Since moving to Los Angeles in 1958, the Dodgers have had some very good seasons, some bad ones, some simply good, and one God awful season. 1992. What happened to this team to make it lose 99 games? That is by far, the most in LA Dodger history. The Los Angeles Dodgers have lost 90 games or more twice, 92, and 2005. Brooklyn lost 100 or more twice. LA also lost 89 a few times. But for a majority of their existence, they have been above .500. And in doing so, they have been to the playoffs 25 times, won 12 NL Pennants and 6 World Series. So let us look at the 1992 Dodgers.
The 1992 Dodgers were managed by everyone’s favorite. Tommy Lasorda. Fred Claire was the GM and the O’Malley’s still owned the team. The starting 8 featured 4 players 30 or older. One, Darryl Strawberry, would be gone after 43 games due to substance abuse. Only 2 players, Brett Butler and Mike Sharperson, posted BA above .300. Eric Davis, their big off-season trade acquisition, played in only 73 games and was nowhere near the player he was with the Reds. With those two out, it fell on the reserves to make up the difference.
Mitch Webster, Henry Rodriguez, Billy Ashley, Kal Daniels, Tom Goodwin, and Stan Javier were the guys who got the playing time. Webster played in 135 games and overall was the most productive of the bunch. The rest made minimal contributions. The starting infield, Karros, Harris, Offerman, and Hansen were all 27 or younger. Karros would win the ROY with a 20 HR, 88 RBI season. Offerman hit .260 with no power, Harris, more valuable as a PH most of the time, hits .270 with no power. Hansen hits 6 HR’s but only hits .214. He would later become a very prolific pinch hitter.
Mike Sharperson hit .300 in 128 games and was the Chris Taylor of that team. Todd Benzinger, another off-season pick up played in 121 games, but was mediocre at the plate, hitting .239 with only 4 HRs. Carlos Hernandez was Mike Scioscia’s backup and matched Scioscia’s power output with 3 HR’s. Eric Young Sr., Juan Samuel, Dave Anderson, and Rafael Bournigal was the infield reserves. None played exceptionally well.
The one offensive bright spot next to Karros’s ROY year was 35-year-old Brett Butler. Butler hit .309, stole 41 bases and had a .413 OBP. The team hit .248 and hit only 72 HRs.
The pitching was not very good. Of the six starters, 4 were over 30. Hershiser, Gross, Candiotti and Ojeda. Two were kids, Ramon Martinez and Pedro Astacio. Only Astacio finished with a .500 record, 5-5. The bullpen was not much better. Anchored by closer Roger McDowell, the pen won 15 and lost 31. Jim Gott, Tim Crews, Steve Wilson, John Candelaria, Jay Howell, Pedro Martinez, and Kip Gross all contributed to the ineptitude. For Hershiser, it was his first full season back after surgery. He finished at 10-15. At 33 his glory days in Dodger blue were behind him. A lot of the losses were due to an offense that was for the most part anemic. They scored 548 runs, They were in the lower half of almost all major hitting categories. They were 3rd in the league with 142 steals.
So, after this total train wreck of a season did they fire Lasorda? Were the fans outraged at the teams’ performance? Was there a call for firing the manager from the fans? Well, there might have been some discontent. But without the kind of social media coverage, there is today, about the only place you would have seen that was in the letters to the editor section of the LA Times.
No, Lasorda was retained on another one-year deal. A kid named Piazza lit up the NL and won the ROY in 93. The team climbed back to .500 at 81-81. Lasorda would remain until his heart attack in 96 and would have 3 more ROY’s, Mondesi, Nomo, and Hollandsworth. They would win the division in 95 and 96.
So having lived through all of that, their present situation is a lot less stressful. All we can do as fans is sit back and take them as they come. In the end, they will either make it to the playoffs, or they will not. Judgments of their season will be rendered after the season is over and only then will we see how good they are, or what shortcomings derailed what was considered the best Dodger team ever at the beginning of the year.
Just be so very happy that 1992 is so far in the rearview mirror and we have not had a season that disappointing for so very many years. My other thought is that Lasorda would not have been any more successful with this present team than Dave Roberts has been. Tommy would have shown more emotion though, and a few times would have no doubt been thrown out of the game with some of these umpires’ strike zones.
Since I started this post, the Dodgers won two edge-of-your-seat one-run extra-inning games. They were both exciting and exasperating at the same time. And after, the same complaints about Dave Roberts were voiced over and over. Look, as fans, you have every right to complain and bash the manager. It is in a fan’s DNA. But let us also take into consideration that Roberts, like even the greatest poker player of all time, must play the hand he is dealt.
Dave has had some very good players, this is true. This season the expectations on this team were higher than they have ever been. Injuries have derailed some of those expectations and poor play some others. The bench is not nearly as good as it was last year, and the starting pitching has been taxed since May went down, exacerbated by the loss of Kershaw and the Bauer debacle, and yet, they are still within striking distance of the division lead. The bullpen has had so many different faces that if anyone on here can name them all without looking at the internet, I would be totally amazed.
I am just happy I have been around to witness the success they have had the last 8 seasons. No Dodger team, not even the Boys of Summer had that kind of success. We all would like more Championship’s. Who wouldn’t? But it is really time to be glad for what we have and put the bad times behind us. We all here are Dodger fans. True Blue. Let’s act accordingly.
Discussion (55)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Max Scherzer’s eyes are unbelievable.
Great road trip by the Dodgers!
Five wins out of 6 games against two playoff contenders and even won two extra inning games!
A few rocky moments, but very solid performances by players, coaches and front office.
Optimistic for the last 44 games and the postseason!
Wow. I like Greene’s stuff. If he can throw strikes he’s a factor! That last breaking ball was nasty!
I wouldn’t be too hard on Nunez. I remember the first time Bickford pitched he couldn’t find the zone and he turned out pretty good!
Nice! Uceta should be able to get this finished now. Make them put it in play. No walks!!!
Have a weekend Will Smith. Player of the week?
Smith is quickly becoming Clutch Cargo
A quick 8-run HR and the game would have been tied.
Doc has the crappy part of the bullpen in there today. That’s fine as long as the game doesn’t get away.
This guy Nunez doesn’t have the Huevos to pitch in the big leagues
Padres have 2 less games left than the Dodgers and the Giants. Makes it a lot harder for them to catch up. Braves moved into first place as Reds beat the Phillies today.
Forgot that Nunez had been activated and McKinstry sent back to OKC.
The Indians pitcher today took a perfect game into the 8th inning. 3rd day in a row a pitcher was close to a no no and only one did it.
Second Time we’ve got to do something about it. We need Kelly
I don’t care if it was intentional or not they need to be paid back
I would be afraid to ask the bazooka to do it he might kill someone
Can I still post over here?
Maximus Muncious goes yard again in almost the same spot. T. Turner 3-3 with a walk and 3 runs scored. Lux 2-4 at OKC.
Lux 2-3 so far tonight at OKC with a double and an RBI. Kershaw to throw on the 16th of August. Tomorrow, he has been in LA during this trip.
Trea Turner 3-3 tonight, Taylor 0-3 with 3 K’s.
Cool insight from Roberts about Scherzer during his first start for LA. Seems Doc was patting him on the fanny when he came in after each inning. About the 4th he did it again and said nice job. Scherzer mumbled something under his breath that Doc did not catch. Then the players told him Max said, “don’t effen touch me!” He hates being touched when he is working. So when he came in the next inning Doc asked if he said that, and Max said yeah, look, it is my job, I do not need to be congratulated every inning for doing my job. Cool stuff.
How frustrated must Scherzer be. Nothing is hit more than 50 mph and he gives up a run!!!!!!!!!! But he battles to shut Mets down. He is a warrior!
Deffense Is just working the shit out of Max today
I think we all know who it is on this site doesn’t value defense
Max gets out of it
Again, shoddy defense. wtf was Seager thinking?
Wow, that’s some terrible defensive baseball on full display. Why didn’t Seager just run Villar down? He was like 6 inches from him and threw to 1B rather than getting the lead runner. Sherzer’s pitch count continues to climb because the defense has already given the Mets three extra outs.
Reed pitching for the Mets, pitched in 6 games for the Dodgers including one as an opener against the Marlins. Tatis hit 2 HR’s today in his first game off of the IL>
Whoops easy miscue by Turner. Under review…..
DJ Peters had a 2 HR game for Texas today. First one in the majors, now has 4 dingers with Texas. Hope Carrasco gets his AB against Max and he buzz’s his coconut.
If we win the division this year then holding serve against the Giants these past two series will have been huge! This is the offense we need to show up more consistently. And against a guy with pretty good stuff. When we hit with power we win games.
While Lighting up my cigar……especially nice to see my two favorite players, Tre and Muncy, tearing it up!
If we hang on to win, not a bad road trip, 5-1. We didn’t lose any ground to the Gnats despite them playing Dbacks and Rockies for 6.
That’s bullshit by Carrasco’s we gotta get even
But not till we got the game well in hand
McKinney can’t even get our boy to third base this guy is pitiful he should’ve been up there to bunt he sures not gonna get it hit
And Cody is still ripping it. Too bad McKinney couldn’t even move him up to 3B….I’m sure just mentioning McKinney’s name upsets a few brothers here.
Good start. Bombs from Justin Turner and Will Smith.
3-0 now let’s keep our pedal to the metal
Don’t let up like we done in the past
Guess Justin’s groin is better.
Need a win tonight. Both the Giants and Padres winning late. Tatis makes a huge difference for the Pads. He’s a great athlete so playing the OF shouldn’t be a difficult transition for him. After tonight we need the Mets to step up and give the Giants some trouble the next couple of series. We need the Giants to stumble in these next 2 weeks against some better completion.
Bear felicitaciones por tu excelente artículo de hoy, aprendo mucho con usted en su narrativa centrada y solidamente respaldada, reciba usted un cordial saludo.
Not to throw ice water on some here, but Trea Turner has lost 9 points off of his batting average since he arrived. I think he has not yet settled in to his new environment. Scherzer on the other hand seems rejuvenated and ready to dominate. Tatis is going to play RF for the Padres. I see some problems there adjusting to that position from SS. You stand around a lot more, and with a bum shoulder, I do not think he is going to be diving for a lot of balls. Also, the ball comes at you or fades from a whole different angle than SS. He is a good athlete, but I think he will probably have some problems out there at first.
Adam Eaton anyone?
Excellent post Bear. Some reasonable and rational thinking from a man with experience. Well done.
What a great game last night. I love a pitcher’s duel and we got a multiple pitcher’s duel. Nice, much needed extra innings win.
Great to see Belli get a fastball down so he could handle it. Belli on fastballs is hitting .143 and .057 on fastballs 95+. Some say it’s primarily due to injury problems and lack of being able to strengthen his repaired shoulder. I can’t disregard those completely but I think it’s more of an approach and swing problem. I’ve analyzed that ad nauseam. We all know that long, complicated swing makes timing everything and leads to inconsistency. But since coming back on May 29th, he’s had nearly 200 at bats and while somewhat better lately, he’s still not the guy we all hope for. If injuries are still effecting him why hasn’t he made any attempt to cut down that violent all or nothing swing? Yeah, he has tried to go the other way with 2 strikes sometimes but not very effectively. I hope he can contribute more down the stretch and it was nice to see the double last night.
I’ve been a little off the grid lately. I was preoccupied and nervous about a Heart Catheterization procedure I had last week. To get approval for a planned knee replacement I had an abnormal Nuclear Stress Test. My heart is weird anyway. My heart rate is a slow 47 to 50 normally and blood oxygen at 88 instead of the desired 95.
Fortunately no problems were found, I didn’t need angioplasty or a stent or 2. So, I’m very much relieved and relieved of that stress. I’m back in the game.
JT is back in there today, but Pollock is out of the lineup, therefore McKinney (damn it) is still in there.
T Turner
Muncy
J Turner
Seager
Smith
Taylor
Bellinger
McKinney
Scherzer
Here is my entire post which was cut in half initially. Enjoy
It’s time for Dodger baseball……. 2027
There are many changes in-store for the fans for the 2027 season since the Dodgers were purchased by the Apple Corp from the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group for 7 billion dollars.
We would like to express our appreciation to former Manager and often maligned, Dave Roberts and his bench coach, Bob Geren, who’s services will no longer be necessary as the expanded analytics and technical departments have replace them. Roberts will be retained in the public relations position and his new duties will include player morale and Zoom contact with the Media.
All decision, including personnel decisions, rosters, player acquisition, line ups and on-game decisions will now be done by the new Diamond MAC 3000 computer referred to as Hal. The skipper is replaced by Hal’s human assistant in the dugout, Poindexter “Pencilneck” Job. All lineups, pitching changes, substitutions, positioning and pitch calling will be done thru Hal. “Pencilneck” will assume a “command position” at a Hal terminal and decimate information as instructed.
Two large monitors will be available at each end of the dugout, providing players information on lineups and all possible for in game changes, pinch hitting possibilities, potential double switches, and scenarios, well in advance to allow player preparation. The pitching and hitting coaches, who will be retained at least for one more year, will be instructed via AirPod to prepare relief pitchers, make mound visits pitching visits, prep possible pinch hitters and double-switches.
As mentioned, 1 pitching coach and 1 batting coach will be retained and have information provided to them via Air Buds, explaining what should be coached in-game and on a daily basis. The pitching coach will share Hal information on all details of a pitchers performance and areas of instruction. The hitting coach will have similar Hal hitting information using advanced iPads. The organization will be paperless. For this year, players will get accustomed to the iPad seminars, the goal being is to eliminate all on field coaches, who are subject to human error and critical mistakes. Any other face-to-face contact will be done via Zoom.
Apple has launched a “fan imput” app that will allow fans to criticize and second guess decisions made by Hal. They will be noted and included in the data base. The computer will take into account all suggestion for consideration. (Not really) Hal can also be contacted in-game via email at www,pissoff@apple.com.
Any suggestions deemed to be based on human reaction or gut feelings will not be considered.
In conjunction with the Automatic Balls and Strikes System, all baseball will have a super chip embedded. The home plate umpire will in charge of relaying the system’s perfect balls and strike calls via EarPod.
Pitchers and catchers will be outfitted with an EarPod allowing Hal to call each perfect pitch selection for the situation. Should a pitcher shake Hall off, he will receive an electric shock through his ear. A dugout coordinator will be outfitted to align the defense based on Hal’s analysis of spray charts and factor in information based on every at bat in the hitter’s career.
Chips in the player’s shoes, bases and in the “oven mitts” will allow sensors to make perfect safe or out calls. No reviews will be necessary. Everything else on the field will be subject to a 30 second review by a Diamond MAC 6000 computer in Cupertino Cal.
Talks are under way with The Player’s Association to provide financially incentives for the next phase of players assessment. Each player will have an embedded chip, similar to ones used in dogs, to measure overall performance including range, speed and effort. That information will be used for player comparisons, contract negotiations and possible trades.
Don’t forget that series coming up next week with the Microsoft Yankees guided by their new computer system called “George”.
So enjoy the upcoming season knowing everything is going to be done correctly.
You can’t second guess of argue with Hal.
Turner is supposed to start tonight. I think MLB must have lost some of their senses starting this game at 7 eastern. By the time the Dodgers get on the plane it will be close to if not after midnight, then a cross country flight, getting in early Monday morning. They won’t be in their own beds until close to dawn. Then they have to be at the stadium by 3:30 for a 7:10 night game against the Pirates. Who by the way put up 14 against the Brewers yesterday. The Giants loss was partly due to a costly misplay by Crawford allowing the Rocks to score the 3rd run. Tsutsugo was not one the 40 man, so his release is not a surprise. That they picked him up in the first place was a surprise. I think they were expecting to fix his swing and catch lightning in a bottle. Instead they got sour milk. DJ Peters hit a long HR yesterday. I liked the kid, and I know he strikes out a lot, but I wish him nothing but success in Texas. DC lost another starting pitcher when Ross went down with a partial tear. Not sure if any of you have ever heard of Nanci Griffith. A folk and country singer she has had some pretty good hits and did duets with many country stars including Emmylou Harris. She passed away Friday in Nashville at age 68. No cause was given. RIP
We will see Andre Jackson starting a game this coming week against the Pirates or Mets who is on the 40 man roster. Another possibility is Tropeano who is not. The options are limited with no off days in the midst of a 13 game sdchedule and Urias on the IL.
Good for Tyler Gilbert. A no hitter is a no hitter regardless of the circumstances and even better against the Padres.
Here is the Tyler Gilbert story when he became a Dodger.
https://ladodgertalk.com/2020/02/17/meet-tyler-gilbert/
Great read!!!!
I remember that team from 92. Offerman had maybe 121 errors at short 🙂 They were really bad but the horizon looked good, we just didn’t know it yet. It’s too bad they couldn’t parlay all those Rookie of the Years into a title
I really liked Brett Butler. I think Mike Krukow, the Giants announcer, said it best. He was like a gnat that was annoying the hell out of you but then he could bite you. He could just foul balls off at will it seemed until he got a pitch to hit and then maybe steal a base or two. Every now and then, he pop a HR as well.
I really miss those players and I think that my bias towards that type of game lends to the frustration with this team and the was they play. I guess that the game has changed though but I still miss the smart player that used ALL his skills and gifts. LA could have multiple guys with 20-30 SB per year but it isn’t the plan obviously.
I loved Tommy and who couldn’t unless you were on the other side of his rage. LOL
Here are some good ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzjWQF1oP2M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvFMEoKI7eE kicks in about 1:25
Al Michaels talking about meeting Tommy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf0XyNs_f8c
It’s amazing how much better the bullpen is with Phil Bickford and Alex Vesia stepping up.
In Doc’s own words, “Bickford is a righty killer”. I’ve noticed that Doc has sent the pitching coach (Prior) out to talk to Bickford when a LHB is up and told him to pitch around or be careful pitching to that LHB even if he has to walk him to get to a RHB. And that is good because Bickford is that good against RHB.
Vesia is good against both sides of the plate, so there’s not much to say about Vesia besides I’m impressed and I didn’t predict him being this good.
I hope I haven’t spoken too soon about those guys and I hope they keep it up because those 2 guys have made the bullpen a lot better.
The Dodgers bullpen is #3 in team E.R.A and #4 in W.H.I.P in the National League overall for the season and I bet better than that recently.
I have no problem with how they handled JT, Max and Albert. JT pinch hitting with Belli on second in extra innings with a one run lead, it’s worth it to try to get that second run because it’s pretty easy, statistically to score a runner from second with no outs. You take a chance on defence at two positions with capable, but not stellar defenders at those positions knowing that changes of a difficult play at either of them are statistically less likely to happen than a hit by JT. None of those things wound up happening.
I’m just going to stay away from the comments about Doc’s pre and post game interviews. This subject is a flogged horse. Go ahead and egg me on Mark, then take your ball when you get what you wanted.
I found it curious that Doc would handle the bullpen the way he did at the end of the game especially in the 9th and 10th innings. Vesia starting the 9th after recording 3 outs in the 8th. Bickford getting two outs in the 9th and coming back for 2 more in the 10th. Then bringing in Knebel for the last out. It worked out for him this time, but why not just have each pitcher complete one inning? Because he used so many relievers the day before.
With our crappy record in extra inning games, a statistical anomaly turned into a self fulfilling prophecy. I’m glad to get that monkey off our back so the team can go back to believing they can win those games.
Bickford and Vesia are genius finds by AF. Vesia was poached from the Marlins in a trade for a good pitcher with no options for a diamond in the rough with roster flexibility. Both teams got what they wanted in the short term. Bickford fell in their lap after a team with tons of pitching didn’t have room to keep him on their 40. Both were astute finds, but Bickford had the pedigree of a first round draft pick and most of the league passed him up so the Dodgers were able to pick him up on waivers for nothing. Bravo Andrew! Although, I can’t help but wonder how many of those early extra inning losses could have been avoided had Floro remained with the Dodgers.
As far as conspiracy theories go, I find it difficult to believe, or even consider that Mookie has already undergone surgery.
As far as conspiracy theories go, I don’t find it difficult to believe that two seperate women, each with a checkered past would try to extort money from Trevor Bauer. Do you really expect me to believe that 4 years ago, Bauer threw money at the problem to make it go away when he was being paid around $3M that season, but now that he’s making ten times that amount, he’s refusing to throw money at the problem to make it go away? The only thing we really know for sure is that Trevor has incredibly bad taste in women and that there’s no cure for stupidity.
What are the chances of JT playing in the field today after winning the first two games without him and having Scherzer on the bump with extra rest after being pulled early due to his previous rain delayed game, then getting on a long flight back to LA and playing a game on less than optimal sleep?
The schedule comes back to our favor for the rest of the month and especially in the immediate future. This game is very important. I wouldn’t want to be the Giants having to face the Mets coming off the sweep and I wouldn’t want to be the Pirates playing the Dodgers on a roll at Chavez Ravine even if it’s against TBD aka Price, White and whoever the Dodgers pull out of their hat.
I’m a little nervous for the Bullpen next week, but there’s more than half of a bullpen that’s due to come off the IL any time now.
Rick Monday said something interesting the other day about the remaining schedule. He said that as long as you have 1 week remaining for each game you’re behind, you feel pretty good about your changes.
With Bauer, Clayton, May and now Urias 80% of our starters from the beginning of the season now out. It speaks volumes of the talent and depth in this organization that we still are top 3 in all of MLB in wins.
Go Dodgers!
Thank you Bear, I love reading your articles.
What was going on last night with Robert’s moving Max to third and putting Albert in at first with a left handed hitter at the plate. I am happy it worked out but with Alberts range it could have been bad.
I read somewhere that Tyler Gilbert was in the Dodgers organization, before he was released, someone knows if it’s true?
This is classic Roberts talking about Mookie’s injury.
“It’s a bone spur that is sort of tied to the hip and it’s like really internal. We don’t know how it came to be,” Roberts said. I mean, totally, what adult like talks like that? “Sort of tied to the hip”? “it’s like really internal”? It sounds like he’s afraid to actually tell the truth about the injury. What’s the big deal?
He continues. “I think right now where we’re at, we’re trying to figure out what’s the best way to get him back with us and through the season, then kind of once we get to the offseason, we’ll kind of address that.” “then kind of once we get to the offseason, we’ll kind of address that.” How silly can you be? How do you kind of address an injury? I have to believe Roberts is much more intelligent than he speaks. He is always tip toeing around the issue. Why he finds it necessary not to be direct with the media is beyond me. It’s like an embarrassment that our manager like sounds like a 12 year old. I mean, like, totally.
Dodgers Minor League News: Yoshi Tsutsugo Released, Kevin Quackenbush Returns to AAA
The idea is, how many wins did that player acccount for in that season, compared to if a league-average player had replaced him? There are many formulas, but most combine a player’s offensive and defensive performance. It is also an additive statistic. So you can add WARs across seasons to get career WAR. It is a handy way to summarize a player’s value, compared to the league average player.
Ryan Pepiot went 4.1 innings last night and gave up 5 hits and 4 runs, only 1 of which was earned. He did strike out 7.
Marshall Kasowski made his first AAA appearance last night, striking out the side.
Mike Busch was 2-4 last night with his 14th HR, a 2-run shot.
BTW, all the Dodgers minor league teams have a winning record. It may not be the best farm system, but it is solid.
I actually became a Dodgers fan in 1991, the year my favorite player, Brett Butler, joined the team. I watched him play in Atlanta and met him there, and I followed him after he left.
Can someone explain to me how you arrive at and what is the significance of one’s WAR? Butler had a WAR of 6.1 that year. What the heck does this mean? Who replaced Butler that year? I know Bear said, “how many wins this player is better than the guy who has replaced him.”
And how do you go about assigning a number when comparing the two players (the player and the guy who replaced him)?
Thanks,
TM