Tag Archives: Jackie Robinson

Daily Distractions: How Dodger Stadium will turn into a hockey venue.

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Dodger Stadium hockey game

Dodger Stadium’s transformation into a hockey venue began Monday. (Instagram)

Dodger Stadium opened its outfield gate Monday, and the transformation began.

A crew of about 200 local workers spent their day trudging on and off the field, carrying the components of a giant stage deck that was laid over the infield. Then came the plywood, then the 30-foot long aluminum pans holding enough refrigerant to cool a 2-inch thick sheet of ice to 22 degrees Farenheit.

Over the next 12 days, the transformation from baseball field to hockey venue will be complete. The Kings and Ducks are scheduled to play the first outdoor hockey game in Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. as part of the NHL’s “Stadium Series,” a slate of five outdoor games this winter.

The stories of the meticulous transformation, the man behind it, and the preposterousness of playing an outdoor hockey game in Southern California, will wait for another day. NHL ice-maker Dan Craig, Kings president Luc Robitaille, and Dodgers president Stan Kasten filled in some of the smaller blanks yesterday:

• Robitaille said that 50,000 tickets have been sold, and the venue will accommodate up to 54,000 for the game. That’s 2,000 less than Dodger Stadium’s baseball capacity. So where can’t you sit? Kasten said he wasn’t aware of any sections that will be blocked off. It could be that another 2,000 seats will be added if there’s enough demand.

• There will be no seats on the field.

• In order to level the playing field (literally), Craig’s team used a laser from the bottom deck of Dodger Stadium to measure the incline of the field. The pitcher’s mound has been leveled; that’s where the penalty boxes will go. The Kings’ and Ducks’ benches will be in the shallow outfield.

• Kasten got assurance from the NHL that the rink construction won’t interfere with the ongoing renovation projects outside the bullpen areas. “We’ll just have to direct people around some of the fenced-off areas,” he said.

• Craig’s crew will not work during the day. A tarp will be covering the rink area to shield the sunshine.

Some (more) bullet points for a Ratification Day:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: How Dodger Stadium will turn into a hockey venue.” »

Daily Distractions: Revisiting Greg Maddux, on the eve of his Hall of Fame announcement.

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Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux pitched 23 games, regular season and playoffs combined, during stints with the Dodgers in 2006 and 2008. (Getty Images)

For your consideration, in the category of important dates in Dodgers history: June 6 and July 31, 2006.

On June 6, the Dodgers drafted Clayton Kershaw out of high school.

On July 31, they traded for Greg Maddux.

Not a bad couple months.

Maddux won’t be a unanimous first-ballot Hall of Fame selection, but he’ll probably come close. The Hall of Fame class of 2014 will be announced Wednesday and, barring a stunning comeback by Mike Piazza (currently polling at 67.7 percent), Maddux will be the only former Dodger going into Cooperstown this year.

I talked to Dodgers president Stan Kasten about Maddux and his legacy. Kasten was president of the Atlanta Braves during Maddux’s prime, which included a run of four straight Cy Young Awards, three straight ERA titles, and no less than 15 wins every season from 1988 to 2004. Take a moment to soak all that in.

Here are a couple tidbits about Maddux’s career that won’t make my story for Thursday’s editions:

“We weren’t sure we were going to get him,” Kasten said of pursuing Maddux in free agency in 1992. “The Yankees did outbid us substantially, but he decided he didn’t really want to play in that environment. He had a really good friend on our team, Damon Berryhill, who used to catch to him in Chicago. Damon told him how great the organization and environment was in Atlanta.”

Only one thing gave Kasten any pause about signing the pitcher to a five-year, $28 million deal.

“He wasn’t the cleanest medically,” Kasten said, “but we had good doctors, doctors with opinions we trusted. They signed off on him.”

Maddux only went on the disabled list once in 23 seasons. Maybe he played through more pain than anyone realized.

Some bullet points for a St. Distaff’s Day:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: Revisiting Greg Maddux, on the eve of his Hall of Fame announcement.” »

Daily Distractions: Finally, a major-league job for a longtime Dodgers minor-league coach.

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Matt Martin

Matt Martin, right, coached in the Dodgers’ organization for six years (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Matt Martin took the long way to the major leagues.

Given the newly created title of defensive coordinator today by Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, Martin has strong ties to the Dodgers organization, but is unknown to the casual major-league fan. That’s because he spent 18 years as a minor-league coach, including five years as the Dodgers’ minor-league infield coordinator (2007-11), and one year (2012) as the coordinator of Arizona instruction at Camelback Ranch and manager of the Arizona Fall League Dodgers.

De Jon Watson, the Dodgers’ vice president of player development, called Martin “an extremely hard worker” who is “really sound on infield defense.”

“Matt’s bilingual and he’s worked his tail off to be fluent in Spanish,” Watson said. “He really has a good rapport with most of the players I’ve worked with.”

Young players were Martin’s specialty. When the Dodgers moved to Camelback Ranch, “we wanted a strong entry-level teacher who can walk these guys through the daily grind, preparation, how to know the uniform,” Watson said. “It was a teaching position.”

Why did it take Martin so long to get a major-league job? Watson couldn’t say.

Gabe Kapler, who worked with Martin while in Dodgers camp in 2011, indulged his theory in a recent article for BaseballProspectus.com:

Partially because he’s different and opinionated, and because baseball is notorious for disliking both attributes. His appearance and teaching style are drastically divergent from the MLB cultural norm. In a world where conformity feels safe, Matt can come off as threatening—not in the least to players, but certainly to other staff members.

When he disagrees with you, he will let you know, no matter who you are. Sometimes without filter and often times when he shouldn’t. Sugarcoating doesn’t sit well with him. He views it as disingenuous.

“Matt will give his honest opinion, even if he stands alone,” (Dodgers manager Don) Mattingly told me.

Standing alone, it turns out, is not conducive to ladder climbing.

Mattingly also told Kapler that Martin is known for his loyalty. Watson said the same thing.

Martin parted amicably with the Dodgers to become the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league infield/Latin American field coordinator last year. Climbing the next rung on the ladder, in any business, is often about who you know, and Ausmus and Martin knew each other from Ausmus’ brief time in the Dodgers’ organization.

It’s a slow baseball news day, yes. Also a good time to flesh out the interesting back stories that don’t often get told.

Some bullet points for a Latvian Independence Day:
Continue reading “Daily Distractions: Finally, a major-league job for a longtime Dodgers minor-league coach.” »

Daily Distractions: About the 1924 Brooklyn Robins.

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If the Dodgers win today, they will equal the longest road winning streak in franchise history, set when the 1924 Brooklyn Robins won 12 straight on the road from Aug. 25-Sept. 6. At 89 years old, the record has stood long enough to escape even Vin Scully’s memory.

So here are some things you might not have known about the 1924 Brooklyn Robins:

They finished the year 92-62, 1 ½ games behind the New York Giants for the NL pennant, after coming back from 13 games out on Aug. 9.

They were managed by Wilbert Robinson, who bore a suspicious resemblance to Wilford Brimley and gave the team its nickname, the “Robins.”

The road winning streak was established during the first game of a doubleheader on Sept. 6, 1924 as right-hander Bill Doak hurled a two-hit shutout over the Boston Braves and right fielder Tommy Griffith drove in the only run with a triple in the 1-0 victory. The game came in the middle of a 25-9 run by the Robins to finish the season.

Zack Wheat hit .375 that season, the third-highest single-season batting average in franchise history. Wheat still isn’t recognized anywhere in Dodger Stadium.

Some bullet points to tide you through the weekend:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: About the 1924 Brooklyn Robins.” »

Daily Distractions: The Dodgers return to Canada.

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Dave Roberts

Who can forget all those memorable Dodgers-Expos battles over the years? Certainly not Dave Roberts and Brian Schneider. (Associated Press)

The Dodgers play the Toronto Blue Jays today at the Rogers Centre. Here’s a brief history of Dodgers in Canada:

1. From 1939-60, the Montreal Royals are the primary minor league affiliate of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, churning out such notable talents as Jackie Robinson, Tommy Lasorda (then a pitcher) and Walter Alston (then a manager).

2. The Dodgers beat the Expos 5-3 in Montreal on May 27, 1969 in the Dodgers’ first regular-season game ever played in Canada.

3. Don Drysdale is found dead at his hotel room in Montreal on July 3, 1993, the same day he was scheduled to broadcast a Dodgers-Expos game.

4. Raul Mondesi is traded to Toronto for Shawn Green, Nov. 8, 1999.

5. June 8, 2007: The Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 4-3. The game features Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and Luis Gonzalez for the Dodgers; Matt Stairs, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus and Royce Clayton for the Blue Jays. Stunning that they were all still productive major-league hitters in 2007.

Today’s game will be just the 13th ever between the teams.

Some bullet points for a Monday morning:

Continue reading “Daily Distractions: The Dodgers return to Canada.” »