A Surprise Aboard a Pirate Ship Bodes Well For This Dodger Fan

Aloha,

Some out there will say summer is ending, but it's a bit hard to convince me summer is over when we're heading for triple-digit temperatures this weekend. At least there's a family BBQ later today to look forward too, which is one of the best things about summer. 

One of the other best things - of any season - is to receive a completely unexpected package in the mail from a friend. Such was the case when a package arrived from Matt, the man behind the great Bob Walk The Plank.

Matt sent over a couple of new gems for my collection. Let's check 'em out...

This shiny, shiny Archives card was washed out by my scanner, so make no mistake, the colors are right on, and so was Matt's choice of cards. 

I love that this swatch card is based on Don Sutton's rookie card. His actual RC has him sharing the card with another Dodgers pitcher, Bill Singer. In this case Topps decided to dump Singer and use Sutton's image from the shared card. Sorry, Bill, I dig this version. 

Personal Sutton note: I've seen a whole lotta ballgames in my life, but I've never seen a no-hitter (live). The closest I've come to that is a one-hitter, which I will always remember was tossed by Mr. Sutton. 

Coming up is a card from another Dodgers great - this time one of the Boys of Summer...

Wow! How cool is it to have a slice of bat from one of the greatest Dodgers ever? 

Well, I'll tell you, since I now have one. It's fricken' super cool! SP was not kidding when they named this the Legendary Bat series, as this is about as baseball legendary as you can get. 

One of the reasons that Pee Wee holds a special place in my baseball heart is a legendary story (which was included in the movie 42) about Reese and the legend himself, Jackie Robinson. 

Vin Scully tells the story much better than I, but I'll give it a shot. It happened during Robinson's first season, while the Dodgers were playing in Cincinnati. This particular day, the Cincinnati fans were giving Robinson a vicious time, throwing every racial epithet and insult they could think of. 

One thing to keep in mind is not only were other fans and teams anti-Robinson, but early on, several of his fellow Dodgers were against playing with a black teammate. They even circulated a petition against Robinson joining the team, which Reese - a Kentucky boy - refused to sign. 

That brutal day in Cincinnati, at the height of the attacks from the Reds fans, and when Robinson must have certainly felt very alone in the world,  Pee Wee Reese crossed the field, from his shortstop position over to Robinson at first base. Facing the racist hecklers, Reese, without saying a word, put his arm around Robinson in order to show his solidarity with the bravest man on the field. 

There is some debate over whether or not Reese actually put his arm around Robinson or simply stood by his side. Vin Scully says Reese put his arm around Jackie, and that's good enough for me. 

Finally, I would like to mention that Matt said he had these cards set aside for me for some time, but had forgotten about them. He re-discovered these cards while going through a 5,000 count box.

So the moral of this post is, take some time and go through those storage boxes, kids. You may find some cards in there that will fit my collection perfectly. 
 

P.S.  THANKS for the great cards, Matt - and it's Dodgers vs. Pirates weekend! We took the first game. Looking forward to sweeping those Bucs! Hehe

Aloha!