Sunday Night Baseball: Dodger Stadium Visit

The Dodgers hosting the Pirates on Sunday Night Baseball has given us the perfect opportunity to feature a recent Team Phungo trip visit to Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers were out of town while we were in LA, but they do offer stadium tours on off days. I had never been on a Stadium tour before and Lady Phungo was busy with a conference so I decided to venture out from our fine hotel in near Manhattan Beach, drive across LA and check out Chavez Ravine.

 
2014 05 20 Dodger Stadium

The tour opens at the top of Dodger Stadium. Due to the unique terrain of Chavez Ravine you literally drive right to the level you plan on entering. It makes for a really cool first look at the field. 

Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory

The tour cost $20 which I thought was well worth it, even without getting to see a game.  One reason is the great views that one is presented from Dodger Stadium.

In close proximity to LA there are mountains everywhere. If you can't see the Hills then you are atop of some landmark which affords a view of the canyons or beaches. The Hollywood sign above is easily viewed from the Left Field Concourse

Retired Number Plaza 

Just outside the upper level the Dodgers have a Retired Number that I believe is relatively new. Each Number is about a foot deep and contains a brief player bio on the side. The right side is in English while the left is in Spanish. Jackie Robinson's 42 is the number nearest the entrance. I am not sure why the numbers are Red on the front rather than Dodger Blue. The reverse side is Blue, but one needs to reverse the image to view those correctly 

Entrance Vin Scully Press Box

The tour takes you to many unique places including a trip through the Vin Scully Press Box. 

Dodgers Retired Numbers

This is the Retired Numbers as viewed from the Press Box

World Series Trophies

I learned something on the tour, prior to 1967 there was no World Series Trophy. It was left  up to each team to decide how to honor their club. The Dodgers created Baseball Bats with the signature of each player - well sort of, the signatures are only engraved for the players actually signed for the ensuing season. Unsigned players had their names stamped in font form.

The Trophy to the left is from the Dodgers last World Series triumph in 1988. The stand on the left is for the 1981 trophy which was out for polishing. That was just fine with Team Phungo as 1981 is the split season that hurt what was a pretty good Philies team. 

In the window reflection you can see the many Dodger Gold Gloves that are beautifully presented on the opposite side of the room. 

Rookie of the Year Awards 

I am a little confused on this one. The five plaques at the bottom are for the five recent Dodgers RoY winners which are all referred to as the Jackie Robinson Award. I am good with that.

The 11 awards on top are also Rookie of the Year awards but this is where it gets odd. They are referred to as the Ford C Frick Rookie of the Year award. I couldn't find any on-line documentation of the awards name prior to 1987 when it became the Jackie Robinson Award. According to Wikipedia the Award was once named for J Louis Comiskey but there is no mention of Frick. The Dodgers awards all specify National League, possibly the NL award was named for Frick, while the AL was named for Comisky. If anyone has further info, I am certainly curios.   

Dodger Stadium from Field Level

The tour concludes by taking you to field level and into the Dodger dugout.

1951 Bowman #56 Ralph Branca

I Haven't seen 42 yet but I have seen the ads as well as the trailer and some promotional interviews. Ralph Branca has been featured in the interviews and appears to have a prominent role in the film.   

1951 Bowman #56 Ralph Branca

Ralph Branca is one of the Brooklyn Dodgers that befriended Jackie Robinson rather than shunning the new player. According to wikipedia Branca stood with Jackie Robinson for Opening Day lineups in 1947, when other Dodgers refused. Nothing quite like being on the right side of history.  

Branca is also known for giving up "The Shot Heard Round the World" to Bobby Thomson in 1951.  The Home Run by Thomson completed a victory for the Giants in a 3 game series to determine the NL champ.

The three time all-stars career was much bigger than that single game. He pitched for a dozen years almost entirely with the Dodgers - He pitched in two World Series (1947, 1949).  

Jackie Robinson's first season (1947) was Branca's best as he posted a 21-12 record with 4 shutouts and loggged 280 innings. The 21 Ws and his 147 Ks were both good enough for 2nd in the league while his 2.67 ERA was 3rd.

Ralph Branca is still alive at age 87 and can be seen promoting the film 42 on several baseball and sports outlets. There is also an official Ralph Branca website for fan who are interested in autographs and other memorabilia.

For the Collector

I picked up the above Branca card for $1 at a show last April. The card may be a little rough, but any vintage Brooklyn Dodger card for a buck is like stealing. The Lo E-Bay for a really rough 51 Bowman Branca among recent closes is $3.78, for $4.04 you could get a much nicer card.  The card peaks at $69 for a PSA 7 NM.   

1949 Bowman #194
The Bowman RC of Ralph Branca started at $66.  High numbers for the 1949 Bowman set start at #145 - Hall of Famers and Stars like Branca are virtually impossible to find.  Best of luck to anyone looking to build that baby.  The card peaks at $109 (BVG 7.5 NM+)

Topps
The only Topps card for Ralph Branca is from the iconic 1952 set #274. The low recent auction for an acceptable condition card was $11.94.  A PSA 8 NM-MT went for a tidy $414.  If your willing to settle for PSA 5 EX you can get the card at the far lower price of $95.   It should be noted that the card is part of the middle series of 1952 Topps which runs #251-310.  I have found commons in this series run 2-3x higher then the low series, stars and HoF vary but typically multiply more. 

1953 Topps #1 Jackie Robinson

The Jackie Robinson Biopic "42" gets its official release tomorrow Friday April 12 2013.

1953 Topps #1 Jackie Robinson

To mark the occasion we are going to take a look at one of the favorite cards in the non-Phils portion of the Phungo collection. If your a collector with enough money to purchase a hobby box, you may want to consider picking up a vintage Jackie Robinson card instead. If your not too picky about condition you can even have a vintage Jackie Robinson card.  What crummy game used relic is going to top that?

For the Collector
The above Jackie Robinson card which is a bit soft on the edges with a couple of creases but no marks went for $80 in January of 2010.

Recent completed auctions for the card went as low as $26.50 (trimmed).  Untrimmed cards in ok shape started at $54.  A low end graded card ( PSA1 Poor) went for $62.  There were roughly 10 auctions of 53 Topps Jackie Robinsons that ended between $54 and $80 - all of which were cards in similar condition to mine.

Going up the ladder in graded cards we have the following:

PSA Condition	$$$
PSA 1 Poor	$129
PSA 3 VG	$143
PSA 4	$210
PSA 5 EX (BIN)	$295
PSA 5 EX	$330
PSA 5 EX (BIN)	$465
PSA 6.5 EX-MT+	$705
PSA 7 NM	$893

Rookie Card
Jackie Robinson's Rookie Cards are from 1949.  For more info on those special Cards check this posting from Cardboard Connection

Jackie Robinson HoF Index
1953 Topps #1 (b-side with special guest John Thorn)
1956 Topps #30 (100th anniversary of birth / Phungo card)
1997 Upper Deck #3
2008 Topps Stadium Club #91 
2012 Topps Allen & Ginter's #31
2016 Topps Berger's Best #BB-5 (Ken Burns PBS Documentary Release) 

2011 Phungo Retired Numbers #42-PHI (Citizen's Bank)
2012 Phungo Retired Numbers #42-WASa (RFK Stadium)

Sources, Links, & Updates
Topps #1 Club

ebay
2016 01 31: Update - Card image upgraded

2011 Phungo Cards - Jackie Robinson

This year Team Phungo introduced a special continuity series dedicated to retired numbers.  The premier card in the series is dedicated to Jackie Robinson.

2011 Phungo Retired Number #42-PHI

Today Major League Baseball is recognizing Jackie Robinson whose number was retired across baseball on April 15th 1997.

This is Robinson's Retired Number at the Phillies Home in Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.


I am not sure of exactly what the Phils have planned tonight but I am looking forward to the activities as well as seeing players and teams don the 42 uniform number for a single unique game.

An Insert Set I would like to see

Yesterday, April 15th, Was Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball. Each of the teams honored the Baseball Pioneer by wearing Robinson's #42 which is retired across the sport.

I think a simple yet unique subset of cards could be put together of players wearing the #42 on Jackie Robinson Day. I would like the set to consist of 30 cards, one player from each team. I think each team could come up with one player worthy of the honor of the card. It is a set I would collect each year. It would be great to see which players would get the card each season. Perhaps you could expand the set out to 42 cards with 12 extra cards featuring Jackie Robinson or other baseball Icons.

So Topps, Why Not Create a Players Wearing Jackie Robinson's Number Insert Set. The idea blends the history of the game with today's players, I think it would be popular with many a collector.

2010 UD #372 Brett Anderson

I am aware that we would get the backs of lots of players like in the 2010 UD set, but many teams have the player numbers on the front of the jersey or the sleeves. I am not sure Brett Anderson would make the cut for the Jackie Robinson 42 set, but the photo is an example for the set.