MLB Coverage
                                                     Dodger Memories

                                By: Joshua Fischman

 

August 9, 2008 - It's Getting a Little Nostalgic in Here

Don't get me wrong. I love Manny Ramirez and the amazing things he is doing for my Los Angeles Dodgers. But it feels wrong. Manny should be on the Red Sox, and the Dodgers should be dominating the N.L. West on the wings of Russell Martin, James Loney, and Chad Billingsley.

The strangeness of the present Dodgers situation has sent me on a dangerous excursion into the depths of my mind. But fear not, baseball enthusiasts, I will not take you through every cranny of my bizarre mind. I'll stay to the far left side of my brain; which is where I store all of my baseball opinions, feelings, memories, and stats. Pay particular attention to the Dodger memories as we cascade down the banks of my memory, in search of a nostaglic moment that I not only can access, but also recreate.

Exhibit A: Shawn Green.

I remember when Greenie was the face of the Dodgers. I also remember when he was one of the most prolific power hitters in the game. Shawn hit 162 home runs in five seasons for the Dodgers, and he nearly hit 50 big flies in 2001. I recall that time with a tangible nostalgia. When I think of Shawn's early retirement and his tragic loss of power, toward the end of his career, I try to replace his greatness with a current Dodger. As I consider Andre Ethier, the most similar Dodgers outfielder to Green because of his sweet lefty stroke, I just can't help but come to the conclusion that Ethier will not do the trick.

And so I move on, to Adrian Beltre. I can almost hear the chants of "MVP" emanating from the Dodger crowd as my daydream of the third baseman's amazing season flashes before my eyes. But the happiness turns to disappointment as I rise to consciousness and realize that that year is tainted by -- what I strongly believe to be -- a drug-fueled season.

Why would I want to recreate a cheater?

But now I'm remembering Eric Gagne. So maybe it is GAME OVER. Have I found the best bit of nostalgia to recreate? Throughout my 16 years as a Dodgers fan (I'm 19 years old, but who knows anything about baseball before the age of 3?), my happiest moment has always been Eric Gagne's historic saves streak. In fact, his entire run as the Dodgers' closer was beautiful to me. But yet the pain of what I know he did (again steroids rears its ugly head) makes me not want to recreate the nostalgia that I feel for his time in Dodgertown.

Takashi Saito is no Eric Gagne, and I mean that in a very good way.

Paul Lo Duca was very loved by fans in Los Angeles and one of my favorite players for a long time. With that said, knowing what I now know, I am happy that Russell Martin does not remind me of Paulie.

What about Lima Time? His presence brought excitement to Los Angeles baseball. A smile forms on my face as I remember his playoff shutout, the one that marked the first Dodgers playoff win since they took it to the A's in the World Series in 1988.

Jose Lima's charisma and personality remind me of Manny Ramirez. Finally, I have a memory worth recreating and yet I would have to recreate it with Manny Ramirez in mind. This won't do. It was the strangeness of Manny's presence that sent me on this trip down memory lane in the first place.

I must keep searching.

This is my last chance; yet I remain hopeful. The year is 1997 and Eric Young has just been traded from the Rockies to my beloved Dodgers. In his second stint with the Dodgers, EY is now an established everyday player and a stolen base threat. For the remainder of the '97 season, and the duration of the next two seasons, EY steals over 100 bases and wins the heart of a young kid, a future writer.

Praise the baseball gods! This time I can recreate my nostalgia.

To properly recreate this, I must transcend my allegiance to the Los Angeles Dodgers and gush over a future base-stealing champion: Rockies farmhand Eric Young, Jr. This young man -- we'll call him Junior -- reminds me very much of his dad. A short, lightning-fast second baseman who is never afraid to steal a base.

Both father and son were drafted way lower than they have proved they should have been. Eric Sr. was picked in the 43rd round of the amateur draft and, 14 years later, his son was selected in the 30th round. I can't wait to see Eric Young, Jr. in the Major Leagues. And I know Rockies fans can't wait to see him featured as part of our newest campaign: the Future of MLB.

Read more about Eric Young, Jr. in the third installment of the Future of MLB, which will be on the website in the next couple of days. Until then, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the exciting days of baseball we have ahead of us as the divisional races heat up.

 

 

 

 

 

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