History of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Encyclopedia
The history of the Los Angeles Dodgers begins in the 19th century when the team was based in Brooklyn, New York.
. It moved to the American Association
the following year and eventually to the National League
in 1890. The team went by a number of nicknames including the Brooklyn Atlantics, Brooklyn Grays, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Brooklyn Grooms, Brooklyn Superbas, and Brooklyn Robins before setting on the Brooklyn Dodgers (shortened from Trolley Dodgers) in the 1930s. During the Brooklyn era, the team won the AA championship in 1889
and National League championships twelve times (1890
, 1899
, 1900
, 1916
, 1920
, 1941
, 1947
, 1949
, 1952
, 1953
, 1955
1956
) and won their first World Series
championship in .
The Brooklyn Dodgers had several Hall of Fame players on their rosters during this era including Roy Campanella
, Leo Durocher
, Burleigh Grimes
, Willie Keeler
, Pee Wee Reese
, Wilbert Robinson
, Duke Snider
, Dazzy Vance
, Zack Wheat
and Jackie Robinson
. Robinson, the first African American to play major professional baseball, made his debut as a Dodger in 1947 and won the first Rookie of the Year award.
The Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field
on September 24, , which the Dodgers
won 2–0 over the Pittsburgh Pirates
.
, the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first game in LA, defeating the former New York and now new San Francisco Giants
, 6–5, before 78,672 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
. Sadly, catcher Roy Campanella
, left partially paralyzed in an off-season accident, was never able to play for Los Angeles.
The process of building Walter O'Malley's dream stadium soon began in semi-rural Chavez Ravine
, in the hills just north of downtown L.A.
There was some political controversy, as the residents of the ravine, mostly Hispanic
and mostly poor, resisted the eminent domain
removal of their homes (land which had been previously condemned for a public housing project, Elysian Park Heights) and gained some public sympathy. Still, O'Malley and the city government were determined, and construction proceeded. The resistance of the residents against their removal was known as the Battle of Chavez Ravine
.
In the meantime, the Dodgers played their home games from 1958
to 1961
at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
, a gargantuan football and track-and-field stadium that had been built in 1923, and then expanded to host the 1932 Summer Olympics
. The Coliseum's dimensions were not optimal for baseball, and the best way to fit a baseball diamond into the oval-shaped stadium was to lay the third-base line parallel to the short axis of the oval, and the first-base parallel to the long axis. This resulted in a left-field fence that was only about 250 feet from home plate. A 40-foot high screen was erected to prevent home runs from becoming too trivial to hit. Still, the 1958 season
saw 182 home runs hit to left field in the home games, whereas just three were hit to center field, and only eight to right field. The Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon
, newly acquired for the 1959 season
, became adept at launching lazy fly balls over or onto the screen, which became known as "Moon shots." He led the National League with triples in 1959.
In 1959
, the season ended in a tie between the Dodgers
and the Milwaukee Braves
. The Dodgers won the tie-breaking playoff
. 1959 also saw a team other than the Yankees
win the A.L. pennant, one of only two such years in the 16-year stretch from 1949
through 1964
, and because of the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, this resulted in the first World Series since 1948 to have no games in New York City. In a lively World Series
, the Dodgers defeated the "Go-Go" White Sox
in six games, thoroughly cementing the bond between the baseball team and its new Southern California fans.
Commemorating its 50th year in Los Angeles, the Dodgers team again played one more game in the Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2008 - an exhibition game to benefit a cancer research charity. The crowd of 115,300, the largest in baseball history in any country, any league, saw the Dodgers lose to the Boston Red Sox
by a score of 7–4. Due to intervening renovations, the Coliseum's left field corner was shortened to only 190 feet, calling for an even-taller left-field fence of 60 feet. Kevin Cash
of the Red Sox and James Loney of the Dodgers did hit home runs over that fence, but there were unexpectedly few home runs in the game.
Despite the passage of 50 plus years since departing from Brooklyn, many in the borough, and the nation, continue efforts to encourage a move back east. Many of these efforts take the shape of letter writing campaigns, online petitions and nostalgic articles. Brooklyn Dodgers merchandise is still popular among fans as well. Major League Baseball
estimates $9 million in sales every year. The Baseball Hall of Fame reports that Brooklyn photos and broadcasts are the museum's second biggest sellers behind the Yankees, Ebay
lists close to 1,000 items a day relating to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Library of Congress
has over 100 books on Brooklyn Dodger teams, third only to the Yankees and Red Sox.
There were occasional attempts to move the Dodgers back to Brooklyn. State senator Tom Bartosiewicz tried hard to persuade them in the early 1980s, but was rebuffed. A stronger chance was in 1998, when the O'Malley family sold up to Rupert Murdoch's Fox company. In the course of bidding, a committee convened by the City and State of New York (including Roger Kahn, author of Boys of Summer) made an offer to the club which was turned down, despite being larger than the eventual sale price.
Construction on Dodger Stadium
was completed in time for Opening Day 1962. With its clean, simple lines and its picturesque setting amid hills and palm trees, the ballpark quickly became an icon of the Dodgers and their new California lifestyle, and it remains one of the most highly-regarded stadiums in baseball even today. Despite the fact that the Dodgers have played in Dodger Stadium longer than they had played in Ebbets Field, the stadium remains surprisingly fresh. O'Malley was determined that there would not be a bad seat in the house, achieving this by cantilever
ed grandstands that have since been widely imitated. More importantly for the team, the stadium's spacious dimensions, along with other factors, gave defense an advantage over offense, and the Dodgers moved to take advantage of this by assembling a team that would excel with its pitching
.
The core of the team's success in the 1960s was the dominant pitching tandem of Sandy Koufax
and Don Drysdale
, who combined to win 4 of the 5 Cy Young Award
s from 1962 to 1966, during a time in which only one award was given to the top pitcher from either of the two major leagues. Top pitching also came from Claude Osteen
, an aging Johnny Podres
, and reliever Ron Perranoski
. The hitting attack, on the other hand, was not impressive, and much of the offensive spark came from the exploits of speedy shortstop Maury Wills
, who led the league in stolen bases every year from 1960 to 1965, and set a modern record with 104 thefts in 1962. The Dodgers' strategy was once described as follows: "Wills hits a single, steals second, and takes third on a grounder. A sacrifice fly brings him home. Koufax or Drysdale pitches a shutout, and the Dodgers win 1-0." Although few games followed this model exactly, the Dodgers nevertheless tallied a high proportion of wins in a low-scoring manner that relied on their pitching and defense rather than their offense - with the exception of a few seasons. For example, in 1962, Tommy Davis
led the Major Leagues with 153 RBI, and he led the National League in batting average and in hits. Seasons of over 150 RBI are quite rare by a player in modern-day pro baseball. Davis led the league in batting twice for the Dodgers.
The 1962
pennant race ended in a tie, and the Dodgers were defeated by the archrival Giants
in the tie-breaking playoff, but the Dodgers proceeded to win the pennant in three of the next four years. The 1963 World Series
was a four-game sweep of the Yankees
, in which the Dodgers were so dominant that the vaunted Bronx Bombers never even took a lead against Koufax, Podres, and Drysdale. After an injury-plagued 1964
, the Dodgers bounced back to win the 1965 World Series
in a seven games against the Minnesota Twins
. Game one happened to fall on the Yom Kippur
holiday, and Koufax (who is Jewish) refused to pitch on that day, a decision for which he was widely praised. The Dodgers rebounded from losing the first two games, with Koufax pitching shutout
s in Games five and seven (with only two days rest in between) to win the crown and the World Series MVP Award
.
The Dodgers again won the pennant in 1966
, but the team was running out of gas, and it was swept in the World Series
by the upstart Baltimore Orioles
. Koufax retired that winter, with his career cut short by arthritis in the elbow of his pitching arm, and Maury Wills was traded away. Don Drysdale continued to be effective, setting a record with six consecutive shutouts in 1968
, but he finished with just a 14–12 record due to the Dodgers' poor hitting that year.
While the Dodgers were sub-par for several seasons thereafter, a new core of young talent was developing in their farm system
. They won another pennant in 1974
, and although they were quickly dismissed by the dynastic Oakland Athletics
in the World Series
, it was a sign of good things to come.
, the Dodgers had been managed by Walter Alston
, a quiet and unflappable man who commanded great respect from his players. Alston's tenure is the third-longest in baseball history for a manager with a single team, after Connie Mack
and John McGraw. His retirement near the end of the 1976
season
, after winning 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles over his career, cleared the way for an entirely different personality to take the helm of the Dodgers.
Tommy Lasorda
was a 49-year-old former minor-league pitcher who had been the team's top coach under Alston, and before that had been manager of the Dodgers' top minor league team. He was colorful and gregarious, an enthusiastic cheerleader in contrast to Alston's taciturn demeanor. He quickly became a larger-than-life personality, associating with Frank Sinatra
and other celebrities, with a penchant for eating Italian food in large volumes. He became well-known for sayings such as, "If you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue
," and for referring to God
as "the Great Dodger in the sky." Although some considered his persona to be a schtick
and found it wearing, his enthusiasm won him a reputation as an "ambassador for baseball," and it is impossible to think of the Dodgers from the late '70s to the early '90s without thinking of Lasorda.
Another transition had recently occurred, higher up in the Dodgers management. Walter O'Malley passed control of the team to his son Peter
, who would continue to oversee the Dodgers on his family's behalf through 1998.
New blood had also been injected into the team on the field. The core of the team was now the infield, composed of Steve Garvey
(1B), Davey Lopes
(2B), Bill Russell
(SS), Ron Cey
(3B), and Steve Yeager
(C). These five remained in the starting lineup together from 1973 to 1981, longer than any other infield fivesome in baseball history. The pitching staff remained strong, anchored by Don Sutton and Tommy John
. The Dodgers won NL West titles in both 1977
and 1978
, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies
both years in the National League Championship Series
, only to be defeated in the World Series both years by the Yankees
. In 1980
, they swept a three game series from the Houston Astros
in the final weekend of the regular season (including Don Sutton's brilliant save) and were in a first place tie in the National League West, but lost to the Astros 7–1 in the one-game playoff.
.
Pressed into service due to an injury to Jerry Reuss
, Valenzuela pitched a shutout
that day, and proceeded to win his first 8 decisions through mid-May. The youthful left-hander, speaking only Spanish but sporting a devastating screwball
, became a sensation. “Fernandomania” gripped both Southern California, where huge crowds turned out to see him pitch, as well as in his home country of Mexico, where the number of radio stations that carried Dodger games increased that year from three stations to 17. Valenzuela became the only pitcher ever to be named Rookie of the Year and win the Cy Young Award
in the same season. The Dodgers' torrid start assured them of a playoff berth in the strike-shortened split season. After defeating the Montreal Expos
with the help of a ninth-inning two-out home run by Rick Monday
in the fifth and deciding game of the National League Championship Series
they proceeded to defeat the Yankees
in the World Series
in six games, with the World Series MVP award split three ways among Ron Cey
, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager
.
The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983
and 1985
, but lost in the NLCS both those years (to the Phillies
and Cardinals
, respectively). The 1985 NLCS
was particularly memorable for Game 6, in which the Dodgers were protecting a 5–4 lead in the ninth inning, hoping to force a deciding seventh game. With two runners on and first base open, Lasorda elected not to walk
Cards slugger Jack Clark
, who proceeded to hit a home run off Tom Niedenfuer
and send St. Louis to the World Series
.
After seven years of high strikeout
totals, and a 21-win season in 1986, Valenzuela sat out for most of the 1988
season. Plagued by arm troubles that were widely blamed on his being overused by Lasorda, his effectiveness faded before he turned 30. The new anchor of the pitching staff was a right-hander named Orel Hershiser
. He had been given the nickname "Bulldog" by Lasorda, more as a hopeful motivational tool than an objective description of his personality, but by 1988 he had matured into one of baseball's most effective pitchers. That year he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award
, and broke Don Drysdale
's major league record by tossing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, ending with a 10-inning shutout
on his final start of the season.
won by the Dodgers is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were not expected to compete. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson
(the league's Most Valuable Player
that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS
as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets
, against whom they were 1–10 during the regular season, the Dodgers prevailed in a back-and-forth series that went the entire seven games and saw Hershiser come on for the save in game 4 (preceded by a dramatic 9th inning home run by Mike Scioscia
off Dwight Gooden
). The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland Athletics
, who owned baseball's best regular-season record with 104 wins against only 58 defeats. Featuring the "Bash Brothers" duo of Mark McGwire
and José Canseco
, the A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam
by Canseco, and led 4–3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, pinch-hitter Mike Davis
drew a base on balls from formidable closer Dennis Eckersley
. During Davis' at-bat, Lasorda had the light-hitting infielder Dave Anderson on deck so the Athletics would pitch to Davis more carefully. Then, Gibson, hobbled by injuries to both his legs that included a strained MCL and a severely pulled hamstring, came in to pinch hit
. After fighting off several pitches and working the count full, Gibson got the backdoor slider he was looking for and pulled it into the right field pavilion for a two-run, walk-off home run
, winning the game for the Dodgers, 5–4. Widely considered one of the most memorable and improbable home runs in baseball history, Gibson's dramatic home run was his only appearance of the entire series, and it set the tone for the following four games. Hershiser dominated the Athletics in Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the Dodgers completed their stunning 4 games to 1 upset of the A's, capping off an incredible personal season by being named the Series MVP. Few remember that the Dodgers were so injury riddled during their World Series appearance. They won the Series in Game 5 with lifetime reserves Danny Heep and Mickey Hatcher in the starting lineup.
After 1988, the Dodgers did not win another postseason game until 2004, though they did reach the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, narrowly missed in 1991 and 1997, and led the NL West when the end of the 1994 season was cancelled by a strike. Hershiser, like Valenzuela before him, suffered an arm injury in 1990, and he never regained the production he had earlier in his career. From 1992 to 1996, five consecutive Dodgers were named Rookie of the Year: Eric Karros, Mike Piazza
, Raúl Mondesí
, Hideo Nomo
, and Todd Hollandsworth
, which is a record. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remained with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell
.
Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954–1996, owned by a single family 1950–1998) finally came to an end. After L.A. city officials rejected a proposal to bring an NFL stadium and franchise to Chavez Ravine in 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch
's News Corporation
, owner of the Fox network
(which also owns broadcast rights to MLB games) and 20th Century Fox
. Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with veteran manager Davey Johnson
. Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy. Fox made the first changes to the home uniform since the club moved from Brooklyn and introduced the team's first alternate jersey and cap, adding silver to the team's official colors (although they have rarely been used since). The team became more steady on the field in the early 2000s, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, starting pitcher Chan Ho Park, slugger Shawn Green
, third baseman Adrián Beltré
, and catcher Paul Lo Duca
. The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Éric Gagné
as one of baseball's top relief pitcher
s. Gagné later won the Cy Young Award
in 2003, converting all 55 of his save opportunities that year, and holding the league to a 1.20 ERA
and striking out 137 batters in 82⅓ innings. Gagné would later establish a new major league record for consecutive saves, with 84 saves spanning parts of the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons.
real estate developer Frank McCourt
. McCourt immediately hired Paul DePodesta
as his new general manager, replacing Dan Evans
. As an assistant general manager in Oakland under Billy Beane
, DePodesta favored a highly statistical approach to evaluating prospects and potential free-agents. This sabermetric approach, widely publicized in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis
, led many to believe that new owner McCourt was unwilling to pay for high priced talent, and would thus reduce the Dodgers to a status similar to small-market teams such as Oakland. With a team largely assembled by DePodesta's predecessors, and augmented by some acquisitions of his own, DePodesta saw the Dodgers near the top of the standings through much of 2004. In an effort to put the team over the top that year, DePodesta pulled off a number of mid-season trades, including sending away three key players (including popular team leader LoDuca), while obtaining several new players. The Dodgers did manage to win the NL West in 2004
, but bowed out quickly in four games in the Division Series
to the eventual National League champion St. Louis Cardinals
.
During the winter of 2004–05, the team parted ways with several more longtime players, including Beltré and Green. Their replacements included starting pitcher Derek Lowe
, outfielder J. D. Drew
, and the run-producing, but aging second baseman Jeff Kent
. DePodesta's radical overhaul did not bear fruit in 2005, as the Dodgers suffered from clubhouse strife and stifling injuries, finishing with their second-worst record in Los Angeles history. The club also faced an overwhelming number of injuries that quickly scuttled the team's hopes of repeating as division champions. Among them were Drew's broken wrist, All-Star shortstop Cesar Izturis
's injury that required Tommy John surgery
, and closer Gagné's deteriorating elbow condition that would also require surgery and force him to miss much of the 2005 season. Manager Jim Tracy also parted ways with the team at the end of the 2005 season, citing irreconcilable differences with DePodesta. However, DePodesta himself was fired by McCourt less than a month later, with McCourt later citing DePodesta's lack of leadership and dissatisfaction over DePodesta's handling of the process of hiring a new manager. Ned Colletti
was hired as the new Dodger GM on November 16, 2005.
. He hired former Red Sox manager Grady Little
to lead the team and also traded oft-troubled Milton Bradley for Oakland Athletics
prospect Andre Ethier
. His off season acquisitions also included former Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal
and former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller
. Coletti also signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra
, even though the team already had two other former All-Star shortstops (Furcal and the then-injured Cesar Izturis
). Garciaparra agreed to play first base and adjusted quite well in the field and remained productive at the plate, producing several key hits in Dodger victories.
Due to the crowded infield, untimely injuries and several players' lack of production, the team was rebuilt during the season. The flurry of trading saw Cesar Izturis go to the Chicago Cubs
for Greg Maddux
while Willy Aybar and Danys Baez went to Atlanta for Wilson Betemit
. A series of rookies were called up and provided substantial everyday contributions. Among them were catcher Russell Martin
, who won the starting catching job after being called up in May and starting pitcher Chad Billingsley
, who had several quality starts in August and September. Andre Ethier
led the team in batting with a .308 batting average as the team's everyday left fielder through much of the season. Rookie first baseman James Loney
hit very well in his short time with the team, tying Gil Hodges’ 56-year-old Dodgers record with 9 RBI in one game on September 28. Another key move was handing the closer's role to rookie (but Japanese League veteran) Takashi Saito
, where he flourished, notching 24 saves in 26 opportunities while posting a 2.07 ERA.
After a heated pennant race, in which the most memorable moment occurred when the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs on September 18 to tie the score in the ninth inning and then won the game on a tenth-inning walk-off homer by Nomar Garciaparra
, the Dodgers entered the 2006 playoffs in the National League's Wild Card spot, having tied the San Diego Padres
for the division lead but having lost 13 of 18 head-to-head meetings with the Padres. They were eventually swept, 3–0, by the New York Mets
in the 2006 National League Division Series
.
In 2007, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent three players (Brad Penny
, Takashi Saito
, and Russell Martin
) to the all-star game, and at one point, the Dodgers had a record of 54-41, which was then the best record in the National League
. After a hitting slump, the Dodgers
fell to 60–59, and seven games out of first place in the N.L. West
. The Dodgers were able to rebound, however, and had a 79-69 record with three weeks left in the season. At this point, the Dodgers trailed the San Diego Padres
by 1½ games in the wild card slot, and the Arizona Diamondbacks
by 3½ games. However, the Dodgers lost 10 of their next 11 games, which eliminated the Dodgers from post season play, and would finish the season with a disappointing 82-80 record. The last few weeks of the season were disrupted further by public complaints in the media by some of the veteran ballplayers about the lack of respect afforded them by some of the younger players on the team. This led to a divided clubhouse, as younger players consistently got more playing time at the expense of the veterans. After the season and weeks of media speculation, Grady Little
resigned as manager, citing personal reasons http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3087421. A few days later the Dodgers announced the hiring of former New York Yankees
skipper Joe Torre
to be the team's new manager.
At the start of the 2008 season, Joe Torre found himself with a whole new team, including new players Andruw Jones
and Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda
. To add to his troubles, Don Mattingly
was unable to perform his hitting coach duties, and third basemen Nomar Garciaparra
and Andy LaRoche
were out with injuries, leaving the starting third base position to rookie Blake DeWitt
, who had never played above level A ball in the minor leagues. DeWitt stepped up early, when Nomar went down again with a calf injury. The team suffered a serious blow when star player Rafael Furcal
was injured in the midst of the best start of his career. Many substitutions were used, including rookies Chin-Lung Hu
and Luis Maza
, but could not duplicate Furcal's offense. Staff ace Brad Penny
and slugger Jones began to underperform, leading to trips to the DL for both. Despite the problems with the roster, as well as their record, the Dodgers were only behind first-place Arizona by one game at the All-Star break. The season saw progress in the teams prospects, including a call-up for top prospect Clayton Kershaw
, as well as comebacks from veteran pitchers, most notably Chan Ho Park. Chad Billingsley
quickly grew to be the team's ace, being one of the leaders in strikeouts and ERA and being the first pitcher on the Dodgers to get double-digit wins. For the majority of the season, the club hovered around a .500 record. To bolster a lineup of mostly young players, Ned Colletti made trades for shortstop Angel Berroa
, third-baseman Casey Blake
, and on July 31, 2008 the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired outfielder Manny Ramirez
from the Boston Red Sox
in a 3-way deal that sent third baseman Andy LaRoche
and single-A prospect pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates
and all-star outfielder Jason Bay
to the Red Sox. Ramirez brought an energy to the team that it had lacked previously and also energized the fanbase. After playing more than 140 games of catch-up, the Dodgers swept Arizona
to take first place in the last series of the season for the two teams on September 7 after being 4 games behind the week before. The Dodgers clinched the 2008 National League Western Division title on September 25 as the Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals
12–3. On October 4, 2008 they beat the Cubs 3-0 to sweep the 2008 NLDS and moved on to the NLCS
, where they faced the Philadelphia Phillies
and were eliminated, losing the series in five games. In 2009, however, Manny was suspended for taking a performing enhancing substance. Despite the 50 game suspension, the Dodgers repeated as National League West Champions and once again faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series [NLCS] after sweeping [3-0] the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series [NLDS]. They once more lost to Philadelphia [1-4]. The following season, a procession of injuries caused the Dodgers to fall out of the race by late summer... Manny Ramirez was traded to the Chicago White Sox
in August and in September Joe Torre announced his decision to retire as Dodgers manager, to be replaced by Don Mattingly
.
said the following day that "the focus of the Dodgers is on the playoffs and the World Series". Jamie was fired from her position as Dodgers CEO on Thursday, October 22, 2009, the day after the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs, thus ending the reign of the self proclaimed "First Female CEO of a Baseball Team." She officially filed for divorce shortly thereafter. Frank claimed that the divorce would have "no bearing on the team whatsoever". " Despite that assertion, media speculation continued that the team was in financial difficulty.
On March 31, 2011, after the Opening Day
game against the San Francisco Giants
, a Giants fan was attacked by two men wearing Dodgers attire in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. He suffered serious injuries and was diagnosed with brain damage. In response, the Dodgers and Giants held a joint fundraiser to benefit the victim, a reward was offered for the capture of the attackers and security was beefed up at the stadium.
On April 20, Baseball commissioner Bud Selig
announced that MLB would be appointing a representative to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Dodgers. His statement said that he took that action because of his "deep concerns for the finances and operations" of the Dodgers.
On June 27, one week after the commissioner refused to approve a proposed television contract that would have pumped much needed funding into the club, the Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After much legal wrangling between McCouts lawyers and MLB lawyers in bankruptcy court, he reached a deal with the league to put the team up for sale.
Brooklyn Dodgers history
The franchise now known as the Dodgers was originally formed in 1883 as a member of the minor league Inter-State Association of Professional Baseball ClubsInternational League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. It moved to the American Association
American Association (19th century)
The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
the following year and eventually to the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in 1890. The team went by a number of nicknames including the Brooklyn Atlantics, Brooklyn Grays, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Brooklyn Grooms, Brooklyn Superbas, and Brooklyn Robins before setting on the Brooklyn Dodgers (shortened from Trolley Dodgers) in the 1930s. During the Brooklyn era, the team won the AA championship in 1889
1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms season
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms won the American Association championship by two games over the St. Louis Browns.- Offseason :* December 23, 1888: Al Mays and Dave Orr were purchased from the Bridegrooms by the Columbus Solons....
and National League championships twelve times (1890
1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms season
The Brooklyn Bridegrooms left behind the American Association and joined the National League. They were able to win the league championship, becoming one of a select few teams to win championships in different leagues in back-to-back seasons.- Roster :...
, 1899
1899 Brooklyn Superbas season
The 1899 Brooklyn Superbas season was a season in American baseball. The team won the National League pennant with a record of 101-47, 8 games ahead of the Boston Beaneaters, after finishing tenth in 1898.- Offseason :...
, 1900
1900 Brooklyn Superbas season
The 1900 Brooklyn Superbas captured their second consecutive National League championship by four and a half games. The Baltimore Orioles, which had been owned by the same group, folded after the 1899 season when such arrangements were outlawed, and a number of the Orioles' players, including star...
, 1916
1916 Brooklyn Robins season
The Brooklyn Dodgers won their first National League pennant in 16 years and advanced to the first World Series in franchise history, where they lost to Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox in five games.- Offseason :...
, 1920
1920 Brooklyn Robins season
The Brooklyn Robins won 16 of their final 18 games to pull away from a tight pennant race and earn a trip to their second World Series against the Cleveland Indians. They lost the series in seven games....
, 1941
1941 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The Brooklyn Dodgers, led by manager Leo Durocher, won their first pennant in 21 years, edging the St. Louis Cardinals by 2.5 games. They went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series....
, 1947
1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season
On April 15, Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball since . Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases and be named the very first Rookie of the Year...
, 1949
1949 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The Brooklyn Dodgers held off the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National League title by one game. The Dodgers lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in five games.- Offseason :...
, 1952
1952 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The Brooklyn Dodgers rebounded from the heartbreaking ending of 1951 to win the National League pennant by four games over the New York Giants. However, they dropped the World Series in seven games to the New York Yankees...
, 1953
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers repeated as National League champions by posting a 105-49 record, as of 2011 the best winning percentage in team history...
, 1955
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers season
In , the Brooklyn Dodgers finally fulfilled the promise of many previous Dodger teams. Although the club had won several pennants in the past, and had won as many as 105 games in 1953, it had never won a World Series. This team finished 13.5 games ahead in the National League pennant race, leading...
1956
1956 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers edged out the Milwaukee Braves to win the National League title. The Dodgers again faced the New York Yankees in the World Series...
) and won their first World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
championship in .
The Brooklyn Dodgers had several Hall of Fame players on their rosters during this era including Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
, Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Arland Grimes was an American professional baseball player, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1954. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.-Career:Nicknamed "Ol' Stubblebeard", Grimes was...
, Willie Keeler
Willie Keeler
William Henry Keeler in Brooklyn, New York, nicknamed "Wee Willie", was a right fielder in professional baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders in the American League.- Biography :Keeler's...
, Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...
, Wilbert Robinson
Wilbert Robinson
Wilbert Robinson , nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball...
, Duke Snider
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider , nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush", was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets , and San Francisco Giants .Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of...
, Dazzy Vance
Dazzy Vance
Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance was a star Major League Baseball starting pitcher during the 1920s.-Biography:...
, Zack Wheat
Zack Wheat
Wheat played his first full season in . He played every game for the Superbas that season as the regular left fielder, leading the league in games played. He batted .284 that season, the second-lowest average of his career, which led the team, and was among the league leaders in hits, doubles, and...
and Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
. Robinson, the first African American to play major professional baseball, made his debut as a Dodger in 1947 and won the first Rookie of the Year award.
The Brooklyn Dodgers played their final game at Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
on September 24, , which the Dodgers
1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season was overshadowed by Walter O'Malley's threat to move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn if the city did not build him a new stadium in that borough. When the best the mayor could promise was a stadium in Queens, O'Malley made good on his threats and moved the team to Los...
won 2–0 over the Pittsburgh Pirates
1957 Pittsburgh Pirates season
- Regular season :The Pittsburgh Pirates played the Brooklyn Dodgers in the final game at Ebbets Field. The game was contested on September 24, 1957, and Brooklyn pitcher Danny McDevitt pitched a complete game. He had nine strikeouts while allowing just five hits...
.
The Alston years
On April 18, 19581958 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...
, the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first game in LA, defeating the former New York and now new San Francisco Giants
1958 San Francisco Giants season
The San Francisco Giants season involved the 80-74 team finishing in third place in the National League standings, twelve games behind the NL Champion Milwaukee Braves in their inaugural season in The Golden Gate City.- Offseason :...
, 6–5, before 78,672 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
. Sadly, catcher Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
, left partially paralyzed in an off-season accident, was never able to play for Los Angeles.
The process of building Walter O'Malley's dream stadium soon began in semi-rural Chavez Ravine
Chávez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is an area in Sulfir Canyon that is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.It was named after Julian Chavez, a Los Angeles Councilman in the 19th century.-History:...
, in the hills just north of downtown L.A.
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
There was some political controversy, as the residents of the ravine, mostly Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
and mostly poor, resisted the eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
removal of their homes (land which had been previously condemned for a public housing project, Elysian Park Heights) and gained some public sympathy. Still, O'Malley and the city government were determined, and construction proceeded. The resistance of the residents against their removal was known as the Battle of Chavez Ravine
Battle of Chavez Ravine
The Battle of Chavez Ravine refers to approximately ten years of racist violence over the Mexican American community of Los Angeles' Chavez Ravine. The eventual result was the forced removal of the entire population of Mexican Americans, living in the community to make way for Dodger Stadium...
.
In the meantime, the Dodgers played their home games from 1958
1958 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...
to 1961
1961 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Cincinnati Reds ; Whitey Ford, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Candlestick Park: National League, 5-4 *All-Star Game , July 31 at Fenway Park: 1–1 tie...
at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
, a gargantuan football and track-and-field stadium that had been built in 1923, and then expanded to host the 1932 Summer Olympics
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
. The Coliseum's dimensions were not optimal for baseball, and the best way to fit a baseball diamond into the oval-shaped stadium was to lay the third-base line parallel to the short axis of the oval, and the first-base parallel to the long axis. This resulted in a left-field fence that was only about 250 feet from home plate. A 40-foot high screen was erected to prevent home runs from becoming too trivial to hit. Still, the 1958 season
1958 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...
saw 182 home runs hit to left field in the home games, whereas just three were hit to center field, and only eight to right field. The Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon
Wally Moon
Wallace Wade Moon, known popularly as Wally Moon, is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Moon played his 12-year career in the National League for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers...
, newly acquired for the 1959 season
1959 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox ; Larry Sherry, MVP*All-Star Game , July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5-4*All-Star Game , August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5-3...
, became adept at launching lazy fly balls over or onto the screen, which became known as "Moon shots." He led the National League with triples in 1959.
In 1959
1959 Major League Baseball season
-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Nellie Fox, Chicago White Sox **Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs *Cy Young Award**Early Wynn, Chicago White Sox *Rookie of the Year**Bob Allison, Washington Senators...
, the season ended in a tie between the Dodgers
1959 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers finished in a first-place tie with the Milwaukee Braves, then won the pennant as they swept the Braves in a best-of-three playoff series. They went on to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series in just their second season since leaving Brooklyn.- Offseason :*...
and the Milwaukee Braves
1959 Milwaukee Braves season
The 1959 Milwaukee Braves season was the seventh season for the franchise in Milwaukee and its 84th season overall. The Braves ended the National League regular season in a first-place tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With both clubs finishing with records of 86-68, a special best-of-three...
. The Dodgers won the tie-breaking playoff
One-game playoff
A one-game playoff, sometimes known as a pennant playoff or play-in game, is a tiebreaker in certain sports—usually but not always professional—to determine which of two teams, tied in the final standings, will qualify for a post-season tournament...
. 1959 also saw a team other than the Yankees
1959 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 57th season for the team in New York and its 59th overall. The team finished in third place in the American League with a record of 79-75, 15 games behind the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Casey Stengel...
win the A.L. pennant, one of only two such years in the 16-year stretch from 1949
1949 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 12 at Ebbets Field: American League, 11-7-Caribbean leagues:*Cuba - Almendares Scorpions*Panama - Spur Cola*Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Indians...
through 1964
1964 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Minnesota...
, and because of the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, this resulted in the first World Series since 1948 to have no games in New York City. In a lively World Series
1959 World Series
The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, four games to two. It was the first pennant for the White Sox in 40 years . They would have to wait until 2005 to win another championship...
, the Dodgers defeated the "Go-Go" White Sox
1959 Chicago White Sox season
The Chicago White Sox season was the team's 59th season in the major leagues, and its 60th season overall. They finished with a record 94-60, good enough to win the American League championship, five games ahead of the second place Cleveland Indians...
in six games, thoroughly cementing the bond between the baseball team and its new Southern California fans.
Commemorating its 50th year in Los Angeles, the Dodgers team again played one more game in the Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2008 - an exhibition game to benefit a cancer research charity. The crowd of 115,300, the largest in baseball history in any country, any league, saw the Dodgers lose to the Boston Red Sox
2008 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox' 2008 season began on March 25, in Tokyo, Japan for the MLB Japan Opening Day 2008. The Red Sox were attempting to become the first repeat World Series Champions since the 1999–2000 New York Yankees and also be the first repeat Champions of the 21st century. They also tried to...
by a score of 7–4. Due to intervening renovations, the Coliseum's left field corner was shortened to only 190 feet, calling for an even-taller left-field fence of 60 feet. Kevin Cash
Kevin Cash
Kevin Forrest Cash is an American professional baseball catcher who is in the Texas Rangers organization. He has played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.-Early life:Cash played for Northside Little League in Florida when they made...
of the Red Sox and James Loney of the Dodgers did hit home runs over that fence, but there were unexpectedly few home runs in the game.
Despite the passage of 50 plus years since departing from Brooklyn, many in the borough, and the nation, continue efforts to encourage a move back east. Many of these efforts take the shape of letter writing campaigns, online petitions and nostalgic articles. Brooklyn Dodgers merchandise is still popular among fans as well. Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
estimates $9 million in sales every year. The Baseball Hall of Fame reports that Brooklyn photos and broadcasts are the museum's second biggest sellers behind the Yankees, Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
lists close to 1,000 items a day relating to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
has over 100 books on Brooklyn Dodger teams, third only to the Yankees and Red Sox.
There were occasional attempts to move the Dodgers back to Brooklyn. State senator Tom Bartosiewicz tried hard to persuade them in the early 1980s, but was rebuffed. A stronger chance was in 1998, when the O'Malley family sold up to Rupert Murdoch's Fox company. In the course of bidding, a committee convened by the City and State of New York (including Roger Kahn, author of Boys of Summer) made an offer to the club which was turned down, despite being larger than the eventual sale price.
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
was completed in time for Opening Day 1962. With its clean, simple lines and its picturesque setting amid hills and palm trees, the ballpark quickly became an icon of the Dodgers and their new California lifestyle, and it remains one of the most highly-regarded stadiums in baseball even today. Despite the fact that the Dodgers have played in Dodger Stadium longer than they had played in Ebbets Field, the stadium remains surprisingly fresh. O'Malley was determined that there would not be a bad seat in the house, achieving this by cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
ed grandstands that have since been widely imitated. More importantly for the team, the stadium's spacious dimensions, along with other factors, gave defense an advantage over offense, and the Dodgers moved to take advantage of this by assembling a team that would excel with its pitching
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
.
The core of the team's success in the 1960s was the dominant pitching tandem of Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
and Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
, who combined to win 4 of the 5 Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
s from 1962 to 1966, during a time in which only one award was given to the top pitcher from either of the two major leagues. Top pitching also came from Claude Osteen
Claude Osteen
Claude Wilson Osteen , nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to Gomer Pyle, is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for six different teams: the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds , Washington Senators , Los Angeles Dodgers , Houston Astros , St...
, an aging Johnny Podres
Johnny Podres
John Joseph Podres was an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
, and reliever Ron Perranoski
Ron Perranoski
Ronald Peter Perranoski is a former left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher, having played from through ....
. The hitting attack, on the other hand, was not impressive, and much of the offensive spark came from the exploits of speedy shortstop Maury Wills
Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
, who led the league in stolen bases every year from 1960 to 1965, and set a modern record with 104 thefts in 1962. The Dodgers' strategy was once described as follows: "Wills hits a single, steals second, and takes third on a grounder. A sacrifice fly brings him home. Koufax or Drysdale pitches a shutout, and the Dodgers win 1-0." Although few games followed this model exactly, the Dodgers nevertheless tallied a high proportion of wins in a low-scoring manner that relied on their pitching and defense rather than their offense - with the exception of a few seasons. For example, in 1962, Tommy Davis
Tommy Davis
Herman Thomas Davis, Jr. is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder and third baseman. He played from 1959-1976 for ten different teams, but he is best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During an 18-year baseball career, Davis batted .294 with 153 home runs, 2,121...
led the Major Leagues with 153 RBI, and he led the National League in batting average and in hits. Seasons of over 150 RBI are quite rare by a player in modern-day pro baseball. Davis led the league in batting twice for the Dodgers.
The 1962
1962 in baseball
The 1962 season is perhaps most notable for the dismal 40–120 record of the New York Mets, the third-worst winning percentage and the record for most games lost since 1900.-Major League Baseball:...
pennant race ended in a tie, and the Dodgers were defeated by the archrival Giants
1962 San Francisco Giants season
The 1962 San Francisco Giants season saw the Giants finish in first place in the National League with a record of 103 wins and 62 losses. They finished the season tied with their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for first place in the league, necessitating a three-game tiebreaker playoff to...
in the tie-breaking playoff, but the Dodgers proceeded to win the pennant in three of the next four years. The 1963 World Series
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
was a four-game sweep of the Yankees
1963 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 61st season for the team in New York, and its 63rd season overall. The team finished with a record of 104-58, winning their 28th pennant, finishing 10½ games ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Ralph Houk.The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium...
, in which the Dodgers were so dominant that the vaunted Bronx Bombers never even took a lead against Koufax, Podres, and Drysdale. After an injury-plagued 1964
1964 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Minnesota...
, the Dodgers bounced back to win the 1965 World Series
1965 World Series
The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins, who had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators...
in a seven games against the Minnesota Twins
1965 Minnesota Twins season
The Minnesota Twins won the 1965 American League pennant with a 102-60 record. It was the team's first pennant since moving to Minnesota, and the 102 wins was a team record.- Regular season :...
. Game one happened to fall on the Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
holiday, and Koufax (who is Jewish) refused to pitch on that day, a decision for which he was widely praised. The Dodgers rebounded from losing the first two games, with Koufax pitching shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s in Games five and seven (with only two days rest in between) to win the crown and the World Series MVP Award
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
.
The Dodgers again won the pennant in 1966
1966 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...
, but the team was running out of gas, and it was swept in the World Series
1966 World Series
The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...
by the upstart Baltimore Orioles
1966 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing first in the American League with a record of 97 wins and 63 losses, nine games ahead of the runner-up Minnesota Twins. It was their first AL pennant since 1944, when the club was known as the St. Louis Browns. The Orioles swept the NL...
. Koufax retired that winter, with his career cut short by arthritis in the elbow of his pitching arm, and Maury Wills was traded away. Don Drysdale continued to be effective, setting a record with six consecutive shutouts in 1968
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...
, but he finished with just a 14–12 record due to the Dodgers' poor hitting that year.
While the Dodgers were sub-par for several seasons thereafter, a new core of young talent was developing in their farm system
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. They won another pennant in 1974
1974 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*1974 World Series: Oakland Athletics over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Rollie Fingers, MVP*All-Star Game, July 23 at Three Rivers Stadium: National League, 7-2; Steve Garvey, MVP-Other champions:...
, and although they were quickly dismissed by the dynastic Oakland Athletics
1974 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning their fourth consecutive American League West title with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses...
in the World Series
1974 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 12, 1974 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaReggie Jackson put the A's on the board first with a solo homer in the top of the second off 20-game winner Andy Messersmith...
, it was a sign of good things to come.
The late 1970s: The early Lasorda years
For 23 years, beginning in 19541954 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...
, the Dodgers had been managed by Walter Alston
Walter Alston
Walter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
, a quiet and unflappable man who commanded great respect from his players. Alston's tenure is the third-longest in baseball history for a manager with a single team, after Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
and John McGraw. His retirement near the end of the 1976
1976 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees ; Johnny Bench, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Veterans Stadium: National League, 7-1; George Foster, MVP-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Naranjeros de Hermosillo...
season
1976 Major League Baseball season
The 1976 Major League Baseball season was the last season in which both the AL and the NL had the same number of teams until 1993. The season ended with the Cincinnati Reds taking the World Series Championship for the second consecutive season by sweeping the New York Yankees in four games...
, after winning 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles over his career, cleared the way for an entirely different personality to take the helm of the Dodgers.
Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
was a 49-year-old former minor-league pitcher who had been the team's top coach under Alston, and before that had been manager of the Dodgers' top minor league team. He was colorful and gregarious, an enthusiastic cheerleader in contrast to Alston's taciturn demeanor. He quickly became a larger-than-life personality, associating with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and other celebrities, with a penchant for eating Italian food in large volumes. He became well-known for sayings such as, "If you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue
Dodger blue
Dodger blue is a shade of the color blue named for its use in the uniform of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is also a web color used in the design of web pages...
," and for referring to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
as "the Great Dodger in the sky." Although some considered his persona to be a schtick
Schtick
A shtick is a comic theme or gimmick. "Shtick" is derived from the Yiddish word shtik , meaning "piece"; the closely related German word Stück has the same meaning. The English word "piece" itself is also sometimes used in a similar context...
and found it wearing, his enthusiasm won him a reputation as an "ambassador for baseball," and it is impossible to think of the Dodgers from the late '70s to the early '90s without thinking of Lasorda.
Another transition had recently occurred, higher up in the Dodgers management. Walter O'Malley passed control of the team to his son Peter
Peter O'Malley
Peter O'Malley is the former president and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
, who would continue to oversee the Dodgers on his family's behalf through 1998.
New blood had also been injected into the team on the field. The core of the team was now the infield, composed of Steve Garvey
Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey , nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman...
(1B), Davey Lopes
Davey Lopes
David Earle Lopes is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He is currently the first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.He is of Cape Verdean descent.-Playing:...
(2B), Bill Russell
Bill Russell (baseball)
William Ellis Russell is a former shortstop, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series champion...
(SS), Ron Cey
Ron Cey
Ronald Charles Cey |Washington]]) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics . Cey batted and threw right-handed...
(3B), and Steve Yeager
Steve Yeager
Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from through , with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, , he played for the Seattle Mariners...
(C). These five remained in the starting lineup together from 1973 to 1981, longer than any other infield fivesome in baseball history. The pitching staff remained strong, anchored by Don Sutton and Tommy John
Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history...
. The Dodgers won NL West titles in both 1977
1977 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Reggie Jackson, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: None*National League Championship Series MVP: Dusty Baker...
and 1978
1978 in baseball
-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Indios de Mayagüez *College World Series: USC*Japan Series: Yakult Swallows over Hankyu Braves *Little League World Series: Pin-Kuang, Pin-Tung, Taiwan-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player...
, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies
1978 Philadelphia Phillies season
The 1978 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 96th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their third straight National League East title with a record of 90-72, a game and a half over the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Phillies defeated the Pirates in Pittsburgh on the next to last...
both years in the National League Championship Series
1978 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 4, 1978 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaBecause of having to start an NL East-clinching game a few days earlier, Phillies ace Steve Carlton wasn't available for the start of the series, leaving the task to Larry Christenson...
, only to be defeated in the World Series both years by the Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. In 1980
1980 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Kansas City Royals ; Mike Schmidt, MVP*American League Championship Series: Frank White, MVP*National League Championship Series Manny Trillo, MVP...
, they swept a three game series from the Houston Astros
1980 Houston Astros season
The 1980 Houston Astros season was a season in American baseball. The team finished in a tie for first place in the National League West with a record of 92-70 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The teams played a one-game playoff to determine the division champion, which the Astros won, marking the...
in the final weekend of the regular season (including Don Sutton's brilliant save) and were in a first place tie in the National League West, but lost to the Astros 7–1 in the one-game playoff.
The 1980s: Fernandomania and the Bulldog
The Opening Day starting pitcher for 1981 was a 20-year-old rookie from Mexico: Fernando ValenzuelaFernando Valenzuela
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea is a Mexican former left-handed pitcher, most notably with the Los Angeles Dodgers.In 1981, the 20-year-old Valenzuela took Los Angeles by storm, winning his first 8 decisions and leading the Dodgers to the World Championship...
.
Pressed into service due to an injury to Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss -- pronounced "royce" -- is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the United States, who had a 22-year career from to ....
, Valenzuela pitched a shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
that day, and proceeded to win his first 8 decisions through mid-May. The youthful left-hander, speaking only Spanish but sporting a devastating screwball
Screwball
A screwball , is a baseball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action....
, became a sensation. “Fernandomania” gripped both Southern California, where huge crowds turned out to see him pitch, as well as in his home country of Mexico, where the number of radio stations that carried Dodger games increased that year from three stations to 17. Valenzuela became the only pitcher ever to be named Rookie of the Year and win the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
in the same season. The Dodgers' torrid start assured them of a playoff berth in the strike-shortened split season. After defeating the Montreal Expos
1981 Montreal Expos season
The Montreal Expos made it to the postseason for the only time in franchise history. The season was separated into two halves due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.- Offseason :...
with the help of a ninth-inning two-out home run by Rick Monday
Rick Monday
Robert James "Rick" Monday, Jr. is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball and is currently a broadcast announcer. From 1966 through 1984, Monday, a center fielder for most of his career, played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics , Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers...
in the fifth and deciding game of the National League Championship Series
1981 National League Championship Series
- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 13, 1981 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe Dodgers took the first game of the series behind the strong pitching of starter Burt Hooton. For the first seven innings the game stayed close, with the only scoring coming in the second inning when the Dodgers got...
they proceeded to defeat the Yankees
1981 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 1981 season was the 79th season for the Yankees. In the ALCS, the Yankees swept the Oakland Athletics for their only pennant of the 1980s. However, they lost in the World Series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York was managed by Gene Michael and Bob Lemon...
in the World Series
1981 World Series
The 1981 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their third meeting in the Series in five years as well as a record eleventh Series meeting overall and last Series meeting to date...
in six games, with the World Series MVP award split three ways among Ron Cey
Ron Cey
Ronald Charles Cey |Washington]]) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics . Cey batted and threw right-handed...
, Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager
Steve Yeager
Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from through , with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, , he played for the Seattle Mariners...
.
The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983
1983 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies ; Rick Dempsey, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Mike Boddicker*National League Championship Series MVP: Gary Matthews...
and 1985
1985 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...
, but lost in the NLCS both those years (to the Phillies
1985 Philadelphia Phillies season
The 1985 season was the Philadelphia Phillies 103rd season. The Phillies finished in fifth place in the National League East with a record of 75 wins and 87 losses...
and Cardinals
1986 St. Louis Cardinals season
The 1986 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 105th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 95th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 79-82 during the season and finished 3rd in the National League East division.-Offseason:...
, respectively). The 1985 NLCS
1985 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1985 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe opening contest in Los Angeles pitted Dodgers screwballer Fernando Valenzuela against the Cardinals' twenty-game winner, John Tudor. The pitchers matched zeroes through the first three innings, but in the bottom of...
was particularly memorable for Game 6, in which the Dodgers were protecting a 5–4 lead in the ninth inning, hoping to force a deciding seventh game. With two runners on and first base open, Lasorda elected not to walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
Cards slugger Jack Clark
Jack Clark (baseball)
Jack Anthony Clark , also known as "Jack the Ripper," is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1975 through 1992, Clark played for the San Francisco Giants , St. Louis Cardinals , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox...
, who proceeded to hit a home run off Tom Niedenfuer
Tom Niedenfuer
Thomas Edward Niedenfuer , is a retired American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He attended high school in Redmond, Washington and was a standout pitcher in college for Washington State University under coach Bobo Brayton. He left school before completing his senior season. He is a...
and send St. Louis to the World Series
1985 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 19, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri-Game 2:Sunday, October 20, 1985 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri...
.
After seven years of high strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
totals, and a 21-win season in 1986, Valenzuela sat out for most of the 1988
1988 in baseball
See also: 1988 Major League Baseball season-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics ; Orel Hershiser, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley...
season. Plagued by arm troubles that were widely blamed on his being overused by Lasorda, his effectiveness faded before he turned 30. The new anchor of the pitching staff was a right-hander named Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
. He had been given the nickname "Bulldog" by Lasorda, more as a hopeful motivational tool than an objective description of his personality, but by 1988 he had matured into one of baseball's most effective pitchers. That year he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
, and broke Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
's major league record by tossing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, ending with a 10-inning shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
on his final start of the season.
1988 World Series Championship Team
The 1988 Championship1988 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 15, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaBecause of using ace Orel Hershiser in Game 7 of the NLCS, the Dodgers had to open with rookie Tim Belcher in Game 1. Meanwhile, Oakland sent a well-rested Dave Stewart to the mound. Both pitchers, however, would have...
won by the Dodgers is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were not expected to compete. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
(the league's Most Valuable Player
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS
1988 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 4, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe series opened with a classic pitching matchup, pitting the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, who had won 23 games during the regular season and carried a Major League record 59 consecutive scoreless innings into the game,...
as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets
1988 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 1988 season was the 27th regular season for the Mets. They went 100-60 and finished 1st in the NL East. They were managed by Davey Johnson. They played home games at Shea Stadium.-Offseason:...
, against whom they were 1–10 during the regular season, the Dodgers prevailed in a back-and-forth series that went the entire seven games and saw Hershiser come on for the save in game 4 (preceded by a dramatic 9th inning home run by Mike Scioscia
Mike Scioscia
Michael Lorri Scioscia is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has worked in that capacity since the 2000 season, and is the longest-tenured manager in Major League Baseball....
off Dwight Gooden
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden , nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.-Career:...
). The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland Athletics
1988 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' 1988 season involved the A's winning their first American League West title since , with a record of 104 wins and 58 losses. In 1988, the elephant was restored as the symbol of the Athletics and currently adorns the left sleeve of home and road uniforms. The elephant was...
, who owned baseball's best regular-season record with 104 wins against only 58 defeats. Featuring the "Bash Brothers" duo of Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
and José Canseco
José Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. is a Cuban-American professional baseball manager, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Yuma Scorpions of the North American League and former Major League Baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former major league player and current teammate Ozzie Canseco...
, the A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
by Canseco, and led 4–3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, pinch-hitter Mike Davis
Mike Davis (baseball player)
Michael Dwayne Davis is a former Major League Baseball player.Over his 10 year career he played with two different teams: the Oakland Athletics , and Los Angeles Dodgers...
drew a base on balls from formidable closer Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...
. During Davis' at-bat, Lasorda had the light-hitting infielder Dave Anderson on deck so the Athletics would pitch to Davis more carefully. Then, Gibson, hobbled by injuries to both his legs that included a strained MCL and a severely pulled hamstring, came in to pinch hit
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
. After fighting off several pitches and working the count full, Gibson got the backdoor slider he was looking for and pulled it into the right field pavilion for a two-run, walk-off home run
Kirk Gibson 1988 World Series home run
Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run occurred in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, on October 15, , at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Gibson, pinch hitting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning, with injuries to both legs, hit a two-run walk-off home run off the Oakland...
, winning the game for the Dodgers, 5–4. Widely considered one of the most memorable and improbable home runs in baseball history, Gibson's dramatic home run was his only appearance of the entire series, and it set the tone for the following four games. Hershiser dominated the Athletics in Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the Dodgers completed their stunning 4 games to 1 upset of the A's, capping off an incredible personal season by being named the Series MVP. Few remember that the Dodgers were so injury riddled during their World Series appearance. They won the Series in Game 5 with lifetime reserves Danny Heep and Mickey Hatcher in the starting lineup.
Post-1988: Rookies and the Fox era
Mike Piazza
Michael Joseph "Mike" Piazza ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics....
, Raúl Mondesí
Raúl Mondesí
Raúl Ramón Mondesí Avelino is a former Major League Baseball player and the current mayor of San Cristóbal Province in the Dominican Republic. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994 as a right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers...
, Hideo Nomo
Hideo Nomo
is a former right-handed pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball from Japan. He achieved early success in Japan, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to...
, and Todd Hollandsworth
Todd Hollandsworth
Todd Mathew Hollandsworth is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played with the Los Angeles Dodgers , Colorado Rockies , Texas Rangers , Florida Marlins , Chicago Cubs , Atlanta Braves , Cleveland Indians , and Cincinnati Reds...
, which is a record. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remained with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell
Bill Russell (baseball)
William Ellis Russell is a former shortstop, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the Los Angeles Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four National League pennant winners and one World Series champion...
.
Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954–1996, owned by a single family 1950–1998) finally came to an end. After L.A. city officials rejected a proposal to bring an NFL stadium and franchise to Chavez Ravine in 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, owner of the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
(which also owns broadcast rights to MLB games) and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with veteran manager Davey Johnson
Davey Johnson
David Allen "Davey" Johnson is an American Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972...
. Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy. Fox made the first changes to the home uniform since the club moved from Brooklyn and introduced the team's first alternate jersey and cap, adding silver to the team's official colors (although they have rarely been used since). The team became more steady on the field in the early 2000s, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, starting pitcher Chan Ho Park, slugger Shawn Green
Shawn Green
Shawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...
, third baseman Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers.The youngest player in the National League when he made his major league debut, he has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , the Seattle Mariners , the Boston Red Sox , and the Texas Rangers . He bats and...
, and catcher Paul Lo Duca
Paul Lo Duca
Paul Anthony Lo Duca is a television personality and a former Major League Baseball catcher. Previously, Lo Duca played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Florida Marlins , New York Mets , and Washington Nationals...
. The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Éric Gagné
Éric Gagné
Éric Serge Gagné is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.Signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in 1995, Gagné began his career as a starting pitcher...
as one of baseball's top relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
s. Gagné later won the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
in 2003, converting all 55 of his save opportunities that year, and holding the league to a 1.20 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and striking out 137 batters in 82⅓ innings. Gagné would later establish a new major league record for consecutive saves, with 84 saves spanning parts of the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons.
The McCourts and the Sabermetric experiment
In 2004, the Dodgers were returned to family ownership, as News Corp sold the team to BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
real estate developer Frank McCourt
Frank McCourt (executive)
Frank McCourt is the owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. In , he purchased a controlling interest of the Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
. McCourt immediately hired Paul DePodesta
Paul DePodesta
Paul DePodesta is the Vice President of player development and scouting for the New York Mets. He was formerly a Front Office assistant for the San Diego Padres...
as his new general manager, replacing Dan Evans
Dan Evans (baseball)
Dan Evans is an American Major League Baseball executive. He is the former President and CEO of Paragon Sports International and West Coast Sports Management, a baseball representation firm whose headquarters are in Pasadena, CA...
. As an assistant general manager in Oakland under Billy Beane
Billy Beane
William Lamar "Billy" Beane III is a former Major League Baseball player and the current general manager and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics...
, DePodesta favored a highly statistical approach to evaluating prospects and potential free-agents. This sabermetric approach, widely publicized in the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's modernized, analytical, sabermetric approach to assembling a competitive baseball team, despite...
by Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis (author)
Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
, led many to believe that new owner McCourt was unwilling to pay for high priced talent, and would thus reduce the Dodgers to a status similar to small-market teams such as Oakland. With a team largely assembled by DePodesta's predecessors, and augmented by some acquisitions of his own, DePodesta saw the Dodgers near the top of the standings through much of 2004. In an effort to put the team over the top that year, DePodesta pulled off a number of mid-season trades, including sending away three key players (including popular team leader LoDuca), while obtaining several new players. The Dodgers did manage to win the NL West in 2004
2004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
, but bowed out quickly in four games in the Division Series
2004 National League Division Series
-Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros:-Game 1, October 5:Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriOdalis Perez faced Woody Williams in Game 1. Albert Pujols got the Cardinals started with a solo homer to make it 1–0 in the first. Then in the third, Perez reached his limit after surrendering five two-out...
to the eventual National League champion St. Louis Cardinals
2004 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2004 season was the team's 123rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 113th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 105-57 during the season and won the National League Central division by 13 games over the NL Wild-Card Champion Houston Astros...
.
During the winter of 2004–05, the team parted ways with several more longtime players, including Beltré and Green. Their replacements included starting pitcher Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe
Derek Christopher Lowe is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He throws and bats right-handed. He is 6'6" and 230 pounds.-Early years:...
, outfielder J. D. Drew
J. D. Drew
David Jonathan "J. D." Drew is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He is a left-handed hitter, and began his major league career in with the St. Louis Cardinals...
, and the run-producing, but aging second baseman Jeff Kent
Jeff Kent
Jeffrey Franklin Kent is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman. Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants, and is the all-time leader in home runs among second basemen...
. DePodesta's radical overhaul did not bear fruit in 2005, as the Dodgers suffered from clubhouse strife and stifling injuries, finishing with their second-worst record in Los Angeles history. The club also faced an overwhelming number of injuries that quickly scuttled the team's hopes of repeating as division champions. Among them were Drew's broken wrist, All-Star shortstop Cesar Izturis
César Izturis
César David Izturis is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis, who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Julio Izturis, who plays in the minor leagues in the San Francisco Giants organization.Izturis' greatest...
's injury that required Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery
Tommy John surgery, known in medical practice as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is a surgical procedure in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body...
, and closer Gagné's deteriorating elbow condition that would also require surgery and force him to miss much of the 2005 season. Manager Jim Tracy also parted ways with the team at the end of the 2005 season, citing irreconcilable differences with DePodesta. However, DePodesta himself was fired by McCourt less than a month later, with McCourt later citing DePodesta's lack of leadership and dissatisfaction over DePodesta's handling of the process of hiring a new manager. Ned Colletti
Ned Colletti
Ned Louis Colletti, Jr. is the General Manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He previously served as Assistant General Manager for the San Francisco Giants....
was hired as the new Dodger GM on November 16, 2005.
Colletti and Little
Newly hired Colletti was responsible for a tangible change in attitude and guided the Dodgers' resurgence in the 2006 season2006 Major League Baseball season
In , the Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular season victory total in history. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game; the A.L. has won nine...
. He hired former Red Sox manager Grady Little
Grady Little
William Grady Little is a former manager in Major League Baseball. He managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2007...
to lead the team and also traded oft-troubled Milton Bradley for Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
prospect Andre Ethier
Andre Ethier
Andre Everett Ethier , is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.In 2009, Ethier hit six walk off hits , which was the most by any player in the Major Leagues since 1974. His four walk-off home runs tied the Major League record for most in a season...
. His off season acquisitions also included former Atlanta Braves shortstop Rafael Furcal
Rafael Furcal
Rafael Antonio Furcal , is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...
and former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller
Bill Mueller
William Richard Mueller is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. Mueller's playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox , and Los Angeles Dodgers . He won the American League batting title in 2003, and helped the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series...
. Coletti also signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
, even though the team already had two other former All-Star shortstops (Furcal and the then-injured Cesar Izturis
César Izturis
César David Izturis is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis, who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Julio Izturis, who plays in the minor leagues in the San Francisco Giants organization.Izturis' greatest...
). Garciaparra agreed to play first base and adjusted quite well in the field and remained productive at the plate, producing several key hits in Dodger victories.
Due to the crowded infield, untimely injuries and several players' lack of production, the team was rebuilt during the season. The flurry of trading saw Cesar Izturis go to the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
for Greg Maddux
Greg Maddux
Gregory Alan Maddux , nicknamed "Mad Dog" and "The Professor", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years , a feat matched only by Randy Johnson...
while Willy Aybar and Danys Baez went to Atlanta for Wilson Betemit
Wilson Betemit
Wilson Betemit is a Dominican professional baseball infielder. He is 6'2" and weighs 220 pounds...
. A series of rookies were called up and provided substantial everyday contributions. Among them were catcher Russell Martin
Russell Martin
Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...
, who won the starting catching job after being called up in May and starting pitcher Chad Billingsley
Chad Billingsley
Chad Ryan Billingsley is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Biography:...
, who had several quality starts in August and September. Andre Ethier
Andre Ethier
Andre Everett Ethier , is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.In 2009, Ethier hit six walk off hits , which was the most by any player in the Major Leagues since 1974. His four walk-off home runs tied the Major League record for most in a season...
led the team in batting with a .308 batting average as the team's everyday left fielder through much of the season. Rookie first baseman James Loney
James Loney (baseball player)
James Anthony Loney is a first baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Prep career:...
hit very well in his short time with the team, tying Gil Hodges’ 56-year-old Dodgers record with 9 RBI in one game on September 28. Another key move was handing the closer's role to rookie (but Japanese League veteran) Takashi Saito
Takashi Saito
is a Japanese professional baseball player.Saito previously pitched for the Yokohama BayStars in the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87–80 over 13 seasons...
, where he flourished, notching 24 saves in 26 opportunities while posting a 2.07 ERA.
After a heated pennant race, in which the most memorable moment occurred when the Dodgers hit four consecutive home runs on September 18 to tie the score in the ninth inning and then won the game on a tenth-inning walk-off homer by Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
, the Dodgers entered the 2006 playoffs in the National League's Wild Card spot, having tied the San Diego Padres
2006 San Diego Padres season
The 2006 San Diego Padres season captured their second consecutive National League West crown, with a record of 88-74, and for the first time in franchise history back-to-back postseason appearances, and three consecutive winning seasons...
for the division lead but having lost 13 of 18 head-to-head meetings with the Padres. They were eventually swept, 3–0, by the New York Mets
2006 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 2006 season was the 45th regular season for the Mets. They went 97-65 and won the NL East. They were managed by Willie Randolph. They played home games at Shea Stadium. They used the marketing slogan of "The Team. The Time...
in the 2006 National League Division Series
2006 National League Division Series
-San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals:-New York vs. Los Angeles:The series seemed over for the Mets before it even started, first by losing ace Pedro Martínez for the postseason and then losing probable Game 1 starter Orlando Hernández. Despite having a potent offense, many people didn't seem...
.
In 2007, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent three players (Brad Penny
Brad Penny
Bradley Wayne "Brad" Penny is a Major League starting pitcher. Penny has spent portions of his career with the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers....
, Takashi Saito
Takashi Saito
is a Japanese professional baseball player.Saito previously pitched for the Yokohama BayStars in the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87–80 over 13 seasons...
, and Russell Martin
Russell Martin
Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...
) to the all-star game, and at one point, the Dodgers had a record of 54-41, which was then the best record in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
. After a hitting slump, the Dodgers
2007 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers' 2007 season started off promisingly with the Dodgers holding the Western Division lead for most of the first half of the season. However, the team faded down the stretch and finished the season in fourth place. Two of the teams big free agent signings, pitchers Jason...
fell to 60–59, and seven games out of first place in the N.L. West
National League West
The National League Western Division, or NL West, is one of the three divisions of Major League Baseball's National League. It was created in 1969 when the previously undivided National League expanded its membership to twelve teams, positioning half of them in an Eastern division and the other...
. The Dodgers were able to rebound, however, and had a 79-69 record with three weeks left in the season. At this point, the Dodgers trailed the San Diego Padres
2007 San Diego Padres season
The San Diego Padres' 2007 season began with the Padres' attempt to win a 3rd consecutive NL West title. After finishing 162 games in a tie with the Colorado Rockies for both the NL Wild Card and second place in the NL West, they were defeated in a tie-breaker which placed them third overall in...
by 1½ games in the wild card slot, and the Arizona Diamondbacks
2007 Arizona Diamondbacks season
The Arizona Diamondbacks' 2007 season started with the Diamondbacks attempting to win the NL West Division. The Arizona Diamondbacks' biggest move in the offseason was when, on January 9, 2007, they got their 2001 World Series co-MVP back, pitcher Randy Johnson after making a blockbuster deal with...
by 3½ games. However, the Dodgers lost 10 of their next 11 games, which eliminated the Dodgers from post season play, and would finish the season with a disappointing 82-80 record. The last few weeks of the season were disrupted further by public complaints in the media by some of the veteran ballplayers about the lack of respect afforded them by some of the younger players on the team. This led to a divided clubhouse, as younger players consistently got more playing time at the expense of the veterans. After the season and weeks of media speculation, Grady Little
Grady Little
William Grady Little is a former manager in Major League Baseball. He managed the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2003 and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2006 to 2007...
resigned as manager, citing personal reasons http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3087421. A few days later the Dodgers announced the hiring of former New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
skipper Joe Torre
Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre is a former American professional baseball player and manager who currently serves as Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. A nine-time All-Star, he played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, first baseman and a third baseman for the...
to be the team's new manager.
Mannywood
Andruw Jones
Andruw Rudolf Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is a free agent.Jones made his debut during the 1996 season. In the 1996 World Series, Jones became the youngest player to ever homered in the postseason...
and Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda
Hiroki Kuroda
is a professional baseball player from Osaka, Japan who is currently a free agent. He is a starting pitcher, who most recently pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers .-Early days:...
. To add to his troubles, Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
was unable to perform his hitting coach duties, and third basemen Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
and Andy LaRoche
Andy LaRoche
Andrew Christian LaRoche is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent....
were out with injuries, leaving the starting third base position to rookie Blake DeWitt
Blake DeWitt
Blake Robert DeWitt is an American professional baseball utility player with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball.-High school:...
, who had never played above level A ball in the minor leagues. DeWitt stepped up early, when Nomar went down again with a calf injury. The team suffered a serious blow when star player Rafael Furcal
Rafael Furcal
Rafael Antonio Furcal , is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...
was injured in the midst of the best start of his career. Many substitutions were used, including rookies Chin-Lung Hu
Chin-Lung Hu
Hu Chin-lung is a Taiwanese professional baseball player. He is currently an infielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Hu, along with his countryman Fu-Te Ni , has the shortest surname in Major League Baseball history...
and Luis Maza
Luis Maza
Luis Alberto Maza is an infielder in Major League Baseball, who is currently playing for Bbc Grosseto in the Italian Baseball League. Listed at 5'9", 180 lb., he bats and throws right-handed...
, but could not duplicate Furcal's offense. Staff ace Brad Penny
Brad Penny
Bradley Wayne "Brad" Penny is a Major League starting pitcher. Penny has spent portions of his career with the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Detroit Tigers....
and slugger Jones began to underperform, leading to trips to the DL for both. Despite the problems with the roster, as well as their record, the Dodgers were only behind first-place Arizona by one game at the All-Star break. The season saw progress in the teams prospects, including a call-up for top prospect Clayton Kershaw
Clayton Kershaw
Clayton Edward Kershaw is a left-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.In 2011, Kershaw won the Pitching Triple Crown and the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish either of these feats since Dwight Gooden in 1985...
, as well as comebacks from veteran pitchers, most notably Chan Ho Park. Chad Billingsley
Chad Billingsley
Chad Ryan Billingsley is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Biography:...
quickly grew to be the team's ace, being one of the leaders in strikeouts and ERA and being the first pitcher on the Dodgers to get double-digit wins. For the majority of the season, the club hovered around a .500 record. To bolster a lineup of mostly young players, Ned Colletti made trades for shortstop Angel Berroa
Angel Berroa
Ángel Maria Berroa Selmo is a Dominican professional baseball infielder. Berroa was selected as the 2003 American League Rookie of the Year.-Early career:...
, third-baseman Casey Blake
Casey Blake
William Casey Blake is a Major League Baseball third baseman who is currently a free agent.Blake previously played with the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers. He had alternated between playing at third base and first base before...
, and on July 31, 2008 the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired outfielder Manny Ramirez
Manny Ramírez
Manuel "Manny" Arístides Ramírez Onelcida is a retired Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28...
from the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in a 3-way deal that sent third baseman Andy LaRoche
Andy LaRoche
Andrew Christian LaRoche is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent....
and single-A prospect pitcher Bryan Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
and all-star outfielder Jason Bay
Jason Bay
Jason Raymond Bay is a Canadian professional baseball player. An outfielder, he currently plays for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball...
to the Red Sox. Ramirez brought an energy to the team that it had lacked previously and also energized the fanbase. After playing more than 140 games of catch-up, the Dodgers swept Arizona
2008 Arizona Diamondbacks season
The Arizona Diamondbacks' 2008 season was the 11th season of the franchise in Major League Baseball. Arizona tried to defend their NL West title after winning the division the previous year...
to take first place in the last series of the season for the two teams on September 7 after being 4 games behind the week before. The Dodgers clinched the 2008 National League Western Division title on September 25 as the Arizona Diamondbacks were eliminated by losing to the St. Louis Cardinals
2008 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals' 2008 season was the 127th season for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri and the 117th season in the National League. The Cardinals, coming off a 78-84 season that was their worst since 1999, improved by eight games, going 86-76 in 2008...
12–3. On October 4, 2008 they beat the Cubs 3-0 to sweep the 2008 NLDS and moved on to the NLCS
2008 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Thursday, October 9, 2008 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDerek Lowe and Cole Hamels faced each other at Citizens Bank Park for Game 1. In the first inning, Manny Ramírez missed a home run by mere feet to center field and settled for an RBI double to give LA a 1–0 lead,...
, where they faced the Philadelphia Phillies
2008 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 season was the 126th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 92–70, first in the National League East. In the post-season, the Phillies won the World Series; this was the first major sports championship for...
and were eliminated, losing the series in five games. In 2009, however, Manny was suspended for taking a performing enhancing substance. Despite the 50 game suspension, the Dodgers repeated as National League West Champions and once again faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series [NLCS] after sweeping [3-0] the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series [NLDS]. They once more lost to Philadelphia [1-4]. The following season, a procession of injuries caused the Dodgers to fall out of the race by late summer... Manny Ramirez was traded to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
in August and in September Joe Torre announced his decision to retire as Dodgers manager, to be replaced by Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
.
Divorce, scandal and conflict with MLB
On October 14, 2009, it was announced the McCourts would be separating after nearly 30 years of marriage. While speculation was raised on the impact upon the McCourt family Dodger ownership, a spokesperson for Jamie McCourtJamie McCourt
Jamie McCourt is the former CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team-Early life:Jamie McCourt was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Jewish parents. Her father, Jack Luskin, ran the Luskin's chain of appliance stores in Maryland. As a 17-year-old freshman at Georgetown University, she met...
said the following day that "the focus of the Dodgers is on the playoffs and the World Series". Jamie was fired from her position as Dodgers CEO on Thursday, October 22, 2009, the day after the Dodgers were eliminated from the playoffs, thus ending the reign of the self proclaimed "First Female CEO of a Baseball Team." She officially filed for divorce shortly thereafter. Frank claimed that the divorce would have "no bearing on the team whatsoever". " Despite that assertion, media speculation continued that the team was in financial difficulty.
On March 31, 2011, after the Opening Day
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
game against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, a Giants fan was attacked by two men wearing Dodgers attire in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. He suffered serious injuries and was diagnosed with brain damage. In response, the Dodgers and Giants held a joint fundraiser to benefit the victim, a reward was offered for the capture of the attackers and security was beefed up at the stadium.
On April 20, Baseball commissioner Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...
announced that MLB would be appointing a representative to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Dodgers. His statement said that he took that action because of his "deep concerns for the finances and operations" of the Dodgers.
On June 27, one week after the commissioner refused to approve a proposed television contract that would have pumped much needed funding into the club, the Dodgers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. After much legal wrangling between McCouts lawyers and MLB lawyers in bankruptcy court, he reached a deal with the league to put the team up for sale.