Blog Kiosk: 4/17/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

I love that Matt Kemp is proving that he still has plenty in the tank. Per Jay Paris at MLB.com:

"I'm just happy to be in a uniform playing for the team that I started with,'' Kemp said. "My main focus is just to help this team any way I can to win games and get back to the World Series.

It's doubly good that Ryu is doing the same. Ryu went six strong innings, striking out 9, and allowing just two runs on three hits. Per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

“I was really happy with my outing tonight,” Ryu said. “Those couple of years were tough.”

BTW, you should check out Jon Weisman's blog post from this morning pointing out how Ryu's comeback this season is something to behold (link here). Photo above via @Dodgers on twitter. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1934 Casey Stengel makes his managerial debut as the Dodger skipper. Brooklyn defeated the Boston Braves, 8-7. In 1947 Jackie Robinson recorded his first major league hit -- a bunt single down the third base line off of Boston Braves hurler Glenn Elliott. In 1955 Roberto Clemente, who started out as a Dodger prospect, singles off of Dodger pitcher Johnny Podres for his first major league hit. In 1956 future Hall of Famer Don Drysdale pitched in his very first game. He threw one inning of hitless relief in the ninth inning of a losing game. In 1994 the Dodgers belted 19 runs against the hapless Pirates to tie a club record for most runs in a game. In 2013 Clayton Kershaw strikes out his 1,000th batter of his career -- the victim was Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso.
• Happy Birthday, Ad Yale, Jake Daubert, Stan Andrews, Marquis Grissom & Gary Bennett!
• Podcast: True Blue LA with Eric Stephen at Jacob Burch -- ‘Brothers in Arms’ (Podcast Link).
• Via the Tulsa Drillers (our Double-A club); "De Fratus Named TL Pitcher of the Week."
• Via Steve Adams at MLB Trade Rumors; "Yasiel Puig Hires Beverly Hills Sports Council." Wasserman agency had recently terminated their relationship with Puig.
• This mornings Baseball America Prospect Report makes note of Dodgers catcher Keibert Ruiz:

It's hard not love Ruiz as a prospect. He is 38th on Baseball America's current Top 100 and could easily rank significantly higher by the end of the season. He's a 19-year-old switch-hitting catcher who is already in Double-A, and unlike some notable switch-hitting catchers of this century (Carlos Santana and Victor Martinez) he has enough defensive skills to stay behind the plate for quite a while. Ruiz got off to a slow start for Tulsa, but he hit two home runs yesterday.

• Via Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs; "Jackie Robinson and the Integration Advantage." This is a very in-depth look at how integration changed the National League.

In the two decades following Robinson’s arrival, the influx of talent, first from the Negro Leagues and then the sandlots and high schools whose players previously could not have dreamt of such an opportunity, radically transformed the National League, in particular.

• Blowout Buzz provides some preview pics from their Topps 2018 Archives brand; including the Pedro Martinez card on the right. Best yet, this set will include a bunch of cards from the movie 'Sandlot'. Go here to check out more preview pics. This product hits store on August 15th.
• Per Brad Kyle at The Runner Sports; "Salute To 42: Jackie Robinson And The Role Of Mexico In The Racial Integration Of MLB." Here's an interesting article about Jorge Pasquel, “The Mexican Steinbrenner,” and his quest to integrate the Mexican League and compete against Major League Baseball. 

Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945 and debuted with them two years later, becoming the first black player in MLB. A man named Jorge Pasquel sent an agent with a huge offer to try to persuade Robinson to come to Mexico shortly after Robinson signed with Brooklyn. He refused.

How history may have been altered (or at least delayed) had Robinson chosen to go south of the border is certainly a matter of conjecture. Would there have arisen another “Jackie Robinson” in MLB had the great groundbreaker decided to venture to Mexico? Or, would history simply have happened a year or two later, with a new year replacing “1947” in the textbooks?