since 1953, I had long heard about an adult baseball camp held at the Dodgers legendary spring training facility in Vero Beach, Florida. At this adult baseball camp, or fantasy camp as it is more commonly called, former Dodger players and coaches would share their knowledge and experience with wanna-be baseball players for one full week in beautiful Central Florida. It was, in essence, a week-long spring training workout that included six full games for guys 40 years of age and older and it was as close to the real deal as was humanly possible.

The Dodger fantasy camps have always been administered by Los Angeles Dodgers Adult Baseball Camp (LADABC), a privately owned and operated limited liability company (LLC). And though it is not affiliated with Dodger organization, LADABC has always been welcomed at Dodgertown by the Dodgers since its inception in 1983. The camps have run flawlessly under the watchful eye of long-time Dodger scout Guy Wellman, whose very first Major League signee was none other than the big man himself, Frank Howard. Wellman went on to sign several other Dodger greats including ironman first baseman Steve Garvey.

In its heyday, LADABC was running two camps a year - one in the spring and one in the fall, and each camp drew upwards of 100 campers; enough to put as many as eight full teams onto the Dodgertown fields. And then in 2008 something unexpected happened; new Dodger owner Frank McCourt decided to move the Dodgers out of Vero Beach and into Glendale, Arizona for their spring training, thus leaving Dodgertown a virtual ghost town. Although Minor League Baseball would eventually move into the Vero Beach facility and change its name to The Vero Beach Sports Complex, it would never again be known as Dodgertown, as it had been since 1948. The final Dodger fantasy camp was held in the fall of 2008.

When the McCourt-led Dodgers began spring training operations at their beautiful new Camelback Ranch facility in Glendale, Arizona in 2009, plans to continue LADABC also began; the problem was, there was no on-site lodging or dining facilities at Camelback Ranch, which meant that fantasy campers would have to be housed off property in nearby hotels and then transported at least twice daily to and from the Ranch and to and from restaurants for breakfast and dinner. These logistical issues which had never been a concern at Dodgertown were now a huge hurdle for Wellman and camp organizer and long-time Dodgertown employee Nancy Gollnick; a hurdle that caused the first and second scheduled fantasy camps at Camelback Ranch to be postponed.

And then the bottom fell out - the McCourt divorce and subsequent Dodger bankruptcy reared its ugly head. In a heartbeat, LADABC went from being one of the most popular attractions for older Dodger fans to falling completely off the radar. In the big scheme of things, LADABC was clearly at the very bottom of importance on the Dodger totem pole. And so it seemed that the fall 2008 Dodger fantasy camp at Dodgertown was to be the last camp ever. Ironically, it was this fall 2008 camp that I had initially planned on attending as my first-ever camp, but my work schedule and finances forced me to cancel my plans. “What the heck,” I told myself. “I’ll just go to the first one at Camelback Back Ranch. It’s a lot closer and I’ll just drive over.” Well, Mr. and Mrs. McCourt saw to it that this would never happen (yet another reason for my disdain towards the miserable couple - as if I needed another reason).

With hopes of ever attending a Dodger fantasy camp now completely gone, a strange thing happened in March of 2011. I received a phone call from a dear friend of mine and a long-time Dodger fantasy camper named Dick Greenblatt who informed me that Mark Stone, another long-time camper, was attempting to resurrect one more Dodger fantasy camp at Dodgertown (sorry folks, The Vero Beach Sports Complex will always be known as Dodgertown to me). Dick added that it wasn’t a sure thing yet, but if enough guys showed early interest, it might just happen. At the time I had recently retired as a detective from the Burbank Police Department after thirty years of service, so I now had plenty of time to attend camp, and with this much notice, I felt that I could swing it financially, as well. And then in July, I received word from Mark Stone that he had reached an agreement with the New York Yankees fantasy camp program (affectionately call “Legends in Pin Stripes”) that they would be sending campers and former Yankee greats to join LADABC for camp, which was now set for November 6-12, 2011. It was a Done Deal and I was All In!

Once I paid my registration fees and booked my flight to Orlando, I began the task of getting my 57 (soon to be 58) year old body into some sort of shape. I spoke with my good friend Juan Bustabad, the manager of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (the Dodgers High Single-A affiliate) and a long-time fantasy camp instructor and he recommended that I do a lot of stretching, throwing, and running. I did as he suggested and set up a strict running program of ten 100-yard wind sprints every other day at my neighborhood park. (I can only imagine how ridiculous I looked - but who cares, I was going to camp!).

About six weeks before camp, I ran into one of my former co-workers, Darin Ryburn, who is still on the job and I told him that I was going to Dodger fantasy camp. Like myself, Darin is a big time Dodger fan and he said that he had always thought about attending fantasy camp. When I told Darin that the upcoming camp might very well be the last one ever, he said “You know what? I’m going to treat myself to that camp for my fiftieth birthday present to myself.” Done Deal - Darin was also All In! In the days before camp, Darin and I were like kids on Christmas Eve. We would call each other two and three times a day - it was hilarious.

After arriving at Orlando airport, a shuttle bus transported Darin and me and seven other campers to Dodgertown. During the hour and a have ride, I learned that two of my fellow campers were from my home town! Are you kidding me? What are the chances that there would be three of us from Santa Clarita, California in camp, let alone on the same shuttle bus. Those two fellow campers also happen to be identical twins, Rob and Phil Cohen, and they were also attending their first camp with their 62-year old father Ray Cohen. 

Imagine our thoughts as we walked past the Koufax and Alston Conference Room

As our shuttle pulled into Dodgertown, we could feel the magic and excitement in the air (along with a few raindrops). We checked into our room and the first thing that I said to Darin was “I wonder if Duke Snider or Sandy Koufax stayed in this room? Or Gil Hodges? Or Don Drysdale? Or Pee Wee Reese?” We were pretty sure that Tommy Lasorda had not because it was too far away from the dining hall - haha! After unpacking, Darin and I walked to the famous Dodgertown Lounge, which we had heard a great deal about. 

After a couple of cocktails and excited conversation with Rob, Phil, and Ray Cohen (and several other rookie campers), Darin and I started back to our room. As we did so, we walked past the locker room which had a big handwritten note on the door saying that the locker room would be open at 11:30 AM on Sunday morning (the next day). Just for the heck of it, Darin tried the door - IT WAS UNLOCKED! After making sure the coast was clear, Darin and I snuck inside and there, right before our eyes and right next to the door, were Darin’s and my lockers with our uniforms hanging there. Oh My God! - That Christmas Eve feeling again! After a couple of quick photos, we got the heck out of there before we got caught.

A couple of grown men acting like children.

After “officially” being allowed into the locker room on Sunday (we knew exactly where to go) and getting our gear, we had an optional afternoon workout, although nearly everyone attended. We were also permitted to get autographs from the many Dodger and Yankee greats on hand including Tommy Davis, Jeff Torborg, Jerry Reuss, Rick Monday, Steve Yeager, Ron Cey, Lenny Harris, Kenny Landreaux, Bill Russell, Don Zimmer, Frank Howard, Moose Skowron, Jake Gibbs, Tony Kubek, Don Larsen, Ron Guidry, Goose Gossage, Dennis Rasmussen, Ron Davis, Jim Leyritz, and Steve Whitaker. Talk about a who’s who of former Dodger and Yankee legends!

Darin and I in our home whites - Getting throttled by my manager Jerry Reuss and two-time NL batting champ Tommy Davis.

After a workout on Monday morning, the draft was held in which every camper was placed on a team. I was drafted by Team Rancho Cucamonga under the leadership of manager Jerry Reuss and coaches Kenny Landreaux and Travis Barbary. As luck would have, Rob, Phil, and Ray Cohen were also on my team, as were several long-time veteran campers. Darin was drafted by Team Chattanooga under the leadership of Co-managers Rick Monday and Steve Yeager and coach Marty Reed. I played first base, second base, and right field while Darin pitched and played third base.

Team Rancho Cucamonga

Over the course of the next five days, we played six games including double-headers on consecutive days. Needless to say, this old boy was tired, not to mention a little sore. That being said, I owe a serious debt of gratitude to Juan Bustabad for his earlier advice to stretch, throw, and run, as I was able to avoid the very crowded trainer’s room (except to grab an occasional cold and much needed beer at day’s end).

During our lunch break on Wednesday, camp coordinator Guy Wellman made the announcement that Peter O’Malley, Chan Ho Park, and Hideo Nomo had just bought back Dodgertown from the city of Vero Beach. The announcement was met with a roar of cheers and applause. And even though it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers will ever return to Vero Beach for spring training, there will once again be Dodger Blue blood flowing through Dodgertown. 

Although my camp stats were on the weak side (3 for 16 = .188), Darin Ryburn had an outstanding camp. He ended up winning the Don Drysdale Award for being the outstanding right-handed pitcher. My teammate Phil Cohen won the Sandy Koufax Award for being the outstanding left-handed pitcher.

When we returned to the locker room for lunch after our Thursday morning games there was an electricity and buzz about the place, but I couldn’t figure out why - and then I did; HE was there, the “Ghost” himself. Vero Beach resident and the greatest Dodger left-hander of all time Sandy Koufax had stopped by to visit with his former teammates Tommy Davis, Frank Howard, and Jeff Torborg (who caught his perfect game). The excitement was overwhelming. But as quickly as it started, it subsided when we were told that Sandy would not be visiting with campers nor signing autographs. I was heartbroken. All my life I had sought to get a baseball personally autographed by Sandy Koufax - the Holy Grail of autographed baseballs. Not gonna happen.

But then there was a little divine intervention. One of my fellow campers, 60-year old Stan Kunin of Calabasas, California who is completely deaf, told one of the coaches that he had met Sandy when he was 12 years old at a bar mitzvah and that he had a photograph taken with Sandy at that bar mitzvah. Stan asked the coach if he would please show the photograph to Sandy. The coach took the photograph into the trainer’s room (behind its closed door) and a few minutes later came back out and told Stan (who reads lips perfectly) that Sandy would like to see him. A very excited Stan Kunin went into the trainer’s room and came out a few minutes later with his 48-year old photograph personally autographed by the great Sandy Koufax. As you might imagine, Stan had tears in his eyes.

Also in the trainer’s room with Sandy, Tommy Davis, Frank Howard, and Jeff Torborg was Tommy’s personal PR guy Jack DeLance, whom I had also become good friends with. At Jack’s urging, Tommy asked Sandy that if it were done in an orderly manner and one at a time, would he be willing to sign autographs for the other campers. (Apparently on a previous trip to camp several years earlier, Sandy had been swarmed by campers and it was an ugly scene, after which Sandy said that he would never again sign for campers - funny how it only takes a few to ruin it for everyone). After assurances from Jack and Mark Stone, Sandy agreed to meet with and sign for EVERY camper who wished, including one of his all-time biggest fans - ME!

After thanking Sandy profusely for taking the time to meet with campers and sign for us, I thanked him for all of the great Dodger memories he gave to all of us. In true, humble Koufax style, he merely smiled and said “You’re welcome.”

To say that I was overwhelmed would be a gross understatement. I had just met, shook hands with, been photographed with, and got a baseball autographed by one of the greatest baseball legends of all time. I was numb.

The Thursday afternoon game, which started an hour later than scheduled to allow for everyone to meet with Sandy, was the campers vs. coaches game; and say what you will, these former old players and coaches are still very good! They flat out kick our asses. While we may have had our fantasies, they clearly still had their talent. Regardless, it was a fun but very long game, as each of the seven teams played two innings on defense and every player batted once. Gary “Chicken” Ingram struck me out on a filthy cut fastball, which he later apologized to me for throwing - haha!

The week passed in the blink of an eye and before I knew it camp was over. After an outstanding final dinner and awards ceremony, it was time to pack-up and say goodbye to this group of guys (and one lady camper) whom I had grown so very close to in such a short period of time.

Although the baseball experience was absolutely incredible and something that I will think back on often, it is the friendships and the legacy and magic of Dodgertown that made fantasy camp one of the greatest memories of my entire life; memories that I shall cherish forever. This was truly a fantasy come true… and then some.

Author’s note:

Because of the overwhelming success of this resent fantasy camp, talks have already begun for another joint Dodger/Yankee fantasy camp to be held at Dodgertown next November. If this is something that you might be interested in, I encourage you to check in frequently on the LADABC website at: www.ladabc.com

About the author

Ron Cervenka is a life-long Dodger fan and season ticket holder. He and his son Tim were featured in the 2008 DVD movie “Bluetopia - The Dodger Movie.” Ron recently retired from the Burbank Police Department where he served for thirty years. In addition to his love of the Dodgers and baseball, Ron is also an avid tournament bass angler and a huge NASCAR fan. He also manages a fan-based Dodger forum called www.ThinkBlueLA.com.Ron lives in Santa Clarita, California.

Lesson Learned

I received an email a few days ago from someone that offered me money to post something on my blog that wasn’t completely related to its theme.  I initially answered that I wasn’t interested and referred the writer to an article written by another Dodger Blogger on the theme he requested.

He answered me back and said that the article I mentioned to him from another blog was essentially ghost written by him and that if I did the same, he’d compensate me.  I thought, “well that article wasn’t too far off the baseball theme.”  I told him to send me what he’s got, thinking that maybe somehow I could write a Dodger related blog around what he sent.  “Sure, I might be interested,” I said.  The allure of finally getting some compensation for all the work on this blog was a temptation that I couldn't pass up.

That was a BIG MISTAKE.  This man sent me a generic article about baseball and poker and asked me to post it as my own.  It wasn’t near the standards of what I usually put on the site.  So I spent several hours tailoring a piece around his posting, (he wrote about 4 paragraphs).  It wasn’t easy, but I did some research and wrote a Dodger baseball related piece around his quotes.  I quoted him and was careful to I follow journalistic standards and attributed all quotes to original authors and cited a piece that I found on the internet with the accompanying quotes. 

I was actually quite proud of what I accomplished.  Thought it was a fair piece considering what I had to work with.

So what happened?  He didn’t approve.  He sends me an email and tells me to submit his original piece and not mention him.  He wanted me to submit it as my own.

My response to his email follows:

Dear xxxxxxx,

No offense, but I prefer it the way it is.  What you provided me didn't quite fit into my blog’s parameters and it was a stretch putting something together that matched the Dodger baseball related theme of my blog.  I'm not comfortable posting an article written by someone else as my own.  I know my site is just a blog, but I do have high standards of integrity when it comes to what is posted on my site and it would be misleading and dishonest to the hundreds of readers if I did otherwise.

I spent about 3 hours this evening laboring on a piece that didn't really fit into my site.  Not only was I able to produce a piece that fit into the blog's theme with the Hershiser angle, but integrating your post seemed to fit in well.

Your entire article was in the body of my piece.  If you want it removed.  I will do so immediately.

I didn’t wait.  It is 1:40 am and I need to get up for work tomorrow morning at 6:00 am.  What a wasted evening...I deserved it though, I got greedy and tried to get a little compensation for a piece.  Never again.