Have you seen Boston and the Red Sox getting all that negative press over the racist taunts that were thrown at Adam Jones from the Orioles?
Regardless of whatever a few idiots at Fenway feel toward others, I'm here to say I had a very pleasant encounter of the trading kind with one Red Sox fan - Chris, the Pedestrian Collector.
The Dude abides new coast-to-coast trade partnerships!
Just the other day there was a "name someone you don't remember playing for your team" theme running on Twitter. Someone mentioned Jim Thome and the Dodgers. Here's proof that actually happened...
Marc from Remember the Astrodome sent a couple of MLB debut cards (Duke Snider and Piazza) to me, and this Koufax makes three...
Now I need Kershaw, Jackie and Fernando to complete the Dodgers part of the set.
I know Nomar first made his mark playing in Boston, but he's a Dodger to me. I'm kinda hoping Chris is a purist who only wants cards of Nomar as a Red Sox, and all his Dodgers cards will find their way to Los Angeles and my humble collection...
Flair made some of the most beautiful cards to come out of the early 90s, and here's one of 'em...
Would you like another Fernando card, sir? Yes, please.
Pitcher hitting alert! Bonus: Lurking friendly confines.
And another is kicked off with a starter set...
It's been said that every grand trade, at least with a Dodgers fan, should include a little bitta Brooklyn. Let's add to that - every grand trade in general should include something you didn't know you wanted, until you received it.
Exhibit A:
Very simple and not the real deal, but these ticket stub reproductions just work. First up is one for Game 7 from the 1952 World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers.
This one completes the connection between Boston and Brooklyn fans. It commemorates August 22, 1948, the date behind one of Jackie Robinson's signature stealing home plays...
Here's the play...
I'm sure Jackie heard some crap language coming from the stands when the Dodgers played the Boston Braves, just as Adam Jones experienced last night, over 50 years after Robinson broke baseball's color barrier.
The cynic in me says we'll always have to contend with the ignorant and hateful, even 100 years from now.
But my inner optimist keeps me hopeful because we'll always have cool and open-minded folks like Chris bringing us together through common interests and shared experiences. It's simple, but grand.
Just like stealing home. Just like trading amongst friends.
PS: Here's my latest LA Dodger Report video, with a beer review for Dayslayer from Stone Brewing...
Aloha!
It only takes one idiot to give a whole region a bad name. Hopefully that can weed out whoever it was. Nomar will always be a Bosox to me.
ReplyDeleteIf it was a season ticket holder, I figure it'll be real easy to know who that person was. Anyway, forget that. It's folks like Chris and like you, Mark, who make the world a better and brighter place.
DeleteMy apologies for blog bombing! Mark, how does one get ahold of you?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI remember Tom Candiotti coming up to the majors for the first time with the Brewers in the mid-1980s. He didn't have a knuckler then, and he didn't have a baseball card that I had either. So, I got him to sign (of all things) a batting glove. That signature has faded somewhat over the years, but I still have that glove.
ReplyDeleteI had a batting glove with sigs also. I know how that goes. Ruined! ha!
DeleteI don't even remember whose auto it was. Got it at some point in the 70s at Dodger Stadium.