O/T: Willie Davis dead

[Brian-Chidester]

Here's a great link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ8UBQezEDc

The New York Times has the best obit on Davis so far, and if you notice, they print A BUNCH of corrections at the end... because... on a phony L.A. self-promotion level, the Dodgers put out BOGUS information on his career, saying that he was the all-time Dodger leader in many statistic departments. Problem was, THEY DON'T COUNT BROOKLYN!!! This "phenomenon" about the Dodger office pretending the bums, and the bum image, didn't exist is so prevalent in SoCal. Immediately Dodger fans in New York slammed the L.A. Times with facts and figures about Zack Wheat, etc. The L.A. Dodgers only promote L.A. Dodger history, not Dodger history, and this shit don't fly in New York, no fuckin' way. That said, it is also why that damn World Series DVD with all the Dodger Wold Series victories on it, from the World Series Films, lacks 1955! Ugh!

That said, I've looked at the L.A. Times and I can write better memories of Koufax than they have in there, this one I read is totally bogus, some kid who grew up in Garden Grove, whose parents were Angels fans, trying to talk Willie D. and almost having nothing to say.

The vid above has a GREAT interview with Willie about his Boyle Heights days, getting drafted right out of Roosevelt High, replacing Duke Snider and sweeping the Yanks. He doesn't talk about his personal best years, 1969-1971, when he was a golden glove and hit over .300 every year, though. But it is an unselfish interview.

I did notice one of the obits said he stole something like 44 bases in 1964. There is a video of Joe Torre talking about how Wills was faster from first to second, but if Davis was at first, and a ball was hit to the outfield, it was much tougher to catch Willie going from first to third. There is another thing about him tagging up from second base and scoring, and... how often in the minors he scored from first base on a single.