I was perusing the Dodger roster and looking for players who would be possible call ups this year, and who might impact the Dodgers season. There are some interesting kids on this team.
But before we get into that discussion, I thought I would go back over the years since their arrival in Los Angeles and see which first year players made some impression on the team. Some would have pretty decent careers, others would flame out quickly.
We all know about the 18 Rookies of the year the Dodgers have had since the award was started in 1947. The first 2 years there was one award for both leagues. Starting in 1949 that was changed to a player in each league.
Dodger rookies of the year, 47, Robinson, 49, Newcombe, 52, Black, 53, Gilliam, 60, Howard, 65, Lefebvre, 69, Sizemore, 79, Sutcliffe, 80,Howe, 81, Valenzuela, 82, Sax, 92, Karros, 93, Piazza, 94, Mondesi, 85, Nomo, 96, Hollandsworth, 16, Seager, 17, Bellinger.
Other rookies of the year who spent some time with the Dodgers, Tommy Agee, Eddie Murray, Alfredo Griffin, Ron Kittle, Sandy Alomar Jr, Nomar Garciaparra, Angel Berroa, Yordan Alvarez….he was in the minors., Wally Moon, Frank Robinson, Dick Allen, Pat Zachry, Darryl Strawberry, Todd Worrell, Rafael Furcal, Hanley Ramirez. Quite a list.
1958
Dick Gray was the opening day 3rd baseman. He appeared in 58 games. Did an ok job, but the team was transitioning from many veterans getting older. Reese was a part time player at 39, and Zimmer had taken over the starting SS job. Don Demeter, and Bob Lillis played sparingly in their debuts to the major leagues. 19 year old Ron Fairly saw his first action, getting into 15 games. Also 1st baseman, Jim Gentile had his second cup of coffee with the big club. He would be headed to Baltimore in a trade soon. 21 year old pitcher, Stan Williams broke in with a 9-7 record in 27 games. Probably the best showing by a rookie.
1959
Reese had retired, so Zimmer was the guy at short, but he was awful. In 97 games Zim hit a paltry .165. So they brought up 26 year old career minor leaguer Maury Wills. Wills hit a respectable .260 while stealing 7 bases and bringing some speed to a very slow footed team. Don Demeter took over in Center for Duke Snider who moved to RF with the injury to Carl Furillo. Demeter hit .256 with 18 HR’s and 70 RBI’s. Fairly got into 120 games, hitting .238. Players who would later be important pieces, Tommy Davis, and Frank Howard got a little playing time. On the pitching side, Larry Sherry became an important piece out of the pen. Chuck Churn, in his only MLB action, went 3-2.
1960
With Hodges and Snider both slowing down, Larker took over at 1st, and Tommy Davis became the center fielder at 21 years of age. But the big star that year was Frank Howard who hit .268 with 23 HR’s and 77 RBI’s to claim the NL ROY. Wills was a regular for the first time and hit .295 with 50 bags. Overall the team did not play well finishing 4th in the NL> Willie Davis also debuted and got into 22 games. Fairly spent most of the year at AAA. A few rookies broke into the bullpen, but none made a major impact.
1961
The team bounced back to finish second to the Giants. Hodges was in his last season and had a better season than 60, but not by much. Snider also was no longer a starter, and fought off some injuries. The outfield now was Moon, Willie Davis and Howard. Willie D hit .254 his rookie year with 12 dingers and 45 RBI’s. Tommy got into 132 games, and hit .278 with 15 and 58. Bob Aspromonte, Carl Warwick, and Tim Harkness all made their MLB debuts. Ron Perranoski came over in a deal from the Cubs for Zimmer and had a good initial campaign.
1962
A painful year for all Dodger fans, but it had some highlights. Ron Fairly, back from AAA, became the regular 1st baseman. The outfield was now the Davis boys and Howard with Moon going to the bench. Larry Burright played 115 games all over the infield in his first year. Ken McMullen and Dick Tracewski also got in some time. Joe Moeller, 6-5, Pete Richert, 5-4 made their debuts. Perranoski was the closer along with Ed Roebuck who won 10 out of the pen. Wills was the MVP< Davis won his first batting crown, and Drysdale took home the Cy Young. But they lost to the Giants in the playoff series.
1963
Ken McMullen took over most of the load at 3rd base. He played in 79 games hitting .238 with 5HR’s and 28 RBI’s. Most of the rest of the starters were the same guys from 62. Nate Oliver, Al Ferrara, Dick Nen and Roy Gleason all made their MLB debuts. For Gleason it was his first and only. He went into the Army the next year, was sent to Viet Nam, seriously wounded and never played again. None made a huge contribution, but Nen hit one of the most important homers of the year late in the season at St Louis. It allowed the Dodgers to win the game and keep a lead on the Cardinals. Dick Calmus went 3-1 at age 19. His only MLB wins.
1964
As great as 1963 was, 64 for was a whole different animal. They slipped to 6th place. Willie Davis had the highest BA among the starters at .295. Tommy coming off of his second straight batting title slipped 50 points to .275. Howard dropped to a .226 avg. Gilliam was recruited from the coaching ranks to man 3rd. Wes Parker hit .257 in his rookie campaign. Derrell Griffith debuted as the utility guy and did a decent job hitting .290 in 78 games. Torborg made his MLB debut As did 17 year old LA native, Willie Crawford. Nick Wilhite and John Purdin made their debuts also. None were major factors.
1965
It was a bounce back year. Koufax was healthy again, Drysdale and Sandy combined for 49 wins. 3 players, Sandy, Big D and Wills, had WAR’s over 5. Wes Parker became the starting 1st baseman, and rookie Jim Lefevbre took over at second and earned ROY honors. Tommy Davis was seriously injured in his 17th game, breaking his ankle. So journeyman outfielder, Lou Johnson took his spot and was a breath of fresh air. His pure joy at being in the majors was fun to watch.
1966
Lineup changed a bit. Johnson was the starter as Davis was reduced to a part time player coming back from injury. Most impactful first year player was Don Sutton who joined the rotation and went 12-12. Jim Barberi, Tommy Hutton, and Bill Singer made their debuts.
1967
A year of many changes and it reflected in the 8th place finish in the NL> Koufax retired, so the starting 4 was Osteen, Big D, Sutton and Singer. All finished in double figures in wins. Bullpen headed up by Brewer, Regan and Perry. Ron Hunt and Gene Michael took over at 2nd and short. Oliver, Torborg, and Ferrara got more playing time. John Werhas at 29 made his MLB debut.
1968
They moved up a notch to 7th. Perry, Roseboro and Miller were traded to the Twins for Versailles and Grant. Haller took over at catcher after coming over from the Giants for Hunt and Oliver. Popovich took over second, coming from the Cubs for Lou Johnson. Bailey came over from the Pirates for Wills and took over 3rd. Crawford, Sudakis, and Fairey saw their first extended action in the majors. Kekich, Billingham, and Alan Foster made their debuts.
1969
They moved up a few more notches to 4th place. Sizemore made his debut and earned ROY honors with a .271, 4HR, and 46 RBI effort. Wills returned in a trade with the Expos. Mota became the left fielder, with Davis and Kosco, who came from the Yankees manning the other spots. Sudakis took over 3rd. Crawford became the 4th outfielder. Grabarkewitz, Stinson, Garvey, Joshua, Buckner, Valentine, all made their debuts. Foster took his place in the starting 5 and Big D in his final season went 5-4 before he went down with a rotator cuff injury that ended his career. Ray Lamb, and Bobby Darwin made their debuts on the mound.
1970
The Dodgers 13th season in LA. Even though they were only 2 games better in the win column, they finished 2nd in the division to the Reds. Grabarkewitz took over at 3rd, and Willie Crawford became the starting RF. Garvey, Joshua and Buckner received a little more playing time. Ferguson and Paciorek made their MLB debuts. Sandy Vance, Fred Norman, Mike Strahler, and Charlie Hough made their Dodger debuts. Vance having a 7-7 season. Norman, though not a rookie, was taken off of waivers by the Cardinals. A while later he ended up with the Padres, and then was traded to the Reds. With the Reds, he became an integral piece of their 75 and 76 championship teams.
Well, there you have the first 13 years of young players who made some impression, or none. Some played less than a year in LA. Others stayed for most of their careers. As the season wears on, I will go with the next decade. next up, 71-80.
Nice walk down memory lane, but our resident historian: Michael “Bear” Norris! I don’t see any Rookies of the Year being on the team this year. Gavin Lux is probably as close to a Rookie as you can get.
I think it is possible that the Dodgers take 12 pitchers, especially if guys like May, Gonsolin, and Nelson make the team. This would leave them with several pitchers who can pitch multiple innings eliminating the need for an extra pitcher.
McKinstry would be a rookie, but not sure he gets the pump some of the other rookie prospects from other teams will.
It looks like KayBear is back in AZ and is self quarantining. According to Doc, he is in really good shape.
Also, Brandon Morrow allegedly won’t pitch this month as they are bringing him along slowly.
Willie Crawford was only 17 when he reached the majors?!? Really?
If so, perhaps the youngest Dodger ever…. I wonder who the oldest to play was.
Joe Nuxall debuted for the Reds when he was 15 yrs 10 mos old. Dodgers have had a couple of 17 year old players who debuted at that age, P Erv Palica and Inf Eddie Miksis were both 17 when they broke in. Satchel Paige was a rookie with the Indians at age 42. So far the oldest to ever debut in the majors. Paige also was the oldest ever to appear in a major league game when he pitched for the A’s in 1965 at 59 years old. Minnie Minoso got a hit when he was 54 plus becoming the 3rd player to get a hit when he was past 50. Others who played at age 50, Charley O’Leary, who was 58 when he played his last game..he was a SS. Nick Altrock a P, 57, Jim O’Rourke an OF, 54, and Jack Quinn, 50, a P. Hoyt Wilhelm who spent some time with LA was 49 when he hung them up. Other’s notables who played late into their 40’s, Nolan Ryan, 46, Julio Franco, 49, Jamie Moyer, 49, Phil Neikro, 48, Charlie Hough, 46, Jesse Orosco, 46, Randy Johnson, 45, Tommy John, 45. Pete Rose, Bartolo Colon, Roger Clemens, Gaylord Perry and Ichiro Suzuki all played until they were 45. Youngest Dodger ever was Eddie Miksis. Crawford was actually 18 when he first got on the field, but he turned 18 while waiting for his first game. His birthday was the 7th of September, and he got into his first game on the 16th.
It looks as though the universal DH and extended playoffs are not being discussed or negotiated, so it will be back to the old way with the pitchers hitting. Roberts said the pitchers have been taking batting practice and will do so in a game soon. My own opinion, which means bupkis, is that I really wish they had kept it. Many parts of the game that I was brought up watching have not been extensively in use for years. Teams rarely sacrifice anymore. And I would hate to see a top pitcher get injured running the bases or hitting. And it has happened before. As fun as some might have had watching Hill or Ryu hit, it was just as painful watching some one like Stripling or Baez.
I agree. Have to wonder how bad pitchers batting are going to be. The last meaningful at bats for pitchers were in the fall of 2019.
The DH also helped the Dodgers in the series against Atlanta. Game 3, Urias would of batted. Most likely the inning ends with a 6 run first instead of an 11 run inning.
Love having Baseball back, and love watching Bauer pitch.
So far so good for Gavin Lux.
Blake Treinen is a great insurance policy.
And finally – Happy Birthday to my friend Badger. Another year older, another year wiser.
Hope you’re keeping well and enjoying your day as best as possible.
Yes, happy 80th birthday Badger.
I think Badger is still a few years short of 80, even though he may feel that old from time to time.
Yes, happy birthday my friend. The body may feel like 80 but the mind is still going full blast.
Only 80 Badger. Still a baby! Happy bday
Thanks.
73.
I celebrated this morning by bench pressing 250. Only took 2 reps.
Happy Birthday, I am right behind you, 73 come June.
Happy Birthday, Badger. Hope it is a fun one for you.
More great nostalgia Bear. Thanks for the memories.
Some thoughts:
* For all the doubters, tell me again how the old Justin Turner is a defensive liability. He’s been a clinic. I love how his experience shows in his play. I actually do not know how much pop he has left in his throwing arm. He just finds a way to get that throw in the air to get it there just in time. The quick release makes up for lack of velo. His play is very much like Cory Seager’s brother, Kyle who also gets it in the air quickly. The one-hopper to first from his butt did show some arm strength but he saves his bullets.
* You know Dustin May and Tony Gonsulin are frequently lumped together like they are the same guy. And they both may start the season at the alternate site. I personally see them as completely different. Tony looks like a very capable back end of the bullpen guy. I know he’s started and might be the #6 starter. But I see his stuff, especially the splitter, as valuable bullpen tools. I don’t see any value to him at the alternate site. Put him in the pen and leave him alone, for now
May, on the other hand, is a future starter. He could benefit from some AAA time to gain command and work on his change. Call me crazy, but I don’t see Dustin close to the top of our high leverage reliever list. Maybe he should be the 6th starter when needed?
* Rick Monday has talked during the last 2 games about studying the catchers to get tips on location and pitch type. While he has expressed a caveat about “peeking” back at the catcher (that act will even get you dotted up even in high school) he’s explained ways to get verbal signals. Of course, with a runner on 2nd can easily signal to the hitter which is why the signals change so much. Monday is talking nobody on 2nd and claimed he predicted 10 straight pitch types by the catchers stance. As he was talking about it, it seemed to me he got crossed-up twice. As a player, I never wanted to be signaled pitch type. (location maybe). The reason? I never trusted the process. I never wanted to be signaled a curveball was coming and hang in on pitch coming at my head, trusting it would break. I’ll just take my chances with “see ball, hit ball” instead of getting crossed up and taking one in the ear.
* Speaking of Monday, I love his voice, his career, his running down the flag burners. As an analyst, I’m good for about 4 innings of him and his radio partner. I know he’s a radio guy but he talks too much for me.
* I’m enjoying watching all the AAAA prospects get their innings. I still think McKinstry is #12 with Peters the 13th guy, I hope. I had Kelly and Alexander fighting for #13, assuming Kelly and the Bazooka are healthy. But Alexander doesn’t look very good. Can I have Kolarek of McGee back for Alexander?
I know it’s early
I think Vesia might be making his case to take over for Alexander. Although I will say this, he lost that game because of a weakly hit flair just past 3rd base. A couple more outings and we will have a better read on him. Graterol is being brought around slowly. He might start the season at the alternate site or with the AAA team when they get to spring training on the 1st of April. Wow, that did not take long, Jeffress released by the Nationals. I know LA had been looking at him earlier. Released for personal reasons. What ever that means.
Reyes and Ramirez of the Indians violated the MLB’s Covid protocols and have been sent to isolation points. They went for a haircut and out to dinner, which is a violation. The Indian’s contacted the league and is awaiting word for when the 2 players can return.
An isolated point. Like Siberia? Harsh.
Very nice write-up, Bear. Really enjoyed hearing about all the Dodger players. Looking forward to the next decade you write about.
Thank you DBM. I was kind of inspired to write about kids who made some impact when they came up when I was thinking about what happened in 2019. 3 rookies had outstanding debuts for LA. Will Smith, Alex Verdugo, and yes, Matt Beaty. There was a series against the Rockies in LA when all 3 of those guys hit walk off HR’s in consecutive games. I do not think that feat has ever been done before in the majors. Beaty did it first with a blast in the 9th on Friday, Verdugo matched that on Saturday with his shot to RF. Then on Sunday, in a 3-3 tie, Smith hit a 3 run shot to right center that beat the Rocks for the 3rd straight time. Smith also hit another walk off against the Phillies when he was first called up. I remember it well because I was there. It went right down the left field line into the lower deck. Smith hit a very important 3 run shot against the Braves in game 6 last year. His 3 run dinger off of Will Smith put the Dodgers in front. That comeback from being down 3-1 was amazing, made especially so because in both game 5 and 7, the Braves were ahead in the middle innings and the Dodgers rallied. Plus some great defensive work by Mookie and Turner.
Happy birthday Badger……
And speaking of rookies of the year, Hollandsworth was my least liked, least known, or least successful in the majors, and then I would put Mondesi behind him.
And by the way, someone commented that SD fans are crazy and stupid about yesterday’s game, well, they are Padres, they are clowns, what else could you expect from them?
Mondesi actually had a decent MLB career. He did play with 7 different teams spending 8 years with LA. But he finished with a .273 BA, 271 HR’s and 860 RBI’s. Very respectable. And he also had a cannon of an arm. He hit 163 of those as a Dodger. Hollandsworth did not have a great career. But he did play for 12 seasons, and finished with exactly the same career BA as Mondesi, with far fewer homers. He played for 8 teams. Even though Nomo was named ROY, I felt then and I do now that if you are playing in a professional league in another country, you should not be eligible to be the ROY. He also played for 7 teams and had a 12 year career. The shortest career of any of the Dodgers ROY’s was Joe Black who played only 5 season’s in the majors. Mondesi also had close to a 30 WAR. Much higher than Nomo or Hollandsworth.
Thanks, Bear!
I think we’ve always wondered about Satchel’s age…even more that Pujols’s.
And if I recall correctly, wasn’t Mondesi traded for Shawn Greene? Odd trade but it worked well.
Buehler getting ripped today, but, he is also pitching out of a stretch. So maybe he is working on that today.
Carson Fulmer DFA’d by the Pirates today.
Yea I don’t know if this Buehler kid has what it takes to make this team!
He left a few right in the middle of the plate, but he was pitching out of the stretch from the beginning of the game. Peters K’d, but also hit a shot over the fence. Lux looked good again. Gonzalez looked really good.
Juan Toribo who writes for the Dodger site made his predictions for the roster today. In his world Beaty makes it and the only RH hitter on the bench is Barnes. He has Rio’s, Beaty and McKinstry all making the roster. He also has Kelly and Graterol. Problem with that is Kelly is not throwing at all. He is dealing with some unmentioned ailment, and Graterol has not been put into game situations yet. Plenty of time, 25 days. His position players, Lux, Beaty, Turner, Muncy, Taylor, Pollock, Bellinger, Betts, Seager, Barnes, Smith, McKinstry, and Rios. Pitchers would be Kersh, Bauer, Price, Buehler, Urias as the starters with Gonsolin, Treinen, Graterol, Kelly, Gonzalez, Jansen, Knebel, and May as the relievers. Problem with that is he only has one lefty in the pen. No way they go with that. There will be at least 2 lefty’s in the pen. My guess. Gonzalez and either Vesia or Alexander. May will be at AAA come opening day stretching out and getting a little more needed seasoning.
If Lux is on the opening day roster (and at this point it looks like he will be) then he’ll be the second baseman and CT3 will be another right handed hitter on the bench. If Lux is not the starting second baseman I’m guessing he’ll start at OKC and play every day.
You’ve listed 13 position players Bear but remember without a DH only 8 can start which leaves a 5 man bench if you figure 13 position players.
I have no clue what the situation is with Kelly. He wasn’t right physically last year either but they refuse to say what the problem is. Just vague statements for a full year now.
I have a theory about what Kelly’s problem is. It’s as good as Juan Toribo’s
Report is it is shoulder stiffness.
I just posted what he said in the article. Not that I agree with all his choices. I think there are only 4 guys on this roster who will play the positions they play almost all the time, Betts, Turner, Seager and Smith. Everyone else on the roster has at least a second position. Peters is also working out at 1st base, Report is that Ruiz will most likely get some game time this week.
I know I sound like a broken record, but it is way past time to cut Joe Kelly. Since day 1 I was against acquiring Joe Kelly.
Just cutting him still means they are on the hook for his salary which is 8, 833, 333.00. Now they might eat that, but my thinking is that they will not. If they are going to pay it, they want some return for it. I agree he does not look like a viable piece of the pen. But it all depends on what the Dodgers staff and FO think they can get out of him. There is also a 12 million dollar team option for next season, which I doubt they would use, but they still owe 4 mil in a buyout. Even if they could find a trade partner, they would most likely have to eat most of that contract.
In case anyone was wondering, Joc is hitting .222 this spring on a 2-9 showing. Both of his hits are homers. Kike is hitting .625 for Boston with 1 homer. Baez has not pitched yet, Covid protocols, Alex Wood has pitched one scoreless inning and Jake McGee 2. Alex Verdugo and Jeter Downs are both hitting .333 in limited action.