I thought I would go back and see who had the best individual seasons in the history of the team. Won’t do all of the categories. That would be an incredibly long post. So I will try to stick to the main stats.
WAR
This is a relatively new way to gauge a player’s worth. WAR, or wins above replacement. Gives you an idea of how many wins a player is better than his replacement would be. That’s about as well as I can describe the stat. And the all-time best was Jackie Robinson in 1951 with a 9.7. Three Dodgers have had seasons where they were above 9, Robinson twice, Adrian Beltre, and Duke Snider.
BATTING AVERAGE
The team record for batting average is .393 achieved by Babe Herman in 1930. The highest BA in LA history is Mike Piazza’s .362 mark in 1997. Piazza is the only LA Dodger in the top 10. Herman and Zack Wheat appear twice. The only LA Dodger to win a batting title is Tommy Davis who did it back to back in 1962 and 1963. Trea Turner who was the champ this year did most of his damage as a National.
HOME RUNS
The most HR’s in a season record is 49 by Shawn Green in 2001. Adrian Beltre came close with 48 in 2004. Gary Sheffield had tied Duke Snider with 43 in 2000. Cody Bellinger hit 47 in his MVP season, 2017. Green hit 40 or more twice as a Dodger. Snider had 5 consecutive 40 HR seasons, 53-57.
RUNS BATTED IN
Tommy Davis knocked in 153 runs in 1962. That eclipsed the 142 mark set by Roy Campanella in 1953. They are the only two Dodgers to drive in more than 140 runs in the team’s history. Snider drove in 136 in 55 during the World Championship year. Jack Fournier had broken Oyster Burns 128 mark with a 130 effort in 1925. Babe Herman, Gil Hodges, and Duke Snider are the only other Dodgers to hit the 130 mark.
HITS
That guy again. Babe amassed 241 hits in his amazing 1930 season. Prior to his great season, the record was 221 by Zack Wheat. #2 on the list, Tommy Davis with 230. Tommy achieved that mark in 1962. The last time a Dodger amassed 200 hits was 2004 when Beltre had exactly 200.
STOLEN BASES
Maury brought the stolen base back to baseball and made it a real weapon. In 1962 he broke Ty Cobb’s mark of 96 by stealing 104 bases. He is still the only player in Dodger history to amass 100 or more steals. His second-highest mark was 92 which he reached in 1965. Darby O’Brien stole 91 in 1889 to be the only other Dodger with 90 steals. Davey Lopes’s high mark was 77 in 1975. Third highest in LA history.
OBP and OPS
The best OBP, on-base percentage, was posted by Mike Griffin in 1894 when he got on at a .466 clip. Best in LA is .438 by Gary Sheffield in 2000. Babe Herman has the all-time highest OPS, on-base plus slugging with a 1.132 in 1930. Sheffield has the highest mark in LA at 1.081. Just for a comparison, Cody’s in 2019 was 1.035. All the players in the Dodgers’ top 10 are over 1.000.
SLUGGING
Herman leads with a .678 in 1930, Sheffield has the high LA mark at .643 in 2000. Snider’s .647 in 1954 is in second place. Belli slugged .629 in his MVP year.
TOTAL BASES, WALKS, HIT BY PITCH
Herman again with 416 total bases in 1930. LA mark is 376 in 2004 by Beltre. Eddie Stanky drew 148 walks in 1945. The most in LA is held by Jimmy Wynn who walked 110 times in 1975. In 1900 Hughie Jennings was hit 20 times, the all-time record. Justin Turner holds the LA mark with 19 in 2017.
HONORABLE MENTION
There are a few batting feats that did not cover an entire season, but were so good they need to be mentioned here. Frank Howard drove in 41 runs in the month of August in 1962. To put that in perspective, Seager drove in 57 in 95 games. Willie Davis’s 31 game hitting streak in 1969. And one we all witnessed, the magical 53 games played by Manny Ramirez in 2008 where he hit .396 with 17 HRs and 53RBI’s. Leftfield became Mannywood, and so many fans were wearing dreadlocks and #99 jerseys. Also Gil Hodges 4 homer game against the Braves in 1950 and Shawn Green did the same thing to the Brewers in 2002.
PITCHING
Many Dodger pitchers have had very good years since they came to LA. Brooklyn got some sparkling pitching during it’s time in the league too. Hershiser and Drysdale with the two longest scoreless streaks in baseball history. Orel at 59, and Don at 58.3. The difference was Big D had 6 consecutive shutouts during his streak.
WAR
The highest WAR for a pitcher is the 10.7 mark set by Sandy Koufax in 1963. Dazzy Vance had a 10.5 mark in 1924. Sandy and Dazzy are the only two Dodger pitchers to post a WAR over 10 and both did it twice.
ERA
Rube Marquard posted the lowest ERA in Dodger history with a 1.58 mark in 1916. Zack Greinke posted a 1.66 in 20115 for the lowest in LA. Koufax had a sub 2.00 ERA three times in LA as has Kershaw.
WINS
The all-time season win mark is 30 by Tom Lovett in 1890. Joe McGinnity and George Haddock are tied for second with 29. Dazzy Vance and Jim Hughes won 28. The all-time LA leader is Sandy Koufax with 27 in 1966. Sandy also holds down the 2nd slot with 26 in 1965.
WINNING PCT.
Phil Regan went 14-1 in 1966 for a .933 winning pct. He was nicknamed The Vulture by his teammates because he would swoop in and get the win. Phil also saved 21 games that year. Freddie Fitzsimmons had a .889 mark in 1940. 16-2
COMPLETE GAMES
Brickyard Kennedy had 40 complete games for Brooklyn in 1893. Second, on the list is Tom Lovett who had 39 twice. The LA Dodger leader is Sandy Koufax who twice had 27, 65-66. Drysdale is second with 21.
STRIKEOUTS
Sandy Koufax holds the record with 382 strikeouts in 1965. As a matter of fact, Sandy has 4 of the top 5 years in Dodger history. He and Clayton Kershaw are the only Dodger pitchers to ever fan 300 or more batters. Kersh struck out 301 in 2014
SHUTOUTS
LA Dodger pitchers dominate this stat. Koufax is first with 11 in 1963. No other Dodger has more than 9. Don Sutton has that distinction. Koufax, Drysdale, Belcher, Hershiser, and Valenzuela threw 8. Four players threw 7, Koufax, Drysdale, Osteen, and Messersmith.
SAVES
Back when they played in Brooklyn, saves were not really kept track of. Baseball reference has gone back and added them to the older players’ stats. But keeping records of saves started in the ’60s. Eric Gagne’s 55 in 2003 is the record. He also won the Cy Young that year. He also had 52 in 2002. Gagne at one point collected 84 consecutive saves from August 28, 2002, until July 3, 2004. He also saved 45 in 2004. The only other Dodgers to have over 40 saves, Kenley Jansen 47, 44, 41, Todd Worrell 44, and Jeff Shaw 43.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the best seasons in Dodger history. It is always fun to look back and compare some of those old players against the team that they have now.
I found this old photo of a Brooklyn fan, Frank Germano, fighting Umpire George Magerkurth in 1940. Fans in Brooklyn sure got into the game!
Great job Bear, that was a good read. Feels like CT3 will probably sign today before the lockout. Will it be with the Dodgers or is he going somewhere else? After the loss of Scherzer and Corey it seems apparent to me that AF has to get CT3 in the fold.
I’m not at all inspired with the likes of Rios, Neuse, McKinstry being our flexible “swiss army knife” player who can play multiple positions very well and be an offensive weapon as well. CT3 seems like the type of player that AF should covet. Hard worker, quiet and unassuming, a pro’s pro. Get him signed up and while we’re at it go ahead and get Kris Bryant or Freeman. Still need some SP. Will there be any Dodger transactions today?
While I love CT3, he is an “All-or-Nothing” type of guy. I would rather sign Josh Harrison for a 2-year/$5 Million deal as a PH. CT3 IS going to get $65 to $70 Million as I predicted long ago. AF will not pay that… nor should he. Progress is not linear with guys like Outman, Raley, Rios, Neuse, and McKinstry. Just because they did not hit in 2021 does not mean they will not hit in 2022.
Maybe Bryant, unless he gets $200 million (which he might), but Freeman for 6 years? I can’t see it, but it would be great for the first 2 or 3 years. Maybe. Bryant does not require any compensation, so there is that. If I could get Bryant for 6 years at $150 or $160, I would do that.
Call me a hater but I don’t want Jansen back. Been there done that ready to move on. Give his money to a starting pitcher. We still need two.
Hater!
Ditto!
dammit
No cursing please, kids read this….LOL
And your reasoning?
What I remember about Shawn Green’s four homer game is that it wasn’t televised. Amazing. They televised every game except that one.
Interesting article or Q and A, written by Bill Shaikin (LA Times) today on baseball’s impending lockout, breaks down the central issues. Definitely worth reading.
Okay, I’m over losing Corey Seager, sad to see him go, the Dodgers will definitely miss his bat. I’m wondering how much of an effort the Dodgers made to keep Seager after he rejected the eight year, $250 million deal in spring, and the team acquired Trea Turner at the deadline. I’m guessing Seager may have some regret, actually wanted to stay, based on what insiders have said. But Turner gave the Dodgers another option.
Although some have suggested that the Trevor Bauer contract is weighing the Dodgers down this winter, making a $250 million offer to Seager suggests otherwise. Max Scherzer will be 38 in 2022 and he was having some minor issues before the trade, said he had concerns about those ailments turning serious if he pitched in a cold weather environment, thus the reason for wanting to be traded to the west coast. He obviously was concerned about his next deal. Now that he has it, doesn’t matter where he pitches.
The Dodgers were wise to walk away.
Will the Dodgers make a real push for Chris Taylor. Probably makes some sense. I can see that happening, but there are probably cheaper options. The problem with Taylor is the all or nothing approach, lots of swings and misses. Expected to sign today so we’ll see.
Good write-up today.
I predict Nationals
Agree. I predicted the Nationals from the beginning. He is a Virginia product. Born, raised, and college.. Washington needs help all over, and CT3 can deliver. Washington is not afraid to spend. Seems natural.
I saw every one of Shawn Greens’ 4 Home Runs HR’s LIVE. I was at the Game in Milwaukee. A vendor had us in the luxury restaurant in LF!
Prove it: what did you put on your brat?
Good morning reading accompanied by a good coffee, Bear except for Davis in the 60’s, we almost never have departmental leaders in batting matters, instead we do in pitching. Hopefully this next season we will improve the current starting rotation and also improve on defense since last season was not good in that regard, congratulations on your article.
Last home run champ was Kemp with 39 in 2011. RBI’s Gonzalez, 116 in 2014. Davis was their last batting champ, Turner does not count. Garvey was the last Dodger to lead in hits, 1980 when he had 200. Gordon was their last stolen base champ. Again, Turner led the league in both those departments this year, but most of his damage was done with the Nationals.
To me, Taylor has always been the most essential Dodger FA to bring back because Seager and even Scherzer are easier to replace. Taylor of course wouldn’t command as much $$, but that’s another reason he’s so valuable: The money can be saved for bigger stars like maybe Bryant or Freeman or the new import from Japan.
think we learned last season what a luxury it was to have both Taylor and Kike, two of the best UT guys in the game. The failure to sign Kike didn’t bother me at the time because it looked like McKinstry might be a capable replacement–and for a while he was. But before long it because apparent that no combination of McKinstry, Neuse, Peters, Raley, McKinney, Souza, Beatty , Reks really compensated for single Kike or Taylor.
The UT role is viral that I hope that the grooming of Lux continues. Having both him and Taylor–one batting left, one right– would cover every position but catcher.
And as Mark has suggested, just a couple of seasons from now , Cartaya could push Smith to 2B or 3B. That would be kind of great.
I was thinking the same thing – Lux being part of a super utility left/right duo with CT3. I think the Dodgers were on to that, too, when they started putting Lux in the outfield. There were a couple misplays, but he should get better with experience.
With Seager gone, though, it creates a hole at 2nd. Does Lux get the starting job there, or does it become a revolving door of Lux, CT3 and sometimes Muncy?
Would’ve been nice to have the luxury of a Lux/CT3 super utility combo, but can’t always have a Super Dream Team.
I imagine AF has potential utility replacements scouted as possible acquisitions. I hope so. Personally I think CT3 is gone, especially if his asking price is 70 mil. … and among the several weaknesses that the Dodgers now have, maybe the most glaring is the bench, which was a huge letdown last year (Sousa starting in right in an elimination playoff game? Are you kidding?!)
I don’t really care if AAAA players don’t develop in a linear fashion. Let them figure it out before they have key spots on the roster … or find somebody else. Neuse, Raley Reks, et. al. stunk last year. When they stop stinking then we can talk.
Both Kike and CT3 were pretty bad early on their careers. McKinstry looked more than capable until he suffered that oblique injury. I wouldn’t write him off so soon especially after all the high praise he received by management at the beginning of last season.
I think Lux is capable of being a star. But, some guys take a little longer to develop and this team is a championship contender right now. I would rather reduce risk by signing another bat than to hand him the job right now when we’re already over the CBT. If this were a season when they wanted to dip below and reset penalties, I would go with Lux at second.
I’ll believe that Cartaya will push Smith to another position when he hits so well as Smith’s backup that you have no other choice. That’s several years down the road as Cartaya is just 20 years old and has only played 31 games at single A. I’ll pump the brakes on that one for now. Not to mention, I would rather not start the clock early and keep players into their primes unless there’s a need to fill. No need to fill with Smith handling the position like a top player.
McKinstry will be 27 next year. At 26, his bWAR was -.4. He first joined a ML roster at 25. Kike’ was 22 when he played for Houston and Miami. In 134, PA, he hit .248/.321/.421/.742. At 23, he followed that up with a line of .307/.346/.490/.836 in 218 PA with LAD. He had a couple of bad years following his age 23 season. At 26 he had a 3.5 bWAR. Zach cannot field with Kike’. At 25, Kike’ had a 3 HR 7 RBI game in a playoff series game against the Cubs. I do not see that capability in Zach. I hope I am wrong, because unless AF re-signs CT3, Zach will be that guy.
CT3 also started as a 23-year-old in Seattle where he hit .287/.347/.346/.691in 151 PA. Again that was followed up with a couple of forgettable years, but at 26 he hit .288/.354/.496/.850 in 568 PA with LAD. He has been well above replacement level player ever since. At 26, CT3 had a bWAR of 4.4. Zach cannot field with CT3, and I do not see him capable of putting a 4.4 bWAR. Again, I hope I am wrong because he is it if CT3 is not re-signed. And while I like Josh Harrison (a lot), he is only a bridge to whatever may follow. There are no CT3 or Kike’ type players coming up. Might as well sign CT3 and then develop the next one. I prefer signing both CT3 and Josh Harrison.
And by the way….
I wonder what a guy like Mitch White thinks when he reads that the Dodgers signed Andrew Heaney for $8.5 million after a dreadful season
White pitched pretty well–a 3,66 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 46 innings– yet never seems to get any respect. He is rarely mentioned as a candidate for the rotation. Clearly Heaney will get every opportunity to join Buhler, Urias, Kersh (I assume) and Gonsolin in the rotation. May should get back at some point.
Hopefully he thinks he needs to work harder to get better. Andrew Heaney has great stuff and was once a highly rated prospect. As a starter, Mitch has been pretty bad and he’s been riddled with injuries during his minor league career. That doesn’t scream that he’s capable of being a starter.
You just described Andrew Heaney, except his injuries were in MLB. Heaney has had a sub 4.00 ERA one year, and that was 7 years ago. Why does Mitch have to work that much harder? When given the chance, he has been better than Heaney. He is 3.5 years younger. His ERA+ last year was better than anything Heaney has put up in 8 years. Mitch White has earned the right to start just as much as Heaney. Heaney is considered a better option because he was a first round pick and White was only a second rounder? Or maybe it is the innings Heaney gave up his runs were not as important as the innings White did.
Heaney pitched 180 innings three years ago. He is a former 1rst round pick. Neither have had a particular impressive track record, but White has never been able to stay healthy or consistent enough to even advance up in the Dodgers org. Last year was the first time he even sniffed the major leagues.
Eliminating his first season of up and down, Heaney has averaged about 86 IP per season. Further, if we eliminate the 2020 season, he has averaged just south of 90 IP. It appears that Heaney has been just as injured as White has. Heaney is about 3.5 years older. He did not sniff the major leagues because he plays in the LAD organization. How many chances is he going to have with that rotation compared to Heaney who was with perhaps the worst pitching rotation in MLB, and he still could not win with both the LAA and the NYY offenses. Now maybe the Dodger development team found something in Heaney. I sure hope so. And to pay someone $8.5MM on a hunch is fine by me. But why not give the homegrown kid the same opportunity at ML minimum?.
I love Chris Taylor. I thought he was pretty clutch off the bench and a solid defender. If he wants to try to play a position full time, go ahead and move on from him. I think his value is as a utility guy and would love to see him come back in that role.
As far as Kenley goes, he had a very solid season last year. But, I don’t like the idea of paying top dollar for a guy you have to treat with kid gloves and I don’t like his “I have to be the closer even when I suck” attitude. I don’t like how he never learned to hold runners and I don’t like how he can’t pitch with a guy on second. I don’t like how his velocity fluctuates drastically day by day. I don’t like how he couldn’t pitch back to back days, and when he got over that hill, couldn’t pitch 3 days in a row. I loved the former Kenley that could pitch just about every day and multiple innings at a time. I don’t think he’s that guy anymore and I don’t think there’s a need for a closer.
On to Freddie Freeman. He’s one of the best pure hitters in baseball IMO. He hits for average, power, drives in runs, scores runs and is always on base and doesn’t strike out too much. He’s also great with the glove. I would take him over Muncy any day of the week. The problem is, I don’t want Muncy to play second base and I’m a little suspect with playing JT at third base at this point in time.
With the DH, Freddie might work if they think Muncy can handle 3B. I just don’t see that happening with a guy who’s nursing a torn UCL. Can Rios maybe handle being the backup at LF, 3B, 1B with McKinstry backing up second base? Lux shifting from second to short when Trea needs a day off? Maybe that can work. Bryant would probably be a better fit since he could handle 3B, 1B, and all over the outfield, but he isn’t the hitter that Freeman is. Maybe they can convince Castellanos to be open to play multiple positions like Bryant.
Maybe we should target Adam Duvall. Put him in Center, move Belli back to RF and Mookie to second base. Let Lux be the CT3 for a year until you think you can depend on his bat.
I guess there’s still some options out there. Some better than others. I also hope to see Eddie Rios break out in a big way. He always hit so well in the minors and he’s worked really hard on his glovework at 3B. And he did all of it while playing through shoulder pain. Maybe everything will click with successful surgery?
Damn, and I was at the Kings game last night thinking “it’s 9pm, baseball is now in a lockout”
I guess I was wrong, and today’s the real last day? Freeman, Bryant, CT3, Kenley, Kersh, Strowman…. somebody’s coming (back) today!
How about a trade for Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray AND Eugenio Suarez for Mitch White, Clayton Beeter, Carson Taylor, and a couple of other prospects?
The Dodgers would have their rotation set and Suarez could be a monster comeback candidate.
This solves the Reds salary issues.
I was told they are not trading Castillo.
We’d be getting off easy–going to cost Knack at least.
Baseball execs are saying that the asking price for Castillo is stratospheric.
Your proposed trade, even taking back Suarez, isn’t going to get close unless the “couple of other prospects” you mention happen to be Cartaya and Miller.
Seems like somebody mentioned that not too long ago. However whats his name also included Moustakas so that the Reds would be rid of his salary which in turn we would lighten the amount of prospects going to the Reds.
I don’t believe hat individual ever received a reply.
A story I read this morning says that Taylor is expected to receive offers close to 5 years and 75 million samollions. I do not think AF is going to pay that much for a Swiss army knife. I think Harrison would be a nice addition and would not cost nearly as much in years or cash. Knebel is in serious talks with the Phillies according to MLBTR. D.J. Peters was outrighted to AAA by the Rangers and McKinney was non tendered. We just have to wait and see what transpires today. Two things MLB seems to be wanting in the new CBA or as part of the agreement, a 14 team playoff. The top two seeds would get byes and the two other division winners would get to choose which wild card team they wished to play, and the universal DH, which I think is coming no matter what.
He’s a walking contradiction: an everyday player without a fixed position.
Maybe he should be valued HIGHER than a regular.
He’s my favorite Dodger but I’m expecting to lose him.
This didn’t age well.
None of us do.
I know a lot of you do not read Twitter, but there was a video on there from the Joey Bishop show in 1964 with Dodgers Drysdale, Skowron, T.Davis, Perranoski, Willie Davis and Frank Howard singing the old song High Hopes, only changing it to Koufax. It is hilarious. All the Dodgers except Big D in uniform. Big D wearing a tux. Howard can hardly keep a straight face with Bishop looking at him like he is Herman Munster or something.
Didn’t know Big D had such a great voice. Thanks for sharing.
Great article once again Bear. Loved the line from the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms the other day: “SS is manned by Germany Smith. Smith is not very consistent with the bat and is equally inept in the field.” Sounds promising.
Thank you JR. I too was surprised Big D had such a good voice. Being a pro singer myself, I was impressed. But Howards reaction to Bishops antics was hilarious.
I certainly thought this date was important with CBA negotiations. I’m certainly fearful there may not be an agreement and a work stoppage. I just read an article by Mark Feinsand on ML.com site that would seem to make this not so critical. I certainly would not love to see this thing stretched out, prolonging an agreement but others don’t share the urgency.
“One person involved in negotiations on the league’s side indicated that there did not seem to be much urgency from the union. Recent comments from a pair of veteran players would seem to back up that sentiment.”
“We have three months to really hash this out, and I don’t fear us not starting on time or anything like that,” National League Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper told Philadelphia’s WIP radio on Nov. 19. “The cool thing is, if something does happen, we can always sign a year extension of what we had this year. That’s always possible.”
“Braves pitcher Charlie Morton took it a step further, telling The Athletic last week that the Dec. 1 CBA expiration doesn’t represent a true deadline to get a deal done.”
“[A] lot of the time, especially in baseball, you have these deadlines that aren’t necessarily hard deadlines, that aren’t precursors to something better or worse,” Morton said. “But they’re there just to kind of give both sides a little sense of urgency. So no, I don’t necessarily think that the deadlines [mean that much]. This [Dec. 1] deadline is for the lockout, but obviously you hope you have something done Jan. 1. If not, then you hope you have something done certainly by the time pitchers and catchers are supposed to report, because then that’s going to start to affect things to a severe degree.”
“Really, most players’ offseasons aren’t going to change because of this [Dec. 1 deadline].”
Great. Drag your feet for a few more months Dip-Shits. There’s no urgency.
On another note I drove around 2 Spring Training sites yesterday. At Surprise, the Rangers have a player’s residence structure looking like a Holiday Express or similar facility for the players instead of hotels. Now the Royals built a similar facility next door and it’s really nice.
I drove out to Goodyear where Cleveland has a similar facility. I talked to a couple of young players about it and they said the rooms are like a nice college dorm with a dining facility. And what they liked best is it’s across the street for the training facilities. I didn’t ask if they had to pay anything to stay there for room and board. The Reds might be building one nearby as construction is going on for something.
Same at Camelback Ranch. Something’s being built across the street.
This is such a good idea providing player housing with decent meals provided. I can’t help but believe it’s in response to improved player living conditions and nutritional needs. Players are not housed in a hotel away from training facilities and have to find healthy meals on there own. I’ve never been to the Dominican but I know they have Academies with similar player accommodations supposedly, for the young latin players. I’m going to check out other ST sites and see who else is building similar facilities.
According to MLBTR the MLBPA made a counter proposal as to MLB’s wanting a 14 team playoff, they suggest 10-12 teams, breaking up the league into 4 divisions featuring 8 teams in two and 7 in the other two and a realignment. They want the CBT moved up to 240 mil. MLB pretty much scraped the idea for a 100 mil floor and 180 cap. Too much push back from MLBPA. I believe a lock out is probably more likely than an agreement by the deadline this evening. Then again, they could agree to continue negotiating too. Hudson signing official now. MLB used two different types of baseballs last year. They were already changing the ball to a heavier dead ball because of the home run surge. But due to Covid causing Rawlings to cut back production hours in the Dominican, where the balls are made, there were not enough of the older ones to make it through the season. So MLB used the new batch mixed with the others. Some MLBPA members not happy with that since they were not informed which was which. And the ball did affect how the game was played. New balls tended to have less distance even when hit hard. Just think, Tio Albert hit a new ball that was caught at the top of the wall. The old one would have landed in the HR seats. Opposite also applies, that ball Pollock caught at the top of the wall goes out. Just leave the damn ball alone. Fans love the homers. Less offense, less fan love.
It is a really great idea. I run operations for a commercial landscape provider in the greater Phoenix area. A few months ago we picked up the landscape maintenance contracts for the Goodyear and Tempe sites and will have the Royals Surprise site when it opens. Most of these players residences are being built by a management company called pro housing. I heard the owner is a former pro ball player. They’re basically high end apartments with lounge rooms that have ping pong tables, billiards, etc. They also have large dinning areas and provide chefs to cook meals for the players.
Good info Rob. The new Royals facility at Surprise is called the Fountains and is really nice. The Giants were building new practice fields in Tempe or Scottsdale. I’m going to drive over there and see if it has housing.
I thinks this is a great idea and congratulations on getting the maintenance contracts.
Good points philjones. All the talk about what the owners want and what the players want. Dec 1st? Jan 1st? Feb 1st? June 1st? It doesn’t matter to ownership or players. As long as they get theirs. What about us fans? You know. The people that provide the revenue to pay for most everything. Oh yeah. Just deal with whatever the two parties decide what’s best for them. FA signings? Trades? Roster development? Yeah, that will happen when we are damn ready to let it happen. These guys – the owners, lawyers, and players are playing with fire. Manfred’s leadership is trying to suck the life out of baseball.
Fourteen team playoffs. No frickin way! If that’s the case then reduce the season down to 140-150 games or so. To play 162 games and then have to slog through six weeks of playoffs is dumb. These current well fed, well trained, pampered, and overpaid players are too fragile to get through the current regular season and playoffs. Who wants to watch baseball in December? Or February?
Why not two team divisions that play 162 games against each other and then switch every other year (except, of course, on leap year)? And then, have a fifteen team playoff with the fifteenth team having to play inter-squad games – best of 3 out of 5. Why? It doesn’t matter. It generates income. Of course, I’m being a sarcastic A hole, but just leave the divisions the way they are. And, go back to one wild card team. A case in point is what a 105 win team had to deal with last year. That should never happen again.
Sad news, former Dodger Don Demeter passed away at the age of 86. Don was a huge favorite of mine and wore #2 in that magical 1959 championship year. I was very sad when they traded him to the Phillies. RIP Don, you gave us some great memories. Also passing today, former White Sox Ace, Lamarr Hoyt. He was 66.
That is indeed sad news! He was my very first favorite player.
In addition to being a decent player, he was an outstanding man!
You were the first person I thought about when I read the news. I have my 59 Demeter card in a prominent place in my collection.
Since a lot of top name guys are off the free agent market, might as well sign Chris Taylor, Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant. It will solve all the holes that need to be plugged offensively including the bench.
By the way I have no problem with Muncy at 2B permanently.
Kris Bryant at 3B with Justin Turner DH.
Freddie Freeman obviously at 1B.
Eric, I think we need starting pitching far move than shuffling around and paying big money on position players. I love Kris Bryant and Freddie Freeman. but we have a good (healing 1st baseman and JT at 3rd with Rios hopefully). Those guys aren’t bench players. Starting Pitching – That’s where I would spend money until the youngsters get to the Bigs and we know the status of Bauer, May, CK and how Gonzo looks. You can win without pitching and we have too many ? marks.
Alex Wood back to the Giants is official now. SF has added Wood and Cobb, resigned DeSclafani. With Webb they have 4/5ths of their rotation filled. Barnes signs with the Tigers a minor league deal, but the former Red Sox reliever has a spring invite. Lots of action so far.
Of course one will click in his late 20’s, but that is the anomaly. Mark’s wrote, “Progress is not linear with guys like Outman, Raley, Rios, Neuse, and McKinstry.” That is exactly the line of thinking for teams like Oakland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kansas City, Miami, and Seattle. Be patient. They will come around. And they are cost efficient in the interim.
For every Adam Duvall, there are dozens of players like Trayce Thompson, DJ Peters, Cody Thomas, Billy McKinney, Zach Reks, Yusniel Diaz (who has absolutely regressed at 25), Rob Segedin, and Scott Van Slyke (who could not sustain it). Maybe you will get one good year out of one of them like SVS and 2014. But most of the time these players are exactly as they appear…AAAA players. It is that line of thinking that gave the Dodgers Billy McKinney, Steven Souza Jr. and Andy Burns in the playoffs while Atlanta had Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Jorge Soler.
I have no idea how Rios comes back from shoulder surgery or if McKinstry is the player he was pre-injury 2021 or post-injury.
Pre-injury – 58 PA – .296/.328/.556/.883
Post-injury – 114 PA – .173/.230/.327/.557
How much longer are you willing to wait?
Rios (28)
Raley (27)
McKinstry (27)
Neuse (27)
If CT3 is all or nothing, exactly what is Edwin Rios. Plus, there is absolutely no equivalency when it comes to defense. I want to make it clear. I like Edwin Rios, but as a reserve (backup 1st and 3rd). I like Matt Beaty (29). But how many LH hitting corner IF reserves does one team need? McKinstry and Raley are also LH bats. James Outman (25) is LH hitter. Of those you named only Sheldon Neuse is RH hitting, and I would not look to kindly if it was Neuse that was coming up with the game on the line like CT3 did in the WC game against St. Louis.
AF, you saved at least $70MM annually on not signing Corey and Max. $pend a little of it on CT3. All or nothing? I am sorry, but a career line of .261/.337/.443/.779 and outstanding defense is not nothing. AF, you blew it with Bauer, and you cannot get away from it. You overreacted to SDP and NYM. Wear it! But please don’t compound it by ignoring holes created with players bolting and nothing in the system that can offset those losses. You are the PBO of the Los Angeles Dodgers, not the Oakland A’s or Pittsburgh Pirates.
From The Athletic:
Scherzer suggested his “overcooked” arm was the result of the Dodgers being too cautious. He said that by limiting his pitch count and trying to keep him fresh for the postseason, the Dodgers might have lowered his work capacity, leading to a dead arm. With the Nationals, Scherzer regularly pushed his outings to 100 to 110 pitches every five days in the run-up to their World Series win in 2019. Scherzer said that returning to the NL East was part of his desire to sign with the Mets. It will allow him to see his children more than if he’d remained on the West Coast, where he finished last season with the Dodgers.
What I just posted too.
This is interesting to me. One of the things I do is monitor the applied stress on endurance athletes, particularly competitive cyclists. There are devices that cyclists incorporate into their bikes that measure power output. Once you can measure the cumulative power or Kj of a workout, and know what an athlete’s capacity is, you can calculate a specific stress score for that workout. If you measure these scores cumulatively, you can manage the overall stress or workload relative to the ability to recover from the applied stress.
It is a function of what is called the Stress Adaptation Model. A body is constantly maintaining equilibrium with its environment, and you body has an impressive ability to adapt to a stressor present in that environment. If you apply stress, say, for example, doing 3 sets of dumbell curls having never lifted, you will be sore. Keep doing it consistently and the muscle fiber cross section with grow, which is an adaptation to that that workload.
Using power metrics in cycling, you can chart the Cumulative Stress Score, the objective being to gradually build the overall cumulative stress managing ability and build the overall level of fitness without overworking the athlete. It’s tricky because individuals response to stressors differently, and factors such as age play an important role.
Recovery is a big part of this. Too much recovery, however, leads to detraining or a lack of overall training stimulus that leads to fitness. The art is timing all of these factors so an athlete peaks for key events at the right time.
The Dodgers appeared to run out of gas at the end. Maybe there’s something to Max’s thinking. You typically build, build, taper, peak.
Does this relate to cpk numbers ?
California Pizza Kitchen? I’m not really into weird BBQ chicken pizza with lemon grass.
Not really familiar with Process Capability Index – Looked it up. From my quick glance, cpk applies to the ability of a production process to meet the output specifications of the consumer and is a measure an adaptive process, so, in that sense, it’s similar … I guess.
There are similarities in the sense that using a Cumulative Stress Score can be a predictive model. With cycling, things are easier because the measurement is discrete – you directly measure power as wattage or Kj – and you apply that measurement to a mathematical measurement that factors the time needed for recovery and adaptation. You can plot cumulative stress versus acute stress and balance to two.
I believe I’ve been saying that about the Dodgers (and other teams) forever. As pitch counts are now dropping down closer to 80 then 100, pitchers do not build arm strength. And 80 pitches in April are not the same as pitches in September. You would hope that some arm strength would be built up in 6 months. I’m serious about considering a 6 man rotation if guys are babied along. Gradually increase pitch counts but do it every 6th day. That’s assuming we can find 6 starters. Right now I count 2, maybe 3, we can count on.
You know how to eliminate any fear of overuse? Don’t pitch at all. It seems that’s the direction we’re headed.
Talk about passing the buck. Scherzer blamed his tired arm not on his usage by the Dodgers, but his lack of work for the team. He said he is used to pitching 110 pitches or more every 5th day. He did not do that with the Dodgers and thus tired arm. He said his usage in the months of August and September is what he uses to get ready for a playoff run. Okay Max…we believe ya…he also said he signed with NY because of the personal contact from the GM and owner, a call with deGrom and the fact that the Mets training facility is so close to home, and NY is a short plane trip so he can spend more time with his family. The money was secondary….uh huh. And Moby Dick is really a minnow.
How is this passing the buck? I’ll guess a 37 year old, first ballot hall of famer, knows his arm and body better than we do. A guy who’s won a title, pitched his butt off, and never quit suddenly is making crap up when he’s in LA?
Maybe he’s right? Maybe he needed more work, and not less? I’m going to assume he’s a winner, and did everything he could to help us win, and not just quit and pass the buck.
My opinion Bobby. Maybe Max said nothing about this to the Dodgers or Roberts. And waiting until you are in another organization to put it on the team that gave up a lot to get you is classless. And he ain’t in the Hall yet. He probably will be, and that is cool. But say something while you are here, not after you go. Opinions are what drives this site. If you agree no problem, same if you do not. At 11:00 EST tonight the negotiations are stopped. No new ones scheduled. No word if there is going to be a lock out. It means AF has until 8PM pacific time to either sign someone or not. Same with trades. Anything can happen, and then again something might not. It is the waiting that kills the fans.
I don’t have an issue with what Scherzer said. He’s been a pro an awful long time, probably knows his body very well – and modern baseball players have a pretty impressive understanding of modern metrics and physiology – and he was just being honest about his reasons for signing with the Mets.
Personally, I thought his comment on his workload was insightful, and it might lead to the Dodgers tweaking how they handle the workloads of players. You don’t stop adapting or learning, and the Dodgers are already pretty good at it.
yeah, yeah, I know. It’s “your opinion,” but calling a guy a liar because he chose to sign somewhere else, one could argue, is classless. Just my opinion.
I did not call him a liar. I said he threw the team under the bus by passing the buck. Quit trying to put words in my mouth that I did not use. Yeah, it is my opinion. I have no idea if he passed the info on or not, but it sure seems like sour grapes when it comes up after the fact. If your English comprehension is that bad, I feel sorry for you. And you have to wonder how many Roberts haters jump on this revelation. Oh yeah, Dave misused him by not using him. It’s over, he is gone. No need to bring this kind of crap up after you leave. Say something during the playoffs or before. I checked his stats, he averaged 94 pitches a start. His last two outings he went a total of 10.1 innings, and gave up 10 runs. He made 102 pitches in the first game being pulled in the 6th after allowing 5 runs to the Rockies, and was pulled after giving up 5 in 5 innings and the lead to the Padres the second time. Clearly, he was not as effective as he had been. All that after being so very good his prior 9 starts. Seems more like an excuse for not being as good the last week than anything else. He was effective in his 7 inning stint against the Giants in the first playoff round, but the offense failed him. He made 74 pitches and gave up 2 runs in 4.1 innings in his only game in the NLCS.
Not trying to enter the fray here because I agree that a true Pro knows his body better than anyone else but the one lingering issue (IMO) other than the obvious being his age was the ‘dead’, well tired arm in the midst of the post season. That had to be explained to the media by Max at some point. That’s his story but how many other GM’s shied away from Max because of the ‘tired’ arm. If I’m the GM of a team that might make the difference between offering a 2 vs 3 year deal. Cohen has been so pissed off after losing Matz (4 years/$44M total) that he was going to outspend everyone for Max (Nearly $44M per season). Now Cohen gets to sleep each night hoping Max’s story is true. Sounds to me like the Mets should not plan on resting Max. Work him like a mule and he’ll be great for you in the post season.
This is not going to end well!
“The money was secondary….uh huh. And Moby Dick is really a minnow.”
Are you not suggesting here that the reasons he gave for signing with the Mets were disingenuous, and that it truly was about the money? I think any reasonable interpretation of this analogy is that you were calling him a low down, good for nuthin’, two timing, yellow bellied liar. My opinion.
I’m not angry that Scherzer said that. I don’t think you should be triggered, either. My hunch is that he just peaked in July/August. You can’t stay at peak performance indefinitely.
Yep, he is a lyin low down slime ball. My opinion. How each person reacts to something is totally different. You see no problem with it, fine, I dislike him saying it AFTER he left.
I think you’re being a little short sighted about Scherzer. What makes you think he didn’t tell Doc how he wanted to be used? Trea come here and told Doc he wants to be in the lineup every day and didn’t want to play in the outfield. Doc gave him a day off a day or two later.
It’s quite possible that Max told Doc how he wanted to be used as well and waited to say something to the press after he signed with another team because he still considered the Dodgers as a possibility.
I thought it was curious that Seags would take just 1M more per year and 2 more guaranteed to move on to a crappy Rangers organization. Did he do it just for the money? Or were there other additional reasons that weighed in on it?
Anyways, regarding Scherzer. He’s a year older and didn’t crack the 200 pitch threshold and couldn’t answer the bell in the playoffs when we needed him most. I’m not giving 40M per year for that. Someone else did. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
I’m not bitter about the prospects we gave up either. So far, AF has basically given everyone crapola in just about every trade. Gray looked about as good as White or Jackson, so I don’t really care one bit about him. Ruiz hit a little bit and he’s a year younger than Lux and he still can’t throw runners out. I think he’ll be a solid starting catcher, no more, no less. We already have a better catcher, so it doesn’t matter. We still have Trea for another year and now that Corey’s gone, it’s even more worth it.
That trade should have put us over the top, so I don’t regret it one bit. The two young pitchers that have been babied on their way up ran out of gas after a long year, after a short year and short offseason. Maybe if they would have pitched them more, in previous years they wouldn’t have run out of gas similar to Scherzer’s own claim. Muncy getting hurt on the last day of the season during what wound up being a meaningless game was the cherry on top of a Murphy’s law type season that still concluded in a deep run.
I’m still confident that AF will improve the team this offseason, but I’m not fully on board with how this team is run as a whole. Scherzer provided just a snipped that some free agents might not like it either.
I do not know if he told Doc or not. But he clearly was not good his last two regular season starts, and those were brought up as conversation here right after those games, and if he told him, he also must have known how they planned to use him down the stretch. My gripe is with him going public after the fact.
“I thought it was curious that Seags would take just 1M more per year and 2 more guaranteed to move on to a crappy Rangers organization. Did he do it just for the money? Or were there other additional reasons that weighed in on it?”
75 million guaranteed dollars. That’s a little hard to give up. The counter-argument is a valid one, I think: How much more money does a person need? 250 million is already rich beyond any wildest imagination.
1. Boras instills his value system in his clients. It’s about getting the max $$$. Settling for less than everything you deserve is “losing.” Getting a max contract is “winning.” It becomes an ego thing.
2. The Rangers probably tried to pitch him on the idea that they were spending big and making a big commitment to being a winning organization for years to come – with Seager as a centerpiece in that push.
3. It was probably an attractive proposition for Seager to want to be a centerpiece of playoff caliber organization rather than just another star in a collection of stars in LA. Big fish/little pond
4. Texas might fit his personality and values a little better than LA. Remember Rendon.
5. 75 million.
Es un mercenario.
Knebel to Phillies just announced on MLBTR per Jeff Passan. 1 Year 10 mil.
Hudson will be this year’s Knebel, in theory.
I expect Graterol to take on a larger role.
Melancon signs a one year deal with the D-Backs for 14 million. Seems a little high to me. Correction, 2 years.
Passan now saying CT3 is getting close on a deal with the Dodgers – will probably happen today.
Ol’ JP is really on top of things. Seems to have most of the signings first.
Excellent news. CT3 in the fold, now go get Bryant or trade for some SP.
I don’t think it’s a done deal yet, just getting close.
The Mets could always swoop in and offer CT $43MM per year and steal him away.
True, but now Rosenthal is reporting it’s a done deal pending a physical.
Excellent. Kenny R. wouldn’t lie to us.
That is always the case. Chris will pass that with no problem.
Ken Rosenthal
@Ken_Rosenthal
·
3min
Free-agent superutilityman Chris Taylor and the Dodgers are in agreement, pending a physical, according to a major-league source.
Great news. He’s a Dodger through and through.
Totally changed my mind about CT3. Welcome back!
Welcome home Chris.
Morosi and Heyman both reporting that the Dodgers and Yanks are pursuing Freddie Freeman. He would look good in Dodger Blue.
I would gladly trade up Freeman’s bat for Seager’s. Fingers crossed, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.
Me neither, but it will be interesting to watch. Supposedly, the Braves are balking at giving him a 6th year on the new deal, and that has been the hold up with him returning to the Braves. Dodgers can outspend Atlanta. And it is known, he wants to sign before the deadline.
Taylor brings so much value just in his ability to plug in at multiple positions.
3B
SS
2B
LF
CF
He can play all those for 150 games a year if needed
Okay, with Taylor coming back, who gets released? My guess once again is Raley. Taylor plays the outfield and hits RH, they have enough lefty bats for the OF> So long Luke.
I’m with you, but we’re getting down to the short hairs now. Still need to sign Freeman and another Starting Pitcher. Then who? Those rule 5 guys are sure taking up a lot of space on the roster. But, I suppose Outman can do what Raley did last year.
Texas may want Bauer. They have several middle infield prospects. Maybe Bauer to Texas, middle infield prospects to the A’s, and Olsen to the Dodgers.
Muncy to DH. Justin stays at third to start the season.
We don’t need middle infielders. We need starting pitching!! For the 15th time.
Those middle infielders from Texas went to Oakland.
Good to have Taylor back!
Friedman will deliver a competitive team.
One last tribute to Corey Seager on LAD Twitter.
I Will definitely miss him!
https://twitter.com/dodgers/status/1466161023195308036?s=21
The market was closed for Correa, he will not achieve the amount of money and years that he expected, something will come to him in the range of the offer that Houston made, at the moment you do not see a team that can offer him 10 / 300 +, why should a team do it?
Now the Rangers’ deal with Seager looks more and more foolish, they rushed in and overpaid.
Whoever gets Correa will do it with less years and less money than what it took to get Seager, incredible !!!
Done for today, cannot spend any more time checking on MLBTR and twitter. Working on a new post, and getting some things ready for my trip to California for the Christmas Holidays. Have a great day guys, will check in later.
Good news on Taylor, we really could not afford to lose him, too.
If we somehow got Freeman, which I am not expecting (whenever did we beat the Yankees out for a player they wanted), then I would say that we came out ahead on the lineup side, at least for a few years. Pitching is where we have fallen behind. And we have a good bullpen, but I really wanted to keep Knebel, and make him or Treinen the closer.
We need a top starter who can pitch a lot of innings (Scherzer was certainly that), and a big bat, someone who can consistently hit for average and power. Freeman is one of the few who does.
Good news on CT3. I would like to see the Dodgers get Kershaw back into the fold on say a 2 year deal with incentives and manage his starts throughout the year giving him time off in August and Sept so he is fresh for the post season. Bauer coming back would be excellent too.
It looks like the Cubs and Marcus Stroman have agreed to terms. Another one gone.
3 years/71 mil. Seems awfully low but was obviously the best he could do. Very strange.
Old pal Rich Hill signs with the Red Sox. Good for him. I know he’s been wanting to pitch there again. Close to home for him.
I would rather have Freeman than Taylor if it boils down to that… but I would love both of them.
4 years $60MM for CT3. Done Deal.
I think he gave us a hometown discount. I love players who want to stay here.
perfect. fair deal.
If Freeman was really seeking $180 million for six years, the Dodgers should have directly offered him $200 million for that period. You get a great and classy player, you turn around the whole postseason narrative for the team and the fans. But probably, wouldn’t be quite prudent, just a little too much, we’ll try to sign two far lesser players to smaller amounts and shorter terms. We signed Knebel for one year; he did well, suffered a serious injury, came back, did even better, and we let him go somewhere else. We do have the money and we make more than any other team in baseball but one. The fans deserve to have all the talent here that reasonable money can buy.
Sure, if you don’t care about the last two years.
See, here’s the thing… time marches on. Freeman gets older. The older he gets the less productive he becomes. In my mind, that is a “dope-fiend move.”
I think he’s an ideal add.
The reverse-Bauer in terms of character.
Now, just sign Josh Harrison too.
Opening Day Roster:
1. Taylor
2. Smith
3. Barnes
4. Muncy (if healthy)
5. Lux
6. T. Turner
7. J. Turner
8. Rios
9. Pollock
10. Bellinger
11. Betts
12. McKinstry
13. Beaty
14. Buehler
15. Urias
16. Gonsolin
17. Hudson
18. Bickford
19. Ferguson
20. V-Gon
21. Graterol
22. Heany
23. Kahnle
24. Treinen
25. Vesia
Not many spots left: Price, White, Cleavinger, Nunez, May, Grove, Jackson, Bruihl
800 Pound Gorilla: Bauer
Are you insane?
Looks good. Like your arms. Need another SP or two but there’s time. Love Outman as a darkhorse.
Just read that the meeting between the MLBPA and MLB lasted exactly 7 minutes. Then the player reps left, all with their luggage and expecting a lock out. They are not close on any of the issues and the MLBPA is not going to accept any agreement that does not help the younger players get paid sooner. 4/60 for Chris, great deal for the Dodgers. His deal also includes an option for 2026 that makes it worth 73 mil. Dodger Beat is reporting that Neuse will be DFA’d. No confirmation so far. Dodger Blue also reporting the Nuese has been DFA’d and Taylor is back on the roster. Lockout scheduled to begin tomorrow.
good night, neuse
Owners voted to invoke a lockout upon ending of the CBA. Will be in place sometime tomorrow.
We lost two more residents this week, counting our maintenance man’s wife, 5 have died in the last 3 weeks. Last two died of natural causes though.
Last minute trade sends Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers from the Red Sox for Jackie Bradley Jr and two prospects.
Interesting classification,
“ natural causes “
No disrespect but it’s a peculiar thing, dying of natural causes, ( what’s unnatural ? ) almost makes it acceptable. I guess that’s the point which makes it natural.
Just struck me odd, 5 dead but 3 died of natural causes, assume the other 2 died unnaturally.
Glad CT3 is back, I’m sure stats don’t reflect it but I think he has been more valuable than Seager. Yikes, duck and cover
3 died because of Covid. One lady had some stomach issues, a blockage I think, and the other of complications of Alzheimers. Our repair mans wife was in the hospital 3 weeks with it. Another resident also died in the hospital with Covid and one died in her apartment.
Sheriff Ed Tom Bell says, “I guess it was natural for the line of work they was in.” [paraphrasing]
Lock out is in effect. One direct cause is that Dustin May will have to work out on his own without supervision of the Dodger training staff. Per usual, each side is blaming the other for the breakdown of the negotiations.
Noisy left without a peep
not with a bang but a whimper
As far as position players available I’m on the Josh Harrison bandwagon as well. Great teammate, solid production, has played 1B, 2B,3B, & OF. It would be nice to add another All Star position player such as Freeman or Bryant, but like has been mentioned starting pitching is where resources should be put. We started with a possible eight starters last year and only two of those were available for the playoffs. Right now we have maybe four with Heaney and Gonsolin being question marks as far as their effectiveness. I’m sure AF has a strategy ready when (if) the lockout ends to obtain other options either via trade or FA. Oakland might be a logical source given their desire to trade everyone on the team. So, position players we should be good. Use the remaining financial resources for starting pitching.
Good to have CT back. He has really set the market for quality utility players.
Same here. I was hoping they would trade for him last year. They definitely needed some more bench help. Not going to be any positive baseball news for a while.
If you read the statements issued by both sides, you would think they are as far apart as the north and south poles. Wow. Manfred called the players confrontational and their counter proposal’s will weaken baseball. He is talking about the fact that players want the free agency years sooner. I do not see this getting done fast.