Individual Honors Elude Players: Team Success Is # 1

You look back over the years and there are very few Dodger players at the top of the offensive numbers in the NL. Or the majors for that matter. Pitching? That is a horse of a different color. The last Dodger to win a batting title was Tommy Davis in 1963 when he hit .326. He also won in 1962 with a .342 mark.

Kemp led the league in runs scored with 111 in 2011. No one since then. The last Dodger to lead the league in hits was Steve Garvey in 1980 with 200. As a matter of fact, no Dodger has achieved the 200 hit level since Adrian Beltre had 204 in 2004.

Over the years, counting Brooklyn, the Dodgers have had 13 MVPs, 8 of them in pennant-winning years. 12 Cy Youngs, Koufax, and Kersh accounted for 6 of those. 9 World Series MVPs. There were tri winners in 1981. The Dodgers have had 18 Rookies of the Year… by far the most of any team. 5 All-Star game MVPs. None since Piazza in 1996. And 9 Comeback Player of the Year awards, the last being Nomar in 2006.

But individual awards in the offense category have just not been there. The last Dodger to lead the league in HR was Matt Kemp in 2011. Green did not lead the league when he hit 49. Beltre tied for the lead in 2004 with 48. No Dodger except Tom Jordan when he hit 12 in 1906 and 1908, has ever won more than one. A-Gone was the last Dodger to lead the league in RBI’s in 2014. Dee Gordon led the league in steals in 2014. Pedro Guerrero last Dodger to lead the league in slugging percentage.

As it stands right now, Trea Turner is #1 in the league in BA and steals, but he did most of his work in DC. Only Muncy is in the race for the HR crown. He is not even close in the RBI chase. The Dodgers as a team, are 4th in the NL in HR’s when last year they were #1. They trail SF, Atlanta, and the Reds. They are plus 204 in run differential. That is by far the largest margin in the league. But they are still 2.5 games back of the Giants as of today. Their lopsided one-run losses compared to wins, and extra-inning defeats have contributed to the deficit.

But, have you ever wondered why it is that a team with so much talent over the years, has never had a 50 HR season by any player, even when balls were flying out of the park all over baseball? Why do they rarely have a player in the top 10 in batting or RBI’s?

The theory has usually been the heavy air at night in springtime in LA. The ball just does not carry well until it warms up a little. They have had some success crushing the ball on opening day. 8 one time against the Giants. But individually, it takes a while for them to get going. Bellinger, in 19, had 30 HRs by July 4th. But fell short of the 50 mark with 47. He hit 27 of those in LA that year. Guererro is second in a season with 23 at Dodger Stadium. Muncy had 20. Adrian Gonzalez started off one year with 5 HRs in the first 3 games. But never came close to leading the league after that.

RBI’s in bunches also have seemed to be an issue. But they are spread all up and down the lineup, not depending on one player to get the job done. Right now the Dodgers have 5 players with 50 or more RBI’s. Muncy is leading with 76. Then Turner, Taylor, Smith, and Pollock. Only Taylor has struck out more than 100 times. And he leads the team by a bunch, with 133. The next closest is Muncy with 85. Betts has 44 RBI’s, but had he been healthy, he would have a lot more. Bellinger has driven in 31 on 41 hits.

But individual success has always taken a back seat to winning. Team success, and sustaining that has been the main focus of the team for years. In this day and age, and the way Roberts and the FO feel about keeping the players fresh and not out there every day makes a difference in the number of chances a player has to string together good games. Sometimes a player just gets hot and stays hot. Taylor and Pollock had streaks like that this season. Taylor has cooled off some, and Pollock had a 4 game stretch where he did not look the same. The last time Mookie came off of the IL< he got very hot and looked a lot like he did last season.

Let us hope he comes off the IL as hot this time. As much as I would like to see Belli win a HR crown, if for no other reason than to beat out Tatis, I would rather see them win another World Series. Individual awards are great. I hope Buehler wins the Cy Young. And I would love to see Turner keep it up and win the batting and stolen base crown. But what I want more than anything is to see them both celebrating on the mound after winning the last game of the World Series!

I sometimes believe fans are more into the individual honors more than the players. I know I was always pulling for a Dodger to win the HR crown. I thought for sure Bellinger was going to do that in 2019. But Pete Alonzo, in his incredible rookie season finished with 53. Cody led in WAR with an 8.7 mark. And he finished 2nd in many of the hitting categories. But his fade in the second half cost him the HR and RBI titles most likely and his drop in BA to just above .300 when he had been well over .340 in June.

But I have also enjoyed this incredible run of success. It is great to see the team at the top of the standings all those seasons instead of in the middle of the pack trying to pass two or three teams. And despite what some might think, it is good that the Giants are giving them such a challenge. It makes the last 30 plus games important. Unlike a few years ago when they went into August with a 20 game lead, and then proceeded to lose a bunch. They still won by 11 games, but they were not really challenged except by that losing streak.

Now they head to San Diego to face a reeling Padres team who are barely hanging on to their playoff spot with the Reds charging hard to overtake them. The Padres are 10.5 games back of the Dodgers. There is no way they are catching the Giants, and most likely no way they can catch LA. But they can put a dent in the Dodgers chase to overtake the Giants and win the division again. 9 games left with the Dodgers. 10 with the Giants, so they can also help LA.

But like they say, wounded animals are dangerous. The Dodgers are going to have to play some of their best baseball against those guys. Especially if they want to gain any ground on the Giants. And they need to hope the Giants’ opponents these next few weeks can do some damage and slow down their run. It is going to be interesting to watch. Last night was a good start.