Sadly, just 4 days ago one of the original "Boys of Summer", Clem Labine, passed away at the age of 80. Although statistically speaking Labine wasnt one of the greatest, he had a true heart for the game and will be sorely missed by his teammates, friends and family, and fans. I am pretty upset that there has been very limited coverage for Labine, with even the Dodgers website having one little snid-bit article about it. So I am dedicating this to him, out of respect and love. This is the bio from wikipedia.com. Rest In Peace Clem.

Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 - March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodgers in the early 1950s, he helped the team to its first-ever World Series title in 1955 with a win and a save in four games.

He held the National League record for career saves from 1958 until 1962; his 96 career saves ranked fourth in major league history when he retired. He also set a Dodgers franchise record of 425 career games pitched. Labine is prominently featured in Roger Kahn's classic book The Boys of Summer and in Carl Erskine's autobiography Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings.

Labine was born in Lincoln, Rhode Island, grew up in nearby Woonsocket, and served as a paratrooper in World War II. After compiling a 5-1 record for Brooklyn as a 1951 rookie, he shut out the New York Giants in Game 2 of the National League pennant playoff, 10-0. He was almost summoned to relieve in the ninth inning of Game 3, but reportedly was having trouble harnessing his curveball in the bullpen; Dodger manager Chuck Dressen called on Ralph Branca instead. Branca soon threw the pitch that Bobby Thomson hit for a pennant-winning, three-run home run that brought the Giants back from a 4-1 deficit - labeled as baseball's "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Labine finished third in voting for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, won by the Giants' Willie Mays.

Labine went on to enjoy several stellar seasons for the Dodgers as a relief pitcher. In 1955, the year the Dodgers finally brought a world championship to Brooklyn, he led the NL with 60 games pitched and 10 relief victories and earned a career-best 13 wins overall. Although the save was not yet an official statistic, he has been retroactively credited with leading the NL twice (1956-57) in that category, with 19 and 17 respectively, and was an All-Star both years.

Labine accompanied the Dodgers to Los Angeles when they relocated after the 1957 season, and in 1958 surpassed Al Brazle's NL record of 60 career saves. Labine left the Dodgers in 1960, finishing the year with the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates; he was on the Pirates' 1960 World Series champions, but appeared only in three blowout losses during the Series win over the New York Yankees. After remaining with the Pirates in 1961, he ended his career with - very briefly - the New York Mets, pitching in three games during the Mets' debut 1962 season, including an inning in the Mets' first game ever. Later that year, the Pirates' Roy Face passed Labine's NL mark of 94 career saves. Over all or parts of 13 seasons, Labine appeared in 513 games, winning 77 and losing 56 (.579) with a 3.63 earned run average. He appeared in 13 World Series games, winning two and losing two, with a 3.16 ERA. In 1966, his Dodger career records of 425 games pitched and 83 saves were broken by Don Drysdale and Ron Perranoski respectively.

Labine died at age 80 in Vero Beach, Florida, one week after undergoing exploratory brain surgery following a bout with pneumonia; he had been serving as an instructor at the Dodgers' adult fantasy camp at their Dodgertown headquarters. Vin Scully, the longtime Dodger announcer, said upon learning of Labine's death that he had a heart of a lion and the smarts of a wily fox, and in addition was very likable.

Over the last two years I have become a member of the rapidly growing "through the mail nation" as I like to call it. I came to a point in my card collecting in 2004 when I decided I wanted something new and different, something that not alot of collectors really thought about or did, mailing players to request autographs. I remember the first one I got, Sparky Anderson, signed for me in 7 days. From that day on I was hooked. As my love for this new way to collect grew, so did the through the mailers. Beckett began articles about it, and more and more websites popped up everyday with people showing off their collections. As the number of people grew, the harder it became to obtain autographs, not only bigger names, but even rookies and minor leaguers. What was once an exciting trip to the mailbox quickly grew into a race to get players before they were "signed out." For spring Training 2006, I mailed around 200 letters, and got around 20 back, and this was the trend for all the sites I would visit. Players just arent signing as much anymore, more than likely due to the bulk of mail they now receive. Last year was upsetting, although I was able to obtain Chien Ming Wang, Travis Hafner, Stephen Drew, Francisco Liriano, Philip Hughes, and Ryan Zimmerman, those being the big ones, and I realized all I was doing was what was killing the hobby, I was writing to players simply so I could say I had their autograph. I had almost lost the passion and enjoyment of it all. This spring I sent out about 25 requests, only to players I am really a fan of. It is becoming fun again, and while some make it a race to the mailbox, I wont be one of them.