Best Years of Our Lives: Outstanding Seasons by Dodgers

Where to start? Through the years there have been many Dodgers who have had outstanding and career years. I thought about this because of the outstanding performances this season by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Sometimes one year defines a player’s whole career. As good as he was over the course of his career, Fernando, even though he threw a no-hitter and had a 20-win season, he never quite reached the level of dominance he had his first season.
He had 8 shutouts that year and in a truncated season to boot. He won his only Cy Young award and was the Rookie of the Year. The only other time he came close to a Cy Young, was his 21-win season in 1986. He lost out to Mike Scott of the Astros. Scott was an 8 WAR player that year, 3 more than Fernando. His ERA was almost a run lower, even though he won 3 less games.
Fernando’s rookie year was special, and it defined his career.

Babe Herman in 1930 set the Dodger record for the highest batting average in any season, and no one has gotten close to breaking it. Babe hit .393 and did not even win the batting title. Bill Terry of the Giants hit .401 to win the title. He is another tid-bit from that season that might surprise you, of the top-10 hitters in the NL that season, none of the qualifiers hit under .356. That guy was Hack Wilson. Wilson would hit 56 homers that season and knock in 191 runs. Still a major league record.

One thing the Dodgers have never had a lot of is batting champions. In their entire history, Brooklyn and Los Angeles, only 10 times has a Dodger wore the crown. Only two Dodgers won more than one. Jake Daubert 13-14, and Tommy Davis, 62-63. They have however had players finish second 12 times, most recently, Freddie Freeman last year. Trea Turner who won the title in 21, spent a majority of the season with the Nationals.

But for Tommy Davis, 1962 would be his best season ever. .346 batting average, 27 homers, 230 hits, 153 runs batted in, still a Dodger record. No other LA Dodger has ever driven in more than 126. Davis would win another in 63, .326, 16/88. But his career was derailed in 1965 when he broke his ankle sliding into second base. Although he remained a very good hitter, he never came close to those numbers again. In fact, after 1967, although he played until 1976, Davis had only one double digit homer season. He finished with a career .294 BA.

Norm Larker debuted as a Dodger at age 27 in 1958. He was basically Gil Hodges caddy. He played in 99 games, hit .277 with 4 homers and 29 driven in. He played more in 1959, 108 games, hitting .288, with 8 homers and 49 driven home. When he wasn’t giving Hodges a breather at 1st, he was pinch hitting or playing the outfield. He did not play well in the 59 World Series, hitting .188 with just three singles.

In 1960, Norm Larker would challenge for the NL batting title. Never a power hitter, Norm was a line drive hitting machine. He would make the NL All-Star team for both games, and finish 15th in the MVP vote. The only time he would accomplish either. This was made possible because Hodges was having the worst season of his career. He hit .198. Larker ended up with a .323 BA and finished second to Dick Groat of the Pirates, who won the pennant and beat the Yankees in the 1960 series. Larker never came close to that performance again, and he was out of baseball by the end of the 1963 season at the age of 32. Larker was one of those players who walked more than he struck out. 211-165.

Don Drysdale was one of the best pitchers in Dodger history and a Hall of Famer. He was durable, nine straight years of 40 or more starts, physically imposing on the mound for the period, 6-5. Threw almost sidearm and would hit anyone at any time to show that the plate was his. He won 20 twice in his career, 62 and 65. Won in double figures every year of his career except his first and his last. Set a record for consecutive scoreless innings that stood until Orel Hershiser broke it.

But for all of his pitching skill, his best season came in 1962. Big D was simply dominant. Paired with Koufax until Sandy went down with an injury in April that eventually led to his being shut down in July. He did not return until September. But Drysdale took the mound every time his turn came around and usually came out ahead. He went 25-9, with a 2.83 ERA. He struck out 232. He led the league in wins, innings pitched, games started, strikeouts and batters faced. He was voted the Cy Young award in a time when only one pitcher was chosen. The ultimate team guy, Big D told Alston he would pitch in game three of the playoff against the Giants. Alston told him he was saving him for game one of the World Series, forgetting that you have to get there first.

There are some who think that Steve Garvey belongs in the Hall of Fame. We will not debate that here. Garv had many very good seasons as a Dodger. But the best year of his life, had to be 1974. He would have years later on where statistically he was better than 74. But 1974 was the year he put it all together.

He found a home at first base, becoming the anchor of what would become known as “The Infield”. He, Cey, Lopes and Russell would form the Dodger infield for 8 years. Garvey had a solid season, hitting .312, with 21 homers and 111 RBI’s. He was an All-Star for the first time, and he made it as a write in candidate. He also won the MVP award for the All-Star game.

The Dodgers won the pennant for the first time since 1966. Led by the “Toy Cannon”, Jimmy Wynn, they racked up 102 wins. The then beat the Pirates in the NLCS and ended up losing the World Series to the three-time champion A’s in five games. After the season, Garvey was voted the 1974 Most Valuable Player Award. The only other time he would come close to winning that award was in 1978 when he finished second.

But the best year of his life, was 1988. Great year for Dodger fans too. The year was magical all around. Led by Kirk Gibson, they would claw their way to the division title. Hershiser was dominant. He went 23-9 with a 2.26 ERA, 15 complete games, 8 shutouts and a save. He got a win and a save in the playoff series against the Mets and was awarded the MVP for that performance. Then he dominated the powerful A’s in the World Series, garnering the MVP award for that too. Hershiser had ended the year with a phenomenal scoreless inning streak of 59 consecutive innings, beating Big-D’s mark by 1/3rd of an inning. He made the All-Star team, won a gold glove and was the unanimous Cy Young winner.

Orel would pitch for 12 more seasons and never come close to those numbers again. In fact, that was his only 20-win season in an era where wins meant something. He is now, as we all know, a color analyst on the Dodger TV broadcasts.

Outside of Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson, Brooklyn did not have many MVPs over the years. Newcombe would win in 1956 becoming the last Brooklyn Dodger to do so. Prior to Jackie and Roy, three Dodgers had won the MVP award, Jake Daubert in 1913, Dazzy Vance in 1924, and Dolph Camilli in 1941.

Camilli was born in San Francisco and went to school there. He spent 9 years in the minors before debuting with the Cubs in 1933. He was traded to the Phillies the following year. Dolph was a free swinger and for the era, he struck out too much. He would become the first MLB player to have three 100 strike out years. But he also had power and was a pretty decent RBI machine. After the 1937 season, the Phillies traded him to the Dodgers for Eddie Morgan and 45,000 dollars.

Camilli did not have a great first year for Brooklyn, hitting only .251 but he did drive in 100 runs and added 24 homers. He improved on that in 39 with a .290/26/104 line. He went down some in 1940, .287/23/96. But 1941 would be a very good year indeed.

Although his stats for 1941 are not all the best he ever did, he did have career highs in homers, 34, RBI’s, 120, and strikeouts, 115. But he hit .285 and was one of the Dodgers best clutch performers. He helped Brooklyn get to the 41 World Series. But he, like many before him and after, did not have a good series and the Dodgers ended up losing in 5 games. He was voted the NL MVP award. Making 1941, the best year. The Dodgers would end up trading him to the Giants in 1943.

I will do another post on great Dodger seasons. If you have a player in mind, just let me know and I will do the research.


This article has 58 Comments

  1. Both Freeman and Muncy had their houses burglarized this last week. One of the reasons I am glad I do not live in California anymore. Small problem here, big problem there.

    1. We had our truck stolen outside of Vegas 3 weeks ago. It was recovered that day late about 95% intact thank God.

      1. You were lucky. Never have had a car stolen, but had CB’s camera’s and other stuff stolen in Dallas while I was showering at a truck stop. Also had some stuff stolen out of my rig while I was home in Denver. Thieves are the lowest form of vermin. Too eefing lazy to get out and work for what they need.

  2. Well in LA and SF there seems to be more thieves than customers in stores today. Who could have ever guessed that if you don’t prosecute criminals, they become even more emboldened!

  3. Back to baseball.
    Great article, as usual .
    1962. Another sad ending for Dodger fans. If only Sandy had stayed healthy. Had 14 wins in the season with all the time he missed. We ONLY needed one more win!!!

    1. I remember it so well. I think Alston made a huge mistake sending Ed Roebuck back out for the 9th inning. He did not even have anyone warming up in the pen until the Giants were on the verge of scoring. Then he brings in Stan Williams. That was the ball game.

      1. One story I remember was that Duke was in the bullpen, and called Alston to say that Drysdale (his roomy) was warmed up and ready to pitch. This pissed off Alston and was one of the reasons Duke was gone next year. Only a story, but interesting anyway.

        1. The story is true, but Duke was on the bench in the dugout. He had been playing in the game and went 2-3 off of Juan Marichal. Alston made a lot of moves around the 7th inning taking vets, Moon, Snider, out of the game. Drysdale told Duke he was ready to pitch if needed. Drysdale never warmed up in the pen. Snider at the time was the de-facto captain of the team, and one of the few remaining players who saw the same thing happen in 1951. Roebuck relieved Podres in the 6th inning and was still out there to start the 9th. Alston had Perranoski and Sherry out in the pen, Perry ended up getting the last out. Either one would have been preferable to sending Roebuck back out. Instead, when the game started to get away from Roebuck, Alston went to the part time starter, Stan Williams. Williams had made 12 relief appearances that season but was an odd choice since his BB to K ratio was almost 1-1. He also had an ERA of 4.86 and 7 wild pitches. One of the Giants runs scored on a Williams wild pitch. He walked two. Both he and Roebuck had pitched the day before when the Dodgers go a walk off win. He had a blown save in that game too but ended up getting the win. Another thing about that series. It was not very cleanly played by either team. The Dodgers made 4 errors in game 3, 2 in game 2 and 1 in game 1. The Giants were not much better. They made 3 errors in game 3. Koufax started game one and got lit up. He was obviously not healthy. Duke was indeed sold to the Mets the following season. Interesting side note on that is that Buzzie Bavasi had an agreement with the Mets that if they decided to not keep Snider for 1964, they would sell him back to the Dodgers so he could finish his career as a Dodger. They did not keep the agreement and instead sold Duke to the Giants.

      1. Yes, but good symbolism. Mother Nature, i.e. The Great Dodger in the Sky, is letting us know what he/she thinks of Frank McCourt’s parking lot.

  4. I turned six in October 1962 and was still pretty much oblivious to baseball.
    Then it kicked in, with Maury and Sandy inspiring my young love for the Dodgers. I was learning to read, and the Dodgers were my favorite subject. Some canny publisher put out simple “biographies” of sports heroes for young readers and so I then discovered the Brooklyn Dodgers–PeeWee, Jackie, Gil, Campy, Duke. I vaguely recall one about Carl Furillo. And I learned how Pete Reiser might have been an all-time great if not for crashing into the centerfield wall. By being a Dodger fan, you could claim the Brooklyn history as well and be a Branch Rickey fan. What did the Giants do to advance social justice?
    So a few of my favorite teams and favorite seasons were in the ’60s. One reason I’m rooting for the Orioles to make it to the World Series is so we can get payback for 1966. They swept us, so we should sweep them. I also loved the ’88 team, of course, with Gibson’s magical homer and Hershiser’s tenacity lifting an underdog team to glory. (Odd that any team in the WS would be considered an “underdog,” but it was.) The Trashtros left a bitter taste, but were those Dodgers truly a championship team? We’ll never know. And later, the covid championship was what it was–nice but strange, just a 60-game season with practically no fans in the stands. Fond memories? Not many.
    But this team and this season could become one for the ages. What’s not to like? We have superstar leadership in Mookie, Freddie and Kersh–all destined for the HOF. We have impressive contributions from rookies Miller and Outman. We have stalwart veterans like Max, Rojas, Heyward and Peralta, now augmented by the arrival of Kike and Rosario. Barnes seems to finally be coming around as a worthy backup to Will, an all-star.
    We have a roster that is clearly better than the one we had in a 111-win season, and Roberts has been making smart moves.
    My 13-year-old son, a crafty southpaw and a creature of pop culture said this today: “The Dodgers have more chemistry than Walter White.” I doubt that he’s ever watched a full episode of Breaking Bad, but he knows the story, and his favorite subject is science.
    So yeah, I’m feeling pretty good about this team.
    So go Dodgers.
    And go Orioles!

  5. While I strongly supported the invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11, I strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq that followed. So sometimes I’m hawkish and sometimes doveish.
    But I do like WAR, even though I don’t understand how Wins Against Replacement is calculated.
    In any event, one thing I like about WAR is that right now here is how it judges the four obvious candidates for NL MVP:
    Mookie 6.4
    Acuna 6.2
    Freddie 5.4
    Olson 4.9
    And this feels about right to me. (Over in AL, that guy in Anaheim has an 8.5 WAR.)
    During the first half of the season, it looked like Acuna would steal his way to honor, and he still might. But the others have come on strong. An argument can be made for each player and there’s enough season left for guys to get hot or cold.
    But to me, Mookie’s versatility separates him from the others. His ability to shift between the middle infield and rightfield with excellent defense enables the Dodgers to get the most out of guys like Heyward, Peralta, Taylor, Rosario and Kike. The beauty of Freddie is his constant everyday excellence. (He’s had only one error while Olson has had eight.) But Mookie can affect games in so many different ways.
    I’d be OK with co-MVPs for our guys.

    1. In the entire history of the award, that has happened exactly once. 1979. Keith Hernandez of the Cardinals and Willie Stargell of the Pirates shared the award. They both had 216 points. Stargell had the most first place votes, but they still tied. Here is something else weird about their tying. Stargell’s WAR was 2.5. Hernandez’s was 7.6. But Stargell’s Pirates won the pennant and the World Series. The Cardinals finished 3rd. Even more strange is that the WAR leader that season, Dave Winfield of the Padres, 8.3, finished 3rd in the voting. Of course, the Padres finished in 4th place. The only MVP to win the award while playing for a last place team was Andre Dawson of the Cubs in 1987.

      1. Thx for the info Bear.
        One of my favorite MVP stories is how Campy once beat out Duke because a writer didn’t put Duke on his ballot. I’ve heard it described as an oversight, but I can’t help but wonder if there was some sort of grudge involved.
        The MVP award gets complicated because, rightly or wrongly, voters often discount outstanding players on losing teams. Could be wrong, but I suspect that the Twins’ Zolio Versalles benefited as the catalyst of a pennant-winning team, even though he only batted .279.
        Correction to earlier post: I was not oblivious to baseball in 1962 because that was the year Maury stole 104 and won the MVP. Pretty amazing. Some people complain that Mays had the better season, but maybe voters were accustomed to Mays’ greatness by then.

        1. I think the MVP Award may boil down to the last month. The hottest one wins and it could be any of the TOP 3 (Unless Olsen hits 60+), but I would love to see Mookie-Freddie 1-2.

          Mookie just seems to be getting better by the day.

          1. Exactly true David. I have Duke’s biography, the Duke of Flatbush. Most are pretty sure the writer who did not put Duke on his ballot was not a fan.

        2. That would be pretty accurate. Like Wills, he was an important cog in the machine, but he had some big boppers around to drive him in. Killebrew, Allison, Mincher. When he was a Dodger, he was awful. Mays not getting the MVP was voted one of the 10 biggest MVP slights in a video I saw. # 1 was DiMaggio beating out Williams when Ted hit .400.

    2. The source for your WAR is really stingy with Freddie. Fangraphs has him at 6.0. Freddie and Acuna have been neck and neck for most of the year, but Mookie is making a late surge.

      Offensively, Acuna and Freddie match up almost identically – BA, OBP, ISO, HR. Their respective wRC+ values are identical at 164. Mookie had been trailing them both offensively, but his recent surge has him at 165, with 34 HR.

      Mookie has an edge on them both defensively. That he’s played all over the field is a nice subplot.

      Don’t underestimate the role of narrative, however. Mookie and Freddie have won the MVP previously. Voters might want to give an emerging superstar his due, the Braves have the best record in baseball, etc.

    1. The MLB.com online content division needs an editor. The number of times that author wrote the word “stuff” started to induce a cringe reflex.

      Speaking of stuff, the article was intriguing, though. I wanted to qualify what he wrote.

      He’s right. Bobby Miller has elite “stuff” that ranks with the top pitchers in the league. And Stuff is more than a subjective look at how nasty his pitches look to the naked eye. It’s actually a stat – Stuff+.

      https://library.fangraphs.com/pitching/stuff-location-and-pitching-primer/

      Bobby Miller currently ranks 3rd among starters in Stuff+ at 125. That’s better than Gerrit Cole. That’s better than Ohtani. He’s tied with Spencer Strider, which is not surprise. Strider is an emerging elite of the elite pitcher.

      What’s exciting especially about Miller is the quality and breadth of his secondary pitches. We know he’s got a great four seam fastball, but his sinker is also good. But perhaps his best pitch is his slider, which ranks 3rd best, not to mention a much better than average curveball and changeup.

      https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&type=36&month=0&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&startdate=&enddate=&pageitems=30&qual=60&season1=2023&season=2023&sortcol=12&sortdir=desc&pagenum=1

      Keep your fingers crossed that Buehler and May can come back with the same “stuff” they had. Could you imagine? A rotation of Ohtani, Miller, Buehler, May and/or Gonsolin, and some combination of Kershaw, Urias or Snell?

      A future rotation is going to be pretty righty dominant. The Dodgers are going to want to have at least one lefty on the staff, no? If Kershaw retires and Urias goes to the highest bidder, then what? Snell is a possibility, and he’s pitched well – and I would say he’s more or less comparable to Urias. He’s a couple of years older and probably won’t command the same FA price that Urias will – and his Stuff+ is a little better – but I think Urias is more of a gamer.

  6. Story on the internet about the Cardinals targeting pitching this winter. Makes sense since they unloaded two starters and Wainwright is retiring. One of their top targets is said to be Julio. I did not think that St. Louis would be much of a Latino fan-based franchise. I still think the Padres are going to make a hard push to sign him. Syndergaard-Miller this afternoon. Should be interesting to see if the Dodgers light him up.

    1. I think if the Dodgers sign Ohtani there’s nearly no way they can resign Julio.

      Let’s hope that’s the reason this rumor comes true.

  7. And I like Miller’s mental makeup. Like Buehler he just seems to want the ball in the big moments. Now if he only had the stuff of the kid from Chinese Taipei!

  8. How good was Wes Parker’s glove? Better than Gonzo?

    With the bat Parker’s 1970 season was a real anomaly – .319 /111 rbis with only 10 hrs.

    I missed that he was voted in 2017 the best Gold Glove 1b all time (actually since GG’s started in 1957.

    Gonzo was slick. Diff eras? I only vaguely remember Parker in the field. Solid, steady guy.

    Parker’s baseball card in his Ray Bans (Aviators?) is how I remember him.

    1. Wes Parker could pick it. So could Gonzo. I didn’t look up the fielding stats as I don’t trust defensive stats. I use the eye test for defensive prowess. But I’m not sure the best gloveman at first wasn’t Tommy Hutton who was stuck behind Parker, as I recall.

      1. Phil, Hutton made a few appearances for the Dodgers in 66 and in 69, but the entire time that Parker was a Dodger, Hutton could not crack the roster. In 1971 he hit .352 at Spokane and that winter he was traded to the Phillies for Larry Hisle. Parker retired after the 1972 season and his job went to Bill Buckner. Buckner was supposed to be the 1st baseman of the future. Garvey played 24 games there that season. But in 74, they moved Billy Bucks to the outfield and the rest is history. As for their fielding, Parker has a fielding percentage .001 higher than Hutton. 995-996. Parker was a 22.9 WAR player. He earned six consecutive gold gloves. They both played for 12 years in the majors. Parker appeared in about 300 more games. Hutton was a -0.6. Hutton committed only 12 errors at first base his entire career. But he only played 499 games there. Hutton never earned a gold glove.

        1. Watching Game 4 /1965 WS.

          Surprisingly hi-quality b/w video from MLB archives.

          Mudcat v Drysdale .

          In that typical ‘60’s Dodger style they score first on 3 infield hits & SB.

          Wes Parker had the wheels too. 13 SB’s that season

          Vin & Ray Scott. I liked the NBC/WS Vin – more info, chat around the game. Vin in his prime!

        2. Good info on Tommy Hutton, Bear. My memory was Tommy was stuck behind Parker before free agency, so he had no recourse after 6 seasons in AAA in Spokane. To his credit he kept grinding away and may have won the PCL Triple Crown, although that may be wrong as he never hit for much power. That was a real drawback for him. Teams wanted power guys at first base. The Phillies did move Greg Luzinski to leftfield however to make room for Tommy in 72. I was in the Phillies organization when they got Tommy from the Dodgers. I always thought that under different circumstances, Tommy could have been a household name with his glove without all those years stuck in AAA behind Wes. Tommy was a victim of the lack of free agency.

          1. Hutton never hit in double figures in homers in the majors. He never led AAA in any single batting category. He hit 20 homers his first year in the organization at Single-A Santa Barbara. He hit 12 the next season splitting time between Albuquerque AA, and Spokane AAA. He hit in double figures only once more in AAA in 1971 when he had a .352/19/103 line at AAA Spokane. His best AAA season. His high-water mark in the majors was 5 in 1973, he also hit 4 twice. But Hutton never played more than 113 games in any season in the majors. He was basically, a part time player. Of his 678 career games, 168 came in the outfield. His other appearance was one inning as a pitcher in 1980. 499 games, he appeared at first base. Most likely why he never won a gold glove. Adrian Gonzalez, 4 gold gloves, has exactly the same fielding pct as Hutton.

  9. I’m missing Dodger baseball. Thanks Bear for another terrific article yesterday.
    I watched the Mariners blast the White Sox yesterday 14-2. The White Sox are awful. They are just mailing it in. Lackadaisical play everywhere. Damn have some pride. Touki Toussaint has a big league name but that’s where it ends. He has zero control. I don’t know how he got out of A ball.
    Poor Trayce Thompson now is part of that shit-show, since August. He’s chipping in with a .174/.443 effort with 0 homers and a 50% K-rate. What a waste of exceptional athletic ability.
    I mention this because the White Sox are the antithesis of the Dodgers.
    I love how our team has achieved cohesion and plays unselfishly as a team.

    1. Read an article on yahoo news about the Sox wanting to maybe move to a new ball park. If that doesn’t work, the team is considering moving. They were going to move to Florida before their new stadium was built. The owner is also considering selling the franchise.

  10. #Dodgers have finally placed JD Martinez on IL with his recurring groin tightness. Michael Busch is recalled from Triple-A

  11. #Dodgers Lineup vs #Guardians Noah Syndegaard:

    Betts 2B
    Freeman 1B
    Smith C
    Muncy 3B
    Peralta LF
    Heyward RF
    Outman CF
    Busch DH
    Rojas SS

    Bobby Miller P

  12. I understand that we don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. but I still think this is overdue by about 2 weeks to put JDM on IL. So now he still has time to heal (if he can) and get enough ABs to be ready for playoffs.

  13. Great opportunity for Busch.
    You can bet Thor will really be motivated against the Dodgers.

    1. If Vargas starts hitting well again with his reworked swing at OKC, Busch may only be given a short runway to produce effectively at this level. So he’d better make hay while he can, because Vargas is waiting in the wings.

      Either way, one of those two needs to step up and help out offensively SOON, because even IF Martinez is available in the playoffs, his recent struggles still indicate that he won’t be the All-Star caliber DH that he was earlier this year.

  14. I thought Roberts was going to pull Miller after he got the first out in the bottom of the seventh.
    That way the kid could only win and not lose and finish his outing on a really good note.
    Bullpen then comes in with only two outs to get and the bases are clean.
    Maybe Ferguson and the bullpen still give it up, but at least Miller wouldn’t have gotten a loss and would be feeling good about himself
    Looks like it’s just gonna be a bed shitter now

    1. Not going to knock Doc. He’s been pushing all the right buttons for the season so far. But methinks he over thunk this one

      1. Same here. I’m done knockin Doc. Thor somehow miraculously avoided a shellacking tonight. Like Tom Petty sang, even the losers get lucky some time. Somebody needs to stick a fork in him. He’s like WAY done.

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