We left part one with Mike Piazza. Mike should have been a lifetime Dodger, but FOX ruined that. Catchers are not supposed to hit for average, but Mike did. Especially when they combine the kind of power he had. His last full year in LA he hit .362, with 40 homers and 124 RBI’s. Trading him was the dumbest move ever. He hit .331 as a Dodger and hit 177 HR’s. Driving in 563 runs. He was a career .308 hitter even though over his last 6 seasons he never hit over .286.
So now, onward to part two.
32…anyone want to guess who? Sandy Koufax, simply in my opinion, the best pitcher I have ever seen. On any day you felt you were going to see something special when Sandy pitched. And a no hitter was always in the back of your mind. Over his last 6 seasons, no one was as dominant. Kersh may own some impressive records, and is one of the best of this era, but never have I felt I was watching the best in the game. 4 no hitters, 3 Cy Youngs, and ERA wins 5 straight years. Simply put, the BEST. Billy Antonello wore it before Sandy.
33. Max Carey, Grimes, Campy for a year, Joe Becker, and Danny Ozark, the coaches, Bilko, Davalillo, Eddie Murray, Eric Davis, Jordan, DeWitt, and Van Slyke. Murray was the best I saw in that number. Tony Watson was the last to wear it.
34. Well, 34 has not been worn by any player since Fernando left. That was 30 years ago. My own opinion is that while Fernando does not have HOF creds, he is iconic to the organization, and Fernando mania was directly because of him. So, when he retires from broadcasting on the Spanish language station, I have a feeling his # 34 will be retired with him. Making only him and Gilliam as players not in the hall given that honor.
35. The Babe, Klippstein, Maglie, Welch, Gott, Anderson, and Bellinger. Cody is the best position player to wear this, and he should only get better, but I also loved Bob Welch.
36. Stengel, Connors, Newk, Gleason, Robinson, F. Rhoden, Benzinger, Daal, Maddux, Weaver and Liberatore. Nod has to go to Newk.
37. Roebuck, Kekich, Castillo, Dreifort. Culberson wore it last. Roebuck was a solid reliever. Dreifort never really reached the heights most thought he would.
38. Did not start getting much use until the 40’s. Loes, Dick Williams, Craig, Moeller, Zahn, Goltz, Zachry, Worrell, Osteen, as a coach, Gagne, and McCarthy. Gagne the easy choice.
39. Campy. HOF catcher and one of the greatest personalities ever. Effervescent, and filled with love and enthusiasm for the game and life. Two players wore it before it was retired, Howie Reed, and Ken Rowe.
40. Another of those numbers that went to a lot of players. Some of the more notable would be Craig, Williams S., Roenicke, Singer, Honeycutt, Honey gets the nod on longevity.
41. Labine, Johnson, Sizemore, Reuss, Shaw, Penny, Hatcher. I go with Ruess who threw a no hitter, and was smart enough to be injured so Fernando could start for him.
42. Everyone knows this is Jackie. Pioneer, HOFer, leader, and one hell of a ballplayer. After he retired, it was worn by Ray Lamb in 1969.
43, Neal, Crawford, Hoak, Sutcliffe, Mondesi, Ashby, League and Avilan. Raul Mondesi is easily the best to wear it.
44. Tracewski, Foster, Downing, Landreaux, Strawberry, Saito, Padilla, Harang and Hill. Downing had the longest tenure, Straw was a disappointment, but Hill was by far the most entertaining.
45. Podres, Fowler, Richert, Wall, Cedeno, Mulholland, Perez, Dessens, Hillman, and Woodward. Podres gets the nod since this is the number he was wearing when he beat the Yanks in game 7.
46. Wade, Bessent, Marichal, Hooten, Gott, Gross, Bolsinger, and Fields. No real stars in that bunch. But Hooten was solid and spent a lot of years with that number. It belongs to Gonsolin now.
47. Hard to believe it did not get much use until Romo got it in 68, Messersmith, Maldonado, Brock, Orosco, Goodwin, Nolasco, Kendrick, and Thompson. Messersmith and Kendrick the best for me.
48. Usually given to pitchers. Spooner, Alexander, Powell, Ramon Martinez, Gagne, Guerra, and Stewart. Ramon was a solid starter.
49. Another pitchers number, Black, Hough, Niedenfuer, Belcher, Candiotti, Herges, Hyers, wore it last. Hough wore it the longest. And he was one of my favorites. But Belcher gets the nod as the best.
50. No real standouts, but Howell pitched as well as a Dodger. Solomon, Borbon, Sanchez, Eovaldi, and Choate. Little note, the last guy to wear it was Brett Eibner, who has become a pitcher now. Eibner hit one HR as a Dodger. It was the longest one hit that year by a Dodger player….naturally, he hit it at Coors. Now it belongs to Mookie. I have no doubt he will do it proud over his tenure as a Dodger.
51. Larry Sherry, Broxton, Bellisario, Ruiz. I go with Sherry, the 59 series MVP.
52. Lasorda, as a coach, Madlock, Crews, Sherrill, Lindblom, Fed-ex, and Baez. Baez for longevity and performance.
53. Big D. No one compares to this guy. He was as nasty as they come. Big and intimidating with that sidearm delivery of his. Held the consecutive scoreless innings streak until Orel broke it. HOFer, retired because of a rotator cuff injury, which today, could be fixed with surgery not available then. Long time broadcaster. Tom Paciorek wore it for one season after Big D retired. Only 2 players ever wear it.
54. Leary, Mike Maddux, Candelaria, Kershaw, Guerra, Cingrani, Romo. Leary spent the most time and was a very effective starter.
55. Fairly, Hershiser, Carrara, Schumaker, Latos, Blanton, and Russell Martin. Orel as a pitcher, and Martin as a position player.
56. Campy his rookie year, Astacio, Fetters, Kuo, Blanton and JP Howell. Astacio had pretty decent numbers. But did not play long for LA.
57. Guerrero P, rookie year. Howe, Pederson (Joc’s dad Stu), Wetteland, Seanez, Elbert, and Wood. Howe helped win the 81 series, what a tragic life he led, and died way too young.
58. Pignatano, Cresse, Jackson, and Billingsley. Bills an easy choice. Injury cut his career short.
59. Searage, Guillermo Mota, Fife, Castillo. Not a very scintillating group. Searage is now a pitching coach.
60. Castro, Hu, Coffey, Dominguez, and Toles. Hu finally made Abbot and Costello’s bit a reality when he walked in spring, and Steiner finally got to say, Hu’s on first! Toles was a very talented guy, and the Dodgers could really use a player like him. Sad ending.
61. Park, Beckett, and Verdugo. Park had some great moments, save giving up two granny’s in one inning to Tatis’s dad. Beckett and Verdugo were not here long enough.
62. Peralta, and Font. Again not much to choose from.
63. Yimi Garcia. nuff said.
64. Buehler, LoDuca, Columbe, and Ferguson.
65. Joc Pederson, Kyle Farmer, and Austin Barnes.
66. The Wild Horse. Mike MacDougal, Todd Williams, and Paul Konerko. Well, Puig is still an enigma, and a very talented baseball player. It is really a shame he never put it all together in a Dodger uni. But he was by a longshot one of the most exciting and exasperating players to ever play in LA.
67. Brunson, Jeff Kubenka, Louis Coleman, and O’Koyea Dickson.
68. Ross Stripling.
70. Damon Hollins and Tim Locastro.
71. Josh Ravin.
72. Miguel Rojas and Travis d’Arnaud.
74. Jansen. Kenley coming down to the end of it. I tend to remember his good days rather than the bad ones.
75. Alan Mills, Rodriguez, Dayton, and Alexander. Paco Rodriguez had some good outings as did Grant Dayton. Scott Alexander when his sinker is working is pretty good. When not, he is batting practice.
76. Josh Sborz and Matt West. Neither did much. Medwick, Dressen, Frias, and Santana, who the book is still out on. Most of the other numbers are used by rookies right now.
81. Victor Gonzalez.
85. Dustin May. We will see how he works out.
87. Jose De Leon.
88. John Axford and Mike Ramsey.
97. Joe Beimel.
99. Ryu, and Manny. Ryu has a much longer resume, and when healthy he was almost unhittable at times. Manny, he had the best 2 month stretch of any Dodger I can remember, and that includes Cody’s start last year. But he faded fast, and the PED suspension did not help at all.
Well, that is by the numbers. Some will still have stories to tell down the road.
Two players wore numbers you usually do not see. Brian Wilson wore 00 his two years as a Dodger, and Al Oliver wore 0 his only year in LA.
In high school, I wore 1 my first year, and 32 my second. Pretty cool in my mind.
Dodgers have retired, 1. Reese, 2 Lasorda, 4 Snider, 19, Gilliam, 20, Sutton, 32, Koufax, 39, Campy, 42, Jackie, and 53 for Big D, Who’s next?
Discussion (86)
Disagree, not disagreeable
What a wild game. Twice down by 4 to come back and win.
If the DBacks hadn’t intentionally walked Muncy in the 10th, they would’ve tied it.
Kenley didn’t have it from early tonight, no velocity or cut, so
I would’ve pulled him after the Walker Dinger. That outing can’t have done his confidence going forward any good.
Michael – thanks for all the effort you are putting into these pieces.
My worst nightmare that I kind of expected about the Dodgers is happening. The bullpen hasn’t been strong lately.
With Lux’s 2 bombs all of a sudden Lux has past Bellinger and Muncy in OPS.
We need some HRs for a comeback tonight. BP can hold ’em!
I think they showed Buehler with a blister on his finger.
I wish Beaty was in there he needs more at bats to show if he should start in the playoffs or not.
Bellinger headed south, again. Muncy under the Mendoza. Lux looking very far up to it. Methinks we are going to need some HRs in this series because RISP may be difficult to acheive with these hitters. We need a sweep!
Snow is here. Some of the Rockies fans have lost touch with reality. They think it is a big deal that they won that last series. If memory serves, Rocks at one point had lost 12 straight at Dodger Stadium. and won something like 4 of the last 24 games there. Weird.
One other thing, it was 101 in Denver yesterday. Today, they are expecting 6 inches of snow. It is about 29 degrees here where I live right now. Lots of clouds. We are also expected to get some snow. Keep warm gang!
Tonight’s lineup:
Mookie
Seager
Pollock (DH)
Belly
Muncy
CT3 (LF)
Lux
Rios (3b)
Barnes
If you have never read it, this may be the best piece written about Sandy Koufax (by Tom Verducci):
The Left Arm of God: Sandy Koufax was more than just a perfect pitcher
https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/08/29/sandy-koufax-dodgers-left-arm-god-si-60
MLB has a new feature on their website that allows the user to search millions of videos, using a variety of different filters.
Might come in handy for those of you who write stories here and would like to add a video to your post., or for any of the visitors here who would just like to relive a moment in the past.
Here’s the link:
https://www.mlb.com/video?utm=mlbfilmroom-redirect
Smoak released, Benintendi out for the season. Braves lost Fried to the IL with back problems. Soler to the IL as is Lance McCullers of the Astros. Hosmer may be back the last week of the season.
In the long line of great Dodger pinch hitters #45 Terry Whitfield. I was at a great Dodgers-Braves series August of 1985. For the final game Whitfield hit a PH HR off of Bruce Sutter for a big Dodgers comeback.
Old pal Charlie Culberson was DFA’d by the Braves today. Check out the White Sox pitching rotation, it is pretty solid.
Fun post Bear. Lots of work on this list. Thanks
(I tried to post this earlier but unsuccessfully so if it appears twice in slightly different form, forgive me)
Koufax was awesome. I saw a replay this spring of an old series game. (Somebody here will remember exactly)
Sandy dominated the opposing line up with his fastball only. He could not get the feel of his great curveball so he scrapped it. Fastballs in-out, up-down, all day long. Vin interviewed Sandy in the clubhouse post game standing on what appeared to be a crates and Sandy admitted he only had his fastball. An awesome weapon. But the best find a way.
I’ve watched 3 games the last couple of days and in each the umpiring behind the plate was awful. Adam Hamari was all over the place last night in the Pads – Rockies game. Malachi Moore stunk in our game Sunday. And Doug Eddings almost ran Gabe Kapler in the first inning of the Giants game Sunday. He called a very low strike and heard it from the dugout with his exceptional hearing. He immediately warned the dugout about 3 pitches into the game and proceeded to stink in silence the rest of the day. These guys are neon flashing advertisement for the ABS system which I hope they implement next spring.
I personally as a player or coach I seldom bitched about balls and strike calls and never in the first couple of innings as the umpire established his zone for the day and we learned it. But the problem arises when there’s no consistency. That was the case with the 3 guys mentioned above. The hitter and pitcher have to trust that the pitch in the 1st and 9th are called the same. When an umpire pulls a rabbit out of his hat, especially in a critical situation, he’s gonna hear it. I think it’s getting worse of reasons I can’t explain. Maybe it’s lots of new faces?
I did get tossed once for bitching balls and strikes with a “Rabbit-Ears” umpire. He didn’t agree when I told him that if his eyesight was as good as his hearing, he’d be in the Hall of Fame.
To Badger’s point about the strike zone being larger back in the day, I tried to paste the cover of Ted Williams “The Science of Hitting” with John Underwood book on this sight to display the “old” strike zone. I either didn’t have the skills to reproduce it here or I’m not allowed. It’s a great visual of the zone at that time, with Teddy Ballgame standing at the plate with the zone displayed over the plate. The zone is 11 baseballs high and 7 baseballs wide and each ball predicts what Ted would hit at that spot. What you see immediately ii is 3 to 3 1/2 baseballs higher than today, even with the “high” strike being called again. And there are 3 balls added to the bottom of the zone now. Just imagine this zone compared to the zone being called 20 years ago when Sosa and Big Mac battled. A belt high fastball
was the top of that zone and they could spit on about the top 5 rows in Ted’s zone.
“The Science of Hitting” came out in 1968 when I was playing Legion ball and it became our hitting Bible. Those were the days when what separated the men from the boys with the scouts was the ability to hit the high fastball. And it was a HIGH fastball.
I would encourage you to google up the cover of The Science of Hitting or maybe someone here with more skills than I have could post it here. It’s remarkable how the strike zone has evolved over the years.
Pitching match-ups for Az. Buehler- Weaver. 1-7 7 plus ERA. Kershaw-Clarke. 1-0 ERA around 2. May-Bumgarner 0-4 8.44 ERA. I see a new Muncy T shirt on the horizon…….GO GET IT OUT OF THE POOL!
DODGERS PLACE OF JOC PEDERSON ON PATERNITY LIST
RHP JOSH SBORZ RECALLED
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Sborz and placed outfielder Joc Pederson on the paternity list.
Sborz, 26, returns for his third stint with the Dodgers after appearing in one game and tossing 1.0 scoreless inning in his first two stints. In parts of two seasons over eight games, the right-hander is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA (8 ER/10.0 IP) and eight strikeouts. The former Virginia Cavalier has not allowed a run in five of his last six appearances with the Dodgers and has seven of his eight career strikeouts in that span. He was originally drafted in the second round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft by the Dodgers.
Pederson, 28, has played in 34 games this season, batting .184 (18-for-98) with six homers and 12 RBI. All six of his homers have been against right-handed pitchers and 120 of his 129 career homers are against righties. In parts of seven seasons with the Dodgers, he is a career .231 (491-for-2130) hitter with 129 homers and 299 RBI. The Northern California native was originally drafted in the 11th round of the 2010 First Year Player Draft out of Palo Alto High School.
Nothing ticked me off more than trading Mike Piazza. He was the face of the Dodgers. I blame some of that on Peter O’Malley. He had a chance to ink Piazza for a lot less money, but opted not to do it, believing it would be best to leave it to the new owners. Then Piazza’s antics with the whining didn’t help.
Still, I think Fred Claire would have worked it out, if Fox execs had stayed out of the baseball operations side.
Other than spend lots of money just to keep ESPN out of LA, Fox also tossed around millions on player contracts like Kevin Brown and then sold the team to Frank McCourt.
Yes, athletes are bigger and stronger than ever. But comparing them to players of the past probably doesn’t make sense. Could a pretty good college player, but not major league material, of today be a big star in the 1920s? Maybe a Hall of Fame candidate? Probably.
Hitting was certainly easier. Just look at the old gloves. Lot of base hits lost to the modern glove. Using the old time baseball mentality, how many bunt base hits would you see when the shift is on?
I’m not sure they ate healthier. Lots of fried food and gravy back in the day. But they certainly didn’t train all year long or lift weights, most had to work second jobs. In many ways, the weights may be a negative factor. Bigger, stronger players, but more injuries.
Interesting write-up.
I predict that over these last 18 games, the Dodgers’ offense (which is 3 runs behind SD for the most runs scored in baseball) will explode and truly become the Big Blue Wrecking Crew.
Everyone once wanted a bullpen as good as the Yankees… Notanymore!
I have over the years wondered what some of those old guys would do today. 5 man rotation, lower mound, strike zone the size of a t.v. tray. 600 innings in two years would wipe out every staff in baseball today.
Nobody of interest is really hot right now. Seattle has won 6, but are still 3 under .500. Cleveland is 7-3, tied for first. Ultimately I don’t expect much out of them. I think the White Sox are better, but admittedly don’t follow either that closely. Happy to see NY and Houston on losing streaks.
Who will finish strong? I think the Braves and Cubs are likely to. The Padres. Can’t help but believe the Yankees and Houston wil turn it around, but certainly hope not. Look out for the giants and the Phillies.
Great job again this morning guys – really looking forward to this page every day !! The Dodgers are very blessed to have some of the greatest pitchers in baseball history – Koufax,Drysdale,Fernando,Orel,Sutton,Newcombe.Kersh to name a few. And even though each didn’t make the HOF, each had their own unique gifts that made them special. Each contributed to Dodger lore and tradition.
Drinking freshly brewed coffee in my Dodger mug, I saw how much work went into that article, Bear. Thank you. Mark’s pictures are a hit and really compliment your write-up. For me my number will always be 32.
DODGER PITCHING:
Bullpen
Tied for 8th in IP.
2nd in ERA (2.51) to the A’s (2.17)
2nd in Wins to the Rays
3rd in WAR
2nd in HR/IP
4th in LOB %
Starters
2nd in ERA (3.20) to the Indians (2.77)
9th in IP, but with a couple of good games they could be #3 (it’s close)
18th in HR/9 IP
2nd to Indians in LOB%
Koufax was absolutely dominant during that period. He had 4 no-hitters, including one perfect game, many one- and two-hit games, many strike outs, and many complete games. Having watched him during that era, the opposing batters often seemed helpless against him. I also watched Hersheiser during the 1988 season, which was a great season for him. However, in my experience, Koufax was unmatched for sheer dominance, except perhaps by Bob Gibson. I’m speaking of the pitchers I watched personally, if we’re talking about the eyeball test. Nolan Ryan could also be unhittable, of course, but Koufax had better control on a routine basis. Clemens was another dominating pitcher, but he had some help from steroids. Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez also come to mind in terms of sheer dominance.
The best pitchers of the 60s. From This Great Game:
#1. SANDY KOUFAX
1960-66, Los Angeles Dodgers. Best Year: 1966 (1.73 ERA, 27 wins, 9 losses, .750 win percentage, 41 starts, 27 complete games, 5 shutouts, 323 innings, 317 strikeouts)
At the start of the decade, the Brooklyn-born southpaw looked to be another major league pitcher struggling to overthrow his way to success, with the rare gems scattered within a bigger collection of off-days. Then he mastered the curve—which some consider the most effective ever thrown by a pitcher—to go with a fiery fastball, and reset his approach, making opponents try to hit it rather than trying to make them miss. Add to this Baseball’s decision early in the 1960s to enlarge the strike zone, and not only was Koufax transformed into a brilliant ace, he was simply unfair to opponents. It’s arguable that no other pitcher in the history of the game was as dominant as Koufax over his last five years—a period which included five NL ERA titles, four no-hitters (one of them a perfect game), three Cy Young Awards, one NL MVP and two World Series MVPs. His strikeout rate remained electric, averaging 9.5 per nine innings in a time when the major league average was little more than half of that; but showing he had tamed the wildness of his early career, his walk rate plummeted from 5.4 in 1960 to a mere 1.6 three years later. No NL pitcher had struck over 300 batters over one season in the 60’6” era until Koufax whiffed 306 in 1963; two years later, he reset the all-time mark at 382. In six World Series starts during the decade, Koufax produced a sensational 0.94 ERA and struck out 54 batters in 48 innings. Looking for financial respect after the 1965 campaign, Koufax sat out spring camp with teammate Don Drysdale, asking for $500,000 over three seasons—and during negotiations dared to bring in an agent, something the Dodgers viewed the same way that Dracula would have viewed a crucifix. (Koufax eventually settled for a one-year, $125,000 contract—still, the highest salary ever given to a pitcher at that point.) But that 1966 season would be Koufax’s last; he pitched practically the entire year in pain, taking at least 15 cortisone shots and numerous pain-killing meds. He retired afterward at age 30, simply stating: “I can’t take the pain anymore.”
A larger strike zone. Yes. Back then we all hit against a strike zone that went from the bottom of the knees to the arm pits. Imagine if they did that now. The mound was also higher during Koufax’ era. It was lowered after he retired. But 658 innings in 2 years? Just short of 1200 innings his last 4 years. It’s a shame what the Dodgers were willing to do him.
I wasn’t alive during Sandy Koufax’s reign, but curious for those that did, how does Hershiser’s 88 performance rank against Koufax during his last 6 years? I can cross compare the actual stats, but more interested in the eyeball examination and confidence level you felt as fan for either on the mound? I did witness Hershiser and although Gibson won the MVP and Canseco was a 40/40 guy, there was no doubt in my mind that Hershiser was the best player in the league in 88. It’s hard to imagine someone pitching much better, specifically during that post season, but then again, Koufax’s numbers and accolades during that stretch are nearly untouchable.
Padres lost Hosmer with a broken finger he suffered on a bunt attempt. So Moreland will be their go to guy for a while.
Bear, you definitely need the new press guides.
“50. No real standouts.”
When you have a sec, check to see what number Mookie is wearing. I realize it’s just been a short time, but he may very well go into the HOF as a Dodger and when he does he’ll be wearing number 50.