Opponents I Admired

Ever have a player from another team that you wished was a Dodger? I have. Some ended up playing a year or two in LA. Some never did. But the list is fairly long going back to when the Dodgers first came to LA.

Willie Mays: Willie was simply the best player I ever saw play the game. He could do it all, and he made it look so easy. And he was pretty good against the Dodgers. But I cannot remember ever seeing him make a mistake. He probably did, but I don’t remember it. He was respected and he was one of those guys who would just come to beat you. Sad that he never got to play more games in the World Series.

Willie was and has always been a class act. He was the one who played peacemaker when Marichal attacked Roseboro. He was the Sey-Hey Kid. I marveled at his basket catches and his speed on the basepaths. I also was taken by the way it seemed that he just glided after fly balls. He was just one of those players who you could not take your eyes off of.

Eddie Mathews: One of the better third basemen to ever play the game, and next to Mike Schmidt, the best power hitter. He and Aaron formed a deadly combination. He finished his career with 512 long balls. 493 of those came as a Brave. Exactly the same number as Lou Gehrig hit for the Yankees. Though no Brooks Robinson with the glove, he was more than adequate.

Roberto Clemente: Sad part of this is that if the Dodgers had been a little smarter, he would have been a career, Dodger. Losing him in the rule 5 draft has to be one of the more humiliating mistakes in Dodger history. They tried to hide him in the minors and paid the price.

Roberto was one of those guys you just could not take your eyes off of when he was involved in the play. Whether at bat, or fielding a ball, he was so much fun to watch. He was overshadowed by the stars of Mays and Aaron, but he was probably one of the best right fielders the game has ever seen. And he had a cannon for an arm. There is a push to retire #21 across the league in his memory. He was the first really great Latin player in the majors. I was in Germany when he died on his mercy flight.

Hank Aaron: Hammering Hank. Every move he made on a ballfield looked graceful. He was slightly built, but most of his power came from his wrists. He was lightning quick to the ball and it would jump off of his bat. I saw him hit a homer over the center field fence at the coliseum that I swear never got more than 15 feet in the air. He just was not one of those guys hitting majestic arcing homers. His were cannon shots.

He and Eddie Mathews combined to be the second-best home run hitting duo in major league history. Only Ruth and Gehrig combined for more during their time as teammates. Hank Aaron was not flashy, he just went out and beat you. 755 career homers. Second only to Barry Bonds, and one of only four players to reach those lofty heights. Bonds, Aaron, Ruth and Albert Pujols.

Johnny Bench: I hated the Big Red Machine. I sincerely despised those guys. But I respected the talent many of them had, and Bench was one of them. He was the best catcher of his era. Oh, there were some other good ones, but Bench combined a great bat with superior defense. He was an All-Star 13 times and won 2 MVP awards. He moved to 3rd base later in his career. He also played 1st base and a little outfield.

He won 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards. And how many times has a rookie catcher won a Gold Glove? He also won ROY that year. Bench would finish with 389 homers. He was just one of those guys you had to admire. He hit .255 against the Dodgers with 31 homers and 131 driven in.

Bob Gibson: I was just plain scared of Gibby. He was as intimidating a pitcher as I ever saw throw a baseball. Randy Johnson was that way too, but Gibson, well, he was just plain mean. He came to stuff the ball down your throat. But if you can believe this, the Dodgers actually had the highest BA against Gibson .249, and they beat him 23 times to his 17 wins. He shut the Dodgers out just 3 times. By comparison, he shut out the Cubs 11 times.

He broke Sandy’s World Series K record against the Tigers in game 1 in the 68 Series. He had a 1.12 ERA that year. Definitely the year of the pitcher. McLain won 31 for Detroit that year. The last pitcher to do that. He wasn’t a bad hitter either socking 24 homers and driving in 144 in his career.

There were others. Juan Marichal, Willie Stargell, guys we saw most of the time. I had a great respect and a huge dislike of all things Yankees. But guys like Mantle, Berra, Ford, those guys who went out and just beat you commanded your respect. Ken Boyer, a solid third baseman for the Cardinals comes to mind. He always played well against the Dodgers and for two years was a Dodger.

Dave Parker when he was with the Pirates seemed like he would run over everyone on the bases. He was a monster. Willie McCovey, who owned Big D. I really respected Pete Rose as a player. He played about as hard as I have ever seen anyone play the game. And all Pete wanted to do was beat you. Yes, for his career he belongs in the Hall. But Pete screwed that up himself. I am sure there are more, and somewhere down the road I will probably include more current players. But these guys, well they just commanded respect.