We were discussing, actually, it was just brought up, the impact of Manny Machado when he came to LA in 2018, After the World Series in 18 he became a free agent and left for the Padres. So, I thought I would jump in my way back machine, and stick to LA Dodgers only, seeing what players came to LA for a relatively short time and impacted the team’s fortunes. The list will include trades and free agents.
Chuck Essegian 1959
On June 15th, 1959, which was the trading deadline back in those days, the Dodgers sent Dick Gray to the Cardinals for Chuck Essegian and Lloyd Merritt. Merritt would never don a Dodger uniform. But Essegian became manager Walt Alston’s RH bat off of the bench. In 24 games he hit .304 with a homer and 5 RBIs. Not gaudy, but solid. The Dodgers beat the Braves in a two-game playoff and headed to Chicago to play the White Sox in the World Series.
In game one, the Dodgers were crushed 11-0. Ted Kluzewski, the White Sox slugger slammed two homers. In game 2 in Chicago, the Dodgers faced Bob Shaw, and Podres went for LA. Sox jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first. Neal hit a homer in the fifth for the Dodgers’ first run of the series. In the seventh, Essegian hit a PH homer to tie the game with 2 outs. After a walk, Neal hit his second of the game putting LA up 4-2. The Sox put up another in the bottom of the eighth inning, but Sherry shut them down for the 4-3 win.
The Dodgers went up 3 games to two by winning two out of three at the coliseum. Back to Chicago for game six. In the top of the third, LA scored two to jump in front. Early Wynn, a soon-to-be Hall of Famer who won game 1, was never really on his game. LA scored 6 in the top of the fourth to take a commanding 8-0 lead. A rally in the bottom of the fourth scored three for the Sox and knocked the starter, Podres out of the game. Larry Sherry relieved and the Sox did not mount another rally. In the top of the ninth, Essegian set a record by hitting his second pinch-hit homer, and the Dodgers won the series, four games to two. Sherry was chosen as the MVP with 2 wins and 2 saves in the series.
Essegian played in 52 games for LA in 1960 hitting .215 with 3 long balls. He was then sold to the Orioles before the1961 season. He only hit 6 total homers as a Dodger in 1 1/2 years with the team. But one helped them secure a World Championship.
Bill “Moose” Skowron
After their humiliating defeat in the playoffs to the Giants in 1962, the Dodgers traded Stan Williams to the Yankees for Bill ” Moose ” Skowron. After the 1961 season they had lost both Hodges and Larker in the expansion draft, Gil to the Mets, and Norm to the Colt-45s. Ron Fairly became their primary 1st baseman in 1962. Fairly was a decent hitter but had little power. The Yankees were moving on from Skowron, who hit 23 long balls in 1962, for the younger lefty hitter, Joe Pepitone.
Skowron appeared in 89 games for the Dodgers in 1963. He had a very bad year hitting .203 with 4 homers and 19 batted in, far below his career averages. But when the World Series of 1963 rolled around, he was still with the team.
Game one at Yankee Stadium was started by Sandy Koufax. With an old buddy, Whitey Ford, starting for the Yankees, Moose was in the lineup. Koufax would set a World Series record by striking out 15 Yankee hitters. Only Clete Boyer would avoid whiffing against Sandy. In the second inning, Howard doubled with one out, and Moose brought him home with a single for a 1-run lead. Tracewski followed with another single and then Roseboro hit a three-run homer to make it 4-0. Koufax would strike out Mantle, Tresh, and Kubek twice each and Bobby Richardson three times. He also struck out three pinch-hitters including Harry Bright to end the game. Skowron drove home Willie Davis with a single in the third making it 5-0. Tresh hit a 2-run shot in the 8th making it 5-2 and the Dodgers were up 1-0.
Podres started game 2 in New York, another lefty, Al Downing, was on the mound for the Yanks, so Skowron started again. Willie Davis drove in two in the first. In the fourth inning, Skowron hit his 8th and final career World Series homer. Tommy Davis drove in another run with a triple in the 8th. Podres gave up a run in the ninth, and with the only appearance by a Dodger reliever, Ron Perranoski got the last two outs for the win. Skowron would play in all four games of the Dodgers’ sweep of the Yankees hitting .385 with 5 hits in 14 at-bats. He drove in 3 critical runs and earned his fifth World Series ring. After the season, he was sold to the Senators.
Moose would play until 1967. He actually had good years in 1964 and 1965 when he had 17 & 18 homers respectively and drove in over 70 runs each year. He also batted above .270 in each of those seasons. He would finish his career with the Angels in 1967. He made up for a season of frustration with a stellar series performance for the Dodgers in 63 and for that, we must always remember the Moose.
” Sweet” Lou Johnson
Lou Johnson was not even on the 25-man roster when the Dodgers broke from spring training in 1965 at Vero Beach. He had been acquired from the Tigers for former World Series hero, Larry Sherry on the 9th of April after they broke camp. LA also received 10,000 dollars. On May the first, Tommy Davis, the Dodgers’ two-time batting champ, broke and dislocated his ankle on a slide to second at Dodger Stadium against the Giants. Three days later, the Dodgers recalled Johnson from AAA. At the time the 30-year-old Johnson was hitting .312 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs at Spokane.
He immediately replaced Davis in the lineup. While not the hitter TD was, Johnson brought with him a child’s enthusiasm for the game. He was just happy to be there. And it showed. You never saw the guy without a huge smile on his face. And he played well… if not spectacularly. He would hit .259 in 131 games with 12 homers and 58 runs driven in. He also stole 15 bases, played solid defense, and was just great in the Dodger clubhouse. Davis would return for one at-bat at the end of the year.
The Dodgers won the pennant and advanced to the World Series against the Twins. The Dodgers had been locked in a tight race almost all year. They went on a 13-game winning streak over the last two weeks and clinched the pennant on the last day. Koufax pitched 5 times in 15 days and won four of those games. The Dodgers had what would be considered a pop-gun offense, the HR leaders were Johnson and ROY, Jim Lefebvre with 12 apiece.
The Twins’ offense was more balanced and had some pop with Killebrew and Bob Allison. They also had batting champ Tony Oliva. Four different Twins hitters had 20 or more homers. Game one was on Wednesday, October 6th. Drysdale got the start against Jim ” Mudcat ” Grant because it was Yom Kippur. Grant was a 21-game winner, so the game was billed as a pitcher’s duel. That didn’t last as the Twins got to Big D for 6 runs in the third on their way to an 8-2 win. Versailles’ 3-run shot broke the Dodgers’ back. Fairly homered, and Wills scored Lefebvre on a bunt single for the Dodger runs. Grant became the first black AL pitcher to record a win in the World Series.
The Twins went up 2 games to none by beating Koufax, 5-1. The Dodgers committed three errors which helped the Twins score two of their runs. Back in LA for game 3, Claude Osteen took the mound. Osteen was masterful, throwing a 5 hit shutout. He was aided by an attempted steal of home in the first by Versailles. He was gunned down at the plate. They lost Lefebvre for the series when he bruised his heel scoring on a Roseboro single. Johnson doubled home a run in the 5th, and Wills did the same in the 6th.
Drysdale started game four, and this time Big-D held the Twins bats in check giving up two runs, both on solo homers. The Dodgers had a pair of homers themselves, with Wes Parker and Johnson hitting them. The 7-2 win evened the series. Koufax started game five in LA. This time Sandy was dandy. He shut the Twins out on four hits and struck out 10. He also drove in a run with a hit of his own. LA collected 14 hits and stole four bases.
Back in Minnesota, Osteen took the ball looking to close out the series. Allison’s homer put the Twins up 2-0 in the 4th inning. Grant then hit a 3-run shot in the 6th and cruised to a 5-1 win with the only Dodger run coming on a Fairly homer in the 7th inning. The stage was set for game 7. Drysdale would have been the starter since he had 3 days’ rest, but Alston chose to go with his ace, and Koufax started with Big-D in the pen. Once again, Sandy was masterful. He escaped a couple of early-inning jams, and his devastating curve was not working, so he ditched it and used his fastball almost exclusively in the last couple of innings. Johnson told Koufax he would get him the only run he would need just before he went to bat in the 4th inning. He promptly hit a ball off of the foul pole. Fairly followed with a double and scored on Wes Parker’s single. Jim Gilliam made a game-saving stop in the 5th inning on a drive down the line by Versailles. This was the only World Series where the winning team in each game did not use a reliever.
Johnson would play two more seasons for the Dodgers. Both were decent seasons where he hit around .270 and had 17, then 11 homers. He played 152 games in 1966, even though Tommy Davis had come back. He played 104 games in 1967 and then was traded to the Cubs for Paul Popovich and a minor leaguer. Sweet Lou would come back after his playing days were over and work in the Dodgers Community Services branch.
” The Toy Cannon, Jimmy Wynn
After the 1973 season, the Dodgers traded Claude Osteen and minor league pitcher, David Culpepper to the Astros for the slugger, Jimmy Wynn. Wynn immediately became a favorite at Dodger Stadium, and left field became Cannon Country. Despite a slump at the end of the season that lasted into the World Series, Wynn was a huge reason the Dodgers would win the pennant in 1974. With the infield, Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey in their first full season together, Wynn hit .271/32/108. Garvey led the team with 111 RBIs. He would also earn the NL MVP award. Mike Marshall would win the Cy Young. The Dodgers hit 139 homers, not much by today’s standards, but for a Dodger team that had lacked power for years, that was a lot.
The Dodgers would lose the World Series to the A’s in five games. Four of the five were won by scores of 3-2. Wynn had a miserable series hitting .188. He did have a homer in game one off of Rollie Fingers. He had only two hits against the Pirates in the NLCS. Jimmy fell off by a lot in 1975, dropping to a .248/18/58 line. After the season, he was sent to the Atlanta Braves in a six-player trade that sent Wynn, Jerry Royster, Tom Paciorek, and Lee Lacy to the Braves for Dusty Baker and Ed Goodman.
Kirk Gibson
After the 1987 season, in early 1988, an arbitrator ruled that the owners had colluded to stifle free agency. The ruling made several players free agents immediately. One of those was Kirk Gibson. On Jan 22nd, Gibson signed a 3-year 4.5-million-dollar contract with the Dodgers. It was also incentive-laden, and he could earn an extra million each year.
Gibson was known for his no-nonsense approach to the game. He arrived at spring training in Vero Beach and almost immediately let it be known he was there to win and not clown around. What set the whole thing off was when the inside of his cap was smeared with eye black by a reliever, Jesse Orosco. Gibby stormed off of the field and did not return until the next day. His teammates got the message. The Dodger clubhouse immediately became more businesslike.
Gibson played hard all season. His grit and leadership, along with solid pitching from Ace, Orel Hershiser, helped LA win the West by seven games over the Reds. They then faced the New York Mets in the NLCS. The Mets had manhandled the Dodgers all year. Winning 10 of the 11 games they played. Gibson was playing on a bad knee. But he played all seven games of the series, getting 4 hits in 26 at-bats. But two of those hits were homers. He hit the game-winner in game 4 in the twelfth inning. The next game, he hit a three-run shot that helped LA send the series back to LA with the Dodgers up 3-2. He only had one plate appearance in the clincher, getting a walk to drive in a run.
He had made an unbelievable diving catch to rob Mookie Wilson of a double and had slipped on the wet grounds at Shea. That aggravated his bad knee. With the Dodgers now headed to the World Series against the Bash Brothers and the powerful A’s, it was pretty well known that they would be without their leader.
In game one, starter Tim Belcher lasted two innings. Mickey Hatcher, filling in for Gibson in left field, hit a 2-run homer off of Dave Stewart in the first inning. Then in the second, Canseco hit a grand slam off of Belcher to erase the lead. Stewart went eight innings and gave up a third run in the 6th inning when Mike Scioscia drove in Mike Marshall with a single.
The A’s closer, Dennis Eckersley, came in for the 9th inning. Scioscia made an out, and then Jeff Hamilton struck out. Mike Davis, another free agent signing, came up to pinch-hit for Alfredo Griffin. Gibson was in the tunnel behind the Dodger dugout, walking on a strained hamstring and a swollen knee and swinging a bat. Davis worked a walk and up popped Gibson out of the dugout. Dodger Stadium erupted. Gibby settled in as best he could. He fouled off a couple of pitches and took a couple of others, and the count ran to 3-2. Just before the next pitch, Gibson called time and backed out of the batter’s box. Davis had stolen second and was now in scoring position, so a single would tie the game.
Gibson would say later that he remembered one of the coaches telling him that Eckersley liked to throw a backdoor slider when he had a full count. Eckersley delivered the pitch, and Gibson hit a long shot to right that went into the pavilion and set off one of the wildest celebrations in Dodger history. Vin Scully’s call was classic. ” High fly ball to right field, she is gone!” A momentary silence, then Vin said, ” In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. And now the only question is can he make it around the base paths unassisted. ”
The Dodgers had come back and won game one. Hershiser would shut the A’s out in game 2. They lost game 3, 2-1. Then won game four and game 5 to win the Series. Gibson’s only at-bat would produce what has been called the greatest moment in Dodger history. Gibby won the MVP despite not leading the NL in any category. Hershiser won the Cy Young. Gibby would play for LA for two more seasons, not coming close to matching his 88 performance. He played 71 games in 1989, and 89 games in 1990. After the season, he signed with Kansas City Royals as a free agent. He would play until 1995. Playing his last three seasons in Detroit, where he had started.
Manny Ramirez
To many, Manny Ramirez is an enigma. He was perhaps the best right-handed hitter of his era. His batting skills did not translate to the defensive side of the ball, though. He was known for his eccentric behavior. He broke in with the Cleveland Indians in 1993. But he did not become a regular until 1995. But from 1995 through 2010, he never hit below .290. He spent his first eight years with the Indians and then went to Boston for eight more. He was a monster in the postseason. He helped Boston win the 2004 and 2007 World Series. He was the MVP of the win over the Rockies in 07. Overall, he has hit 29 postseason homers. 4 in the World Series. Twenty of those came in ALDS and ALCS series. He would hit five postseason homers for the Dodgers.
But I am getting a little ahead of myself here. Manny was wearing out his welcome in Boston in 08. He was 36 years old, and the Red Sox, at the deadline, were looking to get younger. Ned Coletti, the Dodgers GM, wanted a genuine power hitter added to his 2008 lineup. So he swung a three-team trade with the Red Sox and the Pirates. The Dodgers sent Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris to the Pirates, who sent OF Jason Bay to the Red Sox, who sent Craig Johnson and Brandon Moss to the Pirates. Manny came to LA in the deal.
Ramirez could not get his customary #24 in LA since it was retired for Walter Alston, so he became the first player in LA history to wear #99. It did not take long for him to endear himself to LA fans. He went 2-4 in his first game on the 1st of August, a 2-1 loss to Randy Johnson and the D-Backs. In his first at-bat in his second game, he hit a 2-run shot off of Yusmiero Petit in the first inning to help the Dodgers even their record at 55-55. The next game, he went 3-4 with another homer in a 9-3 Dodger win, and Mannywood was born. Before long, the Dodgers were selling Manny dreadlock wigs at the ballpark.
In the next game, he got two more hits. He had raised his average from the .298 it was when he joined the team to .312. He hit his 3rd homer as a Dodger on August 6th against the Cardinals. But even with that, the team was under .500. He hit another homer the next day as the Dodgers climbed back to .500 with a 4-1 win. He finally had an Ofer against the Giants on the 8th.
An 8-game losing streak in late August put them at 65-70, 4.5 games behind in 2nd place. That was followed by an 8-game winning streak that brought them to 73-70 and up by a game and a half. On July 22nd, his bobblehead night, Manny hit a pinch-hit grand slam homer. From September 6th, when they went into first place, they were never in second again.
They ended with an 84-78 record and won the division by 2 games over the Diamondbacks. In 53 games, Ramirez had perhaps the best stretch any Dodger had ever had with a .396/17/53 line. His OBP was .489, he slugged .743, and his OPS was 1.232. He and Rafael Furcal were the only Dodgers over 1.000.
He kept it up in the two-playoff series. Against the Cubs, he hit .500 with two homers. He hit .533 against the Phillies in a losing effort driving in 7 runs. Now the big question was would the Dodgers re-sign him for the 2009 seasons and beyond. He was, after all turning 37 years old. Manny kept everyone guessing, and then on March 4th he signed a two-year 40-million-dollar contract.
He would hit .290 in 104 games with 19 long balls and 63 driven in. But the season was marred by a PED suspension of 50 games. He hit .308 in the NLDS. Then .270 with a homer against the Phils in the NLCS. But the luster was off now. In 2010 after 66 games, the Dodgers waived him even though he was hitting over .300 with eight homers. He was claimed by the White Sox but was released after the season. He then signed with the Rays, but another PED suspension ended that. He played overseas a couple of times but had problems over there, also.
After 2011 he never played in the majors again. Manny’s final line was .313/555/1871. He was an All-Star 11 times in the AL. Manny is one of the few who later admitted he used PED’s. He is still on the Hall of Fame ballot, but he has little chance of being elected; as of right now, none of the major players suspected of using or proved to be using have been elected. His best chance might be with the Veteran’s committee somewhere down the road. But for one shining stretch, he captured the love and adoration of a whole bunch of Dodger fans.
Chase Utley
I can only think of two players who have had rules named after them. One is Buster Posey, who was the main reason behind the runners not being able to run over the catcher since his leg was broken in a home plate collision. The other is Chase Utley, who, in a playoff game against the Mets, went out of the basepath more or less to take out the SS on a double play. He ended up breaking Ruben Tejada’s leg. He was suspended for two games even after the on-field umpires ruled it a legal play. Baseball then implemented Rule 6.01, which states a runner must make a bona-fide slide, not a take-out slide.
Utley was acquired On August 19th, 2015, to help with the pennant chase. The Dodgers sent two players to the Phillies, Darnell Sweeny, and John Richy. Utley was reunited with his former keystone partner, Jimmy Rollins, who the Dodgers had traded for in the winter. This was Andrew Friedman’s first year as the President of baseball operations, and he made a lot of trades. Utley was acquired as much for his clubhouse demeanor as he was for his hard-nosed style of play.
He would see action in 34 games, and he only hit .202 with three homers and nine runs driven in. He went 1-3 in the playoffs against the Mets, with his slide being the most memorable moment of his postseason. But the Dodgers valued his leadership enough to bring him back in 2016. Primarily a second baseman, he played third, first, second, and DH during his time in LA.
He played in 138 games in 2016. He hit. .252/14/52. He played in all five games in the NLDS and 5 of the six games against the Cubs in the NLCS. Once again, the Dodgers re-signed him after the season. He played in 127 games in 2017 and appeared in all three series the Dodgers played that postseason. His production fell off a lot, but he was back for 2018, which at age 39, would be his last year. He did not play at all in the 2018 postseason. Chase retired after that season and now works for the Dodgers. Some feel he could be a very good manager, but so far, he has shown no interest in that. He was a steadying influence in the clubhouse from the day he arrived.
A couple of guys who spent a very short time as Dodgers I have left off of this list, Yu Darvish and Manny Machado. Now some will say both had a significant impact on the team they played on. Machado, who was hitting well over .300 when he was with the Orioles, fell off a lot after coming to LA. His average dropped from .315 to .297. While his overall numbers were good, he hit only .273 in LA, and he struck out more times in fewer games than he had with the Orioles. His World Series performance was dismal, getting only four singles in the five games. Machado was acquired out of need because Corey Seager had gone down. Machado is probably one of the most despised players by Dodger fans. They boo his every move.
Darvish came in a big deadline-day deal with the Rangers. The Dodgers sent three prospects to the Rangers for him. At the time of the trade, Darvish was on the IL. He got into nine games and had a 4-3 record and an ERA a little over 3. He did pitch 11.1 innings during the NLDS and NLCS and won both his games. But he totally got hammered in the World Series against the Astros, losing both of his starts and giving up nine runs in 3.1 innings. I, for one, was glad they did not re-sign him.
The last two guys I am going to talk about are Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Acquired at the deadline in 2021, Scherzer arguably had the best stretch run by any pitcher picked up at the deadline in Dodger history. He went 7-0 in 11 starts with a 1.98 ERA. He reached the 3000-strikeout level on a memorable afternoon when he took a perfect game into the 8th inning against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. He pitched in a very memorable Game 3 of the NLDS against the Giants, giving up one run in the 1-0 loss on a windblown night at Dodger Stadium when so many balls were knocked down by the wind. He then came out of the pen in game 5 to lock down the 2-1 win and send the Dodgers to the NLCS.
Unfortunately, he could not answer the bell in the NLCS and appeared in only one game, giving up two runs. That was it for his Dodger career. He left and signed a huge deal with the Mets. Turner, on the other hand, was not a rental; he played second when he came over to the Dodgers since Corey Seager, the 2020 World Series MVP was back and healthy.
But Turner injected speed into the Dodger lineup, and a lot of excitement was generated by his play. In 52 games with LA, he hit .338/10/28 with 11 steals and an OPS+ of 149. He finished with a .328 BA, which won the NL hitting title. He also made a slide home against the Brewers that was an ESPN play of the day. He followed up in 22 with a .298/21/100 line, joining Freddie Freeman in the 100 RBI club. Trea has moved on, but he will be remembered for some very exciting moments in blue. These are the players I feel made the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time with the team.
I think one of the best midseason deals we ever made was getting Bill Madlock in 1985. He was fantastic in that short 2 month run with us down the stretch.
There was a year he led the team in RBI with 60.
Madlock was a solid addition. He was on the team for 34 games. He hit .360, but only had 2 homers and 15 RBI’s. He did indeed lead the team in RBIs in 1986. Where he did shine was in the playoffs against the Cardinals with a .333 average, 3 homers and 7 RBIs.
Asked ChatGpt who should play second base for the Dodgers this year. One option suggested was McKinstry. So much for AI.
I was going to do this post in the last thread but didn’t get before “post time”. it was in reference of MVargas having positives takes all winter long.
I read in a spanish sensationalist agregator (example: LA Dodgers got their closer!!!, when we signed Alex Reyes) that a dominican scout said MVargas was not something special. Maybe a Dominican-Cuban hate take, go figure. I just Laugh Out Loud.
I liked very much the time Dick Allen was with us. I don’t recall if he came midseason.
No, they got Allen in the offseason in a trade with the Cardinals for Ted Sizemore.
If I recall correctly, the Red Sox covered Manny’s salary as part of the deal. Frank McCourt didn’t want to pay the remainder of the contract, of course.
People never give enough credit to GM Ned Colletti for keeping the Dodgers revelent during the those days. Remember, Colletti also had a deal for CC Sabathia, but McCourt nixed it because he didn’t want to take on the remainder of the contract.
I did enjoy watching Manny play. After he re-signed, I got the chance to see him take several rounds of batting practice and yes, he was an amazing hitter. But also to his credit, he was great with the fans, laughing, joking and talking with them, posing for photos and signing autographs.
I thought the same when he first came over. There was a lot to like. Then he made the “I’m no Charlie Hustle” comment and I was done.
You sure that was Manny? I thought that was Sheffield. Oh well, could be wrong. I despised Sheffield after he said, I never give 100% .
Charlie Hustle bet on games and took a career away from a catcher in an all star game with that “hustle”.
100% efforts and nagging injuries isn’t a great combination.
Manny could hit without the aid of paying any attention to the game.
Colletti was creative. He had to be with McCourt owning the team. He actually traded for Greg Maddux twice.
Sweet Lou was a favorite. No. 3 in my heart, after Sandy and Maury.
First time I went to Dodger Stadium, a neighbor–a widowed mother of seven– piled her three sons and a couple of their pals into her Volkswagon van. Koufax pitched great, but with the game going into extra innings we had to leave. We tuned in to Vin and Lou won the game with a single. (At least that’s how I remember it.)…
Kirk Gibson gave us one of the greatest moments in baseball history–so great that people forget he was MVP that year. We’ve talked about the Dodgers perhaps needing an edgy, hard-nosed, aggressive player…. Hmm. Is Bryan Reynolds anything like Gibson?
I was thrilled when the Dodgers landed Machado, because I like his game so much. Then he started acting like a jerk. Happy to see him leave.
Reynolds reported to Pirate camp yesterday and said he was open to an extension with the Pirates. Doesn’t sound much like someone who wants out of Pittsburgh.
The rest is noise
Interesting side notes on Skowron, his nickname came not from his size, he wasn’t that big, but from a haircut his grandfather gave him as a kid. They said it made him look like Mussolini, which was shortened to Moose and it obviously stuck. He went to Purdue on a football scholarship but quickly learned he was better suited for baseball. He had a good career.
Hard to pick a favorite out of that group. Gibson hit that classic home run. Manny was fun, and sure hit well here. I think the best baseball player in that group was Chase Utley. So, I’ll pick those three as my favorite short term player.
You left out my all time favorite player, Dick Allen. He’ll always be Richie to me since I was born in Philly and loved my Phillies growing up. He had a darn good year in 71 and the Dodgers just lost out to the Giants by one game. And they should have kept him because he had a monster season for the White Sox in 72!
I left Allen out because that team simply did not go to the postseason. He had a good year, .295/23/90. He was traded because Walter Alston wanted him gone. Dick marched to the beat of his own drummer, and although he was liked by his teammates, his demeanor and independence went against Alston’s philosophy’s. So they traded him for Tommy John. I did not leave him out, I just did not consider him to have an impact on a Championship or winning team.
Good article about the Peralta signing. I was not impressed when I first read about the signing, but as I look at the depth chart, it now makes more sense.
Peralta will be the starting left fielder against RHP, Taylor will probably play against lefties. I’m not quite sure how the CF platoon will shake out with Thompson’s reverse splits, but CT3 will probably get a lot of the reps against LHP. Not sure where that leaves Outman.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dodgers-add-david-peralta-to-their-outfield-puzzle/
I posted a comment with a link, so it’s likely it’ll land in jail.
Da link will put you in da clink!
No clink for you.
That was a GREAT read!
Thanks. It was a fun research job.
Good news, this year the MLB.tv package will include the minor league games as well.
Cool, I won’t get it until I get back from California in April.
That’s great! I think it was an extra $49 or $59 bux last year!
MLB package jumped 20 bucks to 149 a year. Slowly pricing itself out of my budget.
Dodgers Rumors: RHP Jimmy Nelson is Reportedly Back with LA.
Nelson still isn’t showing up on LA’s transaction list. It could be that they’ve been waiting for the official start of spring training, when they can place Blake Treinen, Walker Buehler, and/or JP Feyereisen on the 60-day injured list to free up a spot on the 40-man roster.
Whatever it is, it looks like Nelson will be with Los Angeles this year, more than a year and a half removed from his Tommy John surgery. We’ll have to wait for more details before we know if the team expects him to be ready to start the season, but Nelson has been so good in his career when he’s been healthy, it’s an understandable and exciting bet the Dodgers are making.
I had a hunch that would happen. The Dodgers were good to him, and Jimmy is a good guy. He is a game-changer if healthy!
They need a spot for Peralta too.
It is a MLB deal, and he can make up to 4 mil with incentives. SNOWING HERE TODAY!
Thanks Bear ! another great read – especially about JW-ToyCannon (one of best nicknames) coming to Big Blue. Was fun few years in there,also Mannywood although very short was sooo sweet that first year. He had in my mind best 2nd half of any Dodger I ever saw – he was a BEAST.
Thank you. I enjoyed writing it. Check out Jeff’s blog for a story on the Cannon I wrote there. It is more of a full bio.
Wow. Frankie Montas to have season ending shoulder surgery. He was awful after he was traded to the Yankees (era of 6+), now he’s out for 2023.
Yankees gutted their minor league pitching depth to get him.
I’m glad AF hasn’t made any of these dope fiend trades in recent years. Dodger pitching depth might be their greatest strength going into 2023. Yankees front 4 are still very good. But an injury or two and they will be in trouble with their rotation depth. Dodgers had a pile of injuries in their rotation last year and still won 111 games. If you bet everything on 5 starters and have little to rely on beyond that, it’s a recipe for disaster. The Montas trade has turned out to be a disaster. As got three pitchers who could all see time with the big club this year. Glad AF didn’t pull the trigger on that one.
If Nelson is totally healthy, that bullpen is a monster. Phillips, Hudson and Reyes are ok to begin workouts, but not expected to be ready by opening day. Phillips and Hudson both had knee surgery’s this offseason. Jacob deGrom shut down due to tightness in his side.
In an interview after he arrived at Pirates camp, outfielder Bryan Reynolds said he is open to an extension with the Pirates. Not good news for Bradley. In answer to something Michael said at the end of yesterday’s stream. The players I mentioned who spent their entire careers with LA simply means they never played for another team. And they are all retired players. SO give me the names of the six or so you think did that. Players who played only a couple of years in the majors did not make the list that Wikipedia has. And that was 12 Dodgers, not 10. The Yankees have 25 players who spent their entire careers with the Yankees.
Bear somehow I’m not understanding what you wrote. Your last paragraph said there are currently 10 players who have been with one team their entire career and one just retired. Yadier Molina. I was stunned by that so thought of Urias, Smith, Gonsulin to name a few that been with dodgers their entire but short career but then thought maybe you meant once reaching free agency. Honestly still not sure what your were meaning in that paragraph but it’s all good. We’re all Dodger lovers here and I find it fascinating what my fellow fans are thinking and some of them know their stuff pretty good at that
Not a problem. I was referring to players who are retired and spent their entire MLB careers with one team. Kershaw, if he does not leave via free agency will be the 13th player to play his entire career with the Dodgers. Otto Miller and Nap Rucker did it in Brooklyn. Drysdale, Koufax, Gilliam, Furillo, did it in LA and Brooklyn. Hard to believe the franchises all-time leader in many categories, Zack Wheat, did not do that. He played 18 years with the Dodgers. He then finished his career with the A’s in Philadelphia.
When you said currently 10 players I assumed you meant current players my bad
I’ll leave this name here: STEVE FINLEY !!!
Finley was a Dodger for 58 games. He slashed .263/13/46. His biggest hit of the year was his walk-off grand slam to win the division. But he was nowhere to be seen in the playoffs. The primary CF that year was Milton Bradley. Finley was a small cog in a big machine. Green and Beltre were the big guns.
I actually could have added a couple of players to this list easily. Some merely escaped my memory, like Madlock and to a lesser extent, Finley. But how about Mickey Hatcher when he returned to LA. Hatch played for the injured Gibson in the World Series and was the hitting leader smacking 2 homers and driving in 7. He hit one homer all year. Mike Marshall, the reliever not the outfielder came over and set an MLB record for relief pitchers with 104 appearances. He won the Cy Young Award that year. Most Dodger fans remember him for not warming up prior to a Joe Rudi homer in game 5 that won the Series for the A’s. There was a delay on the field because LF Bill Buckner complained about A’s fans throwing trash on the field. After the delay, Marshall did not take the 8 warm-up pitches he was allowed and Rudi hit his homer on the first pitch.
For the past two days, my time has been consumed with dealing with crooks!
Long story short: someone created a website called http://www.crystalwestwater.com and put all of our products on it that were over $300 or $400. It is a horrible job of downloading because many products do not scale, and all it is all text (beyond the product photo). However, they price every product about 20% less than ours. If someone happens to Google a product by name, they come up right behind us. So, a customer might as well order the cheapest one? Right? MONEY GONE – BYE, BYE!
I have been dealing with the State Police, FTC, and the FBI all day. What a bunch of crooks. They should get the Electric Chair inside the Gas Chamber while getting a Lethal Injection.
That totally sucks. I had my credit card hit for some fraudulent charges. Luckily the credit card company I use disallowed them when I contacted them as soon as I saw them on there. People are just so effing dishonest and too effing lazy to get out and make it on their own. Yeah, I do not consider the punishment you propose as overkill.
Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out.
Tomorrow spring will have sprung. Camp opens and the sound of a ball smacking into a catcher’s glove will once again be music to our ears.
The original Bond girl, Raquel Welch passed away today at age 82. RIP.
Actually, she is dead, but she was never in a James Bond Movie!
I think you are thinking of Ursula Andress!
Raquel Welch was originally cast as Domino; however 20th Century Fox Production Chief Richard D. Zanuck asked producer Albert R. Broccoli to release her from contract as a favor so she could star in “Fantastic Voyage” (1966).
Here she was at 75. I hope I look that good at 75!
Better start taking a lot of estrogen.
Yep, I screwed that one up. Brain fart big time and I should have known that because I watched Dr. No the other day,,,,,,And don’t worry Mark, not a chance in hell you look that good. Me neither
Zack Britton held a showcase for teams today. 7 were in attendance including the Dodgers who are very interested in the former Yankee closer.
I usedta wanted to be a Dodger
A 12 volt battery? Yikes.
😉
Maybe Bear is right – she was the ORIGINAL but dropped out!
RIP, Raquel. Fantasy girl of my early teens.
Meanwhile, in baseball news, Jimmy Nelson is back with the Dodgers. I don’t follow other teams closely, but the Dodgers seem to excel in using its financial clout to stockpile RPs. So many guys waiting in the wings..,.
It’s fun to look back on the short-term Dodgers who had a big impact. Jimmy Wynn, the Toy Cannon, was a favorite. But his arm was a toy bb-gun. When I think of Wynn, I also think of the WS game in which Joe Ferguson cut in front of him to catch that ball and then nail Sal Bando at the plate.
Think about that: Wynn, with a weak arm, manned CF, and Ferguson, backup catcher, was in RF. For a team in the World Series. Right now, I’d say Outman, Trayce, Taylor and Heyward could outplay many past Dodger centerfielders, including fairly recent ones like Joc. So while I’m rooting for Outman, I’m also not worried about the position.
The more pressing question, I think, is still whether Lux will measure up at SS.
Whatever happens, I don’t think he’ll be move to centerfield.
It’s the Domino Effect. If Lux does not cut it at SS and Vargas owns 2B and if Outman is out, where does Lux go?
That’s a ways down the road though and a lot of dominos have to fall.
Milwaukee
He would be going home, but the question is would the Brewers want him? Teams have to want the player you are offering, otherwise you are just pissing into the wind.
Milwaukee is a possibility if AF decides to go after Adames.
Lux + ??? for Adames might be doable…. but we are getting way ahead of ourselves.
I expect Lux to be OK–not great, not an all-star…. but good enough.
Zack Britton could be the next one. They posted the 10 best RF on MLB today. Mookie was #2 behind Judge. Seems like the Padres are going to play Tatis in right. Soto moves to left.
MLB will take over the TV broadcasts for several teams, including the Angels if the parent owner of Bally Sports cannot meet their financial obligations. They are already overdue on a payment that was due this month. They have 30 days to figure out some sort of plan. Cardinals, Mariners and several other teams affected.
Ultimately, this will solve the blackout issue!
Yep the entire story is on NPR news, They are considering chapter 11 bankruptcy with a 130 million dollar payment servicing a 8.6 BILLION DOLLAR debt this month. They service 14 teams. They have streaming rights for the Twins, D-Backs, Reds, Guardians, Tigers, Royals, Marlins, Angels, Brewers, Cardinals, Padres, Rays and the Rangers. MLB teams receive money from MLB for the national contracts like Fox, and ESPN. Local broadcast revenues can vary by location. But consider this, the Dodgers signed a 25 year deal with Spectrum which pays them abour 338 million a year. The Angels 20 year deal was for 3 Billion. The Dodger deal is until 2038. Angel deal expires in 2032.
Numbers still not issued to all of the players yet. We know Rojas is 11, Martinez is 28 and Thor will wear. #43. No numbers issued to the non-roster guys and a few of the rookies, like Cartaya on the 40-man.