I did some research and have decided on the ones I want, if I can get my hands on them. They are the ones I think are the most interesting of their decade. First I got my hands on the 1947 pin. Read my blogpost about that Press Pin HERE. Recently my second pin arrived. Another gem!
2017 World Series
For the 1947 World Series I can only dive into books and go on the internet to get particulars. It was a heart breaker, that much is certain! The 2017 World Series I got to witness myself. The first two games in Dodger Stadium, the third one at Angel City Brewery, the rest at home. And talking about heart breakers, this certainly was one. It took me quite a while to get over it. Then the sign stealing story broke and I felt like we were robbed (we were robbed! Read my blogpost about it HERE). But it wasn't negative at the time. I loved the vibe in Dodger Stadium. The first World Series game there since October 16th 1988, 29 years earlier. It was 103 degrees at game start and LA was ready! There also was this little trinket, which I only laid eyes on some months after the World Series: the 2017 World Series Press Pin designed by Ross Yoshida
Ross Yoshida
LA native Yoshida started working part time for the Dodgers organization when he was in college. After college he would go to Dodger Stadium and answer phone calls. In 2001 he got a job doing graphic design. He stayed with the Dodgers until 2004. He then became a freelancer until the mother ship called him back home. He returned in 2008 as Senior Manager of Design, was named Director in 2017 and Senior Director in 2019. He's also the creative overseer of the organization.
So, we're talking about a guy who knows his Dodgers and his designs are well known if you have been following the team for a while. Take the 'Dodgers 50 years in Los Angeles patch'.
There’s some great of easter eggs in the patch. Take the two palm trees, they stand for the two stadiums the Dodgers have called home in LA.
I got in contact with Ross though Twitter and he was happy to talk about the 2017 pin.
The Pin
It's fresh with clean lines, with the levels in their recognizable colors on a baseball field shaped, golden color pin. Downtown LA looms over the stadium as if it just visited the Top of the Park gift shop, bought itself a hat and a foam finger, ready to root for it's boys in blue. On the back it reads AMINCO/MLBP 2013, www.amincousa.com, Visit MLB.com, CHINA and it has a butterfly clasp. But for some details I turned to Yoshida.
I asked him about the year. Did the Dodgers organization have a good feeling about that season?
Yoshida: “The Dodgers were in the Postseason hunt up until the end of the season, and the World Series pin design has to be submitted to MLB and approved in August. Unfortunately, we missed the Postseason altogether that season. But because there was a possibility in August that we could be hosting a World Series in 2012, we had to be prepared. Not only was a design approved, but a full run of pins were produced — and kept in a safe until we were back in the Fall Classic, which would be 2017! Notice that World Series pins don't have a year anymore? The approval and production process is the reason.”
So, it looks like phantom pins are a thing of the past, then. Maybe good, but I liked those ‘what could have been’ pins. Except the 1951 one. That should have been a legitimate World Series Press Pin.
The pin was produced. Yoshida didn’t have a say in the use of the material. Yoshida: “just the color. We kind of put our trust in the vendor, who specialized in this kind of thing.”
I wondered what eastereggs were in the pin, but I was disappointed a bit. Yoshida: “I love symbolism… but in the case of the 2017 World Series Pin design, there are NO 'Easter eggs' at all!”
But, the star… with the five points… each one for an LA world series win? No? Aww… still makes this an awesome pin. The fourth one that uses Dodger Stadium as it’s center piece (after 1963, 1974 and 1981).
Yoshida also designed the 2018 pin and he tweeted “We also have an approved design for the next Fall Classic”
That guy designed three pins already, and the first two are instant classics. What about that next one? Anything he could tell us about it?
Yoshida: “Sorry, no secret info to reveal here. We had one of the top Clubs in MLB and there was a good chance that we could host another World Series in 2019… obviously, that never came to fruition, but we had to abide by the August deadline to get a WS pin designed and produced. I just hope people will be able to see the finished product, which is spectacular… and soon!
The future pin will probably have ‘2019’ on the back. When we’ll see it? I have no clue, but I have a feeling it will be revealed in the roaring 20’s.
Anyting else you’d like to share?
Yoshida: ”A few last comments about the pin. The design and actual final product means a lot to me for several reasons. One, to be part of a 100+ year baseball tradition of press pins isn't lost on me. Two, it was my first World Series pin design, and I never knew if it would ever see the light of day (I had been working for the Dodgers for 12 years in 2017 and the Club had never made the World Series during that time). Just seeing the pin takes me back to that magical 2017… even though we didn't win the Series, I have so many awesome memories during that time.”
Although the aftermath was all about getting cheated out of a World Series win, yes, 2017 was magical and so is this pin.
Follow Ross Yoshida on Twitter: @RYDesignLA
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