All the Way from P-Town to D-Town

Aloha, everybody, 

It's warm out here in Dodger town today. I sure hope the rest of you all are thawing into enjoyable levels of snow ("enjoyable" being a relative term, I'm sure). 

I received a happy little PWE the other day from P-Town Tom, who runs the blog, Waiting till Next Year. Let's check out what he sent way out west.

Leading off is my favorite slug - not slugging - just slug shortstop, Jose Offerman...

On good days, we referred to him as Jose Awfulman. 

That said, no matter Jose 0-for-man's shortcomings, he was no match for the utter uselessness of this guy. 

Hamilton was a classic smoke and mirrors player who would suck for a few weeks and then have a good few games, fooling everyone into thinking he was a legit major leaguer. Then he would repeat the cycle. 

Aha, here we go. A real player. Fernando, sporting a rarely seen on cardboard, mustache and five-o-clock shadow...

Speaking of rarely-seen mustaches, I present Jim Neidlinger, who was up for less than a cup of coffee. It was more like a shot of espresso. 

Neidlinger appeared in only 12 games, but he left the majors with a decent record of 5-3, and 3.23 ERA. They must have snapped this pic on the day he realized his career was over...way too soon. 

Next up, Tom's eagle eye spotted a current Dodger in his college days. O'Brien was picked up from the Rangers and he's currently in AA ball. We'll see what 2017 holds in store...

Finally, an autograph. Most times I get an autos just like the kind you get, I'm sure. You know, a star or prospect, or the kid who never made it. That would have been easy. This time good ol' P-Town sent me the first auto of this type for my collection. 

This is an autograph from one of the most infamous Dodgers ever, who threw one of the most infamous pitches ever, as the result of one of Tommy Lasorda's most infamous decisions ever...

Oh brother, that was a doozy. I still get the heebie-jeebies from that one. And now I've got this...

All-Time Fan Favorites? All-time favorite of who's fans - Jack Clark's? Ha! That said, it's kind of a cool auto to add to the collection. 

Not every player is a hero. Not every game ends in victory for the good guys. Like it or not, Niedenfuer is part of Dodgers postseason lore. Even if it was a painful loss that resonates to this day. Tom, I'm actually glad you included this card. It's history. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drop this into a binder and not think about it again for a very long time. 

Aloha!