Third Base Was Once A Black Hole

When the Dodgers moved west, they were a mixture of the old and the new. Some of the stars from Brooklyn remained. Some had retired or in Campy’s case, been injured. Jackie Robinson refused the trade to the Giants and retired after the 1956 season. Campy was injured in a car wreck in his hometown. 

Pee Wee, Duke, Gil Hodges were all still there. As baseball dawned in Los Angeles, some new names were added to the mix. Until Ron Cey took over the job in 1973, only two players played more than 100 games at 3rd base for the Dodgers in all those years. Jr. Gilliam and Bill Sudakis. Gilliam did it twice, and Sudakis once. Gilliam’s 131 was the most until Cey appeared in 147 in 73. 

The Dodgers opening day 3rd baseman in 1958 was Dick Gray. Gray played in a total of 55 games at the position. Six other players appeared there that season. Gilliam, Hodges, Randy Jackson, Reese, Zimmer, and Earl Robinson. None playing more than Gray’s 55 games. 

In 1959 and 1960 the duty usually fell to Gilliam who played more than 100 games there both seasons. Hodges, Gray, and Zim saw duty there in 59. In 60, it was Hodges, Bob Lillis, Charley Smith and for one game, Johnny Roseboro.

Over the next 8 years, no one played more than 100 games there until Sudakis in Sudakis in 1969. There were a few times they traded for players who you would think that might be the regular 3rd baseman. Nope. Here is a list of players who played 3rd over those 8 seasons. 

Aspromonte, Tommy Davis, Gilliam, Lillis, Darryl Spencer, Andy Carey, Lee Walls, Marv Breeding, McMullen, Bill Skowron, Wills, Derrell Griffith, Bart Shirley, Dick Tracewski, John Werhas, John Kennedy, Lefebvre, Nate Oliver, Dick Schofield, Bob Bailey, Jim Hickman, Ron Hunt, Luis Alcaraz, Ken Boyer, Paul Popovich, Sudakis. That was a lot of turnover.

The year Sudakis played 121 games, Grabarkewitz, Lefebvre, and John Miller also saw time at 3rd. In 1970, the primary 3rd baseman was Grabarkewitz. He played 97 games there. Mota, who played one game there, Wills, Sudakis, Lefebvre, and the rookie, Steve Garvey also got some time. 

In the winter of 1970, they made a trade with the Phillies and brought in Richie Allen.  Allen was ticketed to be the man at 3rd. Well, that plan did not work. He played 67 games there. He also saw time at 1st base and left field. When he was not there, Garvey, Grabarkewitz, and Wills saw some time, and late in the year, prize rookie, Bobby Valentine. 

Allen was gone after one season, he and Alston did not exactly hit it off. So Garvey became the prime 3rd baseman and had a lot of trouble with his throws. Valentine, Wills, Lefebvre and Grabarkewitz backed him up. Then another rookie made his debut at 3rd, Ron Cey. 

In 1973 the Penguin took over at 3rd. In June, the infield of Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey made its debut. For the next 8 seasons, they would be together. There would be some substitutes now and then. Usually by a utility infielder. 

From 1974 these guys subbed for Cey when he could not go, Royster, Auerbach, Lacy, McMullen, DeJesus, Goodson, Sizemore, Reggie Smith, Grote, Teddy Martinez, Guerrero, Hatcher, Thomas, and Taveras. 1982 was Cey’s last full season as a Dodger. Cey and Garvey would be elsewhere in 1983. Lopes had already left after the 1981 season in a trade.

So in 1983, the position went to Pedro Guererro. I am not sure Pedro was all that comfortable playing 3rd. He once was asked about the position and he said he always prayed that the ball would not be hit to him, and then he prayed it would not be hit to Steve Sax at second, who at the time had a serious case of the yips.

Mostly utility guys backed up Pedro, Thomas, Landestoy, and the occasional rookie trying to make his way to the roster. Pedro again had the position in 84, but they had brought in Bob Bailor in a trade. Dave Anderson saw time there too and took over as the primary in 85. But they also brought in a couple of veterans, Enos Cabell and Bill Madlock. 

The rotating door there continued.  Madlock, Hamilton, Cabell, and Anderson getting the bulk of the time, and rookie SS Craig Shipley got into one game there. Over the next couple of years, no one really grabbed the job. Mickey Hatcher, Phil Garner, Woodson, Sax, Sharperson all saw time there.

In 1991, Sharperson took over as the main man. For whatever reason, they felt that Jeff Hamilton at age 26 was not the solution there long term. Lenny Harris, who had come over from the Reds saw significant time at 3rd also. Dave Hansen also made his first appearances there. 

In 1992, Hansen took over, but that was a temporary fix because that winter they traded for Tim Wallach. He would be there for 3 years. Backed up by Hansen, Harris, Cory Snyder, Mike Busch, Jeff Treadway. 

Change came again as in 1996 they traded for another veteran 3rd baseman in Mike Blowers. He lasted a year, and they went out and got Todd Zeile, who played 160 games there in 1997. 

The position would get some stability in 98 when they traded Zeile and Piazza, and installed rookie, Adrian Beltre at 3rd. Beltre would stay there through the 2004 season after which he departed in free agency. They brought in numerous veterans to back him up over the years. Chris Donnells, Ron Coomer, Robin Ventura, and Jose Vizcaino also played there. 

With Beltre gone in 2005, the search was on again. Mike Edwards played there the most with guys like Saenz, Valentin, Robles, Perez, and remember this guy, Nakamura? And Willie Aybar. More of the same in 06 when Betemit, Aybar, Izturis, Lugo, and Ramon Martinez, the infielder not the pitcher, all got reps there.

The thing was: there was no real hot shot prospect in the minors at the position. Nomar came in to play 3rd a while in 2007, LaRoche made his first appearances, they traded for Hillenbrand, It seemed like they just could not find anyone fit to play there more than 50 games or so.

Blake DeWitt came in and did a decent job for a while in 2008, but then they made another trade and brought in  Casey Blake from the Indians. Blake put up a 4.6 WAR in 09. He had some backups, Mark Loretta and Juan Castro. And he kept the job in 2010. Backed up by Jamey Carroll and Ron Belliard. 

Blake had injury issues in 2011, so they brought in Aaron Miles and Juan Uribe. Miles played the most games there, but Uribe got the bulk of the starts. Uribe had issues of his own and shared the job in 12 with Punto, Kennedy, Hairston, Luis Cruz, and Hanley Ramirez played a handful of games there. 

The same guys backed Juan up in 2013. But 2014 would bring into the Dodger fold a player who in a year’s time would become the regular 3rd baseman for the next several years. Justin Turner was signed after being waived by the Mets. He played some 3rd in 2014 but he was mostly a utility player along the lines of Chris Taylor. 

In 2015, he got his big chance, and he grabbed it by the throat and did not let go. His first year as the starter, he hit .294 with 16 HRs and 60 ribbies. He did not look back. Since then he has played there a large majority of the time except for his few trips to the IL. 

And… as goes Turner, so go the Dodgers. He has been one of the more consistent hitters on the team if not in all of baseball. Power came as he aged and he has had over 20 four times and is within striking distance of his career-high 27 with 25 so far this year. 

The Dodgers now value versatility as much as anything else, and there have been several players getting time at the hot corner, Taylor, Muncy, McKinstry, Neuse, Beaty, Rios, and Will Smith this season alone. 

Kike, Russell Martin, David Freese, Gyorko, Farmer, Forsythe, Negron, Culberson, Segedin, Kendrick, Utley, Seager, yeah, Corey played 6 games there in 15, Torreyes, Callaspo, and even Austin Barnes for a couple of games, have all played there.

Next season, if the DH is brought back, we will probably see a little less of JT over there. No one is exactly sure how it will all play out. But hopefully, some young man in the Dodger system is going to stand up and be the man, and we all hope he can do as good of a job as the man playing there now.