This is a story most kids who grew up in the 1990’s can relate to. Ryan Wood was a Ken Griffey Jr (KEY ROOKIE 1989 Upper Deck) fan as a kid. He bought a Ken Griffey Jr. Milk Chocolate Bar in 1993. He put it in the refrigerator, grew up, went home for a friends wedding and found the bar sitting where he had left it 19 years ago. Check out the full story via the link below.
Why I’ve saved a Ken Griffey Jr. chocolate bar for almost 20 years — Sports.Yahoo.com
Longtime big league catcher Yorvit Torrealba is currently playing winter ball in Venezuela for Caracas. Friday afternoon his temper got the best of him as following a strikeout, he struck home plate umpire Dario Rivero Jr. It will be interesting to see what type of punishment is handed down for the incident. UPDATE: He was suspended for 66 games covering the remainder of this year and all of next year.
Former big leaguer Doug Flynn played for five teams in his big league career. His final season came in 1985 in which he played 9 games with the Montreal Expos and 32 games with the Detroit Tigers. His time with the Tigers produced this 1986 Topps Baseball Card In His Detroit Tigers Uniform. For nearly 25 years, Flynn refused to autograph the card. In the video below, Flynn talks about why he decided not to sign the card, how Johnny Bench talked him into signing five of them during a charity event, and whether or not he will ever sign the card again. It’s a pretty cool interview and story. Since the video was made, Flynn has agreed to sign the card for a $400 donation to the Childrens Charity Fund of the Blue Grass.
The folks over at WorldMonitor.tv caught this video of Jose Canseco (KEY ROOKIE: 1986 Donruss) leaving a nightclub in Hollywood this past Saturday. As he leaves, Canseco stops to sign a couple of autographs before getting in his vehicle. As he’s signing someone in the background can be heard laughing and says something that sounds like “Nobody cares about you”, at which point Canseco goes off on the guy, putting him on blast before leaving. It’s pretty funny stuff. You can follow WorldMonitor.tv on twitter @WorldMonitorTV
If you ever wondered what Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly (KEY ROOKIE: 1984 Topps might look like in a dress, you will apparently get to find out as Mattingly will play the role of “Mother Ginger” in the Evansville Indiana Ballet’s version of “The Nutcracker”. The play will have two performances on Saturday, one at 2:30 and the other at 7:00. According to the story, Mattingly will be wearing a wig, makeup and a frilly, oversized dress. In the story link below, Mattingly talks about the role, his admiration for his fellow ballet dancers, and his thoughts on pictures of him in a dress circulating the internet after the show.
Don Mattingly to sport a dress for ‘Nutcracker’ — CourierPress.com
UPDATE: Check out the Video of Mattingly as Mother Ginger via TriStateHomePage.com
I am pretty much a huge John Kruk fan and when I saw this I figured it had to be post worthy. There is a company called Baden Sports that produces a pretty sweet looking bat called the Baden Axe. I have seen a lot of bat endorsement videos from various big leaguers over the years but I don’t recall any of them occurring while the ball player is seated through the entire endorsement as Kruk pulls off here. Enjoy.
The folks from The Baseball Project have released their latest single titled “C’mon Prince” which provides a lyrical plea for Prince Fielder (Key Rookie: 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres) to resign with the Milwaukee Brewers. You can listen to the song below.
The Chicago Daily Herald posted this entertaining video of Theo Epstein walking outside Wrigley Field today. He shakes some hands, signs an autograph, and gets constantly serenaded by a guy in a “Woo Woo” custom Chicago Cubs jersey shouting “Woo Theo, Woo Theo” non stop for the length of the thirty second video. Enjoy.
Over the last couple of seasons, upon the final out of a Texas Rangers win, one can look into the dugout and see an exchanging of man hugs between Ron Washington and his top coaches. In the story link below, Washington and bench coach Jackie Moore talk about the post win man hug tradition and its beginnings that trace back to last season, as well as the close bond shared by the members of the Rangers staff.
For Rangers coaches, mutual respect led to a huggable ritual — Star-Telegram.com
The folks at EarthCam made this awesome time lapse video of Target Field being constructed. The Minnesota Twins home starts as a slab and becomes a stadium before your eyes in under a minute. It’s very cool.