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All-Century Roster: Dodgers
By Gary Brooks
SportsLine Baseball Editor
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The '90s were the first decade since the '30s that the Dodgers failed to reach the World Series and it's not like the team didn't have any star-caliber players in the decade.
 | | | Kirk Gibson's home run stunned the A's in the 1988 World Series.(Allsport) | |
The Dodgers have always had MVP and Cy Young candidates. They've played
in 18 World Series, winning six. If it weren't for the New York Yankees,
having beaten the Dodgers eight times in the Series, the Dodgers would be
close to the Yankees in the century's order of dominance.
For the most part, the organization's success has been built on
pitching, especially in the friendly confines of Dodger Stadium since 1962.
From Dazzy Vance to Don Newcombe to Sandy Koufax to Orel Hershiser, Dodgers
fans have been well versed in the fine art of mound work.
The Dodgers have thrown 20 no-hitters and had 30 different 20-game
winners. Of course, they couldn't win without support and over time, the
Dodgers' century lineup would stack up with most. From Babe Herman to Duke
Snider, Steve Garvey to Mike Piazza, the team has always had an elite hitter.
But through 100 years, the team's most significant moment didn't come
with a no-hitter, four-homer game or World Series win, it came when Jackie
Robinson played first base on April 15, 1947, integrating the majors.
Lineup
| Roy Campanella, Catcher, 1948-57 |
| Campanella was playing in the Negro Leagues at 16, so by the time he
arrived in Brooklyn, he was in his prime and made a huge impact as the
Dodgers challenged the Yankees for supremacy through the '50s. In 1951, he
won the first of three MVP awards, others coming in '53 and '55. The 1953
season was his best as he led the NL with 142 RBI, hit 41 homers -- 40 as a
catcher, setting a record for the position -- scored 103 runs and batted
.312. A chipped bone in his hand caused nerve damage, which limited his
performance after 1955. In the offseason before the 1958 season, a car
accident paralyzed Campanella for life. |
| Gil Hodges, 1B, 1943, '47-61 |
| The emergence of Campanella moved Hodges from catcher to first base and he
went on to become an eight-time All-Star who drove in 100 runs or more each
season from 1949-55, had 11 seasons of 20 or more home runs and won three
Gold Gloves. Hodges, who is one of 12 players to hit four homers in a game,
had his best season in 1954, hitting .304 with 42 homers and 130 RBI. |
| Jackie Robinson, 2B, 1947-56 |
| Robinson breaking the color barrier is the most influential event in
baseball history. The fact that he was a fine player and extraordinary
athlete was secondary. But it is his talent afield that lands him on this
team. Amid enormous pressure, Robinson was the NL Rookie of the Year in
1947 -- the award is now named for him. Two years later he won the batting
title at .342 and was the NL MVP. He hit .307 in his 10-year career and
struck out just 291 times in 4,877 at-bats. He hit 137 homers, drove in 734
runs and stole 197 bases. |
| Pee Wee Reese, SS, 1940-42, '46-58 |
| "Pee Wee" wasn't exactly tiny at 5-9, 175 pounds but he picked up the
nickname shooting marbles as a youngster, long before he became a nine-time
All-Star and crucial figure in the Dodgers' success of the '50s. Reese, who
was originally signed by the Red Sox but traded because player-manager Joe
Cronin was at shortstop, was a strong leadoff hitter often among the league
leaders in walks, runs and steals. His 1,338 runs are the most in franchise
history. He's one of four to have played 2,000 games in Dodger blue. |
| Ron Cey, 3B, 1971-82 |
| Before Cey locked up the job in 1973, the Dodgers had trouble at third
base. He stayed at the hot corner for 10 years and became the home run king
in the Los Angeles portion of Dodgers history. The six-time All-Star never
led the league in an offensive category but hit 228 homers and drove in 842
runs (3rd in L.A. history). |
| Duke Snider, OF, 1947-62 |
| Snider, who debuted with the Dodgers the same day as Jackie Robinson, was
arguably the player of the decade of the '50s when in order to be the best
center fielder in New York City alone he had to outdo Mickey Mantle and
Willie Mays. From 1954-57 Snider had more homers and RBI than Mays and
Mantle and he led the majors in each category for the decade. He hit at
least 40 homers each season from '53-'57 becoming just the third player to
string together five such powerful seasons, joining Babe Ruth and Ralph
Kiner. Snider was a World Series star as well, hitting 11 home runs in his
career. |
| Babe Herman, OF, 1926-31 |
| Herman has the highest career batting average among Dodgers of the 20th
century. He hit .339 over six seasons. He and Yankees great Bob Meusel are
the only players ever to hit for the cycle three times. His 1930 season
stands among the greatest ever. He hit .393 (second to Bill Terry's .401),
totaled 416 bases with 241 hits and scored 143 runs. All are team records. |
| Zack Wheat, OF, 1909-26 |
| In the dead-ball era of 1918, Wheat became the last batting champion to not
hit a single home run. He hit .335 that season, one of 13 years over .300.
He topped out at .375 in 1923 and '24. Wheat remains the Dodgers' career
leader in games, hits, doubles, triples and total bases. |
Pitchers
| Sandy Koufax, SP, 1955-66 |
| The finest lefty ever? Those who had the opportunity to witness Koufax's
domination of the National League from 1963-66 wouldn't disagree and would
put him right alongside any pitcher in history in one, all-meaning game. It
took Koufax several years to harness his fastball and knee-buckling curve
but once he did he was nasty. He pitched four no-hitters, one a perfect
game, set a then-record with 382 strikeouts in a season and won three Cy
Young Awards. Koufax led the NL in ERA from 1962-66, going 111-34 and
striking out 300 or more three times. |
| Don Drysdale, SP, 1956-69 |
| Even when Koufax was at his best, Drysdale wasn't overshadowed. He was
considered one of the most intimidating pitchers of his era and from
1962-65 averaged 21 wins as the Dodgers won two World Series. He won the Cy
Young Award in '62 going 25-9. In 1968, though wearing down at the end of
his career, Drysdale twirled a 58-inning scoreless streak that stood as a
record for 20 years. |
| Dazzy Vance, SP, 1922-32, '35 |
| Vance struggled with an often-tired arm for nearly 10 years before he had
surgery and started to work on four days rest instead of three, finally
sticking in the majors as a 31-year-old rookie. He then become the biggest
strikeout pitcher of the '20s, leading the NL a record seven consecutive
seasons in punchouts. He was the NL MVP in 1924 when he went 28-6 with a
2.16 ERA and edged Rogers Hornsby who hit .424. He led the league in
wins again in '25 with 22, including a no-hitter against the Phillies. In
1930, though he was just 17-15, he had an ERA (2.61) more than a run better
than anyone else in the league becoming the first to do it, having since
been joined by only Greg Maddux and Pedro Martinez. |
| Don Newcombe, SP, 1949-51, '54-58 |
| Newcombe, who pitched a shutout in his debut, was the first outstanding
black pitcher in major league history and a key member of the "Boys of
Summer" Dodgers who were the NL's best team for most of his career.
Newcombe is the only player to win Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and MVP
awards. The Cy and MVP came in 1956 when he went 27-7 with five shutouts
and a 3.06 ERA. It was the first ever Cy Young Award, which at the time was
awarded to only one player instead of one in each league. He was also an
outstanding hitter. In 1955, when the Dodgers won their only World Series
in Brooklyn, Newcombe hit .359 with an NL pitcher's record seven homers. He
ended his career as a first baseman in Japan. |
| Orel Hershiser, SP, 1983-94 |
| If not for the way he finished the 1988 season, Hershiser doesn't make this
squad over Don Sutton, Fernando Valenzuela, Johnny Podres and Preacher Roe.
But no pitcher has ever had a greater extended run than Hershiser did,
propelling him to the '88 Cy Young Award and the Dodgers to an improbable
World Series title where along the way, Hershiser was named the MVP of the
NLCS and the Series. He finished the regular season with 59 consecutive
scoreless innings, edging Drysdale's record, then shut out the Mets over
eight innings in the LCS to stretch the streak to 67 innings. He went
134-102 as a Dodger, including a 19-3 record in 1985 and 23-8 mark in 1988. |
| Ron Perranoski, RP, 1961-67, '72 |
| Perranoski led the league in appearances three times as a Dodger and in
1963 turned in one of the greatest seasons ever from a reliever. He went
16-3, leading the league in winning percentage (.842), had a 1.67 ERA and
saved 21 games. He remained the leader of the team's bullpen through 1967. |
| Bench |
| Mike Piazza, Steve Garvey, Willie Davis, Carl Furillo, Davey Lopes,
Maury Wills, Raul Mondesi, Pedro Guerrero, Bill Russell, Jim Gilliam, Eric
Karros, Kirk Gibson, Jack Fournier, Manny Mota, Dusty Baker, Dolph Camilli,
Tommy Davis, Steve Sax, Frank Howard, Ron Fairly, Mike Marshall, Mike
Scioscia, Willie Keeler, Wes Parker, John Roseboro, Steve Yeager |
| Best season |
| Finally, in 1955, the Dodgers broke through and beat the
Yankees to win the World Series. After having lost to their cross-town
rivals in the '49, '52 and '53 Series, Brooklyn had its first World
Champion. The Dodgers went 98-55 in the regular season then won the Series
in seven games as Johnny Podres shut out the Yankees to finish it. Duke
Snider hit four of the team's nine Series homers. Roy Campanella was the NL
MVP and Don Newcombe went 20-5. |
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| Worst season |
| In 1905, the Brooklyn team was called the Superbas but they
were far from superb. They went 48-104 to finish 56 1/2 games behind the
New York Giants. The pitching staff had the first spit-baller, Elmer
Stricklett, and was generally awful. Stricklett went 9-18 and Harry
McIntire lost 25 games. The only winning pitcher was Doc Scanlan who went
14-12. No one hit better than .288. |
| Best individual season, player |
 | | | Mike Piazza.(Allsport) | |
Mike Piazza just barely missed the starting
lineup with an outstanding six seasons, none of which were better than
1997.
Piazza strengthened his reputation as the best right-handed hitter in
the game by setting career bests with a .362 average, .638 slugging
percentage, 40 homers, 124 RBI, 201 hits, 32 doubles, 355 total bases and
104 runs scored in 152 games.
He finished second in MVP voting to Larry
Walker of the Rockies. His .362 average was the highest ever by the
catcher, setting the Los Angeles Dodgers record. |
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| Best individual season, pitcher |
| Koufax's final season was his best. In
1966, he had a career-best ERA of 1.73 and career-best 27 wins. He led the
league in both categories, plus strikeouts (317), innings pitched (323),
complete games (27) and shutouts (5). |
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