You Also Say JENGA When You Save Cardmas!

Aloha, everybody, 

And the Cardmas magic just keeps on rolling. 

In my previous post I showed off some of the cardboard stocking stuffers that Tony B from WRJ sent to me, but I forgot to show the cool oddball that he sent along with the bunch. 

Somehow I left said oddball in the envelope, and at scanning time it remained there, forgotten. Have no fear, because Tony noticed it wasn't in my post, and he sent an email asking me if he had forgotten to pack that oddball in the first place. 

It turns out the timing of all of this was perfect, because a Dodgers news story broke since that first WRJ post, which grooves right into this new post perfectly. 

The Dodgers just announced they will dedicate their first stadium statue in 2016. Statues at stadiums are far from a new thing, but up until now, Dodger Stadium hasn't had one (I certainly don't count a giant Tommy Lasorda bobblehead as a statue). 

Who gets the honor of the first statue? Of course, he's the patron saint of ATBATT, and the player whom I take Stealing Home, my nom de blog from..

 Tony included this oddball of Jackie in the envelope as well, and I must point out that although I already had a couple of these, this one is in pristine shape, as though it came out of a pack yesterday. 

That however, was not the original oddball that Tony was referring to, and I had forgotten. This is...

It's a slightly oversized bio/portrait card of Branch Rickey, who some might refer to as the patron saint of Mr. Robinson. 

For the three of you out there who don't know yet, Branch Rickey was the guy who convinced the Dodgers to take on the task of breaking the black/white color barrier in MLB.  He also convinced Jackie to suck up the abuse hurled at him from the stands and opposing dugouts, and show through his playing ability that he, and others no different than him, deserved to play alongside white, Caribbean and Latin ballplayers. 

He was also played by Han Solo in the movie 42 . 

Here's the bio on the back. Check out Rickey's birthday - he's a Christmas baby - more Cardmas magic! 

 So I now have a piece commemorating one of the most influential men in baseball, and it's thanks to Tony B. 

P.S. for Zippy Zappy. Please grab my email from my profile and shoot an email to me, ZZ.  
P.S.S. for Matt and Tony L. Check my reply to the beer trading comments on Matt's blog. It's in the "Skinny Bonds" post. 

 Aloha - and Merry Christmas, everybody, wherever you may be.

ATBATT'S ALL-TIME ALL-STARS 2nd Base

Here we go with my choice for the all-time best second baseman.  Although the decision was difficult -yet again - I made a "managerial" decision and didn't just go with the guy who had the highest offensive numbers.

Had I wanted to do that, I would have just gone with Rogers Hornsby, the choice of The Sporting News back in 75.  But I figured I'm putting together a team of all-stars who should have more to offer on the diamond than a simple line up of home run hitters.

I want ATBATT's team to have solid defensive prowess, the ability to exercise plate discipline when necessary, and to be base stealing rabbits.  All the better to preoccupy opposing pitchers so they'll make the mistake pitches that the home run hitters can capitalize on. 

Which is why I chose this (first ?) Dodger for the team...

Not known as a power hitter, Jackie was a career .311 hitter and a definite threat to steal once on the basepaths.

He was a 6-time all-star, and played on 6 WS teams, including the '55 World Championship Brooklyn Dodgers.

Absolutely solid at 2nd base.  He played 10 seasons and had a .983 fielding percentage.

 It's the intangibles.  You don't have to be a reader of my blog to know Jackie broke the color barrier and what he has meant to MLB as an icon.

Jackie wasn't chosen to get a shot at being the first Black player because he was the best player in the Negro Leagues at the time.  He was chosen because of his equally strong character.  

 Can you imagine if Satchel Page had been the first to break the barrier and he heard the cries of the N-word from the opposing dugout? The very first batter from the opposing squad would have had a fastball in his ear and baseball would have had a bench clearing brawl almost immediately.  It would have been "Experiment Over".

This is not to say Jackie was weak.  Rather, it took a particularly strong and self-confident person, with an eye for the bigger picture, and what it meant for all those still waiting, to undertake what Branch Rickey and the Dodgers asked of Jackie.



Number 42 let his glove, cleats and bat do his talking for him - and that's why he became one of the greatest players to ever set foot on the diamond.  ATBATT's 2nd baseman, Jackie Robinson.

THANKS for reading, everybody.  

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