Pride of flatbush

This list will contain players who spent at least six seasons with the Brooklyn franchise and players who played for the team after 1900. Players like Keeler, McGinnity, Adonis Terry, will not be on here. You will also notice that most of the players listed will be from the 40's and 50's. This is mainly because of the ineptitude of the franchise in its early years.

Catcher: Roy Campanella. Campanella began playing professional baseball when he was 15. His father was Italian and his mother was black. He played in the Negro Leagues and in Mexico until he was signed by Brooklyn when he was 23. In 1946, he played at Class-B Nashua. In 47, he played at AAA Montreal. After 35 games at AAA St. Paul, where he hit .325, he was called up to the Dodgers and appeared in 83 games hitting .258. In 1949 he became the starting catcher for the team and would remain so until 1957. He won the MVP award in 51-53-55. He holds the MLB record for the highest percentage of runners caught stealing at 57.4%. He had four seasons where he caught 62.5% or more. His 242 homers as a Dodger place him 4th on the all-time list. His career was ended when he was paralyzed in a one car accident in New Jersey in January of 1958, just before the Dodgers first season in Los Angeles. Elected to the Hall in 1969. Honorable Mention: Al Lopez. Lopez is recognized more as a manager, but he played for Brooklyn for 7 seasons compiling a .279 BA. Hank DeBarry. DeBarry was a Dodger from 1922-1930. His BA over his 9 years with the team was .267.

First Base: Gil Hodges. Hodges originally was signed as a catcher. He appeared in one game as a 19-year-old in 1943. He then spent the next two years with the US Marines in the Pacific. Hodges became the starting first baseman in 1948 when Roy Campanella took over the catcher's job and they moved Jackie Robinson to second. Hodges would stay in that role until 1960 when he still played 101 games but was platooned with Ron Fairly. He was selected by the Mets in the NL expansion draft and finished his career there. He and Duke Snider were the only MLB hitters to have 300 or more homers in the 50's. He hit 4 homers in a game against the Braves in 1950. The first one came off of Warren Spahn. Brooklyn won 19-5. Hodges had 17 total bases, a record that stood until Shawn Green hit 4 homers and a double against the Brewers in 2001. Gil later managed the Miracle Mets to the 69 World Series Championship. He was part of three World Championship teams. 55-59 Dodgers 69 Mets. Elected to the Hall in 2022. Gil passed in 1972. Honorable Mention: Jake Daubert who started at first for Brooklyn 1910-18. He batted .305 as a Robin and won 2 batting titles 1913-14. Dolph Camilli. Six seasons with Brooklyn, won the MVP in 1941.

Second Base: No player in the 67-year history of the team in Brooklyn ever made more than 5 opening day starts at second base. Jackie made exactly five after moving there from first in 1948. After 1953, he made 3 opening day starts at third. Signed by Brooklyn in late 1945, he was the pick of Branch Rickey to break the color line in MLB. The first ever ROY in 1947, he was a major factor in 6 pennant winning teams. Jackie brought speed and versatility to Brooklyn's lineup. He was a fiery competitor. He was the NL MVP in 1949 when he also won the batting title. Elected to the Hall in 1962. He passed away in 1972 at 53 years old. Honorable Mention: George Cutshaw, Tony Cucinello.

Third Base: Like second, not many players played a long time at the hot corner for Brooklyn. especially in the early years. Amazingly, Billy Cox played just 700 games at the position in his career, all for Brooklyn. And although Jim Gilliam is 5th on the All-time Dodger list playing the position 761 times, all of those starts came in LA. So, by default, Cox was the best and the longest to play as a Brooklyn Dodger. For his era, Cox was considered an excellent defender. He was a career .262 hitter with little power or speed, but he walked more than he struck out and scored more than he drove in runs. Honorable Mention: Cookie Lavagetto and Joe Stripp. Only other players to make more than 3 starts at third on opening day.

Shortstop: No contest. Hands down it is Pee Wee Reese. Born in Louisville Kentucky, Reese was instrumental in helping Robinson gain respect in the clubhouse and on the field. He was traded to the Dodgers from the Red Sox in July of 1939 for two players, Red Evans and Art Parks and 35,000 dollars, in probably one of the worst deals ever made by the Sox. He played for Brooklyn for 16 years, replacing manager, Leo Durocher as the team's starting SS. He missed 3 years while serving in the Navy in WWII. When he returned to the team at age 27, he resumed his job as the starting SS. For the next 11 years he never played less than 140 games. He retired after the 1958 season and coached for one year before moving into broadcasting. Elected to the Hall in 1984. Pee Wee passed away in 1999 at the age of 81. Honorable Mention: None. No other Brooklyn SS ever started at SS more than three years.

Left Field: A no brainer, Zack Wheat hands down. Joined Brooklyn in 1909 at 21-years old. A career .317 hitter, he still holds many Dodger records. 6th in career BA, 1st in games played 2,322. hits 2,804, at bats, plate appearances, total bases 4,003, doubles 464. triples 171, singles 2,028 and runs created 1,446. He played 18 years for the organization, tied with Bill Russell, he played on the 1916 and 20 pennant winners. He spent his 19th season with the Philadelphia A's batting .324. Elected to the Hall in 1959 by the veterans committee. He passed away in 1972. Honorable Mention: Joe Medwick was the left fielder for four seasons, most of any other LF in Brooklyn history.

Center Field: Another easy choice. Edwin D. "Duke" Snider. California born, Duke signed with the Dodgers in 1944 when he was 17 years old. He spent 2 years in the military at the end of WWII and returned to the minors in 1946. He got his feet wet in the majors in 47-48. In 1949, he became the regular center fielder and stayed there until the team moved to LA in 1958. Dodgers all-time home run leader with 389 as a Dodger. Along with Hodges, the only two MLB players to hit 300 or more homers in the 50's. Five consecutive 40 homer seasons from 53-57. Won HR crown in 56 with 43. He and Hodges were also the only two players to knock in 1000 runs or more in the 50's. Duke 1031, Hodges 1001. Yogi Berra missed by 3. Duke had 11 homers in World Series play, still the most in Dodger history. He hit 4 homers in a series twice, 52 and 55. His last WS homer came in 1959 against the White Sox. Hit 407 homers in his career. Elected to the Hall in 1980. Passed away in 2011. Honorable Mention: Hi Meyers. Meyers played for Brooklyn for 11 years. He hit .282 in Brooklyn. He had the only Brooklyn homer in the 1916 World Series, and he hit it off of Babe Ruth. It was an inside the park homer and it came in the first inning. After that, Ruth started his consecutive scoreless innings in the World Series streak which reached 29.2 innings, It was later broken by Whitey Ford.

Right Field: Another easy choice. Furillo was acquired in 1941 from Reading in the Interstate League. The story goes that the Dodgers purchased the franchise to get just one player, Furillo. His manager that year was Fresco Thompson, who would become an exec with the Dodgers. One of his teammates was Al Campanis. He missed 3 seasons while serving in the military in WWII. His nickname was "The Reading Rifle" due to his strong throwing arm. He made it to the Dodgers in 1946 and joined Pete Reiser and Dixie Walker in the outfield. Although he would play a little over 360 games in CF and LF, he played 1409 in right. He won the batting title in 1953 with a .344 average. He played before they awarded gold gloves. He had 151 assists in his career. 115 of them in right. He had some key hits in the playoff against the Braves and the World Series in 1959. Released by the Dodgers in 1960, he sued the team because they had released him while he was injured. He eventually settled for about 31,000 dollars. He worked for Otis Elevator company after his retirement from baseball. He was called Ol Skoonj by his Brooklyn teammates because of his love for the Italian dish, scujilli. Honorable Mention: Dixie Walker, Harry Lumley and Johnny Frederick and simply because of his 1930 season, Babe Herman.

Utility Player: This gets a little tricky, but Junior was a versatile player while with the Dodgers. He never really played one position a lot after his 53-54 seasons until he played 3rd in LA. In 53, he was the ROY playing second base for the Dodgers. He stayed in that role in 54, but in 1955 he started playing the outfield along with his duties as a second baseman. Famously he was replaced defensively in left by Sandy Amoros in game seven of the 1955 series and he moved to second sending Zimmer to the bench. Amoros then made the game saving catch of the ball hit by Berra. Junior played on 4 World Series winning teams. He became a coach after he retired and passed away just before the 1978 World Series opened just 9 days short of his 50th birthday. Along with Fernando, they are the only two Dodgers whose numbers are retired that are not in the Hall of Fame. Honorable Mention: Cookie Lavagetto, Tony Cucinello, Jimmy Johnson.

Starting Rotation: Brooklyn used a standard four-man rotation for most of its history. So again, I will go with 2 lefties and 2 righties if possible. Players did not stay long with organizations back then, and if a pitcher got an arm injury, he was usually done.

Dazzy Vance was 31 when he joined the Brooklyn Robins in 1922, He would pitch for the team until 1932 when he was 41 years old. In between, he won 190 games for Brooklyn with a high of 28 in 1924 when he won the MVP award in the National League. He led the league in strikeouts from 1922-28. Seven straight seasons. He won ERA titles in 24-28-30. His career ERA was 3.17. Elected to the Hall in 1955. He passed away in 1961 at 69 years old.

Brickyard Kennedy played for Brooklyn from 1892-1901. He won 177 games for the team. He is second to Vance in Brooklyn history. He won 20 or mote 4 times. Besides Brickyard, he was also known as Roaring Bill because he had a loud voice and talked a lot. He was 4th in wins in the 1890's behind Kid Nichols, Cy Young and Amos Rusie. He is the only 1900s player on the list. He pitched for the Pirates when they played in the 1903 World Series. He started one game and lost; it was his last MLB game. He passed away in 1915 in his hometown in Ohio.

Burleigh Grimes was the last pitcher allowed to throw the spitball after it was outlawed. He was also a very good pitcher. He pitched for the Dodgers from 1918-26. In his 9 years with the team he won 158 games and lost 121. He led the league in wins and strikeouts in 1922. He also led the league in complete games 3 times with Brooklyn and innings pitched in 23-24 when he pitched over 300 innings each year. Managed the Dodgers in 37-38 and had Ruth as one of his coaches in 38. Replaced as manager by Leo Durocher. Elected to the Hall in 1964. He passed away in 1983 at 92.

Nap Rucker is the winningest lefty in Brooklyn history. He pitched for Brooklyn for 10 years. His career record is 134-134, but his ERA, 2.42. He pitched for some really bad Brooklyn teams. He won 21 games in 1911 and had a 9.2 WAR that year. In 1908 he threw a no-hitter against the Boston Braves becoming the first Brooklyn lefty to do so. He retired at age 31 after the 1916 season. Born in Crabapple Georgia, he became a successful businessman investing in a bank, a plantation and several cotton farms. He also served as the Mayor of Roswell Ga from 35-36. After leaving the mayor's office, he was responsible for creating Roswell's first supply of running water and served as the city's water commissioner for many years. Elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1967. He passed away in 1970.

Relief Pitchers: Saves were not an official statistic until 1969, and the first official save in MLB history was recorded by Bill Singer, who relieved Drysdale on April 7th at Crosley Field in a 3-2 Dodger win. He pitched 3 perfect innings. I had to go to the top 50 pitchers in Dodger history to find the most effective pitchers coming out of the pen, and the guys who were credited with saves after an extensive search by MLB of available box scores. These stats are available on the Dodgers history page on Baseball Reference.

Clem Labine saved 81 games during his career. He also was an emergency starter. Maybe his most memorable start came in the 1956 World Series in game six when he shut out the Yankees by a 1-0 score in 10 innings. This was the game after Larsen threw his perfect game and kept Brooklyn from being beaten for at least one more game. He saved 54 of those games in Brooklyn and another 23 in LA. He finished his career with the Mets in 1962. He passed away in 2007 in Vero Beach.

Hugh Casey saved 49 games in his 7 years in Brooklyn. He also won 70 games and lost 41. His career ERA was 3.39. He spent 3 years in the military during WWII. He was 2-2 in World Series play. One of his losses came in 1941 when Mickey Owen, the catcher, missed a third strike in the dirt to Tommy Heinrich, and the Yankees went on to score 4 runs and win 7-4. He was released by the Dodgers after the 1948 season and went 5-1 his final year pitching for the Pirates, 4-1 5 saves, and then the Yankees 1-0. Casey committed suicide in 1951 while his wife was pleading with him not to do it. He was upset that he had been named in a paternity suit by another woman. He was just 37 years old.

There you have it, the best Brooklyn had to offer. Babe Herman may have been one of the best hitters the Dodgers ever had in Brooklyn. His .393 BA in 1930, is still the highest ever by a Dodger, and I would say, one of the least likely Dodger records to ever be broken.

OKC Comets 12 – Salt Lake City Bees (LAA) 2 

RHP Bobby Miller pitched for the first time all season.  He completed two innings, throwing 47 pitches (28 strikes).  He allowed a 2-out 2nd inning solo HR on a 3-2 count, did not walk a batter, and struck out 3.  I did not watch him pitch so I cannot comment on his command. Maybe someone else watched him. 

In the top of the 2nd inning, OKC scored when 2B Hyeseong Kim walked, moved to 2nd on a WP, and scored when 1B Ryan Fitzgerald doubled (23). 

OKC LHRP Garrett McDaniels relieved Miller and pitched a scoreless 3rd.  RHP Landon Knack entered in the 4th. 

The score remained 1-1 to the 5th.  C Griffin Lockwood-Powell doubled (5).  SS Alex Freeland walked.  With 2 outs, DH James Tibbs III singled to score GLP.  Freeland and JTIII pulled off a double steal and scored when RF Zach Ehrhard tripled (2).  Ehrhard scored when Kim reached on a throwing error. 

In the 6th, 3B Noah Miller singled, and with 1 out, stole 2B.  He scored when CF Alek Thomas singled.  Thomas stole 2nd and scored on Freeland’s double (2).  LF Ryan Ward was HBP.  JTIII doubled (25) to score Freeland and moved Ward to 3rd.  Ward scored on Ehrhard’s SF. 

In the 9th, Ehrhard singled and Kim forced him at 2B.  Fitzgerald hit his 11th HR for 2 more runs.  Miller singled and GLP hit his 2nd double (6) moving Miller to 3rd.  Thomas had a RBI single for the 3rd run of the inning. 

After 5.0 scoreless innings, Landon Knack continued into the 9th inning (his 6th).  He gave up a leadoff single, and RBI double.  After a flyout, he gave up a single moving the runner to 3rd.  

RHRP Griff McGarry relieved Knack and walked the first batter he faced.  He then struck out the next two batters for the OKC win. 

·      Alek Thomas – 3-6, 1 run, 1 RBI

·      James Tibbs III – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (25)

·      Zach Ehrhard – 2-4, 1 run, 3 RBI, triple (2)

·      Ryan Fitzgerald – 3-5, 1 run, 3 RBI, double (23), HR (11)

·      Noah Miller – 3-4, 1 BB, 2 runs

·      Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 2-5, 1 run, 2 doubles (6) 

Box Score

Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston) 5 – Tulsa Drillers 2 

In the 4th inning, Tulsa scored an unearned run.  With 1 out LF Josue De Paula doubled (29), CF Chris Newell reached on an error with JDP to 3rd.  DH Jake Gelof hit a sac fly to score JDP. 

LHSP Adam Serwinowski pitched 4 .0 innings without allowing a run or hit.  But in the fifth, he allowed a 1-out double and a single putting runners on the corners.  A fielder’s choice and throwing error scored one run, and a PB scored a 2nd run. 

In the 6th, Serwinowski struck out the leadoff batter, followed by a double and RBI single.  LHRP Christian Suarez relieved Serwinowski.  A single, balk, groundout, single, SB, and WP scored two more. 

3B Logan Wagner hit his 1st AA HR in the 7th to complete the scoring. 

Newly acquired RHRP Jacob Kmatz pitched a scoreless 7th inning, and RHRP Christian Ruebeck pitched a scoreless 8th.  

Besides JDP’s double and Wagner’s HR, SS Elijah Hainline and 2B Taylor Young singled for the only hits by Tulsa. 

Box Score 

Great Lakes Loons 13 – Dayton Dragons (Reds) 6 

The Loons scored a run in the 2nd inning.  3B Chase Harlan and 2B Nico Perez each walked.  Both runners moved up on an errant pickoff throw, with Harlan scoring on a groundout.  

The score stayed 1-0 through 4.0 innings.  In the 5th, C Victor Rodrigues walked.  LF Charles Davalan followed with a single.  With 2 outs, SS Emil Morales hit a 3-run HR (14).  Harlan walked and moved to 3rd when Perez singled.  Perez stole 2nd. Both runners scored when CF Jaron Elkins hit his 1st GL double. Elkins scored on 1B Eduardo Guerrero’s RBI single, and a 7-0 lead. 

RHSP Hyun-Seok Jang wasn’t quite as prolific as he was in his GL debut, but he was still darn good.  In the first 4 innings he allowed 1 single and struck out 8.  He was finally scored upon at GL in the 5th. Jang gave up a leadoff double, struck out the next two batters, but then a RBI single, and RBI triple scoring 2 runs. 

Rodrigues led off the 6th with a single.  Davalan slugged his 18th HR.  DH Eduardo Quintero walked and with 1 out, stole 2nd.  With 2 outs, Perez reached on a fielding error with Quintero reaching 3rd.  Perez stole 2B, and both Quintero and Perez scored on Elkins’ 2-RBI single. 

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Jang gave up a 1-out double and was relieved by RHRP Matt Lanzendorfer.  Lanzendorfer walked the 1st two batters he faced but retired the next two batters without allowing a run. 

In the 7th, RF Mairo Martinus singled for his first GL hit.  After an out, Davalan reached on a force out. Davalan scored when Quintero hit his 21st double.  Quintero scored when Morales hit his 12th double.  

RHRP Alex Makarewich pitched a scoreless 7th, but left the bases loaded.  

RHRP Seamas Barrett relieved Makarewich in the 8th.  He struck out 2, but he gave up a single, walk, HBP, RBI single, run scoring PB, and BB before giving way to RHRP Joseilyn Gonzalez.  Gonzalez walked the first batter he faced allowing a run but did record the final out.  

RHRP Robby Porco entered the 9th inning to hopefully secure the win.  He pitched a scoreless 9th inning and GL got the win. 

·      Charles Davalan – 3-6, 3 runs, 2 RBI, double (25), HR (18)

·      Eduardo Quintero – 2-4, 2 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (21)

·      Emil Morales – 2-6, 1 run, 4 RBI, double (12), HR (14)

·      Nico Perez – 2-5, 1 BB, 2 runs

·      Chase Harlan – 1-3, 2 BB, 2 runs

·      Jaron Elkins – 2-5, 1 run, 4 RBI, double (1) 

Box Score 

Ontario Tower Buzzers 3 – Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego) 2 

In the 1st inning with 2 outs, 1B Easton Shelton singled.  LF Ching-Hsien Ko followed with a single and Shelton moving to 3rd.  SS Joendry Vargas tripled to score both runners. 

2B Kellon Lindsey homered in the 5th (5) and a 3-0 lead. 

RHP Cam Leiter continues to have his innings managed.  He completed 2.0 scoreless innings.  He threw 29 pitches (14 strikes).  

RHRP Javier Bartolozzi was the bulk pitcher in this game.  He completed 4.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed 2 hits, no BB or K. 

RHRP Josehp Marte pitched 2.0 scoreless innings.  

RHRP Jholbran Herder entered in the 9th with a save opportunity.  He allowed a leadoff double, a strike out, a BB, and another strike out.  Ontario was one out away from a shutout victory.  However, he gave up a 2 run double.  He walked a batter, and with the tying and winning runs on base, Herder induced a ground out for the save. 

Vargas’s triple and Lindsey’s HR were the only XBH.  Shelton and Ko had the 1st inning singles, and RF Javier Herrera had the final single. 

Box Score