Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
There's just something cool about revisiting Dodger history - and even cooler if it's your dad doing the telling.
Through the press clippings of his father, Rich Lederer at Baseball Analysts spins the tale of Maury Wills negotiating a contract in the neighborhood of $80,000 in March 1966 - a contract that for a brief moment made Wills the third-highest paid player in baseball behind Willie Mays ($125,000) and Mickey Mantle ($100,000).
At the time, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were in their famous holdout. Ironically, as Lederer père pointed out, Drysdale was simultaneously having labor pains of a different sort.
"The tigers have turned on their trainer at Don Drysdale's restaurant in Van Nuys," George Lederer wrote. "Drysdale, as the world knows, is holding out with Sandy Koufax for a joint million-dollar, three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"An official of the AFL-CIO Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union announced Tuesday that employees of Drysdale's restaurant have received strike sanction from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, adding that 'if Don can "strike" for his contract, so can his employees.'"
Rich Lederer hints that "The Best of George Lederer" might become a series on Baseball Analysts. We can only hope.
Pain in the butt to have to log-in on your new site. Don't like the format as much either. Hope it was worth the change for you and your ever increasing readship. However, I will remain a loyal fan of your writing, wherever I must go.
Good to see a strong pitching performance today. I will see the Sox-Dodgers twice between 3/21 and 3/27. My wife is a Johnny Damon groupie (bought her a Damon jersey as a gift). There's some dissention in our household (we both spent 25 winters in Vermont post college and prof school). I rooted my a-- off for the Sox in the AL playoffs and series, but my heart will alway be with the Dodgers.
P.S. I like the editing feature. Always embarrassing to look like an illiterate moron when commenting in the past.
Let me know what you don't like about the format - interested in your feedback.
There is no easy way to view the archives, from what I've seen. Maybe this is because there are no archives, I don't know-- but that brings up another point. I wouldn't like to lose all of the previous articles just because you decided to switch hosts, Jon.
for beta, Mr. Ken.
One minor hitch...when my name was reset, my password changed somehow. It added a digit, and doesn't work, even when I erase that digit. I have to erase it and type in the original again.
Sorry to be a pain.
Oh, and OT for a moment, I remember the Drysdale/Koufax contracts as being touted as
the `Baby Bonus', for $100,000 each.
I'm not sure what to make of Mark's comment that "the site looks absolutely nothing like what you would expect a Dodgers site, or a baseball site for that matter, to look like." I didn't know there was a standard for that. I don't say that facetiously. I just don't know what to make of the comment.
Email me at support at baseballtoaster.com and we'll try to figure out your password problem.
--Ken
Off topic, thanks to Ken for helping me get through the registration hurdle. For a while, it felt like when I was in college, trying to get through the bouncer at the Whisky.
For all I know, if I weren't looking at the URL or the Page Title I could be commenting on a blog about how to properly grow tarragon.
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