Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Lasorda, Yeager & Sellers

Friday November 30, 2012

Tommy Lasorda

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Steve Yeager

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Justin Sellers

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Westfield Century City

10250 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90067

12:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Location: Dining Terrace

**Purchase a 2013 Mini Plan or Season Tickets while at the mall on 11/30 and you will recieve an autographed Tommy Lasorda item**

True to the Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Tommy Davis

Saturday December 1, 2012

Tommy Davis

2x All Star - 1962 & 1963

World Series Champion 1963

2x Batting Champion - 1962 & 1963

$15 - balls, flats up to & including 11x14 

$20 - large flats, figurines, minis & equipment 

$25 - helmets, bats & jerseys 

$10 - inscriptions

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

This signing is part of Hall of Fame Sports' Holiday Open House at Frank & Son.  Also appearing are former Dodgers Mickey Hatcher and Tommy John.

For Mickey Hatcher info click here

For Tommy John info click here

True to the Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Tommy John

Saturday December 1, 2012

Tommy John

4x All Star - 1968, 1978, 1979, & 1980

1976 NL Comeback Player of the Year

$29 - balls and flats up to & including 11x14

$39 - large flats, minis, equipment and figurines

$49 - helmets, bats and jerseys

$15 - inscriptions

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

This signing is part of Hall of Fame Sports' Holiday Open House at Frank & Son.  Also appearing is Mickey Hatcher.

For info on Mickey Hatcher click here

True to thte Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Robin Ventura

Sunday January 13, 2012

Robin Ventura

$59 - baseballs, mini helmets, figures, flats 16x20 and smaller

$89 - flats larger than 16x20, full size helmets, equipment, game used, jerseys, bats & art work

$25 - inscriptions

Stage Time: TBA

This signing is being put on by Honabach and Sons and will take place at the SoCal Baseball and Sports Collectors Expo at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel.  Also appearing will be former Dodger Brett Butler and current Dodgers Adrian Gonzalez & Luis Cruz.

For info on Adrian Gonzalez click here

For info on Brett Butler click here
For info on Luis Cruz click here

True to the Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Ron Cey, Lou Johnson & Maury Wills

The Dodgers Holiday Mall Tour continues

Friday November 23, 2012

Del Amo Fashion Center

3525 West Carson Street

Torrance CA 90503

10am - 6pm

Ron Cey

11:30am - 1:30pm

"Sweet" Lou Johnson

2:00pm - 4:00pm

Maury Wills

4:00pm - 6:00pm

True to the Blue!

Free Agent Hiroki Kuroda Re-Signs with Yankees

So much for the Dodgers having the inside track on signing free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.  ESPN New York.com is reporting Kuroda has signed a one year deal worth $15 million plus another $1 million in peformance incentives. 

In a press release, Kuroda said the following:

"I am very happy and excited to re-sign with the Yankees.  I am very grateful for all of the interest and all of the offers that I received from the various teams that courted me. It was a tough decision for me to make, but at the end of the day, I wanted to try to win a championship with the teammates that I went to battle with last season."

True to the Blue!

Torii Hunter In and Andre Ethier Out?

The Hot Stove is burning up with Dodgers news.  There are several rumors centering around Andre Ethier and Torii Hunter.  Several outlets including ESPNLosAngeles.com and The L.A. Times  are reporting the Dodgers are interested in signing free agent Torii Hunter.  Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com is also reporting the Dodgers are willing to discuss trading Andre Ethier.  Despite what Saxon is reporting, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and Dylan Hernandez and Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times are reporting the Dodgers will not be trading Andre Ethier.

Saxon:

"The Dodgers' thinking is to use Hunter as an insurance policy as left fielder Carl Crawford's recovery from elbow surgery crosses into early next season, but they also have made it clear to other teams that they would consider trading Andre Ethier."

Hernandez & DiGiovanna:

"The Dodgers’ widely reported interest in Torii Hunter appears to have been overstated.

The team met with Hunter’s agent at the general managers’ meetings at Indian Wells this week. But it was Hunter’s agent who initially reached out to the Dodgers, not the other way around, according to a person familiar with the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Dodgers aren’t shopping Andre Ethier, meaning that if Hunter were to sign with them, he would be doing so to be a fourth outfielder since the team also has starting outfielder in Carl Crawford.

Asked on Saturday if that’s something he would consider, Hunter said, “That’s tough. I’m not ready for that. I have too much energy and fire for that.”

But Hunter said he would like to play with Matt Kemp, whom he called “my little brother in this game.”

Rosenthal via Twitter:

#Dodgers not trading Ethier. Hunter would need to accept lesser role if he signed with team. He’s close with both Kemp and Crawford.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2012

Sources: Hunter prefers to play every day. Ten teams have contacted him, including #Dodgers, #Tigers, #WhiteSox, #Rangers, #Mariners.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2012

If the price was right, I wouldn't mind the club signing Hunter as an insurance policy for Carl Crawford.  He's a good guy to have in the clubhouse but at 37 years of age, his best days are behind him.  I don't think trading Andre Ethier is a good idea.  New ownership has done a great job building its relationship with Dodger fans and getting rid of a productive player with a big following isn't the best idea.  You either love or hate all the rumors that are flying around this time of year but you have to admit, some of these rumors are interesting.

True to the Blue!

Magic Johnson Autograph Signing - Recap & Photos

On Saturday November 3, 2012, Magic Johnson made an autograph appearance at DodgerFest put on by Hall of Fame Sports  at Frank & Son.  Magic was and is my favorite basketball player and I already have Magic's autograph on a Lakers jersey but had two items I really wanted to get signed.  Therefore, I took this opportunity to get them signed.  Check out the pictures below.

Magic signed my Sports Illustrated with Matt Kemp on the cover.

I've had this Sports Illustrated since in was issued in December of 1992.

Also part of the DodgerFest, Al "the Bull" Ferrara signed free autographs for those who arrived early enough.  Check out the 8x10 photo I had him sign.

Hall of Fame Sports also gave out free gift bags to the first 300 fans in attendance at the signing on Saturday.  My gift bag included the items below.

Individual 12x18 posters of Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll of the L.A. Kings

Individual 12x18 posters of Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards of the L.A. Kings.

A black Lakers bag, a 50th Anniversary Lakers sticker, a Clippers T-shirt, an 12x18 poster of L.A. King Legend Charlie Simmer, a Kings rallly towel, a Lakers magazine, a Lakers magnet schedule, some L.A. Kings trading cards and a DVD of Showtime Boxing matches.

Also included was this 11x17 We Run LA poster featuring Magic, Ethier, Kemp & Kershaw.

True to the Blue!

Burt Hooton, Reggie Smith, Steve Yeager Signing - Photos & Recap

Burt Hooton

On Saturday November 3, 2012, Hall of Fame Sports presented their DodgerFest at Frank & Son.  There were 14 former Dodgers, current Dodger announcer Jaime Jarrin, and current Dodger minority owner & NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson at Frank & Son to sign autographs.  The 14 former Dodgers were Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes, Dave Hansen, Rick Honeycutt, Burt Hooton, Steve Yeager, Reggie Smith, Wally Moon, Wes Parker, Don Newcombe, Maury Wills and Charlie Hough.  I had several of these autographs already so I used this opportunity to work on my 1981 World Series project.  I added the signatures of Burt Hooton, Reggie Smith, and Steve Yeager to my 16x20 photo of the World Series Trophy.  I already had Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, Pedro Guerrero, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, and Bill Russell.  

I had purchased my tickets in advance and arrived at Frank & Son at 9:00 a.m. to make sure I received my free gift bag.  The will call ticket line moved pretty slow but I eventually got my tickets by 9:30 a.m.  I had some time to kill as Burt Hooton wasn't scheduled to sign until 11:30 a.m.  I passed the time checking out some of the booths and the silent auction.  I even had a chance to talk to the BobbleGraph legend himself Gabriel Y.  Once 11:30 a.m. rolled around I was in the first group that got their numbers called and got my photo signed by Burt Hooton within 20 minutes.  Burt Hooton, was really mellow and talked to fans when they came up.  He wasn't overly talkative but wasn't rude or short with fans either.  It was a pleasurable experience.

After getting the photo signed by Burt Hooton, I had more time to kill until 1:00 p.m. when Steve Yeager was scheduled to sign.  I had ticket #2 for Steve Yeager therefore, it took less than 5 minutes to get his autograph on the photo.  Steve Yeager was really cool and was chatting it up with the fans as they came up to his table.  The Reggie Smith  signing was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. and I was also in the first group who got their numbers called.  Reggie Smith was pretty quiet and to be honest by 2:15 p.m. I was pretty tired from being there for over 5 hours.  I pretty much said, hello and thank you to Reggie and was out of there.  Overall it was a great experience and I was glad to add 3 signatures to my project.  Check back tomorrow for part 2 of my signing experience at Frank & Son on Saturday.

Check out the photos below.

Burt Hooton

Burt Hooton and Jaime Jarrin sharing a moment

Reggie Smith

Reggie Smith (I kept missing him when he was looking up!)

Steve Yeager

Sorry about the flash! On the left side is Bob Welch, Dave Stewart, Pedro Guerrero, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Yeager.  On the right is Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Burt Hooton and Reggie Smith.

True to the Blue!

Andre Ethier ASU Tailgate

On October 27, 2012, Arizona State University (ASU) hosted the UCLA Bruins during ASU's homecoming weekend.  The Fox Sports West cameras were there as Andre Ethier and his friends & family tailgated before the football game.  Gotta like seeing a superstar athlete keeping it real by busting out the EZ-Up, chairs and camping grills.  Also, Dre stays true to his Mexican-American roots and busts out the chorizo and homemade tortillas.  Check out the video below.

True to the Blue!

Mark McGwire Close to Becoming Dodgers Hitting Coach

NBCSports Hardball Talk  and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are reporting the Dodgers and Mark McGwire are close to finalizing a deal making McGwire the teams new hitting coach.  

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"McGwire is leaning toward accepting the position with Dodgers manager Don Mattingly's staff because of geography. McGwire and his family live in Orange County and McGwire has long emphasized the role his wife and children play in career decisions."

True to the Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - Mickey Hatcher

Saturday December 1, 2012

Mickey Hatcher

1988 - World Series Champion w/Dodgers

2002 - World Series Champion w/Angels

$20 - balls and flats up to & including 11x14

$25 - large flats, minis, equipment and figurines

$35 - helmets, bats and jerseys

$10 - inscriptions

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

This signing is part of Hall of Fame Sports' Holiday Open House at Frank & Son.  Keep checking back for additional autograph guests.

True to the Blue!

Upcoming Dodger Appearance - DodgerFest

Here is a list of all the Dodgers signing on Saturday as Hall of Fame Sports presents their DodgerFest at Frank & Son.  Click on the links to go to my posts with prices and stage time information.

For info on Wes Parker click here
For info on Maury Wills click here
For info on Don Newcombe click here
For info on Burt Hooton click here
For info on Magic Johnson click here 
For info on Reggie Smith click here
For info on Wally Moon click here
For info on Steve Yeager click here
For info on Rick Honeycutt click here
For info on Dave Hansen click here
For info on Jaime Jarrin click here
For info on Charlie Hough click here
For info on "The Infield" click here

True to the Blue!