Lasorda Hospitalized After Heart Attack

Lasorda hospitalized after heart attack (via AFP) Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has been hospitalized in New York after suffering a heart attack on Monday, the Major League Baseball team announced on Tuesday. Lasorda, 84, is a Baseball Hall of Famer who represented the Dodgers at the Major League Baseball Draft when he […]

Former Pitcher Larry Burchart Reminisces

The Los Angeles Dodgers really, really wanted collegiate star right-handed pitcher Larry Burchart. In 1967 they took him in the first round of the June phase of the amateur draft. Since he was enrolled at Oklahoma State, he did not sign. This did not deter the Dodgers, who took him again in the third round […]

Two Cy Young Winners Play the Outfield

The Dodgers used their entire roster, playing both a reigning and a future Cy Young Award winner in the outfield, to outlast the Cubs 2-1 in a 21-inning marathon. Extending over two August afternoons, the game took six hours and ten minutes to complete, establishing a new mark for the longest game ever at Wrigley […]

Derek Jeter Named New York’s Top Shortstop by MSG Panel of Experts

From MSG Network: Last night on the fifth episode of MSG’s “The Lineup: New York’s All-time Best Baseball Players,” it was time to decide who would lead New York’s greatest infield at the shortstop position. The five nominees were Travis Jackson, Derek Jeter, Pee Wee Reese, Jose Reyes, and Phil Rizzuto. The show’s panel, which […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Ballplayers (Kids) Say the Darndest Things

One never knows when a ballplayer, young or old, will say something that makes your head spin, creates a comment that you don”t forget and teaches a valuable life lesson for the future. My second book was written because I believe sports provide many opportunities for parents to teach life lessons to their kids. Sometimes, […]

Spring flings from Florida camps

Leo Mazzone, pitching coach for the Braves during their entire 14-year string of divisional titles, tells a story about a mistake he made in 1991, the year the streak started. The usually-reliable Tom Glavine got into trouble, prompting a mound visit from Mazzone. Just a few minutes later, he indicated a slight injury, causing the […]

Dan’s Diary from Disneyball

While liquid sunshine continues to wreak havoc with spring training schedules, there’s no better alternative than writing about baseball. These are the latest tidbits from the camps around the Grapefruit League: Andruw Jones, signed for only $500,000 by the Chicago White Sox, might turn out to be the best free-agent acquisition of the winter. Once […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Spring Training: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

“Jack, you are like a son to me, but we have to send you down.” If I heard those words from manager Tommy Lasorda once, it seemed like I heard them a thousand times. I wanted to respond with, “Could you consider me a distant cousin or something instead, and keep me on the team?” […]

Hope Springs Eternal as Spring Training Approaches

Hope, optimism and positive energy are in the air as baseball fans count down the days until Opening Day. It all starts with spring training, which means fans break out the Bermuda shorts and players break out the following cliché: “I’m in the best shape of my life.” Everyone in camp says that, with the […]

Rambling on About My Glory Days – Leave It to Lasorda on A Night to Remember

Of course, we all know of great rivalries in sports. Yankees vs. Red Sox, Michigan vs. Ohio State, and Celtics vs. Lakers all come to mind when I think about great rivalries.  I had the opportunity to be part of one of those in my playing days and it all came to a violent, crazy […]