The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our galaxy. By studying the older stars that pack our Milky Way’s hub, scientists can learn more about the evolution of our galaxy.
For every Babe Ruth, there is a Brian Doyle. Baseball is a star-driven game. Many of baseballs greatest have never made it to the big dance. Some, like Ted Williams, got one chance and did not do well. So, I thought it would be cool to check on the players who, although not the everyday guys, performed well in the course of a Championship Series.
1955
The 1955 Series was Brooklyn’s first and only Championship. Campanella, Gilliam, Hodges, Reese, Snider, and Furillo played in all seven games. Pee Wee, Duke, and Furillo all led the team with eight hits. Snider hit four homers and drove in 7 runs. Hodges was second with 5 RBIs. But Jackie Robinson, the heart and soul of Brooklyn teams since 1947, had a terrible series and was not even on the field for the final out. Replacing him at 3rd was Don Hoak. Hoak went 1-3 in his only series appearance. No, the man who stood out was Sandy Amoros. Amoros was 4-12 in 5 games. But his most important contribution came in game 7 when he was inserted into the game in left field, allowing Jr. Gilliam to move to second. With two runners on, Yogi Berra came to the plate; he hit a line drive down the left field line, Amoros ran over and caught the ball; he then spun and fired the ball into Pee Wee, who fired to first and doubled up Gil McDougald, Bauer would then ground out ending the inning. Had Gilliam still been in left field, he would probably not have made that catch. And the Yankees would most likely have tied the game.
1959
The 1959 Dodgers were a mixture of Brooklyn vets and some kids making their first foray into the leagues. Gil Hodges, in what would be his last series, did well, hitting .391, with a homer and a couple of RBIs. Charlie Neal also had a solid series with two long balls and a .370 average. Duke Snider was only 2-10 but hit his 11th and final World Series homer. So some of the stars shone, and others, while making contributions to the win, did not. But the player who came through when the team really needed it was outfielder Chuck Essegian. Essegian, who came to LA in a trade with the Cardinals in June for 3rd baseman Dick Gray. Essegian hit .304 for the Dodgers during the season, mostly as a pinch hitter. He had only one homer. But in the 1959 Series, he came off of the bench twice to hit home runs critical to the win. In game 2, he hit one off of Bob Shaw in the 7th inning when he and Charlie Neal homered to put the Dodgers up 4-2. His second came in game 6 in the 9th inning off of Ray Moore to cap the Dodgers’ 9-3 win. On a side note, Carl Furillo, who had the key single to win the 2nd playoff game against the Braves, drove in 2 runs with a single in the 7th inning of Game 3 that helped the Dodgers to a 3-1 win.
1963
In the 1963 Series, pitching ruled. Six position players on the team did not even get into any of the games, and the only reliever to get any time at all was Ron Perranoski, who pitched exactly 2/3rds of an inning in game 2. Koufax and Drysdale pitched complete game victories, with Koufax setting a World Series record for strikeouts with 15. The starting nine had been pretty solid during the season. But for some reason, Alston decided to start one of their few off-season acquisitions, Bill Skowron, over the regular season starter, Ron Fairly. The move paid off as Skowron, who hit only .203 with four homers during the season, had a stellar series with a .385/1/3 performance. Skowron came to LA in a winter trade that sent Stan Williams to the Yankees. Fairly only had four at-bats the entire series. It would be Skowron’s only season in Dodger blue.
1965
In 1965, the Dodgers rebounded from a 1964 season where an injury to their Ace, Sandy Koufax, pretty much derailed their season. But things looked pretty bleak when on May 1st, their star left fielder, Tommy Davis, broke his ankle on a slide and was lost for the season. Three days later, they called up journeyman outfielder Lou Johnson, whom they had acquired from Detroit in April for Larry Sherry. Sweet Lou brought enthusiasm and love of the game to the Dodgers. While no Tommy D., he did a fine job with a .259/12/58 line and also added 15 stolen bases. LA went to the World Series against the Minnesota Twins, who had a very powerful lineup headed by future Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew. By the way, Killebrew is the image you see on MLB’s Logo. The Dodgers lost the first two games in Minnesota, with the Twins beating Drysdale and then Koufax, who refused to pitch the opener since it fell on Yom Kipper, a high Jewish Holiday. Back in LA, Osteen won game 3, then Drysdale and Koufax won their games, sending LA to Minnesota up 3-2. Osteen lost game 6, and Alston decided to use Koufax on two days’ rest. Sandy shut out the Twins 2-0. Lou Johnson homered off of Twins Ace, Jim Kaat to start the scoring, Wes Parker plated Ron Fairly, and that was the end of the scoring. For the series, Johnson, the journeyman outfielder who was just so happy to be there, posted a .296/2/4 line. Yep, Sweet Lou Johnson, out from among the stars.
1981
In 1981, the strike year, there was no real addition to the offense that made a huge impact. The series was star-driven. The real standout was the young pitcher from Mexico, Fernando Valenzuela. “And a little child shall lead them” was the quote Vin Scully used. The stars did the damage offensively, and for the first, and so far only time in MLB history, three players were voted Series MVP, namely Steve Yeager, Pedro Guererro, and Ron Cey. Starting RF’er Reggie Smith only got two at-bats the entire series. The one shining light off of the bench was Jay Johnstone, who had a 2-run PH homer in the sixth inning of game four that tied the game at 6. They would score two more in the seventh and hold off the Yankees to square the series at 2-2. They ended up sweeping the last four games of the series for their first title since 1965.
1988
In 1988, Kirk Gibson signed as a free agent with the Dodgers. His personality and fire would propel the team to the division title. They faced the Mets in the NLCS, and most pundits thought LA would get run over by a Mets team that had beaten them 11 times during the regular season. But stellar pitching by Hershiser and his Dodger mates, and a couple of timely home runs late in game 4 saved their bacon and tied the series. Scioscia, with a 9th inning shot off of Doc Gooden, and Gibson, with a 12th inning bomb, kept LA alive. Hershiser shut the Mets out at Dodger Stadium for the win in game seven, sending LA to the series against the Oakland A’s, who featured the power of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, the Bash Brothers. LA went into the series knowing that Gibson would probably not play since he had a bad knee that was causing him all sorts of problems. The Dodgers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first on a 2-run shot by Mickey Hatcher, who was playing in LF while replacing Gibson. But joy turned to gloom in the second when Canseco took Belcher deep for a grand slam. Mike Scioscia drove in Mike Marshall with a single in the 6th to get them within one. In the 9th, the first two hitters went down with A’s closer, Dennis Eckersley, on the mound. Mike Davis pinch hit and drew a walk. Up to the plate came Gibson. He was hobbled and not walking all that great. Most were just hoping for a single that would tie the game. Davis stole second, making that a distinct possibility. Gibson worked the count to 3-2 and, on the next pitch, hit a ball that went out of the park into the RF Pavilion. Pandemonium. The Dodgers would eventually win the series in 5 games, with their pitching shutting down the A’s big bats. The only regular to hit .300 in the series was second baseman, Steve Sax. Hershiser would get the series MVP to add to his NLCS MVP. But I have always felt the unsung hero was Mickey Hatcher. As one of the Dodgers reserves everyone called “The Stunt Men,” Mickey had a stellar series hitting .389 with two homers and 5 RBIs. Pressed into full-time play due to the injury to Gibson, Hatcher rose to the occasion.
2020
The pandemic year was a shortened season and an extra tier of playoff games, making it all that much harder to win a title despite what the naysayers have said ever since that season ended. The Dodgers used every possible player available to them. They put guys on the 10-day IL at many different times during the year. There was a lot of uncertainty on the team. But the regular season, 60 games, saw many different heroes emerge every day. They had traded four players to get Mookie Betts and took on David Price’s hefty $32 million deal to boot. But when it looked as if the entire season might be canceled, it also looked as if their prize addition would never play a game in Dodger blue. But they signed Betts to a long extension, ensuring he would stay, and when the season started in late July, he was ready. They finished the 60-game season with the best record in baseball. But this time, it would not matter as all the games were going to be played on neutral fields since, for most of the year, there were no fans in the stands and only piped-in crowd noise. It could not have been any less surreal for the players. They beat Milwaukee behind Urias and Kershaw and moved to the NLDS against the Padres. They would sweep the Padres, and Cody Bellinger had the only homer for LA in the series and drove home five; he also made a couple of sparkling defensive plays that helped keep SD at bay, The highlight of the team’s game three win, a 12-3 laugher, Will Smith getting five hits in 6 at-bats.
Now facing the Braves in the NLCS, they were shut down in games one and two in Texas, where the series was played. They jumped all over the Braves in game three only to lose game four and go down 3-1. But they came back to win three, with the deciding game seven tied and then won on HRs by Kike Hernandez and Cody Bellinger. Now they would face the Tampa Bay Rays in the series. The series, for the most part, belonged to the veterans. Corey Seager would end up the Series MVP with a nice .400/2/5 line. Muncy hit .318 with a homer and six RBIs. Joc Pederson enjoyed an extension of Joctober, as he hit .400/1/3/ Other than Justin Turner, most of the other regulars except Betts had very low BAs. Mookie only hit .269 but had some key moments with his defense and his baseball clock while running the bases. And he hit his first two postseason homers as a Dodger. The key moment came in game 6; with LA down 1-0, backup catcher Austin Barnes managed a solid single to center off of Rays Ace, Blake Snell. Manager Kevin Cash opted to pull Snell, who had struck out 9 of LA’s best to that point, and bring in a reliever, Nick Anderson. Betts doubled Barnes to third. Barnes then scored on a wild pitch, and Mookie scored on Seagers fielder’s choice grounder putting the Dodgers up, 2-1. Betts homered in the 8th to cap the scoring, and Julio Urias went 2.1 scoreless for the World Series win. Austin Barnes, backing up Will Smith, rose to the occasion when it was needed the most. And he was no longer lost among the stars.
I believe, hope and trust that Tracey Thompson will be one of those unexpected heroes this year to be champions!!
Victor Gonzalez and DDuffy had been taken out of their rehabs; TKahnle in the taxi squad.
Is that a good sign for VGone and Duffy ?
Bickford has had a couple of good outings in a row lately.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!
No, we wont see them this season.
Not unless someone else gets injured.
Another great article. Maybe Beli can be the ‘unexpected’ star again
All’s well in Dodger land! In case you haven’t heard, the Dodgers cliched a playoff spot for two days in a row. No celebrations, they’ll pop the champagne when they win the division. Cases of bubbly on ice as we speak in the visitor’s clubhouse in AZ. How’s that pool water temp?
Tyler Anderson looked like an Ace and so did the rook on The D-Backs side of the house. Black hole Belli came up with the big hit to drive in 2 right after Trayce Thompson broke the scoreless tie with a sac fly. Those are the last two guys in the lineup that somehow people are overly concerned about.
Mookie padded his stats and made possible another Phil Bickford appearance to wrap up the game in the 9th.
The Dodgers are now 9 games up on the Mets and the Mets are 1.5 games up on the Braves while the Dodgers have just 22 games remaining on the schedule. It looks like the NL top seed will be wrapped up in short order. If the Dodgers win half of their remaining games, and the Mets win all but three, we’ll still keep the top seed.
I guess it’s time to turn attention towards the Astros, who currently own the best record in the AL. They’re currently 6.5 games back from having home field in the World Series.
I guess it was setback day yesterday. Gonsolin is still sore after throwing at 75% intensity. That’s not a good sign, but the Calendar say there’s still time to get right. He probably needs 2 starts at the end of the season to get back in shape for the postseason. But, do you trust him to start a game 1 and try to pitch twice? Well, that won’t be needed in the first series. All of their pitchers will have at least 5 days rest before the first playoff game considering that the last game of the season is most likely a 2-3 inning tune up for the game 1 starter and a whole lot of bullpen getting their last pitches in before a week long vacation. I would imagine that pitchers will get some work in throwing to hitters during the layoff. You might even see Stone or Miller make a trip to Dodger land to throw to hitters to keep them sharp.
The Dodgers are going to have to lean on the pen this postseason. Most of their pitchers are conditioned to toss 6 and then retire to the clubhouse. 85 pitches is the norm. Yet, it’s still pretty crazy that our staff is dropping like flies. It’s strange that the Dodgers seem to impose artificial limits on all of their pitchers, yet they still get injured at an eye-popping rate. Young or old, it doesn’t seem to matter. Starter or reliever, no one can stay healthy.
V-Gone and Duffy were shut down from their rehab assignments. Now, they have to go on a break before starting new ones. This keeps them firmly planted on the 60-day IL, no fear of losing them or another to the dreaded DFA. That much more insurance I guess. Like I said, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that you aren’t going to have 5 lefties in a bullpen come playoff time. Ferguson and Vesia are locks. Price and Heaney are more than likely to be on a postseason roster. If one suffers a real injury, don’t be surprised if Duffy or V-Gone make a miraculous recovery.
Aren’t we supposed to see some pitchers activated right now? There’s so many injury updates, I’ve lost track. I can’t wait to see Tommy Kahnle. Hopefully, he can pitch more than two games before going back on the IL. Isn’t Brusdar supposed to be back this series? Is Almonte going to rear his head again this season? Is Treinen re-injured, or did he do too many lat pulls?
I’ve also been scoreboard watching, especially when it comes to Houston, because of home field in the World Series.
They’re playing very well, and since we didn’t play them this year, I wonder how the tiebreaker would work, should they somehow catch up.
Granted, with the way we’re going, I don’t see us slowing down, so they’d have to go undefeated to maybe catch us.
Yep, if we win just 2/3 of our remaining games, well below our season winning percentage, Houston will have to be perfect to catch us.
So last night’s game was a perfect dress rehearsal for the post season.
Anderson was nails giving a strong 7, Phillips in next as a perfect set up, leaving Kimberly to pitch the 9th with a 3 run lead. And a save. The perfect playoff game scenario. Then that Damn Mookie has to go and hit a 3 run homer to spoil the audition.
B&P said “Most of their pitchers are conditioned to toss 6 and then retire to the clubhouse. 85 pitches is the norm. Yet, it’s still pretty crazy that our staff is dropping like flies. It’s strange that the Dodgers seem to impose artificial limits on all of their pitchers, yet they still get injured at an eye-popping rate. Young or old, it doesn’t seem to matter. Starter or reliever, no one can stay healthy.”
Exactly. As someone who has been seeking the magic pitch count formula (for each individual, as this isn’t a one-size-fits-all matter) for years and the right workloads, I don’t get it. Teams seem to me to have no answers and don’t attempt to build arm strength and increase pitch counts as the season progresses. It seems that less pitches is always better. And you do that over the entire season and rest guys with days off and IL stints whenever you can. But building arm strength to increase pitch count is a thing of the past.
Less is always more.
And as mentioned, guys still break down at alarming rates. Maybe it’s mainly a velocity issue. Arms aren’t made to throw a 100 and eventually breakdown despite pitching less. But what about the softer throwers? I’ve studied this for years and now have more questions than answers.
Hi Phil – hope you’re good.
So who gets the ball in game 2?
I personally think that Anderson deserves it, given that Julio pitched game 1, and I actually think his record over the course of the season affirms it.
However, I’m inclined to only pitch Clayton at home (excluding an “all hands on deck” situation) – to avoid any unnecessary air travel, and potentially antagonising his back.
We are gonna need him fit for the Post Season, given that it seems unlikely at this stage that Gonsolin makes it to the start line.
I guess we have Heaney as an insurance policy if May doesn’t discover his control.
Still time for things to evolve, but I definitely wrap Julio and Tyler in cotton wool from here on in.
Thanks Watford. Get my new hip day after tomorrow. I can’t wait.
I like your idea about arranging the staff initially to keep CK at home and avoid the travel. I hadn’t thought of that but the idea has some merit.
Heaney still bothers in a late high leverage situation out of the pen as he gives up too many gopher balls. I think he has a role out of the pen in the right spot. I think I like him better as a starter if needed. I have no evidence to support that idea other then my eyes and gut.
Watford, I’m appointing you as the one to tell Kershaw he isn’t going to be in the dugout for road playoff games because we aren’t going to let him get on a plane.
Luckily you’re in the UK, so it will be hard for him to get his hands around your throat. 🙂
I think it has to do with “spin rate” and the contortions some pitchers put on their arms.
Nice article Bear. I think it’s interesting that the 2020 world series situation with Snell was exactly mirrored the other night against the Madres. In 2020 they pulled Snell, in 2022 they leave him in, and the result is the same, we win either way! With Snell, we just need to wait for the third time around in the order.
Cheers
Cool stuff Bear.
Side note: Bill “Moose” Skowron in ‘63.
Was ‘ Bill ‘ to tourists only. Baller.
So, the time is drawing near.
We know that Duffy, Gonzalez, Buehler, and (most likely), Gonsolin and Treinen will not be factors on the playoff roster. Deal with what we have:
Urias
Kershaw
May
Anderson
If healthy, that is solid.
Then you have:
Bickford
Ferguson
Heaney
Graterol
Kahnle
Martin
Kimbrel
Phillips
Price
Vesia
One will probably drop off… and I did not list Almonte, because who knows. Dance with the one who brung ya’
Gonsolin and Treinen will be ready.
Almonte is throwing a sim game today or tomorrow.
I think Price is done. Almonte will be in.
The Almonte / Price question is a good one.
Almonte pitched awesome July 4 through Sept 3, pitching 11 innings giving up NO runs, striking out 9, 4 hits and 3 walks. It doesn’t get better then that.
Price was good too lately. After I suggested he be on a slow boat to China, he has been great too. In his last 16 appearances, 1 inning each, he’s given up 2 earned runs, 3 walks and 11 K’s. But both earned runs were on homers.
Not bad options if both are off the DL. Pick your poison. Go with a lefty with tons of post season experience or with the RHP with good stuff but no post season experience.
Much is contingent on who else comes off the DL and/or are ready to go. Pretty interesting decision and nice to have those kinds of choices.
Bellinger is fixed. It’s the high socks! Who knew.
if heany can give us 5-6 innings in a playoff game and get off the bump with a lead we are rolling! i said the other day anderson should be 3rd guy up, and still praying gonsolin is truly ok. (daydreaming) if joey gallo could hit 250 with his defense, what a weapon! jt looks so confident right now just when he needs too. i apologize for saying our 7-9 hitters worry me, been a dodger fan for 60 years, just a worrier, not a doubter! clinch tonight with the goat on the mound, poetic justice, right?
When is the last time the Dodgers had a 6 day, 6 game home series with a team? Has it ever happened? Well, that’s how the Dodgers end their season with 6 home games vs. the Rockies. That sure is some odd scheduling.
Its due to the cancelled series at the beginning of the season…it is odd, but Dodgers will be home for quite some time…
Thanks Matt. You’re right about them being home a lot. 14 of their last 17 games are at home, including 5 games in 4 days against the D-backs.
9:40 PM ET
Dodgers (97-43)
Diamondbacks (66-74)
SP Clayton Kershaw L
7-3 2.62 ERA 96.1IP 18BB 102K
SP Merrill Kelly R
12-5 2.94 ERA 171.2IP 49BB 147K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
SS Trea Turner R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Turner R
LF Joey Gallo L
2B Chris Taylor R
CF C. Bellinger L
In Domed Stadium
Tuesday Dodger Minor League Schedule
4:00 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Carlos Duran) at Lake County (Will Dion)
4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Nick Frasso) vs. Springfield (TBD)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Gavin Stone) at Albuquerque (TBD)
Great Lakes opens Midwest League playoffs Tuesday
Best-of-three series starts on the road
09/13/22 Los Angeles Dodgers designated RHP Heath Hembree for assignment.
09/13/22 Los Angeles Dodgers activated RHP Tommy Kahnle from the 60-day injured list.
Made it to California safely. Glad some of you liked the post.
Impeccable timing. The heat wave just broke. Today is the coolest day we’ve had in well over a week.
Makes me think of people who eat pizza with a knife and fork.
Last friday I was working up on Newport Coast. As tropical rain filled in the temp went from 90 to 100 in about 30 mins. As predicted by weather guys. Wind & heat like a Santa Ana plus rain. Was crazy. I have never seen triple digits on the coast in 29 years. Very hard week of heat for us where temps rarely go over 85-88 along the water. Dodger Stadium must have been an inferno even with nite games. Temps stayed up 95+ till about 11pm.
Congratulations to everyone on another NL West title! Watching the champagne showers now.
Never gets old does it!
Never does!! More to come but lets enjoy this. To be the best thru 162 aint easy….but we sure make it look that way.
Totally forgot Moose Skowron as a Dodger…. Will Gallo be he Skowron of 2022? I’d prefer Trayce, but Gallo is more Moose-like.
Best news about today’s clincher was Kershaw throwing like Kershaw. Oh, the homers were nice too.
I remain worried that Kershaw is fragile, and also whether Gonsolin will come back strong. Urias and Anderson (!) seem like the most reliable arms right now. And while May has been somewhat shaky, let’s not forget that if he hadn’t botched those two grounders, his numbers would be much better. He’s an excitable boy and needs to calm down a bit when the ball is hit his way. Does anybody hear at all want to risk Heaney and those HR balls?
Those magical ’88 Dodgers represent a cautionary tale. With Gibson injured, Bob Costas described the lineup as perhaps the worst in recent WS history, with guys like Franklin Stubbs in the middle of the lineup. The As were heavily favored.
And we all know what happened.
Now the Dodgers should be favored in every match-up. And I don’t think any lineup they might face will have the shortcomings of the ’88 Dodgers.