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The Last Innocents
''The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers'' is a book by author Michael Leahy, centered around the Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the 1960s. The book was the winner of the 2016 Casey Award as the best baseball book of the year. Overview The book examines the tumultuous political and social changes, paranoia and racism of the 1960s through the eyes of the seven "principle" players, covering events such as the assassinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement and integration within baseball, as well as its impact on the game, and the movement to unionize amongst Major League players. The principle players were chosen by Leahy due to their different backgrounds, upbringings, ethnicities, and political affiliations: * Sandy Koufax, widely considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. The book covers Koufax's prime years, his career-ending chronic arm troubles, and his highly publiciz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Leahy (author)
Michael Leahy (born January 28, 1953) is an American author and award-winning writer for '' The Washington Post'' and ''The Washington Post Magazine''. He is best known for his latest non-fiction book ''The Last Innocents'', which examines the tumultuous political and social change of the 1960s through the lens of the era's legendary Los Angeles Dodgers. Leahy has also earned recognition for his 2004 book ''When Nothing Else Matters'', which chronicles basketball superstar Michael Jordan's last comeback to the NBA. Leahy's stories have also been selected for the 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 editions of The Best American Sports Writing anthologies. His first book ''Hard Lessons'' follows the lives of six Beverly Hills High School students, class of 1986, and deals with the challenges and anxieties of teenage life in modern America. Early life Leahy was born in Newark, New Jersey. At age 10, he moved with his family to a suburb of Los Angeles, California. He is a graduat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stolen Base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 (Rules of Scoring) of the MLB's Official Rules. A stolen base most often occurs when a base runner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate. Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good base-running instincts and timing. Background Ned Cuthbert, playing for the Philadelphia Keystones in either 1863 or 1865, was the first player to steal a base in a baseball game, although the term ''stolen base'' was not used until 1870. For a time in the 19th century, stolen bases were credited when a baserunner reached an extra base on a base hit from another player. For example, if a ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behind New York County (Manhattan). Brooklyn is also New York City's most populous borough,2010 Gazetteer for New York State . Retrieved September 18, 2016. with 2,736,074 residents in 2020. Named after the Dutch village of Breukelen, Brooklyn is located on the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dodgertown
Holman Stadium is a baseball stadium in Vero Beach, Florida, built in 1953 from an abandoned naval base, to accommodate spring training for the Brooklyn Dodgers as part of a complex now called Historic Dodgertown. In addition to the Dodgers' spring games, it was the home of the Vero Beach Devil Rays, previously the Vero Beach Dodgers, of the Florida State League, through the 2008 season. The official seating capacity is 6,500. History The then-Brooklyn Dodgers were one of the first major league baseball teams to conduct spring training in Florida, establishing their operations in this quiet beachside town in 1948. Previously an abandoned Naval base, the complex was transformed for the Dodgers. Historic Dodgertown and Holman Stadium served as their spring home for more than 60 years. In recent decades, Arizona has established itself alongside Florida as the second major center for spring baseball, and the Dodgers were the last Western team in Major League Baseball to still c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National League (baseball)
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The National League survived competition from various other professional baseball leagues during the late 1800s. Most did not last for more than a few seasons, with a handful of teams joining the NL once their leagues folded. The American League declared itself a second major league in 1901, and AL and NL engaged in a "baseball war" during the 1901 an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Davis (outfielder)
Herman Thomas Davis Jr. (March 21, 1939 – April 3, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder and third baseman from 1959 to 1976 for ten different teams, most prominently for the Los Angeles Dodgers where he was a two-time National League batting champion and was a member of the 1963 World Series winning team. During an 18-year baseball career, Davis batted .294 with 153 home runs, 2,121 hits and 1,052 runs batted in. He was also a talented pinch hitter, batting 62 of 202 (.307) in his career. In 1962, he finished third in the MVP voting after leading the major leagues in batting average, hits and runs batted in. Davis' 153 RBIs in that season broke Roy Campanella's team record of 142 in 1953 and remains the franchise record; his 230 hits are the team record for a right-handed batter (second most in franchise history behind only Babe Herman's 241 in 1930), and his .346 average was the highest by a Dodge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Basemen
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility and quick reflexes. Flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to ''stretch'' towards the throw and catch it before the runner reaches first base. First base is often referred to as "the other hot corner"—the "hot corner" being third base—and therefore, like the third baseman, he must have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wes Parker
Maurice Wesley Parker III (born November 13, 1939) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from to . He also played one season in Japan for the Nankai Hawks in . As of 2009, Parker has been a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization serving as a representative of the Dodgers Legend Bureau. Biography Major League playing career Parker was part of the Dodgers' and World Series teams. Known as one of the slickest fielding first basemen of all time, he won the National League Gold Glove Award for first base every year from to 1972. In 1970, Parker posted a career high batting average of .319 and performed the unusual feat of driving in over 100 runs in a season while hitting no more than 10 home runs. In a game against the New York Mets on May 7, 1970, Parker hit for the cycle.Helfgott, Hali. "Wes Parker, First Baseman", ''Sports Illustrated'', March 22, 1971. He was the last Los Angeles Dodger to accomplish that feat u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1965 World Series
The 1965 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1965 season. The 62nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins. The Dodgers won in seven games. It is best remembered for the heroics of Sandy Koufax, who was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Koufax did not pitch in Game 1, as it fell on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, but he pitched in Game 2 and then tossed shutouts in Games 5 and 7 (with only two days of rest in between) to win the championship. The Twins had won their first pennant in Minnesota and the franchise’s first since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators. The Dodgers won their second title in three years, and their third since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. Background Both teams improved from sixth-place finishes in 1964; the Twins won the A.L. pennant with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 Major League Baseball season, 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Series champion 1963 New York Yankees season, New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers season, Los Angeles Dodgers; the Dodgers swept the Series in four games to secure their second championship title in five years, and their third in franchise history. Dodgers starting pitchers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Podres, and ace reliever Ron Perranoski combined to give up only four runs in four games. The dominance of the Dodgers pitchers was so complete that at no point in any of the four games did the Yankees have the lead. New York was held to a .171 team batting average, the lowest ever for the Yankees in the postseason. Koufax was named the Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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