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Major League Baseball is shut down after owners locked out the players on Thursday, but before the clock struck midnight there were a flurry of roster moves across the sport.
On this episode of the podcast, we look at Chris Taylor returning to the Dodgers on a four-year contract, and how Corey Seager and Max Scherzer signed big deals elsewhere. Plus, what the lockout means for now (spoiler: a whole lot of nothing for a while), and cake talk.
Thanks as always to Brian Salvatore for his tireless production work behind the scenes, and for getting to watch Max Scherzer pitch for his team for the next three years.
Dodgers rewind
John Roseboro is one of 22 players with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases with the Dodgers, a group that also includes Taylor. Roseboro and Russell Martin are the only two catchers in that exclusive club.
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Roseboro was also a backbone of three championship teams, the starting catcher for the Dodgers during their first 10 years in Los Angeles. Roseboro was an All-Star in four seasons and won two Gold Glove Awards, hitting .251/.327/.392, a 97 OPS+ with the Dodgers, with the aforementioned home runs (92) and steals (59).
After a down year at the plate in 1965, Roseboro ditched pregame batting practice for a while.
“I used to hit, hit, hit in the batting case. I’d get my timing just right. Then I’d get into a game and nothing was right,” he said. “After the practice lollipops, game pitches looked like aspirin tablets.”
As a 10-year starter behind the plate, Roseboro is second in Dodgers history in games caught (1,218) and catcher starts (1,120), behind Mike Scioscia in both. Roseboro started all 21 Dodgers World Series games in four trips to the Fall Classic (1959, 1963, 1965, 1966), behind only Roy Campanella in franchise history.
Related reading
- Don Demeter, who was a Dodgers rewind in August 2020, died on Monday at age 86. Here’s the New York Times obituary for the former outfielder.
- The 100 best baseball books ever written, per Alex Belth at Esquire.
- John Roseboro’s SABR biography, written by Warren Corbett.
- Daniel Hudson is back with the Dodgers.
- Corey Knebel is off to Philadelphia.
- A Dodgers-centric guide to MLB labor relations.
Podcast links
Episode link (time: 1:12:19)