I write this as requested by one of our posters. And it is a subject that is easy to write about. There have been so many over the years. Some very good, some ok, others, not so good. One, Eddie Murray is in the Hall, another, Gil Hodges belongs there, but that is an argument for another day. Some were very good hitters: Garvey, Gonzalez, Murray, Hodges. Some were good fielders: Parker, Garvey, Hodges. Some were not: Dick Stuart. Others were just passing through on their way to careers elsewhere: Jim Gentile, Tom Hutton. But for a while, they all wore the blue with varying levels of success.
So let’s start at the beginning. 1958 when the team moved from Brooklyn, Gil Hodges was the primary 1st baseman. Gil was getting older, and was not as good defensively as he had been a few years earlier when he won the first 3 gold gloves given at the position, but he was more than serviceable. Gil tied with Charlie Neal for the team lead in HRs with 22. Carl Furillo, in his last full season, led the team in BA at .,290.
Gil had a few backups, Norm Larker, Jim Gentile, who would be traded to the Orioles, and Steve Bilko, the PCL star up for another shot at the bigs. He had a better season in 59, but in 60, he lost his job to Norm Larker. In 61 he went to the Mets in the expansion draft. Larker held the job for a couple of years, and he was replaced by Ron Fairly. Harkness, Moon, and Howard also saw some time there. Fairly was still the main guy in 63 when they won the World Series, but they had traded for Bill Skowron, and he saw most of the action in the series.
Dick Nen hit a memorable HR during the stretch run but was just a memory by the next season. Fairly was the man again in 64, but his replacement was already a member of the team, and in 1965, Wes Parker took over and the job would be primarily his for the next 9 years. Wes was not a great hitter, but he won 6 gold gloves at the position. In 1970, Wes had his best offensive season ever when he hit .,319 with 10 HRs and 111 RBI’s. The only time he topped those numbers. He retired after the 72 season citing the game was not fun anymore.
Bill Buckner took over for Wes, and many thought he would be there for years to come, but a scatter-armed 3rd baseman was moved to the position in 1974 to get his bat into the lineup, and Buckner was moved to the outfield. From 1974 to 1982, Steve Garvey would be the everyday guy. Garvey was a very good hitter and won the MVP award in 1974. He would finish out of the top 10 in MVP voting only twice in the next 8 seasons. He won 4 consecutive gold glove awards and was one of the more clutch bats in the league. Garvey left as a free agent after the 82 season, and his main replacement was highly touted rookie, Greg Brock.
Well, Brock was no Garvey and that was soon evident, he had some power, but was not close to being as consistent as Garvey was. He was backed up at various times by the likes of Sid Bream, who would later go to the Pirates and Braves and have a decent career. Franklin Stubbs, who would replace him as the starter in 1987. Stubbs held the job for a couple of years and then they traded for future Hall of Famer, Eddie Murray. Murray was not the same hitter he was in Baltimore, but he was above average while he was in LA.
His replacement was in the system, and in 1992, he took over and won the ROY: Eric Karros. For the next 11 years, Karros would put together some very good seasons, and when he left, he held the LA Dodger record for HRs with 270. Duke Snider holds the Dodger all-time record. Eric was not a great glove guy, but he was more than solid at the position for more than a decade. He was traded after the 2002 season to the Cubs with Mark Grudzelanek for Chad Hermansen and Todd Hundley, one of the worst deals they have made. Hundley played in only 21 games and was retired after the season. Hermansen played in only 11 games.
The primary 1st baseman in 2003 was the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff. McGriff was only in 86 games and was replaced some games by mid-season pick-up, Robin Ventura. Neither of them was very productive. Shawn Green spent the 2004 season as the primary guy, backed up by Ventura, Hee Sop Choi, and Olmedo Saenz. Over the next couple of years, 05 and 06, Choi was the main guy, and then Nomar Garciaparra took over in 06.
In 2007, another rookie was handed the job. He was James Loney. James would have some very good days with the team. Over the next 7 seasons, until August of 2012, Loney would man 1st base. He was a contact hitter with occasional power, and he did a decent job in the field. He was backed up by various veterans they would pick up along the way like Mark Sweeney, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz.
Then in August of 2012, the Dodgers made “The Trade”. Adrian Gonzalez was brought in and Loney was sent to the Red Sox in the deal. Gonzalez was a .280 hitter over his time in LA, and as Vinny described him, he became the Dodgers butter and egg man. In his full seasons in LA, he never drove in less than 90. And he won his 4th gold glove as a Dodger in 2014. He was backed up sometimes by Scott Van Slyke, and later by Rob Segedin.
But the Dodger farm was starting to produce again, and a young player who had a lot of speed and athletic ability was about to replace the veteran, who was having trouble staying on the field. And when Gonzalez went down with an injury early in 2017, young Cody Bellinger took his place and made Dodger history. Bellinger appeared in 132 games, won the ROY, and set the rookie record for HRs with 39 passing the mark of 36 set by Mike Piazza in 1993. He also drove in 97. He probably would have hit 40, but a 10-day stint on the IL set him back. He had a forgettable World Series but played well against the Cubs in the NLCS.
It looked for all practical purposes like the Dodgers had found their first baseman for the next several years. Cody was the main man again in 2018, but in 2019, a former A’s player who the Dodgers had picked up off of the trash heap became the 1st basemen for a majority of the games. Having players move to different positions as the need arose was the new mantra in LA. So Max Muncy, who brought surprising power to the team was installed there and Bellinger moved to CF, where he is also a gold glove caliber player. Muncy plays the position now a majority of the time, but he also gets moved around, and guys like Matt Beaty, Edwin Rios, and a few others have spelled Max.
Then early this season the team signed future Hall of Famer, Albert Pujols to play against LHP. Pujols has been reborn in LA. He has played very well, and despite his age, he still is very good with the glove. So there is kind of a thumbnail view of the 1st baseman who have manned the bag for the Dodgers. I only scanned most of them and gave deeper info on the ones who were at the position longest. But I would be remiss if I did not give some props to Dr. Strangeglove. The memorable Dick Stuart. Stuart was a decent hitter who 3 times hit more than 30 HR’s in his career and topped 100 RBI’s the same. His best season was 1961. He hit .301 with 35 HRs and 117 RBI’s. But it was not his bat most remember, it was his Iron glove.
Over 10 seasons Stuart compiled 169 errors playing 1st base, earning the moniker, Dr. Strangeglove. A take-off on the movie Dr. Strangelove. That means he made almost 17 errors a season there. Not exactly confidence-inspiring. He was signed as a free agent in July of 1966. He was a part of the 1966 World Series team but only had 2 at-bats without a hit. He actually hit pretty well with a .264 average over parts of 38 games with only 91 at-bats. He had 3 HRs and 9 RBI’s. He was released after the season, and despite a comeback try with the Angels in 1969 at age 36, his career was basically over.
Discussion (36)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Great game again by the dynamic duo of Betts and Muncy. I friggin love Max sooooo much. There is no doubt in my mind that he is our best LHH in the lineup….not even close. He can hit LHP very well, unlike one former MVP.
TM’s Dreams: in a few days we can get Seager back which will put Lux back on the bench where he belongs and maybe, just maybe, the Dodgers will shock the world and trade Cody while we can get a lot back in return for him. That way we could get rid of two LHBs who can’t hit lefties to save their life which should help us in the future to not have to rely so much on Betts and Muncy to save us. I would like to get a high prospect OF and at least two high prospect pitchers for him. Atlanta still is dreaming of a World Series even without the great Acuna. I’m sure adding Cody will make them think he could replace him and I think they are willing to take the chance that Cody will somehow, after two years, find his swing again. It would be the perfect place to trade him to. We can unite he and Joc.
Doc says Mookie will probably be back out there on Monday. Freaking Coors Field. I hate that ballpark.
Muncy is very much in the MVP conversation.
I want Cody to be the superstar I think we all thought he would be. He’s now a rather pedestrian .173 BA, .287 OBP, .291 SLG, 0.1 WAR.
His HR’s are majestic and his defensive game is phenomenal, but his play is not worth $16.1 million per year. Is it possible he gets packaged as part of a trade deal to get some SP that none of us could foresee? Gerritt Cole, Greinke, Zack Wheeler, Ryu, Kimbrell….I don’t know but MT has proffered some wild crap before so I thought I would tee it up.
His game is so confounding to me. Appears as if he makes no adjustment, swings wildly for the long ball always, I think he needs to bunt when the shift is on and try going oppo from time-to-time. Doc has tried moving him to the #6 hitter in the line-up. Will he soon be moved to #7 or #8?
I know I’m talking a lot of crap, but I wanted to see this kid succeed and he’s fading fast right now. Very fast.
After that ugly 5W – 15L the team has played for 40W -18L, a very good .689, keeping the rhythm the projection is 105 wins
Padres game suspended due to gun fire behind the left field gate. Dodgers will gain a game on the Giants with the same amount wins and 2 more losses.
Man how about a little love for MVP Max Muncy!! (Double exclamation point). Haha
AJ is spreading the tartar sauce , Knock on wood keep it going
It’s no surprise he is limping…..look at All that running around he was doing. Plus, his back also has to be sore carrying the team on it (save Marvelous Max).
Better just to wait for the report after the game rather than get all worked up about it. He was limping a little. But there could be a lot of reasons. Dehydration for one. He was not clutching anything, and it was not a hammy. Muncy unloads, 5-2 in the 8th.
What bad luck. Mookie Betts starts to get hot and now he’s injured.
A little bit of good news the Giants lost.
Oh no now what
Fish sticks ain’t fucking around
Mookie now mookie!!
Just so there is no misunderstanding, when I said “Think Blue” it was not in reference to one of our political parties. Geez.
This may have already been posted, so forgive me if it has, but the Dodgers have signed 9th round draft pick, Lael Lockhart and 10th round draft pick, Michael Hobbs for $2,500.00 each. This adds $286,000.00 to their draft capital to be used elsewhere. They have also signed LHP — Adam Scoggins (Oral Roberts); C — Griffin Lockwood-Powell (Central Michigan); RHP — Jonathan Edwards (Georgia Southern); and RHP — Orlando Ortiz (Troy) as undrafted free agents.
Thanks Bear for another great post on Dodger history. Brought back some great memories. Had the pleasure of meeting Wes Parker when I was as a kid. I was a member of his Athletes for Youth group. Very nice guy. We’ve had some community oriented players over the years that were great role models that as a Dodger fan I was proud to have on our team. I think highly of Clayton Keyshaw and Justin Turner in that regard; in my opinion , they are among those great Dodgers who epitome what “Think Blue” is about.
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger is Going to Be a Girl Dad
by Brook Smith
Dodgers fans got the biggest shock of the season this week when they found out Cody Bellinger was going to be a dad. His girlfriend Chase Carter made the announcement on Instagram and showed off her baby bump in a post this week while also celebrating Belli’s birthday.
Corey Knebel is going to sim game against Seager on Sunday. More bullpen help is on the way and another 40 man spot to account for.
They could make a trade before that happens, who knows, but with Seager coming back most likely Monday, Burns is the most vulnerable I would think. 8 of their pitchers are on the IL, so I doubt it will be a pitcher when they activate Gray, if they do so. That is not yet a given.
Dodgers will have to make two 40 man roster moves when they add Seager who is currently on 60 the Day IL and if they add Gray who is not on the 40 man roster. What will the two moves be? Any guesses?
The Braves made another trade, this time for catcher Stephen Vogt from the D-Backs. Looks like the Braves are not throwing in the towel yet. Padres activated Snell and Pomeranz.
Dodger transactions:
07/17/21 Los Angeles Dodgers sent SS Corey Seager on a rehab assignment to ACL Dodgers.
07/17/21 Los Angeles Dodgers sent RHP Edwin Uceta on a rehab assignment to ACL Dodgers.
ACL is the Arizona Complex League
Tonight’s lineup:
RF Mookie
3B Justin
2B Max
1B Albert
SS Chris
CF Cody
LF AJ
C Austin
P Walker
No Will, makes no sense
ESPN’s David Schoenfield says that Kiké is a revelation in CF, that happens when you don’t see the Dodgers and West Coast games, it seems that as soon as he is discovering Enrique’s game, he gives a good description of Kiké but it seems that he read it and how surprised he looks it seems that he had not seen him play every day , we know perfectly the defensive capabilities of Kiké and to us is not surprising:
David Schoenfield / ESPN : “I live in Connecticut so I end up watching the “local” teams on a regular basis. I liked Boston’s signing of Enrique Hernandez as a free agent in the offseason. He had been the longtime utility guy for the Dodgers, a good defensive player all over the field with some pop, especially against left-handed pitching, exactly the kind of player good teams have coming off the bench. What has been a revelation is Hernandez’s play in center field, a position he has essentially taken over now on a full-time basis. Hernandez leads all center fielders with plus-9 defensive runs saved, including maybe my favorite defensive play of the first half”
Back in ’83, when the Dodgers let Garvey go, I became a Padres fan for the next 4 years. I grew up a huuuuge Garvey fan and was quite irritated when they let him walk so I followed him to San Diego (with my loyalty). I actually had no interest in the Dodgers again until ’88 (good timing! ☺) but have been a rabid fan since.
BTW, I was at the last game that Garvey played in San Fran back in ’82. In his last at-bat, he struck out (but I still loved the guy).
Pete – nice to hear from you. That is some lengthy spell you’ve had on the IL.
Would anyone be opposed to Charlie Morton pitching for us – given his connection to the Cheaters?
Johnnie Cochran was not a good defense attorney. His motions all were weak. I don’t think any were ever published. As far as O.J’s. trial goes, defense won at jury selection.
I really enjoyed this one today Bear. I really loved rooting for a lot of these guys while they were on the team and it was a nice read to remember them. Eddie Murray was such a great hitter from both sides of the plate, but was a little past his prime when the Dodgers got him. You can say the same thing about A-Gone. He was one of my favorite non-Dodgers when he was on the Padres. I thought he would be such a great fit for our team with such a large Mexican fan base and I was heartbroken when the Red Sox acquired him, always dreaming about what he would look like in Dodgers Blue. Eric Karros had a solid career and if you go back to look at his numbers, they were quite impressive. He was overshadowed by Piazza and all those big first baseman during the steroid era. Loney felt like a disappointment to me. He had a lot of prospect hype and never really reached his “potential”.
Last night’s game was a great start to the second half. Urias settled in nicely after the one bad inning and had another hit at the plate to boot. Mookie made a statement for what’s upcoming for the second half, CT3 had another big hit and Smith came up with a pocket full of clutch.
The lineup looked long and was productive while putting up crooked numbers in three frames. The bullpen was mostly great as Bickford wasn’t sharp, but he was effective and Reed looked like a weapon against righties. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sherfy throw a few 95+ darts around a lot of sliders.
Doc chose to pull Urias at 89 pitches with two outs and nobody on in the 6th. A clear indicator that the Dodgers mantra is to not overwork players hoping to keep gas in the tank for a post-season run. Keeping with that theme, Clayton will be on vacation for the remainder of the month after forearm tightness gave the powers that be a good excuse to justify a rest. The same theme was followed with Belli and Seager’s injury. No rushing to get stars back in the lineup, enjoy the break and make sure you’re ready for October. Knebel is another example and V-Gone went on the IL with “plantar fasciitis”? You don’t see that very often.
With Clayton on vacation, the Dodgers plan to lean heavily on the bullpen continuing the practice of shuffling relievers on and off the IL and back and forth from the minors. They don’t seem all that concerned about being 2 games out in the middle of July. With Bauer’s case keeping him in limbo at least through July and Kershaw on vacation through July, the Dodgers will either continue to show their love for the Rays guide to pitching by bullpenning once a week, or we’ll see Jo-jo even though he’s not quite ripe yet. It’s doubtful they trade for a starter during this two week stretch where it will benefit them most because sellers know pitching is in high demand, so they might as well wait until the bitter end to squeeze potential buyers as much as possible. By the time they do trade for one, there may be a surplus of starters again. Exactly the position the Dodgers like to be in.
Keeping up with the Bauer situation, I find it curious that the investigation started in mid-May, but he wasn’t suspended until the restraining order was filed at the beginning of July, even though he hadn’t attempted to contact her in over a month. I also found it really odd at the time that Doc said he would start the Sunday after the news broke. Looking back, it looks like a Dodgers power move to shift authority over the Bauer situation to MLB instead of putting him on administrative leave themselves. This might be seen as a faint way to show support for their player without adding fuel to the tire fire known as twitter.
After reviewing the text messages again, I was a little more than surprised to learn that their first meeting was the day before opening a 4 game series against the Padres. WTH? It makes me think this is a little more than coincidence that this saga begins right before a 4 game set against her former employer.
In her own words his accuser stated via text message…
‘Omg yeah I mean they already interrogated me about ‘setting this up’ and I spoke firmly about how I joked about his amount of money and how I wanted to be a baseball wife and my attorney totally ripped them for that.’ Yeah, sure your guy from the law offices of Dewey, Cheetum and Howe ripped the PPD. I’m sure they were shaking in their boots.
It was later revealed that she was in contact with Tatis Jr. during the same time frame that she was involved with Bauer. WTH?
On July 14, news broke that Bauer hired some heavy hitters to join his legal team. One was an attorney, Shawn Holley, who worked with Johnnie Cochran on OJ’s defense team. And the other was Russell Greene a private investigator that worked with Cochran for over a decade in the 90’s and mid 2000s. Hmmm, a modern day Magnum PI? Who’s next, Dog the bounty hunter?
This situation is full of really weird oddities and circumstances. The more I think about it, the more it looks like a setup. As a result, I don’t think it’s out of the question that Bauer is exonerated and has a better chance of pitching this year than many expect.
But, how this affects the trade deadline is still hard to predict. The Dodgers have enough question marks and enough money to make an insurance move regardless. Future Dodger Jon Gray is auditioning for the Dodgers while making as start against them on Sunday. He’s a good “try before you buy” candidate for a pitcher who won’t necessarily break the bank in the offseason.
The top offense in the league is still racking up numbers even without their star shortstop in the lineup and further stacking the pitching staff will reinforce their bid for a repeat. They still manage each game like there’s little urgency to sacrifice long term health for short term gains. I think the Dodgers are getting really close shifting gears into “Beast-Mode” as the roster gets healthier and fortified with help at the deadline. Even if it’s not necessarily going to be the top shelf prize.
Reading AF comments the chess player is finally acknowledging the need for pitching duh. But as I pointed out some time back his strategy is just get another milb reliever or a dfa candidate and rotate them to get the innings. He probably can’t do much because everybody knows we are hurting for pitching so get ready for sherfy,vesia, clevinger, white, bickford, uceta, and whatever other great relievers he can come up with. I don’t blame him for not overpaying but I do blame him for getting us in the situation. Whether u like Bauer or not AF waited way too long to sign him last year so he was really the only one available. It’s like waiting a week after Black Friday and trying to make a deal. Pickings are slim but some would call this patience. The way the giants are going I am starting to think Farhan May have deserved more credit.
Maybe Bauer learned the lesson and if he returns, he will do it focused on the game, on the season and leaving his nonsense for when the season ends as champions!
Maybe they’ll let him re-pitch but under certain conditions, I don’t know, I think LA is currently not in a position of pride or whatever you want to call it.
A championship for a great city, for a great team, for a great organization is much more important than anything else (except what HOU did)
Some, including me, have been saying for a while now we need to think about starting pitching for the rest of the year. Buehler and Urias are going to need a break, and Kershaw is currently taking his yearly stint on the IL. We look vulnerable to SD and SF. I trust Friedman can see that too.
Yes OC Dodger, it’s not just about voter ID. There’s a David Graham article in the Atlantic explaining in detail what is really going on. I don’t believe this is the place to discuss it. As busy as the board has been, there will be no progress made here.
Shall we talk about “The Trade”? It’s linked to the topic presented by Bear. I’ll start by reminding Mark he still owes me 500 push-ups. No, I haven’t forgotten.
You forgot to mention our all-star first baseman, Paul Konerko, Bear.
Oh wait, they traded him for Jeff Shaw. Never mind.
Great article Bear. It was nice going down memory lane. I did not become a Dodgers fan until the 1990s so many of the ones you named I didn’t know that much about them, although I did recognize many of the names of the starters. Too bad we didn’t get Crime Dog when he was in his prime.
As for last nights game…I too was very disappointed to see Lux’s name in the starting lineup. He did get one single in 5 at bats and we really didn’t need his bat, so it was all good. I’m a huge Corey Seager fan (I hope we resign him for many more years), so I was just a bit let down not seeing his name in the lineup.
I will continue to say this until the trade deadline passes….we absolutely need more pitching, both starting and bullpen, if we are going to have a pretty solid chance of repeating. We have too many question marks coming out of the pen and even with TB coming back, I don’t trust Price or Gonsolin to stay healthy or effective over long innings. I’d rather see both come out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
Top of the morning to you all. What a great post to wake up to!!! Thanks Bear…
Two of my favorite positions to reminisce about are Dodger catchers and 1B…
Cant deny it , but seeing Eddie Murray in a LAD uniform was a thrill for me. A legend in my mind.
Hodges, a HOF shaft job for sure… I still wonder why SD ever let Adrian G. go… He could have been mayor of San Diego for years after his career…
Didn’t much care for Garvey… Looking at the numbers Greg Brock put up at AAA made many of us fans anxious to see him come to the bigs… Just didn’t pan out…
I’ll leave with Steve Bilko, who I watched intently for our AAA Los Angeles Angels prior to the Blue heading out West…
Once again thanks Bear…
Nice post, thank you.
I missed the drama of yesterday’s post and have a couple things to say.
Majoring in the Minors is my theme. When I read about all the posts about the new laws to limit voting and access. Everyone gets all moist over voter ID, giving out water in lines blah blah. The Manchin Plan gave Republicans what they asked for voter ID and what the Democrats asked for an end to gerrymandering and a federal standard to eligibility. What’s wrong with a compromise? This is America how things get done.
Anyway, I haven’t seen anyone write about the Real issues with the Republican voter suppression activity. That’s nullification of election results and the ending of local control in counties to elected officials (legislators) at the State Level. The also bag elected the Sec of State governance of state elections. This means if state legislators don’t like the results of the federal election they can reassign electors! WTF?!
“All I need is 11,780 votes”. I have never seen such partisanship in my life. All the lies, then the BIG LIE – “I won” (no you didn’t!). The state legislatures are trying to institutionalize the right to rig or over thrown results. That strike, no, it was a ball take your base! Come on man that’s crazy!
The big issue is in the replacement of who has authority over the election results. All this new voting legislation is based on the big lie for an issue that didn’t materially exist. The AG (Barr), the head of cyber security (Trump appointed) said our most secure election in history AND 60 judges (many appointed by the Republicans) said NO FRAUD!
Come on man, American needs to be fair. Overruling election results isn’t fair. Look at the cluster effort in AZ right now!
Now back to the Dodgers and my opinion. I say don’t deplete the farm. You just won a WS. Sometimes you get shitty cards. I like the Cole Hamel idea (just costs money). Think long term. I waited 33 years for a WS. Set the team up to look forward.
Morning observations:
1. Nice win yesterday. Great offensive support and it was good to see Urias have some length in Coors and a good use of the BP by some young guns (kind of at least relatively young but certainly new to the Dodgers).
2. Was hoping to see Seager activated, guess we’ll have to wait another three days.
3. Mookie looks like he’s ready to explode.
4. Bellinger looks like the same Belli……
5. I’ve seen it all now that Pujols got a leg infield base hit.
6. AF needs to sign CT3 to a multi-year contract.
7. Disappointed to learn Clayton will be out until August. Was hoping for a quick 10 day IL stint once we learned no issues were found on his MRI.
8. With just three veteran starting pitchers available it puts some pressure on AF to acquire a frontline SP. Can’t get it done with just Urias, Buehler and Price and can’t continue to go BP games every 4 days or so. Too bad we find ourselves in this situation with the Giants seemingly not ready to swoon and a series against them coming up. I’m guessing if you are attached to some popular and very talented Dodger minor league players you might find yourselves heartbroken in two weeks or so. AF will get some pitching and he will have to give up some talent to acquire the likes of Scherzer, Gibson, Berrios etc.
9. Moving forward with the likes of White, Jo Jo, Pepiot as stop-gap SP’s does not inspire me with confidence in a pennant drive.
10. I don’t think TB will be charged, but he also won’t pitch again in a Dodger uniform this year and perhaps ever. The off season will give Dodger brass the time to study a contract cancellation or some crisis communication strategy if they have to bring him back next year.