Single season records least likely to be passed

This will be a list of pitching and hitting single season highs by Dodger players which I believe will not be broken. Some have stood for years; others will be relatively new. As with my last post about career stats, we will start with the pitchers. I also must apologize for missing a career record that will stand, Garvey's consecutive game streak. 1107 with LA and an NL record 1207. The way players are rested today, this is completely safe.

Pitchers WAR: Only two pitchers in the long history of the Dodgers have compiled a single season WAR of 10. Koufax, who did it twice, 10.7 in 63, 10.3 in 66. Dazzy Vance, 10.5 in 24, 10.1 in 28. By comparison, Kershaw's best was an 8.1 in 2013.

ERA: You have to go all the way back to 1916 when Rube Marquard had a 1.58 to find the lowest. Zack Greinke's 1.66 is the lowest ever for an LA Dodger. Now, with six starters now being used, these records could very possibly be broken. But all it takes is one bad game in this era to really skew ones ERA. Case in point. Shohei's current ERA is 1.79, which would put him #7 all time. The reason his ERA is at that number is because over his last 5 outings, he gave up 12 earned runs in 30.2 innings. Koufax holds the 4 and 5 spots, Kersh 6 and 7.

Wins: The franchise all-time mark is 40 by Bob Carruthers in 1889. But since that was pre-NL days, we can throw that out. The modern era mark is 28, set by Joe McGinnity and Dazzy Vance. The LA Dodger record is 27, set by Koufax in 1966 and Don Newcombe in 1956. That record is safe.

Win-Loss %: Only one pitcher in Dodger history has a win loss percentage of over .900 for one season, Tony Gonsolin, put up a .941 in 2022. He won 16 games and lost just 1. Freddie Fitzsimmons 16-2 in 1940, and Preacher Roe, 22-3 in 1951 came close. Kershaw, 21-3 in 2014 also came close.

Hits Per 9 IP: Koufax, who averaged 5.791 hits per 9 innings pitched in 1965 is the leader. But I have a feeling this could be beaten. Yoshi averaged 5.856 in 25 and is averaging just a tick above that this year. Second on the list is Nomo in 95 with a 5.833.

Base On Balls Per 9 IP: The record of 1.182 was set by Hyun-Jin Ryu in 2019. A pitcher who has excellent control could eventually beat this record, but the closest any recent Dodger has come to this was Kershaw with a 1.407 in 2014.

Ks Per 9 IP: Kershaw and Nomo are the only two Dodger pitchers to average above 11 Ks per 9 innings. Nomo in 95 with 11.101 and Kersh in 15 with 11.643. To beat this, someone like Yoshi or Ohtani, who are K machines when right, would have to average close to 12 Ks every 9 innings. The most Koufax ever averaged was 10.5 in 1962.

Games Played and Saves: Both of these are safe. Gagne saved 55 games in 03, and Mike Marshall pitched in 106 games in 1974. Gagne is the only Dodger reliever to post 50 plus saves and he did it twice, 03-02. Marshall is the only reliever in history to pitch in 100 or more games in a season. Four Dodgers, Paul Quantrill, Joe Biemel, Jonathan Broxton and Tom Martin pitched in 80 or more.

Innings Pitched & Strikeouts: No pitcher in today's game is going to come close to matching the number of innings pitched by the top 10 in Dodger history. Even throwing out the high mark of 481.2 because it was set before the franchise joined the NL, the franchise record since 1890 is 382.2 by Brickyard Kennedy in 1893. Koufax's 335.2 in 1965, is the highest for an LA Dodger and #22 on the all-time list. The 382 Ks by Koufax in 1965 is safe. It is doubtful any pitcher will chalk up 300 in a season ever again. Only Kersh and Sandy have accomplished this, and Sandy did it three times.

Shutouts, Homers, Base on Balls, Hits: Koufax had 11 shutouts in 1963. No other Dodger pitcher is in double figures. Second on the list is Sutton with 9 in 1972. Homers allowed, also held by Sutton, 38 in 1970. Doubtful a pitcher will get enough innings to allow that many. Base on Balls is held by Ed Stein who in 1894 walked 170 hitters. Hits allowed in a season, 445 by Brickyard Kennedy in 1894.

Single Season Batting: Some of these records were set in the last century when the game was totally different. Players today, strike out at a much higher rate than they did back then. Ks to not seem to carry the same stigma they used to.

Batting Average: To me, since so many deem batting average to be insignificant in rating hitter, this record will never be broken, not a chance. Babe Herman hit .393 in 1930, and he did not win the batting title. Bill Terry of the New York Giants hit .401. Highest single season average for an LA Dodger, Mike Piazza who hit .362 in 1997.

OBP: Mike Griffin posted a .466 OBP in 1894. Herman had a .456 in 1930. Jackie Robinson had a .440 in 1952. Highest mark by an LA Dodger, Gary Sheffield had a .438 in 2000. Wally Moon and Piazza are the other two LA Dodgers to top .430.

Slugging Percentage: Herman in 1930 put up a .678. Snider is second with a .647. If Ohtani was just a DH again, he might challenge that number, he was at .646 in 24 and .622 in 25. But as long as he pitches every six days, his slug is going to stay lower.

OBP: Herman had a 1.132 in 1930. Second is Sheffield's 1.081 in 2000. Ohtani's best was 24 when he had a 1.036 which puts him 8th on the Dodgers top 10 seasons list. Snider, Piazza, Bellinger and Beltre are the other players in the top 10.

Games Played & At Bats: In 1962, Maury Wills played in all 162 games, he then played in all 3 playoff games against the Giants. That gave him 165 for the season. In this era, if teams tie, they play just a game 163. Wills also had 695 at bats that year. Closest anyone has come to Wills is Izturis who had 670 in 2004.

Hits: In 1930, Babe Herman had 241 hits. The most by an LA Dodger is Tommy Davis's 230 in 62. 200 hits in a season is a rare feat in this era anyway. Garvey never had more than 210 and he garnered 200 hits six times. Freddie Freemans 211 in 2023 is the most by a Dodger in the 2000's. This record is most likely safe. Ohtani came within 2 of passing the all-time leader in runs scored, at 148. Shohei had 146 in 25. Hub Collins holds the record at 148 set in 1890.

Total Bases: Ohtani came close in 24 when he had 411. Herman had 416 in 30. Last year, when he hit 55 homers, Ohtani had 380 total bases. Since he is now pitching as well as being the DH, I think the chances that he accumulates 400 or more total bases are less likely than if he was just being the DH.

Doubles: Freeman had 59 in 2023 passing the team record of 52 which had been set in 1929 by Johnny Frederick. Prior to that, the most by any LA Dodger was Shawn Green who had 49 in 2003. Somewhere in the future, another player who is a gap hitter like Freeman, could surpass this number, but for now it is pretty safe.

Triples: George Treadway's 26 in 1894 seems safe. The most any LA Dodger player has had is 16, Willie Davis in 1970. No other LA Dodger is on the list at all.

Homers: I think it is a safe bet that Shohei's 55 can only be challenged at this point by Shohei himself. He for sure won't come close to that this season. He has 26 right now, with 40 games left in the season. I doubt he will make it to 40.

Runs Batted In: The 153 driven in by Tommy Davis in 1962 is pretty safe. The only other LA Dodger to drive in at least 130 is Shohei, who drove in exactly that many in 2024. Beltre, Piazza, Green and Kemp are the only LA players with 120 or more.

Stolen Bases: Maury Wills' 104 in 1962 is safe. No other LA Dodger has stolen more than Lopes' 77 in 1975. Maury is also in second place with 94. Most by a Dodger in the 2000's is Dee Gordon's 64 in 2014.

Well, there you have it, some of the least likely records for a single season to ever be broken. Ohtani had 99 extra base hits 24 but was 10 short of that record last year. Herman and Freeman are the only other players with 90 or more.

OKC Comets 9 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 3

 RHSP Gavin Stone walked the first batter he faced on 5 pitches, well out of the zone.  He retired the next three batters for a scoreless first.  

Stone retired the first two in the 2nd and then gave up a no-doubter HR on a hanging curve. 

RF James Tibbs III returned the favor by blasting a solo HR well over the CF wall. 

Stone struck out the side in the 3rd, and his change was outstanding. Both his 4-seamer and sinker sat mid-90’s. He struck out 5 and walked one. 

After 4 batters in the 3rd inning, Tulsa had a 5-1 lead.  2B Austin Gauthier drew a BB and scored on DH Zach Ehrhard’s 2-run HR (17).  CF Alek Thomas followed with his 17th double, and he scored ahead of LF Ryan Ward’s 2-run HR (16). 

RHRP Kyle Hurt retired the side in order in the 4th inning with 2 Ks.  In the bottom of the 4th, 1B Matt Gorski led off with his 1st triple of the season and scored on a SF from 3B Noah Miller. 

LHRP Charlie Barnes pitched a scoreless 5th.  In the bottom of the frame, Thomas led off with a BB and continued to 3rd on a single from Ward.  Thomas scored on the SF from JT III. 

In the 6th, Barnes went back out and gave up a single and K before giving way to RHRP Ben Casparius, who retired the two batters he faced.  That is three consecutive solid relief appearances for Casparius. 

LHRP Garrett McDaniels relieved Casparius who struck out the first batter of the inning.  A single, BB, RBI single, and RBI groundout gave the Isotopes 2 runs.  

In the bottom of the 7th, the Comets got the two runs back.  With 2 outs, Ward singled and JTIII hit a 2-run HR (24), his 2nd HR of the game. 

RHRP Nick Robertson gave up a lead off single to open the 9th, but then retired the side, the last two by K for the win. 

·      Ryan Ward – 3-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (16)

·      James Tibbs III – 2-3, 2 runs, 4 RBI, SF, 2 HR (24)

·      Matt Gorski – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run, triple (1)

·      Alek Thomas – 1-3, 1 BB, 2 runs, double (17)

·      HR – Zach Ehrhard (17) 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 11 – Arkansas Travelers (Seattle) 8 

This was not a good start for LHSP Zach Root.  He was staked to a 7-1 lead after three and could not get out of the 4th after giving up 5 more runs. 

In the 1st inning, Root hit a batter who stole 2nd and scored on a single.  

The Drillers put up 7 in the 3rd.  2B Jose Izarra singled and moved to 3rd on DH Taylor Young’s single.  CF Mike Sirota reached on an error as Izarra scored.  SS Elijah Hainline hit a ground rule double scoring Young and Sirota moving to 3rd.  1B Jake Gelof singled to score Sirota.  3B Logan Wagner walked to load the bases.  Hainline scored when C Frank Rodriguez drew a bases loaded BB.  Gelof scored on a WP, with Wagner and Rodriguez moving up 90 feet.  RF Sam Mongelli singled to score both. 

With Root back out in the 4th, he allowed a lead off solo HR.  He struck out the next two batters, and then the wheels came off the bus.  Three straight singles and a 3-run HR, narrowing the lead to 7-6.  LHRP Myles Caba relieved Root and got the final out. 

With Caba back out to the mound, 4 BB, a single, and a SF scored 2. And RHRP Carson Hobbs was summoned to get the final out.  

Now down 8-7 in the 6th, Mongelli and Izarra led off with BB.  Sirota drew a one out BB to load the bases.  Hainline hit a 2-run single.  After the 2nd out, Wagner hit a 2-run double (1) for the 11-8 lead and eventual final score. 

RHRP Kelvin Ramirez and RHRP Lucas Wepf pitched the final 3 scoreless innings.  

·      Taylor Young – 2-5, 1 run

·      Elijah Hainline – 2-5, 2 runs, 3 RBI, double (15)

·      Sam Mongelli – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI

·      Doubles – Mike Sirota (15), Logan Wagner (1) 

Box Score 

Great Lakes Loons 8 – South Bend Cubs 6 

LHSP Sterling Patick allowed an unearned run in the 1st. 

In the bottom of the first inning, LF Charles Davalan clubbed his 20th HR of the season.  With one out, CF Jaron Elkins singled and stole 2nd.  3B Eduardo Guerrero drew a 2 out BB.  RF Samuel Munoz singled to score Elkins.  SS Mairo Martinus doubled (1) to score Guerrero and Munoz. 

Patick surrendered a HR in the 2nd to cut the lead to 4-2.  

In the bottom of the 2nd, C Gio Cueto led off with a BB as did Davalan.  DH Eduardo Quintero singled to load the bases.   Cueto and Davalan were retired on a ground ball DP.   2B Nico Perez walked to load the bases.  All three runners scored on a WP and throwing error for a 7-2 lead. 

In the 4th inning, Davalan slugged his 2nd HR (21) of the game. 

Patick came back out for the 7th, and surrendered a leadoff HR.  The next batter singled, but Patick got the next batter to ground out.  LHRP Justin Chambers relieved Patick inheriting a runner at 2B and retired the next two batters. 

In the 8th, Chambers walked the leadoff hitter and he moved to 2nd on a WP.  The runner scored on a single.  Chambers retired the side with no further damage. 

In the 9th, the first three batters Chambers faced singled, singled, and RBI double.  RHRP Davis Chastain relieved Chambers with runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out.  Chastain K’d the first batter, the next batter grounded out scoring one run, and struck out the next batter for his 5th save.  

·      Charles Davalan – 3-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (28), 2 HR (21)

·      Jaron Elkins – 2-4, 2 runs, double (3)

·      Eduardo Guerrero – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 run

·      Samuel Munoz – 2-4, 1 run, 1 RBI

·      Mairo Martinus – 2-4, 2 RBI, 2 doubles (2) 

Box Score 

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (LAA) 10 – Ontario Tower Buzzers 2 

If you have wanted to follow 2026 draft pitcher prospects, this was not a game for you.  This game had 2 drafted pitchers (LHP Charlie West and RHRP Devin Bell) and one UDFA (LHP Ian May). 

·      West – 1.1 IP, 2 runs, 1 hit, 3 BB, 1K

·      Bell – 0.2 IP, 5 runs, 5 hits, 1 BB, 1 K

·      May – 1.2 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 BB 

Ontario scored 1st.  In the 1st, RF-3B Javier Herrera singled and stole 2nd.  Herrera scored on a single from LF Ching-Hsien Ko.  In the 3rd, Ontario temporarily tied the score 2-2 when 2B Joendry Vargas hit his 10th HR.  That was the last score from Ontario.  RC put up 8 unanswered runs after that. 

·      Javier Herrera – 2-4, 1 run

·      Joendry Vargas – 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (10) 

RC did not walk a single Ontario batter. 

Box Score