1958: remembering the first season in Los Angeles

Brooklyn was now going to be a memory. The Dodgers and Giants were moving to the west coast. Baseball's geography was forever changed. Walter O'Malley had moved his team after failing to secure a location for a new ballpark in Brooklyn. He had persuaded Giants owner, Horace Stoneham, to move his Giants west which would make approval for both moves much easier since traveling to the coast to play just one team was not something most owners would want to do.

Most of his star players would be making the move except for Roy Campanella, who had been paralyzed in a car accident in January of 58, and Jackie Robinson who had been traded to the Giants after the 1956 season, refused to report and then retired. Duke, Pee Wee, Hodges, Newcombe, Erskine, Gilliam, Furillo and Podres, were all still with the team. 1958 would be Pee Wee's last season.

Sprinkled in with the former Boys of Summer, were some youngsters, Dick Gray, Don Drysdale, Charlie Neal, Don Demeter. Some future players would make their debuts, Jim Gentile, Frank Howard, 19-year-old Ron Fairly and a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher, Sandy Koufax, would get his first shot at being part of the team's starting rotation.

O'Malley had two choices of fields his team could play on while his dream stadium was being built. One was old Wrigley Field. It was called Wrigley's "Million Dollar Palace". It was built in 1925 to be the home field of the Cubs PCL team, the Angels. They moved in the park in 1925. The park's capacity in 1925 was exactly 22,000. When the Los Angeles Angels played there in 1961 in the American League, the capacity was 20,457.

The other option was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built for the 1932 Olympic games. The coliseum could hold close to 100,000. But it was a track and field stadium and used for USC football games, as it still is today. O'Malley opted for the bigger stadium capacity. It would prove to be a prudent choice since the Dodgers would draw very well there. But this would cause some creative thinking as to how to lay out a baseball field. Shown above is a diagram of what the stadiums dimensions for baseball were in 1958.

Worried that cheap homers to the left field seats would result in Babe's homer record being shattered, Ford Frick ordered the Dodgers to erect a 42-foot-high screen. The first week of play in 1958 resulted in 24 homers being hit, including 3 by Lee Walls, and outfielder for the Cubs who was not considered a home run threat. Duke Snider, the team's premier left-handed power hitter, took a look at the field, and his heart must have sunk. The right field fence was described by another player as being a short cab ride away.

The Dodgers opened the 1958 season in San Francisco. Don Drysdale was the starting pitcher against the Giants Ruben Gomez. The starting lineup was Cimoli CF, Reese SS, Snider LF, Hodges 1B, Neal 2B, Gray 3B, Furillo RF, Walker C and Big D. Drysdale lasted 3.2 innings giving up 6 runs on 5 hits, and 2 walks. He struck out 1 and gave up a solo homer to Darryl Spencer, the Giants SS in the 4th inning. Don Bessent relieved him and gave up a solo shot to Orlando Cepeda in the 5th. Ron Negray gave up the 8th run. LA lost 8-0, getting 6 hits and 6 walks and striking out 6 times. Gray and Neal had 2 hits each with Cimoli and Walker getting the other two.

The first win in LA Dodger history came the next day. Johnny Podres started for the Dodgers and Ramon Monzant for the Giants. LA definitely had their hitting shoes on as they pounded the Giants 13-1. They had 15 hits and 9 walks. Gray and Roseboro had 3 hits each. Reese doubled, Snider and Gray hit homers. Podres pitched a complete game, striking out 11 and walking 4. He gave up 5 hits. Snider nailed Mays at second base for his first outfield assist of the year. They lost game 3, 7-4 and flew home for their opener against the Giants on April 18th, 1958.

At home for the first time in Los Angeles, the Dodgers drew 78,672 fans to the coliseum. Opening day in San Francisco the crowd was a little over 23,000. Carl Erskine, sore arm and all was the starter. He went 8 innings allowing 10 hits, and 4 walks, but just 4 runs. Hank Sauer hit the first homer at the coliseum in the 4th inning. He added another in the 8th. Dick Gray hit the only LA homer in the 7th. Labine relieved Erskine in the 9th and gave up the Giants 5th run and earned the save. (Credited when the league went back and added that stat to pitchers who got saves before it was a credited stat.) in a 6-5 win. LA had just 8 hits to the Giants 12, and both teams made 2 errors. Gray, Neal and Snider each had 2 hits. Al Worthington got the loss.

The Dodgers would finish April with a 5-9 record. Big D had 4 of those losses and no wins, Podres had 3 wins and no losses. They were 11-17 in May 15-13 in June 13-15 in July. They were 17-14 in August. A 10-15 September left them with a 71-83 record and in 7th place in the 8-team National League. They had a solid 14-8 record against the NL pennant winning Braves. The Braves were the only team they had a winning record against. They were 11-11 against the Cubs, Reds and Cardinals. But the Giants, who finished 3rd, beat them 16 times losing just 6. They were 8-14 against Pittsburgh and 10-12 against the Phillies.

They hit 172 homers as a team, led by Neal and Hodges with 22 each. Zimmer hit 17, and Duke Snider, who had hit 40 or more for 5 straight years, hit just 15. Furillo, in his last full productive season hit 18 and had 83 RBIs to lead the team. Snider played in just 106 games; he had hurt his elbow trying to throw a ball out of the coliseum. Roseboro, in his first year as the starting catcher hit 14. The pitchers hit 8 homers, 7 of them coming off the bat of Drysdale.

After that bad first month going 0-4, Big D went 12-9 the rest of the way. Koufax was 11-11 in his first year in the starting rotation. Podres finished 13-15. Stan Williams at 9-7 was the only starter with a winning record. The team ERA was 4.47, and the staff gave up 172 homers.

Gil Hodges won the gold glove at first base that year. Their only all-star was John Roseboro who was selected as a reserve. The team drew 1.8 million fans, good for second in the NL behind the Braves. And think of this, LA was averaging 23,968 in a stadium that could seat close to 100,000. In 1959, attendance was over 2 million and they led the league. They would lead the league in attendance until 1967 when St. Louis outdrew them by 400,000 fans.

Over the 58 season, the Dodgers used 43 players. 19 of them were pitchers. Some would never play in LA again. Same with some of the position players. Some would become stars or regulars, and five of them are in the Hall of Fame. Koufax, Drysdale, Reese, Snider and Hodges. For Pee Wee it was his last season as an active player. He was a coach in 1959, and then moved into broadcasting.

Here are those players. See how many you might remember. Position players: Roseboro, Hodges, Neal, Zimmer, Gray, Cimoli, Snider, Furillo, Gilliam, Larker, Reese, Pignatano, Elmer Valo, Don Demeter, Steve Bilko, Bob Lillis, Randy Jackson, Fairly, Rube Walker, Jim Gentile, Frank Howard, Don Miles, Earl Robinson and Bob Wilson.

Pitchers: Podres, Drysdale, Koufax, Williams, Labine, Erskine, McDevitt, Fred Kipp, Johnny Klippstein, Don Newcombe, he would be traded to the Reds before the 59 season, Roger Craig, Bob Gialombardo, Babe Birrier, Ed Roebuck, Ralph Mauriello, Don Bessent, Jackie Collum, Ron Negray and Larry Sherry, who pitched in 5 games.

It was a mix of seasoned veterans, some of the Boys of Summer, some kids, and a football stadium masquerading as a baseball field. The beginning of a love affair of a city with its team.

OKC Comets 8 – Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston) 5 

OKC’s win streak has now reached 13, a franchise-best during the Bricktown era (since 1998).  The win was their 4th straight over Sugar Land, and have now opened up a 4.0 game lead over the 2nd place Space Cowboys, with 8 games to play. 

OKC got on the board in the 1st.  CF Alek Thomas walked and RF James Tibbs III also walked.  Thomas moved to 3rd after a GIDP.  Thomas scored on a RBI single from 3B Ryan Fitzgerald. 

LF Chris Newell hit his first AAA HR in the 2nd.  

LHSP Charlie Barnes pitched a rather impressive 5.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed a double, single, 2 BB, and recorded 2 K.  Going into the bottom of the 5th. OKC had a 2-0 lead.  

Thomas and JTIII led off the 5th with singles putting runners on the corners.  Thomas was thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice.  Fitzgerald had his 2nd RBI single scoring JTIII. 

In the 6th, C Ben Rortvedt reached 2nd on a 2-base throwing error.  Rortvedt moved to 3rd on a lineout, and scored on a passed ball.  JTIII hit his 29th HR. 

After RHRP Jake Cousins pitched a clean 6th, RHRP Bobby Miller entered in the 7th.  Things did not go as well.  Miller gave up a single and 2-run HR in the 7th.  He allowed a pair of singles after the HR but no additional runs.  

In the bottom of the 7th, Fitzgerald and DH Matt Gorski each hit solo HR’s, and 4 walks brought home a 3rd run in the inning. 

Miller had a chance to put the 7th behind him.  It started out well when he got two quick outs.  But then a pair of BB and a 3-run HR put Sugar Land back in the game.  Miller walked the next batter, and RHRP Paul Gervase was summoned to end the threat.  Gervase struck out the side in the 9th for the save (5).    

·      Ryan Fitzgerald – 3-5, 1 run, 3 RBI, HR (15)

·      James Tibbs III – 2-3, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (29)

·      Chris Newell – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (1)

·      Matt Gorski – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (4) 

JTIII became the second player in the Minors since at least 2005 to record 100 RBI, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks in a single season,

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 3 – NW Arkansas Naturals (KC) 2 

RHSP Christian Zazueta continues to roll.  He had a tough 1st and 2nd inning but settled in nicely after the 2nd.  In the 1st, a leadoff double and single put runners on the corners with nobody out. A groundout moved the runner to 2nd.  A sac fly brought the run in. 

With one out in the top of the 2nd, C Griffin Lockwood-Powell hit a game tying HR (8). 

NWA took the lead with a 2-out HR in the 2nd. 

Zazueta retired 9 of the final 10 batters he faced, with the only baserunner reaching on a BB.  That is rare occurrence for him.  In 55 IP at Tulsa, he has walked 8 batters with 78 K.  The area where he needs to improve is HR.  He has given up 9 HR.  Regardless of the HR, he is not overwhelmed at the AA level. 

The Dodgers have had pretty decent success with pitchers from Mexico.  Is it out of line to believe that Zazueta could replicate Fernando and Urías?  Okay so Zazueta is not LH.  They also had some good innings early on in the career of LHRP Victor Gonzalez.  

Tulsa took the lead in the 4th.  CF Kole Myers led off and was HBP.  He was balked to 2nd.  1B Jake Gelof singled to put Myers at 3rd. With 2 outs, SS Elijah Hainline, DH Sean McLain, and RF Jose Izarra all drew walks with the last two forcing in runs and a 3-2 lead.  

Tulsa got some very good relief pitching with three pitchers throwing 4.0 scoreless innings.  I was pleased with LHP Luke Fox.  He was one of my pre-season’s must watch, and he came down with another injury filled season.  I wonder if he is getting converted to relief to limit his innings.  

Hainline was the only Driller with 2 hits, including a double (16).  GLP’s HR (8) was the only other XBH. 

The Drillers have now won nine of their past ten games.  They improved their season record to 87-49, nine more wins than any Drillers team has ever recorded in the 49-season history of the franchise. 

Box Score 

Dayton Dragons (Reds) 5 – Great Lakes Loons 0 

The Achilles heel for Great Lakes is the bullpen.  RHSP Cam Leiter allowed 1 hit and 1 BB with 4 K over the first 3.0 IP.  He got the first two batters out in the 4th, but the next two batters singled.  Manager Jair Fernandez felt it best to pull Leiter after 60 pitches.  The problem is that means the Great Lakes bullpen is called on.  I try to stay positive with the MiLB players, but when I see certain pitchers enter the game, I already have a bad feeling.  LHRP Matt Lanzendorfer is one of those.   The bad feeling was deserved.  Lanzendorfer walked the first batter to load the bases and then surrendered a bases clearing double.  The 4th run scored on a catcher’s interference.  

Why not let Leiter try to pitch out of the jam?  Apparently 60 pitches is his limit.  Thus, the decision to pull Leiter was easy, but the choice to replace him?  

LHRP Cody Morse was called to pitch the 5th and 6th innings.  He retired the side in order in the 5th but gave up a leadoff HR in the 6th.  He did retire the next three batters. 

RHRP Dilan Figueredo pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th inning. 

The offense was MIA.  The Loons managed 5 singles, with SS Emil Morales the only GL hitter with 2 hits.  The Loons put two runners on base in 4 of the 9 innings but ended up 0-8 wRISP. 

Great Lakes had a very good year and showcased perhaps a few of the future LAD stars. How many of Charles Davalan, Eduardo Quintero, Emil Morales, Nico Perez, and Eduardo Guerrero will get that chance at AA Tulsa next year.  All five deserve that chance. 

Box Score