The Yankees started the 40’s with a third-place finish in 1940. Detroit beat out the Indians by 1 game and the Yankees by 3. DiMaggio was far and away the Yankees best hitter and the only regular on the team to hit .300. He finished with a .352 mark. Henrich .307, and part-time player, Buster Mills .397, were the others. DiMaggio hit 31 homers and drove in 133 runs; Gordon hit 30 homers and drove in 105. Keller hit 21 and drove in 93.
Ruffing had 15 wins and Russo 14. No other Yankee pitcher had more than 9, Tiny Bonham. Four pitchers contributed 8 wins. Murphy had 9 saves. It was the worst finish for the Yankees since 1930. They were starting to integrate some young players onto the roster. And that would soon start paying dividends. In 1941, they rebounded and won the pennant. They won 101 games and finished 17 games in front of Boston. 
34-year-old Bill Dickey was nearing the end of his career, he caught 109 games, and his backup, Buddy Rosar played in 67. It was the year of Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak, and the year that Ted Williams became the last player to hit .400. The thunder seemed to be back in the Yankee bats. DiMaggio .357/30/125, Keller .298/33/122, Henrich .277/31/85, Gordon .276/24/87. They hit .269 as a team and had 151 homers.
Ruffing and Gomez led the team with 15 wins, Russo had 14, and Spud Chandler added 10. Murphy with 8 and Bonham with 9, were the leaders in the pen. Murphy also had 15 saves. They met the Dodgers in the World Series. First time since 1920 Brooklyn had won a pennant. The Yankees took game 1, 3-2 with Ruffing getting the win. Brooklyn won game 2, 3-2 with Wyatt besting Chandler. Game 3 in Brooklyn was a 2-1 Yankee win, Russo beating Hugh Casey who relieved Freddie Fitzsimmons. The Yankees scored both of their runs in the top of the 8th on singles by DiMaggio and Keller. Brooklyn scored their run in the 8th when Reese drove in Dixie Walker who had doubled.
Game four would become famous for an error. Higbe started for the Dodgers and lasted 3.2 innings allowing 3 runs to the Yankees on 6 hits and a couple of walks. Atley Donald started for the Yankees. Brooklyn got to him for 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th, Owens and Coscarat walked. Wasdell batted for Medwick and doubled them home. In the bottom of the 5th, Donald gave up a double to Walker and then Reiser homered to right-center. Donald was relieved by Breuer. Casey came in in the 5th for Brooklyn. Casey shut the Yankees down until the top of the 9th. 
Casey retired Sturm and Rolfe on groundouts. Henrich worked the count to 3-2. Casey’s next pitch broke sharply and Henrich swung and missed, but Owens missed the ball, and Henrich ran to first. So, instead of the game being over and the series tied 2-2, the Yankees had new life. And kind of like the Dodgers this year, they took full advantage. Much like Cole, Casey seemed to come unhinged. His next pitch was right down the middle and DiMaggio singled to left. Keller then doubled off of the wall scoring Henrich and DiMaggio. Casey then walked Bill Dickey, and Gordon doubled driving in Keller and Dickey giving the Yankees a 7-4 lead. Brooklyn went meekly in the 9th and the Yanks were up 3-1. Brooklyn fell behind early the next day and lost a 3-1 game and the series was over. 
WWII started with the events in December, and there was some talk of cancelling the baseball season. But Roosevelt said do not do that as the American people would need something familiar going forward. He sent a letter to Commissioner Landis on Jan 15th of 1942 expressing his desire for baseball to continue. The Yankees in 1942 had a powerful lineup once again. Joe Gordon was the league MVP. He hit .322 with 18 homers and 103 driven in. Dimaggio 114, and Keller 108, also drove in 100 or more. They did have a new SS, young Phil Rizzuto, made his MLB debut.
Keller led the team with 26 homers and DiMaggio had 21. He batted .305. Pitching wise, the leader was Tiny Bonham who won 21 games. Donald, Ruffing, Borowy and Chandler, all had double figures in wins. Murphy saved 11 games but had a 4-10 record. They beat the Red Sox by 13 games and met the Cardinals in the World Series. This time, they got beat 4 games to 1. They won game one, 7-4 behind Ruffing. But the Cardinals won the next four, 4-3, 2-0, 9-6, and 4-2. The Yankees hit 3 homers to the Cardinals 2, but they were outscored 23-18.
Players began going off to war. The 43 Yankees were missing 3 big pieces in DiMaggio, Henrich and Rizzuto. The outfield now consisted of Keller, Lindell and Bud Metheny. Tuck Stainback, and Roy Weatherly also saw time there. Dickey was the primary catcher, and he hit .351 in 85 games. He was backed up by Ken Sears and Rollie Hemsley. Frank Crosetti took over at SS and Nick Etten was the first baseman. He led the team with 107 RBI’s. Charlie Keller, 31, was the only player with more than 20 homers.
Chandler won 20 games, Bonham 15, Wensloff 13, Borowy 14. Murphy won 12 out of the pen and had 9 saves. They won 98 games and finished 13.5 games in front of the Senators. They played the Cardinals in the World Series and this time the Yankees prevailed in five games. They split the first two in New York, won game three which was also played in New York due to wartime travel restrictions, and then beat the Cardinals both games in St. Louis. It was Joe McCarthy’s seventh and final World Championship team. He would finish his Yankee career with a 1460-867 record. A .627 winning percentage. He would resign as manager during the 46 season.
The 1944 version of the Yankees was just a shell of what the team was in 43. More stars had gone off to war and the Yankees finished 3rd behind the Tigers and the surprising pennant winning St. Louis Browns, for you younger folk, the present-day Baltimore Orioles. For history buffs, it was the first and only pennant in the Browns history. The Yankees won 83 games and finished 6 back. Snuffy Stirnweiss was the Yankees best player. He hit .319 and led the league in hits, runs and triples. He also led the league in stolen bases with 55. Etten led the team and the league with 22 homers.
Borowy led the team with 17 wins, Mark Dubiel, Bonham and Donald all won in double figures. Jim Turner had a 4-4 record with 7 saves out of the pen. The Yankees drew almost 800 thousand fans despite the war. The Cardinals were the World Champs beating the Browns in six games. Baseball and the nation waited to see if the war would be over by December as many had thought. But the German Ardennes offensive ended that hope. So, baseball went on with old veterans and young kids manning the diamonds in 1945.
The Yankees dropped a spot in the standings in 45. Stirnweiss was again the star of the team. He led the league in WAR, PA, ABs, runs, hits, triples, steals, caught stealing, BA, slugging, and OPS. Etten led the team in homers and RBIs. Stirnweiss and Keller were the only players who hit .300. The pitching was led by Bill Bevens who won 13 games. Dubiel and Borowy won 10 each. The teams fourth place finish was their worst in years. But the war ended in September, and they could look forward to their star players returning. 1946 would have it’s challenges too, and an unexpected departure. 
Unknown to many fans was the fact that the Yankee manager, Joe McCarthy, had a serious drinking problem. Joe was known to go on benders. He had battled it for many years. Sometimes he would be gone for a week or more. It all finally caught up with him in 46. By May, the Yankees were six games back of Boston. After losing two straight to Cleveland, a drunken McCarthy chewed out P, Joe Page for staying out too late. He failed to show up for a series with the Tigers, and he went home to his farm in Amherst, New York. He resigned by sending a telegram. McCarthy had been the first manager to win pennants in both leagues. When he finally retired, he had 9 pennants and 7 Championships under his belt.
With McCarthy’s resignation, Bill Dickey took over as manager. Their stars did indeed return. DiMaggio, Henrich and Rizzuto all played major roles that season. Granted, they were somewhat rusty with the 3-year absence. No Yankee led the league in a single offensive category. DiMaggio hit .290, Henrich and Rizzuto in the .250s. Keller led the team in RBIs and homers. He and DiMaggio were the only ones with 20 or more. A young catcher from St. Louis made his debut late in the year, and he impressed everyone in his 7 games in the majors. 21-year-old Yogi Berra hit .364 in his short stint.
Spud Chandler, now 38-years-old, won 20, lost 8 and had a 2.10 ERA. Bevens won 16, lost 13 and his ERA was 2.23. Page and Bonham were the other starters, Page won 9 and Bonham 5. Randy Gumpert was 11-3 out of the pen with a 2.31 ERA. The Yankees looked to rebound in 47. Now that some major pieces were back, and some promising new blood, an incredible run was coming sooner than they expected.
The 47 Yankees won 97 games, a 16-game improvement from 46. They had a new manager, Bucky Harris, who had last managed the Phillies in 1943, He had managed the Senators, Tigers and Red Sox prior to that. The stars were back, but they were a little older now, so even though they had solid seasons, they did not put up the same kind of numbers they did pre-war. Dimaggio would be the MVP, he hit .315 but did not lead the league in a single offensive stat. In fact, the only league leader in any stat was Henrich who led the league with 13 triples. One thing the Yankees did not do was strike out a lot. 581 Ks in 5308 at bats. DiMaggio struck out just 32 times all year.
Over the winter of 46, they traded to bolster their rotation. They got Allie Reynolds from the Indians for Joe Gordon. Spec Shea and Vic Rashi came up from their farm system. Reynolds was the ace of the staff and won 19 games. Shea won 14 and Page won 14 and saved 17 out of the pen. They would face the Jackie Robinson Dodgers in the 47 series. The Yankees would win in 7 games, but there were a couple of Dodger highlights that have gone down in history.
UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 03: Lavagetto after his game winning hit.
The first happened in game 4. Brooklyn was being no-hit by Bill Bevens. The Dodgers had lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium and then won a 9-8 squeaker in game 3. Going into the 9th inning, they had not been able to get any hits off of Bevens. He did though eventually walk 10. They had scored a run in the fifth on two walks and a sacrifice bunt, then Pee Wee hit into a fielder’s choice. The Yankees led 2-1 scoring single runs in the first and fourth innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Edwards flied out. Furillo walked and Jorgensen fouled out. Gionfriddo was sent in as a pinch runner for Furillo. Reiser was sent up to PH for the pitcher, Casey. Gionfriddo stole second, so they intentionally walked Reiser. Miksis ran for Reiser. Lavagetto was sent up to PH for Eddie Stanky. Lavagetto lined a 1-0 pitch off of the right field wall, it took a weird ricochet off of the wall and hit Henrich in the shoulder. Gionfriddo and Miksis raced around the bases and scored, giving Brooklyn the win and tying the series at 2 apiece. 
The next one happened in game 6. The Yankees won game 5 sending the series back to Yankee Stadium. The Dodgers scored 2 in the first and 2 in the third to take a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the inning. The Yankees scored 4 in the bottom of the inning and tied the game. They then scored another run in the fourth and went up 5-4. In the top of the sixth, the Dodgers got a single and a double off of Page. Lavagetto hit a sac-fly tying the game. Bragan then hit another single to put the Dodgers up 6-5. The next single knocked Page out of the game. Reese then hit a 2-run single off of Bobo Newsom and Brooklyn led 8-5. 
The pivotable play of the game came in the bottom of the sixth. Shotton sent Gionfriddo to left as a defensive replacement for Miksis. The Yankees got two runners on with 2 out. DiMaggio came to the plate as the potential tying run. Joe then blasted a ball to left field toward the bullpen. The photo above the last paragraph shows the path of the ball. Gionfriddo raced back and caught the ball before it could go over the fence. DiMaggio, in a rare show of emotion, kicked the dirt as he approached second base. The Yankees would load the bases in the 9th, but only scored a run for the 8-6 final. The Yankees would come from behind to win game seven, 5-2 with Joe Page pitching 5 innings of scoreless relief. A little side note. Three players, Lavagetto, Bevens and Gionfriddo, played their last MLB games in the series. His catch of DiMaggio’s blast was the last putout Gionfriddo ever made.
As good as the 47 season was for the Yankees, 48 was a disappointment. Even though they won 94 games, the finished third behind the Red Sox and pennant winning Cleveland. The Yankees had new owners, Dan Topping and Del Webb, the new GM was George Weiss. Joe DiMaggio had a more DiMaggio type season, slamming 39 homers to lead the league and driving in 155, also leading the league. His outfield teammates, Lindell and Henrich, also hit over .300. Henrich was second on the team with 25 homers, Lindell contributed 13. 22-year-old Yogi Berra hit .305 in 125 games with 14 homers and 98 driven in, just 2 behind Henrich.
The pitching staff had added lefty Eddie Lopat from the White Sox in February of 48. He would win 17 and lose 11. Vic Raschi led the staff with 19 wins, Allie Reynolds had 16. Joe Page won 7 and saved 16, Tommy Bryne won 8 and saved 2. Spec Shea, and rookie Bob Porterfield rounded out the starting rotation. They hi t.276 as a team and had 139 homers. Winning 94 and finishing third did not please the new owners so they hired Casey Stengel to manage the team in 49.
Stengel had started his managerial career in 1925 in the Braves system. He managed Brooklyn and was there three years, 34-36. He then managed the Boston Bees-Braves from 38-43. He then was hired to manage the Milwaukee Brewers minor league team, a Cubs affiliate. He moved to the Yankees affiliate in Kansas City in 1945. He then went to the PCL in Oakland as manager of the Oaks. His third year, 1948, they won the championship. One of his players at Oakland was Billy Martin. He would eventually play for Casey in New York. 
The 49 Yankees were involved in a tight pennant race that went right down to the wire. They eventually beat Boston by one game. They finished 97-57-1. Joe Dimaggio was injured much of the year and only played in 76 games. Cliff Mapes was his usual replacement in CF. Henrich moved to 1B. Berra was now the #1 catcher. DiMaggio hit .346 but only had 14 homers. Henrich, 24 and Berra, 20, were the team leaders. Berra’s 91 RBIs paced the team.
Pitching was strong, Raschi 21, Lopat 15, Reynolds 17, Bryne 15 were the starters, Page once again was the ace of the pen, 13 wins and 27 saves. They met Brooklyn in the World Series. The teams traded 1-0 games the first two games. Yanks won 1-0 behind Reynolds in game 1. Brooklyn won 1-0 behind Preacher Roe in game 2. Game 3 was not decided until the 9th inning. Yankees scored 1 in the third. Dodgers tied the game in the bottom of the 4th on a Reese homer off of Byrne. The Yankees scored 3 in the top of the 9th. Page then gave up homers to Luis Olmo with 1 out and Roy Campanella with 2 outs as the Dodgers almost tied the game but lost 4-3.
Game 4 looked like the Yankees were going to coast as they led 6-0 by the fifth inning. But in the bottom of the sixth, the Dodgers plated 4 runs. After that, the Yankees shut them down for the 6-4 final. Game 5 at Ebbets Field was decided pretty early. The Yankees led 10-2 by the bottom of the sixth inning. Brooklyn scored 4 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Yankees held on and won the series with a 10-6 win. Casey had his first pennant and championship. No one thought he would win so many more, or the fact that this was the first of 5 in a row.
The 1950 AL pennant race was a four-team affair. The Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox and Indians would all win 90+ games. Yankees won 98 to finish first, Detroit was second with 95, Boston won 94 and the Indians won 92. The other four teams finished 30 plus games back of New York. Phil Rizzuto had the best year of his career, hitting .324 and earning the league’s MVP award. Berra finished 3rd in the MVP voting and was .002 behind Rizzuto in BA. DiMaggio hit .301 and led the team in homers with 32, driving in 122 runs. Berra hit 28 homers and drove in 125 to lead the team. Mize was third on the team with 25 homers.
Raschi had 21 wins, Lopat 18, Reynolds 16, Byrne 15, and 21-year-old rookie, Whitey Ford finished with 9. Page had 13 saves but won only 3 games. Tom Ferrick had 8 wins out of the pen. They would face the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950 World Series. The Phils had beaten the Dodgers in a one game playoff on a three-run homer by Dick Sisler. They were called the Whiz Kids. The Yankees made short work of the Whiz Kids, sweeping them in a four-game series. But all four games were close. Yankees won game one, 1-0. Raschi beat Jim Konstanty. Tanks won game two, 2-1, Reynolds beating Robin Roberts. Game three was a 3-2 win for the Yankees with Ferrick beating Russ Meyer. And Ford won game four, 5-2 over Bob Miller. Only 2 homers were hit in the series, one by Berra and one by DiMaggio. Casey had his second title.
The Yankees won 98 again, but this time they finished 5 games in front of Cleveland. Berra won the MVP on the strength of a .294/.350/.492 slash line. He had 27 homers and 88 RBI’s, leading the team in both stats. He was the only Yankee to have more than 15 homers. DiMaggio at 36 years old, hit only .263 with 12 homers. Johnny Mize hit only 10. Rookie infielder, Gil McDougald hit .306 with 14 homers and 63 driven in to become the Yankees first Rookie of the Year.
Raschi and Lopat won 21 each. Ford was in the Army for the next two seasons during the Korean War. Reynolds won 17 and Tom Morgan 9. Joe Ostrowski and Bob Kuzava were the big guns in the bullpen. Ostro won 6 and saved 6. Kuzava won 8 and saved 5. They met the crosstown Giants in the World Series. The Giants had just beaten the Dodgers in a 3-game playoff. The Giants won 2 of the first 3 games. Taking game one, 5-1 and game three, 6-2. Yankees won game two behind Lopat, 3-1. Reynolds pitched his second game in game four and this time he bested the Giants 6-2, beating Sal “The Barber” Maglie. The Yankees pounded the Giants 13-1 in game five with Lopat getting his second win. And game six was won by the Yanks 4-3 for their third straight Series win. Gil McDougald hit a homer and led the team in RBIs with 7. Collins, Rizzuto, DiMaggio and Woodling added homers. Mickey Mantle played in 2 games and had 1 hit in 5 at bats. Al Dark and Monte Irvin both hit over .400 for the series and had 10 and 11 hits respectively. 
The Yankees won 95 games in 1952 and finished just 2 games ahead of the Indians. Joe DiMaggio had retired after the 51 season and the team had a new CF, 20-year-old Mickey Mantle. Mantle had a solid rookie season with a .311/.394/.530 slash with 23 homers and 87 driven in. His OPS was .924. Berra had emerged as the team leader. The stocky catcher hit 30 homers and drove in 98 while hitting .275. Collins, Woodling, Bauer, and McDougald all had double figures in homers. The Yankees also had a new second baseman, 24-year-old, Billy Martin.
Lopat, Reynolds and Raschi anchored the rotation, with Reynolds 21 wins leading the way. Johnny Sain, the former Brave was the closer. He finished with 11 wins and 7 saves. He also started 16 games. Kuzava had 8 wins out of the pen. They faced the Dodgers for the fourth time since 1947. This series would go the full seven games. Brooklyn won game one, 4-2 with Joe Black beating Reynolds. Game two was won by the Yankees, Raschi beating Erskine, 7-1. Brooklyn won game three 5-3 with Roe beating Lopat. Reynolds shut the Dodgers out 2-0 in game four beating Black. Game five went 11 innings, with the Dodgers winning 6-5. Erskine got the win, and the loss went to Sain. Yankees tied the series up with a 3-2 win over Loes in game six. Game seven came down to a critical point in the seventh inning. Leading 4-2, Raschi allowed a single and two walks with one out. Kuzava relieved him. He got Snider to pop out to third. Jackie Robinson then also hit a high pop on the right side of the infield, Joe Collins lost the ball in the sun, but at the last second, Billy Martin dashed in and caught the ball for the third out. Kuzava shut the Dodgers down the rest of the way and the Yankees had their fourth title in a row, tying McCarthy’s streak. It was Kuzava’s second series clinching save in 12 months.
Mantle hit .345 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs in his first real series action. He also led the Yanks with 10 hits. Mize hit 3 homers and drove in 6. The Yankees hit 10 homers in the series. The Dodgers’ batting leader was Duke Snider who had 4 homers, and 8 driven in. He would hit 4 homers again in 1955. Gil Hodges was 0-21.
In 1953 the Yankees had their best season so far under Stengel. They won 99 games and finished 8.5 games ahead of the Indians. Gene Woodling led the team with a .306 BA. Bauer hit .304. Berra led the team with 27 homers and 108 RBIs. Mantle added 21 homers and 92 RBIs. Seven Yankees finished with double digit homers. Whitey Ford returned from the service and won 18 games. Raschi 13, Lopat 16, Reynolds 13 and Sain 14, were the win leaders. Reynolds had 13 saves and Sain 7. 
Their foes in the 53 series were the Dodgers again. But this Chuck Dressen managed Dodger team had won 105 games, beating the newly transplanted Milwaukee Braves by 13 games. It looked like Brooklyn had the edge for the first time. The Yankees won the first two games in the Bronx, 9-5, Sain over Labine, and 4-2, Lopat over Roe. Dodgers won games three and four in Ebbets Field, 3-2, Erskine beating Raschi, and 7-3 with Loes beating Ford. Game five at Ebbets Field the Yankees pounded the Dodgers 11-7, hitting 4 home runs. It wasn’t as close as the score showed as the Yankees led 10-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. Dodgers scored 4 in the eighth and 1 in the ninth for the final. Game six was much tighter. The Yankees had a 3-1 lead going into the top of the 9th. Carl Furillo hit a 2-run homer off of Allie Reynolds to tie the game in the top of the 9th. The Yankees won the game in the bottom of the 9th as Labine walked Bauer, then got Berra to line out to right. Mantle then got an infield hit. That brought up Billy Martin, who was hitting over .500 for the series. Martin hit the second pitch right back up the middle scoring Bauer and giving the Yankees their 16th Championship and a record fifth in a row. Martin was 12-24 in the series. He had 2 homers, 2 triples, a double, a walk, five runs scored and 8 driven in.
Between the two teams they set a World Series record for homers with 17. Nine by the Yankees and eight by the Dodgers. The Yankees were clearly the class of the major leagues. Five straight pennants and championships. But all that was about to be interrupted, first by the Indians, and then by those same Dodgers.
USC football program placed on probation for a year and fined 50,000 dollars for violations of the NCAA coaching staff rules.
That’s that Midwest team isn’t it?
Just think how bad they’d be if they didn’t cheat!
Sorry, I thought this was a Dodgers blog. Fuck the Yankees! It’s Dodgers dynasty time!
A lot of Dodgers WS history in this article. 😥
I appreciate the work in writing the article. Not interested in the topic. Dodgers WS history in this era never ended happily for the boys in blue. Again, F the Yankees!
No one is forcing you to read it. Not a whole lot of Dodger news to talk about.
Exactly, but there will be forthcoming articles on the Dodgers also.
I think the point that bear is trying to make is, here is a real dynasty, can we start having the conversation that the current Dodger are a modern day dynasty.
Thank you, Keith. It was also a request from one of our posters. And understanding how much differently teams were assembled back then compared to how it is done today, that is the interesting aspect.
I am first and foremost a Dodger fan. But I am also a baseball fan. I enjoy the history of our beloved game and find it interesting.
Baseball history is fascinating. History itself is the same. Have you even been to someplace really historical and then just wondered what it must have been like at the time? Felt that way when I went to Vicksburg battlefield. Me essay in US History class was on that battle. But to actually be there? Wow. Felt the same way when I went to DC. I am sure if I went to Cooperstown, or the Negro League Museum in KC the feeling would be much the same. Weird thing, when I was driving long haul, I went past the battlefield at the Little Big Horn a couple of times. Every time I did that, the hair on the back of my neck would stand up like I had been there before, and I have actually never set foot on the battlefield itself. Strange.
I am a huge history buff myself.
I love to visit historic sites and imagine what it was like. Pearl Harbor was particularly moving. Dealey Plaza, the Alamo.
When I was ordered to Germany, I drove my car from LA to Charleston SC so I could ship it to Germany. I stopped in Dallas and went to Dealy Plaza. I remembered the day so vividly, but to actually be there was surreal.
It was a request from one of our posters. And I try to do articles related to subjects they might like. Yankees early history did not involve the Dodgers much, but from 41-63 they met in the World Series eight times.
At least you have a high self-regard!
You can always suggest items you would like written about. Jeff and I are very open to that.
I happen to enjoy the variety of stories you and Jeff provide. Especially when there’s not much Dodger news at the moment. One request—can you write a story on Willie Davis at some point. He was an interesting character. Thanks.
If you grew up in the LA area during the 1960s, you might remember the “Million Dollar Movie” feature on… channel 9, I think. Could be wrong, but I think the same movie was repeated a few times each week.
I think this because I have a fuzzy memory of watching “Damn Yankees” day after day.
Great musical. Fun flick. Plenty of die-hard fans, I think, would sell their souls to help their team win beat the hated Yankees. Especially if someone like Lola was part of the temptation.
Meanwhile, in real baseball news, the Angels signed Travis d’Arnaud to a two-year deal. Nothing dramatic, but the Halos are at least making a few moves. With all the good pitching on the market, I expect them to pick up somebody decent. They need a lot of help.
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As for the Dodgers, the NY Post’s Jon Heyman lists our guys as a contender for the services of Corbin Burnes, at about $210 million for seven years. But I’ve also heard that Heyman is notorious for promoting whatever “news” that Scott Boras want out there. So who knows?
The movie of the week would be run on channel 9 everyday and 2 or 3 times on Sunday. I remember watching King Kong everyday.
I use to watch those movies on Sunday with my dad, I miss me some John Wayne movies.
Million-Dollar movie and a million commercials! I forget which channel it was, but they used to show old horror movies on Friday night. I watched a lot of those. Only one ever really scared the hell out of me, The Mummy’s Ghost. Made in 1944 it starred Lon Chaney Jr. as the mummy, John Carradine was Yousef Bey. As for the Duke, I can watch him anytime I want. I have about 50 of his movies on blu-ray, and another 40 or so on regular disc. I have many different versions of King Kong on disc, including some of the newer ones like Kong Island. I have the original also. One newer movie I really like is Rampage, with the Rock. Funny and very entertaining. I also love the old Sci-Fi stuff like Forbidden Planet. Deadpool and Wolverine is now streaming on Disney, going to watch that tonight.
Heyman is definitely not as reliable as Passan, Rosenthal and Feinsand. I don’t think he’s a shill for Boras. More like very gullible.
I find it strange that year after year we hear nothing about any Dodger negotiations, and now we are hearing years and numbers on a Boras client. When was the last time we heard about a Dodger offer until after it was a done deal, we may hear of interest, or a possible offer, but very unusual to hear detailed information.
if it’s true I’ll bet AF is not very happy about it leaking out.
There is a ton of speculation out there. The name the Dodgers are most tied to right now is Sasaki. But they really need him to be posted before Dec first. Lot of talk about Teo too. But it should be noted that the Dodgers are NOT on the list of teams Soto and Boras are visiting. And I also think the Dodgers signing any Boras client to a long-term deal is not going to happen.
I’m not sure anyone is going to get a long-term deal this off-season from the Dodgers.
Wait.
What is long-term these days?
Well, it used to be 5 years or more. Now it is 8 or more.
Who will Max Muncy be in 2025?
The guy that drew a walk almost every at bat against the Mets in the NLCS or the guy who did zero in the WS?
The guy that hits about .225 in the regular season and misses a lot of the games?
The guy that hits 35 home runs and has an OPS of .840?
He’s going to be the guy with the lifetime OBP of .352, the Dodgers don’t care what his BA is or how he does it, his job is to get on base and don’t screw up at third base to much.
That is not the stereotypical 3rd baseman.
He’s a second baseman that learned to play a decent first base, then had to move to third base, and actually played decent there last season. He still keeps a high obp, and hits a lot of home runs. For the 24 mil two year contract he signed last year he’s a bargain. If you don’t believe me see what Bregman gets this year, I would rather have Max than Bregman in the first place.
Another great article Bear. Thanks again.
Winning one World Series is hard enough, but there have only been 14 teams to win at least two in a row. Sure would be super cool for the Dodgers to join this exclusive club. Go Dodgers in 2025!!!
You are welcome Ohio. Four then a few years later five, under two different managers with two entirely different teams. Casey winning 7 in ten years is pretty amazing too.
Quite an accomplishment. Virtually impossible today with expanded playoffs and free agency.
There are some rumors circulating that Soto has narrowed his potential new team down to Mets, Yanks. Red Sox and Dodgers.
A decision could come quickly.
I hope the Dodgers do not fool around too long with Soto. Ask him if he wants to play for the Dodgers and how much he wants.
If not turn to Teo immediately.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m seeing Soto on one side, Teo on the other with Junior in the middle. I’m not expecting that, I’m just visualizing it.
That must be a nice little dream Badger, but that would be something wouldn’t it.
I could see Jr as a CF option, and Edman at short, if AF can’t get Adames.
I’ve been hearing that Toronto is trying to get into the running, guess they’re not making the cut.
I really didn’t expect the Dodgers to make enough of a push for him, to make the Final Cut. I thought they would lay in the weeds in case he fell into their lap.
Kind of hard to believe that since he has visits scheduled with 4 teams this week and none of them have Dodgers as their name.
Are there “some rumors” or “one rumor” about the four teams and a quick decision? Mark posted a rumor on his site from a guy I’ve never heard of. Let me know if a well-known media guy has that.
Anybody else having trouble to watch games on MLB.TV ?
Wanted to rewatch Game 5 of the WS but the game just won´t start. Screen shows that rolling circle indicationg it is trying to load but the game does not start.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is your streaming service. It will do that if it is buffering. I went back and watched the entire 22 season.
Can watch Netflix movies and other streaming services on the same device without problems. Could it be a temporary problem with MLB TV ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Might be, maybe in your area. I have no problem at all here. What device are you using? Might need an upgrade.
Two laptops, one HP the other Acer.
Everything else runs smoothly as always.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I use a Roku on one of my TVs. The other, my 65 inch is a Roku TV, so it is built in. I use Spectrum but have my own router which is much faster than theirs. My internet link is 300 BPS. If yours is under that, that could be the problem. I do not watch the games on my computer even though I have a 32-inch monitor.
Never had a problem with MLB TV until the last few days. Live games and archived games were running very well with the same configurations . If it continues the next days I will call MLB customer service.
Thanks anyway for your help.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anytime Ram.
A couple of interesting X.com notifications I got.
Maybe they’ll use the 5 mil on Sasaki.
Well, that might do it.
Bobby Witt Jr. already one of the greats of the game today. Super talented.
Looks like the Mets have the money to do anything they want this year. Watch out NL east next season.
A very good front office + money definitely works for the Dodgers.
I don’t know why KC did not listen to Bums who wanted to trade for Witt Jr, with Muncy and others. I cannot remember who all the players were in the trade scenario, but I am sure Muncy was one. Bums should have been the KC GM for a day.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Wednesday that former Dodgers infielder Luis Cruz is joining the Spanish-language radio broadcasts as an analyst, beginning in 2025.
According to the Dodgers, “Cruz will team up with veteran announcers Pepe Yñiguez and José Mota on flagship station KTNQ 1020 AM and the Dodger Latino Media Network. Cruz will engage with fans and support various community outreach programs throughout the year.”
I remember him well.
Eric Stephen has an interesting look at the current 40 man roster and how out of whack it is.
https://www.truebluela.com/2024/11/13/24292158/dodgers-roster-pitcher-heavy-40-man
Traditionally it’s around their 22 pitchers, 18 position players.
Now?
With injuries?
24 pitchers, 14 position.
And 4 of those position players are catchers!
That’s heading towards 30%!
Won’t be that way for long. Maybe three or four of those guys will be non-tendered next week. Some will go on the IL when spring training starts. I would bet Feduccia is one of the first let go.