Rich Crimi/Tulsa Drillers
By Jon Weisman
Double-A Tulsa right-hander Chase De Jong was named Pitcher of the Year in the Texas League, which also placed second baseman Willie Calhoun and outfielder Alex Verdugo on its All-Star Team.
Category: Awards (Page 2 of 9)
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By Jon Weisman
Five trophies were given to the Dodgers and SportsNet LA at the 68th annual Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards on Saturday.
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By Bart Harvey
The Dodgers had three players in their farm system earn top honors for July 18-24:
June 2016 NL Rookie of the Month Corey Seager is so impressive, he almost seems to inspire fear in June 1985 NL Player of the Month Pedro Guerrero.
By Jon Weisman
In case you hadn’t heard, Corey Seager was pretty decent in June.
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Dylan Buell/Getty Images
By Jon Weisman
Forget the National League Rookie of the Year race for a moment. It’s time to start thinking of Corey Seager as a potential NL Most Valuable Player.
The 22-year-old shortstop ranks second among NL position players in wins above replacement, and that doesn’t account for Seager hitting his 17th home run and reaching base three times in the Dodgers’ 8-1 pounding of Milwaukee today.
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By Jon Weisman
So, you’re about to hit publish on a story that says the Dodgers’ eighth-inning magic has disappeared. And then, at the last moment, you look up — and in comes the magic, nearly past deadline but better late than never for Los Angeles.
With the Dodgers trailing by a run and two outs remaining, pinch-hitter Howie Kendrick reached first on a single. Yasiel Puig came up and lined a single to left field that — absolutely stunningly — went past Washington center fielder Michael Taylor, for a two-run Little League home run that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 victory over the Nationals.
Technically, it was a single plus a three-base error — plus that irresistible dash of Puig — that extended the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.
It’s the fourth time the Dodgers have come from behind in the eighth inning or later during the streak. And it was the fourth completely bizarre play to take place at Dodger Stadium tonight.
Washington had taken the lead an inning earlier — but first, some context.
In the top of the eighth Tuesday, in pursuit of the Nationals’ third run of the game, catcher Wilson Ramos was thrown out at home by the Dodger left fielder.
In the top of the eighth inning tonight, in pursuit of the Nationals’ third run of the game, Ramos made it much easier on himself, launching a 421-foot homer over the Dodger left fielder and taking his time to circle the bases.
That shot broke a 2-2 tie that had lingered since the third inning and put the Dodgers in jeopardy, until Kendrick and Puig turned things around with the help of Taylor, whose night was a complete nightmare. In the top of the ninth, Taylor became the sixth player ever to earn a platinum sombrero against the Dodgers by striking out five times in a game.
Dream chasers. pic.twitter.com/Ds79HvbecS
— Gavin Lux (@TheRealGavinLux) June 21, 2016
By Jon Weisman
Newly signed Dodger first-round pick Gavin Lux has reported to Camelback Ranch, where he will play in the Arizona Fall League, as several members of the 2016 draft class got into their first action as pros Monday.
Save #162. #WeLoveLA pic.twitter.com/uDOwlxW1Gl
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 21, 2016
By Jon Weisman
With a grounder by Anthony Rendon to Justin Turner and a throw to first, Kenley Jansen closed out the Dodgers 4-1 victory over Washington tonight and set the Dodgers’ all-time saves record with the 162nd of his career.
Jansen broke the tie he had forged with Eric Gagne on June 15. It was also Jansen’s 20th save of the season, making him the first Dodger to have five such seasons.
Eric Gagné calls @kenleyjansen74 to congratulate him on breaking his franchise record. #WeLoveLA pic.twitter.com/qijE2vkeUn
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 21, 2016
As was the case for his first career save on July 25, 2010, Jansen sealed a victory for Clayton Kershaw, who pitched six shutout innings before allowing his only run in the seventh inning.
Despite pitching in unKershawly heat, the Dodger lefty’s ERA dipped from 1.58 to 1.57, but more dramatically, he fanned eight (including Bryce Harper thrice) while walking none, improving his dominant strikeout/walk ratio to 144/7, or 20.1 to you and me.
Emergency starter Yusmeiro Petit pitched admirably for Washington, going six innings on 90 minutes notice, but was victimized by four extra-base hits, including a pair of homers (by Justin Turner and Joc Pederson) and a pair of doubles (by Corey Seager and Corey Seager).
For Turner, it was his seventh homer of June (since June 7, in fact), giving him the team lead for the month over Seager. The last Dodger …
- to hit more in June was Matt Kemp, with nine in 2011.
- to hit double-digits in June was Shawn Green, with 12 in 2002.
- to be Pedro Guerrero in June was Pedro Guerrero, with 15 in 1985.
By Jon Weisman
One week ago today, Corey Seager went 0 for 4 with a career-high three strikeouts.
A trend was not forming.
Over his next six games, the 22-year-old shortstop went 10 for 23 with six home runs — five in the past three games against Atlanta — two walks and a sacrifice fly, giving him a .462 on-base percentage and 1.217 slugging percentage.
That would have made Seager the youngest Dodger to be named National League Player of the Week since Fernando Valenzuela won the honor twice in 1981 at age 21, except the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter swooped in to take the award, with a .577 on-base percentage and .920 slugging percentage.
In the past 30 days, Seager has 12 home runs, with a .364 on-base percentage and .667 slugging percentage. He ranks seventh in Major League Baseball in wins above replacement, behind Mike Trout, Manny Machado, Dexter Fowler, Xander Bogaerts, Jose Altuve and Nolan Arenado.
Corinne Landrey has an analysis of Seager’s offensive explosion at Fangraphs.
By Jon Weisman
Honestly, if there had been a Nobel Pitcher Prize, Clayton Kershaw would have earned it in May.
Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
At the end of the street formerly known as Elysian Park Avenue, we witnessed today what happens when an unstoppable force meets a moved city.
In the driveway of his home away from home at Dodger Stadium, a broadcaster without equal acknowledged the formal dedication of Vin Scully Avenue, thanking the grateful fan base that has hung on his words since 1950.
By Jon Weisman
Three former Dodgers — Rick Monday, Tom Paciorek and J.D. Drew — have been elected to the 2016 class of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Monday, the current broadcaster whose capture-the-flag exploits and 1981 National League Championship Series-winning home run made him a Dodger legend, was the first draft pick in MLB history after The Sporting News named him 1965 National Player of the Year. We chronicled Monday’s journey from college to draft groundbreaker in a Dodger Insider feature last summer.
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Drew, who had a .905 OPS for the Dodgers from 2004-05 and was part of the heroic 4+1 quintet, was a two-time All-American and consensus national player of the year awards in 1997 for Florida State.
Paciorek, who played the first six seasons of his 18-year MLB career with the Dodgers, was an All-American in 1967 and 1968 and hit .435 in 1967 for Houston.
Matthew Mesa/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Who’s ready for Vin Scully Avenue?
That could soon be the name for the stretch of road leading from Sunset Boulevard to Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles city councilman Gil Cedillo is scheduled to make a motion for a vote during the Friday City Council meeting at City Hall to change the name of Elysian Park Avenue to Vin Scully Avenue, in honor of the Dodgers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster.
“There’s no better way to recognize such an iconic Dodger as Hall of Famer Vin Scully than naming a street after him,” Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten said. “We appreciate Gil Cedillo and city officials bringing this to the forefront, and we look forward to the day when everyone can drive on Vin Scully Avenue when they enter Dodger Stadium.”
Many members of the Dodger organization will be present Friday at City Hall, as part of the Dodgers Love L.A. Tour (presented by Bank of America). Scheduled to attend are Dave Roberts, Clayton Kershaw, Yasiel Puig, Austin Barnes, Jharel Cotton, Carlos Frias, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher, Pedro Baez, Yasmani Grandal, Micah Johnson, Zach Lee, Adam Liberatore, Frankie Montas, Josh Ravin, Scott Van Slyke, Trayce Thompson and Ross Stripling, along with Dodger alumni Tommy Lasorda, Orel Hershiser, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Eric Karros, Maury Wills and SportsNet LA broadcaster Alanna Rizzo.
Photos by Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
Vin Scully won two awards for best play-by-play — in radio and in television — at the 25th annual Southern California Sports Broadcaster Awards, announced today at the Lakeside Golf Club.
Jaime Jarrin was named best foreign-language play-by-play announcer, while Orel Hershiser was the winner in TV color analysis and Rick Monday in radio color commentary.
Scully, Jarin and Monday are all in the organization’s Hall of Fame.
Scully has won the radio award, named in honor of Chick Hearn, 18 times since its inception in 1991, and the TV award 13 times. (Winners of three consecutive awards in a category are not eligible to repeat for one year.)
Jarrin won his ninth career award since foreign-language broadcasters were first recognized in 2003, and Monday his fifth.
Ann Meyers Drysdale also received a special award, the Chuck Benedict/Stu Nahan President’s Award, while former Dodger executive Tommy Hawkins won the Gil Stratton Lifetime Achievement Award.
