OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS SEASON THREAD : Season Over. Congratulations Phillies.

DP
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Cory wade hittin rajai

Then furcal, beefin with everyone on the infield - now instructs pierre to throw to second.
 
I think it is a shame that Gil Hodges is not a Hall of Famer.

Gilbert Raymond Hodges (April 4, 1924 - April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the major leagues' outstanding first baseman in the 1950s, with teammate Duke Snider being the only player to have more home runs or runs batted in during the decade. His 370 career home runs set a National League (NL) record for right-handed hitters, and briefly ranked tenth in major league history; he held the NL record for career grand slamsfrom 1957 to 1974. He anchored the infield on six pennant winners, and remains one of the most beloved and admired players in team history. A sterling defensive player, he won the first three Gold Glove Awards and led the NL in double plays four times and in putouts, assists and fielding percentage three times each. He ranked second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays when his career ended, and was also among the league's career leaders in games (6th, 1,908) and total chances (10th, 16,751) at first base. He managed the New York Mets to the 1969 World Series title, one of the greatest upsets in Series history, before his untimely death in 1972.
Hodges was born Gilbert Ray Hodges in Princeton, Indiana, the son of coal miner Charlie and his wife Irene; the family moved to nearby Petersburg when Gil was seven. Hodges was a star four-sport athlete at Petersburg High School, earning a combined seven varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He declined a 1941 contract offer from the Detroit Tigers and instead attended Saint Joseph's College with the hope of eventually becoming a collegiate coach. He was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943, and appeared in one game for the team as a third baseman that year. He entered the Marine Corps during World War II after having participated in its ROTC program at Saint Joseph's, serving as an anti-aircraft gunner in the battles of Tinian and Okinawa and receiving a Bronze Starand a commendation for courage under fire for his actions. After his 1946 military discharge he returned to Brooklyn and saw play as a catcher in 1947, joining the team's already solid nucleus of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Carl Furillo; but the emergence of Roy Campanella made it evident that Hodges had little future behind the plate, and he was shifted by manager Leo Durocher to first base, where his play came to be regarded as exemplary. Hodges' only appearance in the 1947 World Series against the New York Yankees was as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Rex Barney in Game 7; he struck out. As a 1948 rookie, he batted .249 with 11 home runs and 70 RBI.

[h2]Hall of Fame consideration[/h2] [table][tr][td] [/td] [/tr][tr][td]Gil Hodges's number 14 was retired by the New York Mets in 1972[/td] [/tr][/table]
There has been controversy over the fact that Gil Hodges has not been elected to membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was considered to be one of the finest players of the 1950s, and graduated to managerial success with the Mets. But critics of his candidacy point out that despite his offensive prowess, he never led the NL in any offensive category such as home runs, RBI, or slugging average, and never came close to winning an MVP award (in fact, he was never named first on any MVP ballot). The latter fact may have been partially due to his having many of his best seasons (1950-51, 1954, 1957) in years when the Dodgers did not win the pennant. In addition, his career batting average of .273 was likely frowned on by many Hall of Fame voters in his early years of eligibility; at the time of his death, only five players had ever been elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America with batting averages below .300 - all of them catchers or shortstops, and only one (Rabbit Maranville) who had an average lower than Hodges' or who had not won an MVP award. By the time his initial eligibility expired in 1983, the BBWAA had elected only two more players with averages below .274 - third basemen Eddie Mathews (.271), who hit over 500 HRs, leading the NL twice, and Brooks Robinson (.267), who won an MVP award and set numerous defensive records.

Nonetheless, Hodges was the prototype of the modern slugging first baseman, and while the post-1961 expansion era has resulted in numerous players surpassing his home run and RBI totals, he remains the only one of the 21 players who had 300 or more home runs by the time of his retirement who has not yet been elected (all but Chuck Klein and Johnny Mize were elected by the BBWAA). Some observers have also suggested that his premature passing in 1972 removed him from public consciousness, whereas other ballplayers - including numerous Dodger greats - were in the public eye for years afterward, receiving the exposure which assist in their election. He did, however, collect 3010 votes cast by the BBWAA during his initial eligibility period from 1969 to 1983 - a record for an unselected player. (Jim Rice had surpassed that total in 2007, but was eventually voted into the Hall in January 2009.) Hodges has been regularly considered for selection by the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee since 1987, falling one vote short of election in 1993, when no candidates were selected.

In the years since Hodges' retirement, however, the Hall of Fame has refused admittance to many players with similar, or even superior, records. Frank Howard, for example, hit 382 home runs from 1958 to 1973, with a .273 batting average, a .352 on base percentage, and a .499 slugging percentage, compared to Hodges' .273 batting average, .359 on base percentage, and .487 slugging percentage. In addition, the 1960s were a far less offensively-oriented era than the 1950s in which Hodges starred. Howard never received serious Hall of Fame consideration. Neither did Norm Cash, who from 1958 to 1974 hit 377 home runs with a .271 batting average, a .374 slugging average, and a .488 slugging average. In fact, an examination of the players with most similar records to Gil Hodges suggests that his Hall of Fame voting benefited enormously from his association with the Brooklyn Dodgers, as these players and others with similar records, such as George Foster, Jack Clark, Boog Powell, Rocky Colavito, Lee May, Joe Adcock, Willie Horton, and Roy Sievers all received only trivial amounts of support from Hall of Fame voters, all dropping off the Hall of Fame ballot due to receiving less than 5 percent of the vote.

A 52ft.x16ft. mural was recently dedicated in Petersburg, Indiana, Gil's hometown. The mural was painted by artist Randy Hedden and includes three pictures of Gil- as a Brooklyn Dodger, as manager of the Mets, and at-bat in Ebbetts Field. The purpose of the mural is to "raise awareness of Hodges' absence from the Baseball Hall of Fame." It is located at the intersection of Hwys 61 & 57 in Petersburg. [1]


http://www.http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/may/06/petersburg-honors-gil-hodges-with-mural/
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Just to add, when Gil Hodges retired, he was a premiere 1st baseman. He had solid numbers across the board.

He's the reason the Dodgers should retire jerseys other than guys who are in the Hall (aside from Gilliam). It's a damn shame that Hodges, Garvey, and Fernando don't have their jerseys retired. #$%$ the HOF.
I like the fact that you have to be in the HOF (Despite my disagreements with the way players get voted in), to get your jersey retired.
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what the ##$* is going on with russell martin? he's batting so much lower than he was last year
injury? mental? fatigue?
 
Originally Posted by ooIRON MANoo

Just to add, when Gil Hodges retired, he was a premiere 1st baseman. He had solid numbers across the board.

He's the reason the Dodgers should retire jerseys other than guys who are in the Hall (aside from Gilliam). It's a damn shame that Hodges, Garvey, and Fernando don't have their jerseys retired. #$%$ the HOF.
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I like the fact that you have to be in the HOF (Despite my disagreements with the way players get voted in), to get your jersey retired.





it's a catch-22 IMO. There's players whos numbers should be retired based on their Dodger careers, but I like the basis for retirement at the sametime. I mean, we've had a lot of GREAT Dodgers, so we might be limited to numbers starting at 60+ if we didn't base it on HOF
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game!

i still feel bad for wolf having 10 NO DECISIONS!

wolf still hasn't won in the ravine
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[table][tr][td]Martin to Donate $600,000 to Water Foundation[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
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Russell Martin
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By Tot Holmes

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Posted Jun 18, 2009
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Dodger catcher Russell Jeanson-Martin will donate $600,000 over the next 10 years to the ONE DROP Foundation, whose mission is to fight poverty by supporting access to clean water. The foundation also works to raise awareness of water-related issues and of the need to get involved to ensure that good quality water is accessible to all in sufficient quantity, today and tomorrow.
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In addition, the two-time All-Star catcher has committed to hosting an offseason fundraiser for the charitable foundation and is planning to make an international trip this winter on behalf of ONE DROPTM, which was started by Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil[emoji]174[/emoji].

Martin's announcement comes on the same day that he will be launching his official website, www.russellmartin55.com

"I really wanted to find a way to help people in places where they don't even have the essentials of life and when I learned about what Guy was doing with ONE DROP, it matched all the same visions I have," said Martin. "It blows my mind that there are people who don't have clean water and yet, it's something that we take for granted. I'm very proud to be associated with this foundation and look forward to working with them for years to come."

According to ONE DROP, every eight seconds a child somewhere around the world dies somewhere around the world from lack of safe drinking water and Martin has dedicated himself to making a difference. Current projects exist in Nicaragua and Honduras, while ONE DROP is planning to implement projects in Africa and Southeast Asia.

Martin has been involved in the Dodgers' community efforts since reaching the Major Leagues in 2006 and his personal initiative is in line with the fourth area of the Dodgers' community initiatives - the environment, which encourages people to Think Blue and Act Green.

The Canada native has taken part in the club's annual community caravan each of the past four years, including the 2006 caravan before he even reached the Majors. He has visited local hospitals to visit with young children and this season, through the work of his girlfriend, Marikym Hervieux, he has hosted many young patients at Dodger games and spent time on the field with them during batting practice.

Last season, Martin lent his name and likeness to a billboard campaign for the Boy Scouts of America and this year, he'll be doing the same thing for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Martin's official website will highlight his career as a professional baseball player as well as his efforts to support the ONE DROP Foundation and his local community efforts with the Dodgers.

?The website will feature a blog, contests, and links to the ONE DROP Foundation as well as videos of his future visits to foreign countries on ONE DROP projects.

?In addition, the website will highlight Martin's training techniques, his diet, and tips for a winning lifestyle. It will also feature online charitable auctions from time to time.

For more information, visit www.russellmartin55.com or www.onedrop.org [/td] [/tr][/table]
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