LAT's Gold jumps to Washington Post
Annual issue is out this weekJon Weisman's appreciation of the troubled and now late local phenom Willie Crawford continues to bring in comments at Dodger Thoughts. Some samples of the latest:
• I also always liked watching Willie play. His name was never again mentioned by Vin Scully in the 28 years since he last played with the Dodgers, and I don't know why, but I contacted some baseball alumni group several years ago and they told me he felt bitter toward the Dodgers and was working as an evangelist in LA...• I went to junior high school with Willie at Edison Jr. High. My wife went to elementary school with him. I remember that even as a junior high kid, he was hitting the ball farther than the gym teachers when we'd play ball during gym class. I moved and didn't go to Fremont but would hear occasionally about how Willie was doing. And I remember watching TV and seeing Willie come to bat in the world series...
• Willie Crawford was my childhood hero! I still have my 1970 & 1971 topps cards of WIllie Crawford. Even though he has passed away, I hope that I will see him again in Paradise...
I learned of Crawford's death in August from Jon's site a couple of days before an obit ran in the Times. He was usually considered a disappointment as a player, but the man played 1210 games in the bigs and racked up 921 hits. Crawford's lifetime stats.