Over their long and storied history, the Dodgers have had some very good left-handed hitters. One of the first was Wee Willie Keeler. Keeler played 19 years in the majors. His nickname besides Wee Willie, was Hit Em Where They Ain’t. He was very good at that. He played from 1892-1910. He spent 5 years with the Dodgers. A career .342 hitter, he hit .352 in his five seasons in Brooklyn. And get this, he struck out just 28 times. In his entire career he struck out only 132 times. He won two batting titles and hit .424 in 1897.
Picking the best lefty hitters in Dodger history is a wee bit tricky. You have several players who spent most of their careers with the Dodgers who are very good, and a few who spent short periods with the Dodgers and were also very good.
Zack Wheat spent 18 of his 19 MLB seasons in Brooklyn. For his time, he was considered one of the best left fielders in the game and an excellent hitter. For his career Zack hit .317/132/1248. Wheat is the All-time leader in 10 offensive stats for the Dodgers. His career WAR is 59.6 as a Dodger. He was elected to the Hall by the Veterans committee in 1959.
Another excellent lefty was Jack Fournier. Jack played just 4 years in Brooklyn, 23-26, but he averaged .337 over that stretch. He was a career .313 hitter. That puts him 3rd on the All-Time Dodger list behind Keeler and Babe Herman. Herman still holds the record for the highest BA in a season by any Dodger hitter. He hit .393 in 1930 but did not win the batting title. Bill Terry of the Giants hit .401.
Now, putting those guys who played for the Dodgers for under 6 years against players who spent significant time with the team is not really fair. But they deserve to be mentioned in the conversation. Ohtani, who is in just his third year in LA, has already tied Babe Herman with 112 homers as a Dodger. Over the next seven years of his deal, he will pass many more. His next target is Frank Howard, who hit 123 for the Dodgers. Freddie has 99, putting him in 37th place, tied with Davey Lopes and just one behind Steve Yeager. He will pass Corey Seager when he hits # 105.
Batting average-wise, Freeman is in the #15 spot with a career .309 avg in LA. So, setting some sort of parameters for inclusion in the top ten best, I set at least six years in a Dodger uni as the bottom end, which means Freeman won’t be eligible until after next season. I will also put them in no particular numerical order.
- Duke Snider: Snider was signed when he was 17 after attending a tryout camp in Long Beach. He got a $750 bonus and a salary of $ 250 a month. The Pirates offered a 15,000-dollar bonus, but Duke honored the Dodgers’ offer. He spent 1944 in the minors and played in 133 games at Class-B and AA. He hit .296 with 9 home runs and stole 10 bases. He spent 1945 in the Navy and was in AA San Antonio in 46. He made his MLB debut in 1947 and was up to stay in 1948. He became the Dodgers’ starting CF in 1949 and remained there until the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958. He was the lone LH power source on the Brooklyn teams of the Boys of Summer. Overcoming early strikeout issues, he was one of the National League’s most feared hitters in the ’50s. For five straight years, 53-57, he hit 40 homers or more, winning the NL homer title in 1956 with 43. 8-time All-Star, 407 career homers, 389 as a Dodger, best all-time, a career .300 average as a Dodger, 11 World Series homers, still the most in Dodger history. He and Gil Hodges were the only NL players to hit 300 or more home runs in the 50’s. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. Died in 2011. Played for the Dodgers for 16 years. Duke is also the only player in MLB history to hit 4 home runs in two different World Series.
2. Willie Davis: Willie was signed when he was 19 out of Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles. He played 271 games in the minors in 1959-60. He was called up in September of 1960 and would spend the next 13-plus years as the Dodgers’ center fielder. He was known for his speed and defense. At the plate, he was a good hitter but had up-and-down seasons. He would be good one year, then have a down season. In 1961, he hit 21 homers. He never hit 20 again. He had a 31-game hitting streak in 1969, setting a Dodger record. He hit .300 or more from 69-71, his only seasons with an average at .300 or better. He won 3 gold gloves but was an All-Star just twice. The lowest point in his career was making 3 errors in Game Two of the 1966 World Series. He amassed 2091 hits as an LA Dodger, most in LA Dodger history. He was traded to the Expos for Mike Marshall prior to the 1974 season. Willie passed away in 2010.
3. Zack Wheat: In July of 1909, Brooklyn purchased the contract of 21-year-old outfielder Zack Wheat from Mobile for 1,200 dollars. It was a wise investment for Brooklyn as the kid would spend the next 17-plus seasons playing for the team. Wheat would post a career .317 BA for Brooklyn. In the mostly dead-ball era in which he played, he was considered a power hitter even though he never had double figures in homers until the live-ball era. He compiled 2804 hits, most in Dodger history. He still leads the all-time stats in 10 offensive categories. He was excellent defensively as a left fielder for his era. He was elected to the Hall in 1959 by the Veterans Committee. Zack passed away in 1972.
4. Dixie Walker: Walker was claimed off waivers from the Tigers on July 24th, 1939; he was 29 years old. Originally signed by the Yankees in 1930, he was claimed by the White Sox in 1936 and then traded to Detroit in 1937. Dixie would spend 8 plus seasons in Brooklyn. Popular with fans, he was called the People’s Cherce. He mostly played RF and won a batting title in 1944 with a .357 average. As a Dodger, he batted .311/67/725. He was allegedly one of the leaders who signed a petition opposing the Dodgers’ signing of Jackie Robinson. He was traded to the Pirates after the 47 season along with Hal Gregg and Vic Lombardi for Preacher Roe, Billy Cox, and Gene Mauch. Despite this, he was and is still considered one of the better left-handed hitters in Dodger history. Dixie passed away in 1982 in Birmingham, Alabama.
5. Babe Herman: Babe spent 7 years with the Dodgers. Despite his other issues, like not being exactly a defensive whiz, the man could hit. He was a career .339 hitter in Brooklyn. His 1930 season is still the best average-wise in Dodger history. Babe was originally signed by the Tigers. Traded to the Red Sox in 1922, the Dodgers bought his contract in September of 1925. He made it to Brooklyn as a 23-year-old in 1926 and hit .319. He hit .272 in 1927 and never fell below .313 for the rest of his time with the Dodgers until he returned to the team in 1945 at age 42. He was a member of what the press called the early 30’s Dodgers “Daffiness Boys”. He once doubled into a triple play. Babe was a career .324 hitter. He passed away in 1987 in Glendale, California.
6. Jake Daubert: Jake Daubert came to Brooklyn in 1909 after being drafted from Memphis in the Southern Association as a Rule 5 player. He was 26 when he played his first game for Brooklyn in 1910. He was a first baseman. From 1911-16, he batted over .300, winning batting titles back-to-back in 13-14 with a .350 avg in 13, and .329 in 14. The only other Dodger to ever win back-to-back batting titles was Tommy Davis, 52-63. A career .303 hitter, he hit .305 in his 9 seasons in Brooklyn. He was the NL MVP in 1913 and led the NL in triples with 15 in 1918.
7. Brett Butler: Brett Butler spent 7 of his 17 years in the majors with the Dodgers. He was one of the better lead-off hitters in Dodger history. He was a .298 hitter as a Dodger, but his OBP was .392. He led the league in runs scored in 1991 with 112. He stole 197 bags as a Dodger. Amazingly, Butler was never named to the All-Star team. The Dodgers signed him as a free agent twice.
8. Corey Seager: Drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft, Seager made it to the Dodgers in September of 2015. He was very impressive, hitting .337 in 23 games with 4 homers and driving in 17. Seager would win the Rookie of the Year award in 2016 with a .308/26/72 line. His career was plagued by injuries, especially in 2018 when he played just 26 games. He had one of the best post-seasons of any Dodger in 2020. He was the MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series, slugging 8 homers and driving in 20 runs. He left as a free agent after the 2021 season.
9. Andre Ethier: Andre Ethier played his entire 12-year MLB career with the Dodgers. He was originally with the Oakland A’s, but in one of the Dodgers’ best-ever trades, Ned Colletti sent Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez to the A’s in December of 2005 for Ethier. Ethier broke spring training with the 06 Dodgers as their starting left fielder. He would spend most of his time in LA as the starting right fielder. He was 5th in the ROY voting in 2006. Ethier hit .286/162/687 for his career. He earned the nickname Captain Clutch in 2009 because he had six walk-off hits, four of which were homers. Ethier had injury issues in his last few seasons and retired after the 2017 season.
10. Dolph Camilli: Camilli was acquired by the Dodgers from the Phillies in March of 1938. He played 6 years in Brooklyn. He won the MVP award in 1941 when he led the NL in homers and RBIs. He batted .270/139/572 in his 6 years in Brooklyn. He did not do well in his only postseason appearance, batting just .167 with no homers in the 41 World Series games. He was traded to the Giants in December of 1943 for Bill Rigney, an infielder who later managed the Giants and the Angels.
Honorable Mention
Max Muncy: Max has been a Dodger since 2019. 9 years with the team after being cut loose by the A’s. He does not hit for a high average, but his OPS and homer totals make him a very valuable piece of the Dodger lineup. Max has 210 HRs in LA and an OPS of .826. He needs 1 more homer to tie Steve Garvey for 3rd on the All-Time leaders for the LA Dodgers. He is 18 away from Ron Cey for 2nd.
Freddie Freeman: Freddie has already become one of the more feared lefty hitters in Dodger history. He has 99 homers in his little over 4 years with the team, one back of Steve Yeager. His BA as a Dodger is .309. With 2 years left on his contract, he should move up the list considerably.
Shohei Ohtani: Ohtani has accomplished twice what no Dodger has ever done before, hitting 50 homers or more in a season. It is expected that he might not approach that number again now that he is pitching full-time along with his DH duties. But 40 plus is not out of the question. If he can keep up the pace, he should pass Duke Snider as the All-Time Dodger leader towards the end of his contract.
Other notable players, Wally Moon, Norm Larker, and Reggie Smith, who was an excellent left-handed hitter with a career line of .287/251/790 against RHP. His OPS against RHP was .872. His career in LA was marred by injuries, but he was a part of the very first quartet of hitters on the same team with 30 or more homers in 1977. Pete Reiser, injury prone career marred by injuries incurred crashing into outfield walls. Outstanding hitter before that happened.
Seager should be above Butler. And no Gibson!!!
I said early in the post that they were in no particular order. Gibson was a Dodger for three years. His stats as a Dodger: .264/42/142. Not even close. He has a place in Dodger history because he won an MVP and his walk-off homer in the 88 series. Gibby was a very good player in Detroit. One great year in LA does not put him on the list.
Gibby had 3 years with the Dodgers and hit .264.
But, I seem to remember one key hit…
Let me think…
I just remember the catch . . .
Franklin Stubbs
Kenny Landreaux
Lenny Harris
Mike Scioscia
McKay Christensen 😉
Danny Heep :0
Matt Luke :/
Harris was a pinch hitter most of the time, Scioscia was not a very good hitter. Stubbs hit .227 in his years with LA, Landreaux was good in his years in LA, but far from one of the best.
“The Tulsa Drillers (Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) defeated the Springfield Cardinals 10–4 yesterday, Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
Game Summary
The Drillers snaps a rare eight-game losing streak at Hammons Field by scoring in each of the first six innings. After building a 5–0 lead early, they fended off a four-run rally by Springfield in the second inning before pulling away with five unanswered runs.
Key Highlights
Josue De Paula’s Career Night: The Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect went 4-for-5 with a career-high 5 RBIs, including a two-run home run in the sixth inning.
Elijah Hainline Power: Hainline went 3-for-4 and hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the third inning to break a 5–4 tie.
Early Offensive Surge: Kendall George sparked the offense with two-run singles as part of a four-run second inning.
Pitching Performance: Despite a rocky second inning, starter Luke Fox struck out five over 4.0 innings. Reliever Nick Robertson earned the win after a perfect fifth inning, and the bullpen held the Cardinals to just one hit over the final five frames.
Streak Snapped: Chris Newell was caught stealing for the first time in three seasons, ending a streak of 32 consecutive successful steals dating back to 2023”.
JDP’s dinger was a wicked slash job to LF that kept going. Backspin demon.
Where were the Dodger’s high leveraged relievers in the 7th and 8 inning loss to Toronto yesterday? Will Klein and Tanner Scott were both available. Too many walks by Dreyer and Casparius. Doc gave one away yesterday.
That’s Doc for you
The unearned run was not on Doc. The misplayed throw by Rojas was not on Doc. There was also a ground ball that went right over Freeland’s glove. Dreyer and Casparius have assigned roles on this team. They don’t do their job is not on Roberts.
It’s the players. Win or lose, it’s always the players.
At this stage of the season, I think it would have been wrong for Doc to bring in Klien or Scott. If you want to have a deep and effective bullpen, you have to see what others do, and you don’t want to overwork anyone.
Agree 100%. Doc can only play who is on the roster. He has 8 releivers to choose from, and he likes to spread them out. Last year at this time it was Dreyer and Casparius who held the bullpen together. I assume those that are ctriical know for sure that Scott and Klein would have pitched flawlessly. It has been a week when Scott gave up the HR on an 0-2 pitch and he was castigated. How many wanted him released last year.? How many wanted Blake Treinen released after ST?
Dreyer and Casparius did not cost the Dodgers the game. The offense got 8 BB, 1 HBP, but struck out 13 times. They were 2-11 wRISP. The unearned run was due to Will Smith’s passed ball and Ohtani giving up a double to Sanchez. This was a team loss. As it turns out, the loss dropped the LAD wins pace down form 133 to 122. I’ll take the under.
Cody Bellinger has been one of the best left-handed hitters of all time for the Dodgers… Ha ha, obviously that’s a joke because for me he’s one of the worst there’s ever been
Best and worst
Good call
It’s funny because I saw an interview with Bellinger just a couple of days ago on MLB network where he said basically the same thing about himself. He said something to the effect that for a short time in his career he was the best player in the MLB and then for a whole season he was literally the worst player in the league. He was reflecting on that mental aspect of the game.
Bellinger was not as bad as you might think in LA. In his six seasons, he hit .248/152/422. His OPS, which is a crucial stat to many right now was .819. Prior to the 2020 season, Bellinger won an MVP award and a ROY. He only had 2 really bad years in LA, 21, when he was recovering from surgery due to the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the 2020 NLCS and the 22 season. He still had a better season in 22 than 21 as he raised his BA 45 points and hit 9 more homers. Muncy hit .196 that season. Bellinger went on to have a very good season in 23 with the Cubs. He dropped his strikeout rate dramatically. He hasn’t struck out more than 90 times in a season since. He had two bad seasons, other than that, he has been good. His career OPS is still above .800, which is considered very good, and he still brings elite defense.
How did Michael Conforto not make this list?
Laugh as you may Bobby but Conforto is in the lead for comeback player oh the year. He’s starting and hitting .250 for Cubs! At this rate he may double his production with the Dodgers! LOL
Always set the bar low
Another guy who had a shorter stint but was really good for a few years was Shawn Green. During his five years with the club, he hit 150 home runs and was a .285 hitter. I remember his 2001 season, where he hit 49 home runs, fondly!
Have to disagree on Bellinger. Before the celebratory injury, Cody was a top 25 player in baseball. An excellent first baseman. An excellent center fielder. Of course he won’t sniff the hall of fame, he will have had a good career in the end.
Doc really didn’t give one away last night. He used 2 relievers he has to count on in the future. My only concern is that Ben hasn’t been good in a while. I have been on his bandwagon since he arrived. But it’s concerning the way he has pitched since last season. Dryer? Hopefully he doesn’t continue to walk batters! That’s not going to give Doc much confidence to use him in high leverage situations in the future.
Ohtani didn’t look right yesterday as someone else posted. He kept stretching his arm like there was something not quite right. But 1 run over 6 innings? 85 percent of pitchers in the majors would love that every 5 days!! I’m still in belief they should let someone else DH when he pitches. That’s a lot on a body. I know he’s only 32 years old, but over 162 games, that will take a toll on his body. Playoffs? Absolutely he should do both. Just my opinion.
Prayers to Miguel. Don’t know how he did it yesterday, but lots of prayers and blessings to him and his family.
Dad, i think Bellingers poor years being blamed on injury is over-stated..
In the first 82 games of 2019, Belli was unconscious. He hit .346 / 1137, with 27 dingers and striking out only 17% of AB’s. The remainder of the 2019 season, he hit .259 / .921 and his strike out rate increased to 22%. He still had MVP stats for the season and finished up at .305 / 1035 with 47 dingers. In the 2019, 5 game post season, Bellinger hit .211 / .549 with 0 homers.
But the 2nd half of 2019 was the beginning of his downward spiral IMHO and was not due to injury..
2020
Bellinger dropped in batting average and OPS from .305/1035 in 2019 to .239 / .789 in 2020. It was explained by his constant experimentation with his swing.
This was before any injuries that are now blamed for his demise.
In October of 2020, he exacerbated a shoulder dislocation issue cause by diving to balls ar first, while celebrating his NLCS-winning homer, forearm bumping with Kike. Cody had the shoulder repaired post-season, in an hour-long, outpatient procedure with recovery in 3 to 6 weeks. It’s a pretty common procedure for players with a dislocation problem.
2021 – Cody was hitting .211 / .654 when he suffered a a hairline fracture in his left tibia on April 6 after colliding with an Oakland pitcher. He returned May 29th. The rest of the 2021 season, Bellinger hit .162 / .537. in 95 games.
If you want to attribute his struggles in 2021 to a hairline fracture, you have a case.
2022 – In 144 games, Cody hit .210 / .654 with 19 homers and a 30% K rate. Cody’s contract was not extended for 18 million by the Dodgers. He was signed by the Cubs in Nov of 2022.
I’m unaware of any injuries that effected his performance.
So, injuries had no more effect on Cody than any other player with a a dislocated shoulder and a hairline crack in his leg.
His problem, to me, was a swing that had his head dropping and moving significantly. Bellinger’s head dropped a foot to 18 inches. I’m surprised he hit at all with that issue.
I usually do not disagree with you Phil. Your takes are always solid, but Bellinger was having trouble with his shoulder before the Kike incident, and his broken leg definitely affected him. A lot of people try to say that Kemp’s injuries did not affect him that much, but they obviously did, and he tried to come back too quickly in 2012, it cost him and the team.
As far as Doc. It’s a 162 game season. You can’t use just 4-5 relievers the entire season. You have to use the back half of the pen.
So it costs us 5 -6 games in a year. Who cares if we win 100 games instead of 106. For the Dodgers it’s all about keeping everyone healthy and rested for October. Dryer and Caparious probably won’t make the post season roster if everyone is healthy. Even so they both have been productive. Anyone can have a bad day.
Fun article Bear. But I think we can waive the 6 year rule for Ohtani. Only the Duke is even in his orbit.
Shawn Green??
As per my criteria, Green was not a Dodger long enough. He played just five years with the team. He was a very good player in LA.
Can we speak to the site manager about your criteria?
It’s his article. He makes the rules.
It was my story, and Mark does not interfere in any way with what Jeff and I write. Considering the fact that I have been watching this team since 1955, I feel I have seen every good player who has been with the team since then. One could have made a case for Wally Moon, who was a .289 hitter with the Dodgers over his 7 years with LA. Should probably have made the team over Butler since he was the member of three Championship teams, 59-63-65. Reggie Smith could have possibly been on the list, but he was a switch hitter, and was injured most of his time with LA. Five years or less simply did not make the cut.
Maybe when someone posts something, you could acknowledge it instead of doubling down. You are no expert.
Good call
Miggy and his dad.
R.I.P. You raised one hell of a son!
This makes it official:
You are probably talking Dodger Baseball with Tommy, Vin, Gil, Duke, Johnny, Jim, Carl, and Willie!
Duke kinda looks like a marshmallow wearing baggy pants in that picture. Must be the uniform.
Anybody old enough to remember those wool uniforms we had to wear? 90 degrees out and wrapped in wool flannel. Kinda like the ball itself.
Reflecting makes me think of that Nellie Fox bat I tried one summer. Like taking an oak branch up to plate. Later I used an Eddie Mathews model and switched off with a Mickey Mantle model. Both 33”. Mickey’s bat was allegedly 35”. I would never have made it around on a Dick Baney fastball with that model. That guy threw bullets. Nothing but heat, high and tight low and away. He’s 79 now. Still in Tustin. Maybe I’ll look him up.
Davey Lopes. He would have been my competition had I signed with the Dodgers. No way. I would have been traded.
Wore those threads when I was playing in high school. They were awful. I used a 33-ounce Ernie Banks model. Slim handle, large barrel. It was like taking a whip up to the plate. Dodgers released Nick Nastrini. Part of the trade for Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. Pitched one inning and did not get anyone out.
I noticed also that in that particular photo; he is wearing one of the very earliest editions of the batting helmet.
Jack Dreyer tripped over the gas can yesterday for the first time. If you’ve never had a bad day on the baseball field, you never played.
Jack has been great all spring. The 2 earned runs he gave up were the first he’s given up in his 5 appearances. No cause for alarm.
Casparius is another story. I like the kid but to me, he didn’t have an especially good spring training. His command looked off to me and he seemed to struggle with the breaking ball. In his 3.2 innings so far, he’s given up 3 earned on 4 hits and 2 walks. But he still needs to pitch.
Ever notice how rough innings for pitchers start with a walk or two? Dreyer and Casparius did just that.
Criticizing Doc for these 2 performances is unjustified. He has 8 relief pitchers and they all have to contribute; or not. Situational match-ups will evolve more clearly as the season progresses.
Those old wool uniforms were brutal. Double-headers in that fabric was miserable. That’s why most players in those days wore long johns under their pants. The cotton was much more comfortable than the horse-blanket wool.
Maybe if we had a smarter manager we could win the WS twice each year instead of once.
BANG!
The fort would have flown away had not Casparius held it down last year. He pitched a lot of innings when others couldn’t.
Phil Jones, perhaps you might ask Mark to pass to me your email address if you are interested having the ability to stream any game and much more with no cost aside of a vpn. While I’m not tech savvy in the least I I’.ve gotten fairly experienced to be able to view whatever I wish. I’m only happy to share as you mentioned you were limited in watching several games. It’s easy.
The Dodgers have released Nick Nastrini, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The right-hander made one appearance for the Tulsa Drillers, L.A.’s Double-A affiliate, earlier this season.
Not surprising. Nick got his taste at MLB. If this is it, at least he got there.
Faced 3 AA hitters, walked them all.
You should only say good things about people when they are gone.
“He’s gone!
Good!”
I hesr there is a market for Used Car Salesmen.
I do wish Nick the best. I simply do not think he has a future in baseball. We take it for granted, but it is (in my opinion) the hardest thing to do on this planet. There are approximately 1,000 (including call-ups and send-downs) MLB baseball players. MLB pulls in players from all over the world, which now has 8.3 billion people. Yet, only 1,000 are MLB players. I need a retired CFO financial genius to tell me a fraction that small.