Los Angeles Dodgers - The Beginning Years in LA (1958-1969)

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1960

Decade

102

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Titles:

Top Dodgers Players of the Early LA Years

World Champs 1959 (beat White Sox)

World Champs 1963 (beat Yankees)

Pitchers:

World Champs 1965 (beat Twins)

Don Drysdale (53.6) - 126

NL Champs 1966 (lost to Orioles)

Sandy Koufax (51.32) - 104

Claude Osteen (16.15) - 53

BallPark:

Johnny Podres (19.01) - 51

The Coliseum (1958-1961)

Ron Perranoski (14.91) - 36

Chavez Ravine (1962-1969)

Bill Singer (12.21) - 30

Don Sutton (9.82) - 29

Team Name:

Stan Williams (12.01) - 29

Dodgers

Larry Sherry (6.48) - 17

Phil Regan (6.09) - 14

Owner:

Jim Brewer (7.97) - 14

Walter O'Malley

Bob Miller (5.44) - 11

General Manager:

Catchers:

Buzzy Bavasi (1960-1968)

John Roseboro (22.33) - 80

Fresco Thompson (1968)

Tom Haller (6.84) - 15

Al Campanis (1969)

First Basemen:

Managers:

Ron Fairly (12.94) - 34

Walter Alston

Wes Parker (13.4) - 31

Gil Hodges (3.67) - 17

No Hitters:

Norm Larker (4.85) - 16

Sandy Koufax (1962)

Dick Nen (0.1) - 0

Sandy Koufax (1963)

Sandy Koufax (1964)

Second Base:

Sandy Koufax (1965)

Charlie Neal (5.76) - 22

Hall of Famers:

ShortStop:

Don Sutton

Maury Wills (28.79) - 103

Gil Hodges

Don Zimmer (0.27) - 13

Don Drysdale

Sandy Koufax

Third Base:

Duke Snider

Junior Gilliam (23.48) - 50

Walter Alston

Jim Lefebvre (15.41) - 20

Rookie of the Year

Outfield:

Frank Howard (1960)

Willie Davis (34.57) - 107

Jim Lefebvre (1965)

Tommy Davis (16.19) - 52

Ted Sizemore (1969)

Wally Moon (12.65) - 33

Frank Howard (10.85) - 28

MVP

Duke Snider (7.79) - 23

Maury Wills (1962)

Lou Johnson (6.63) - 22

Sandy Koufax (1963)

Notable Events:

Cy Young

Don Drysdale (1962)

1962 - The Dodgers and Giants tie for first place. It was the Dodgers'

Sandy Koufax (1963)

fourth playoff in eighteen years (1946, 1951, 1959, 1962).

Sandy Koufax (1965)

The Giants win in three games. the third time that the Dodgers lose one

Sandy Koufax (1966)

of these in that eighteen year span.

Notable Events:

1963 - LA wins the pennant and then sweeps the Yanks in the World Series

This obviously never would have happened if they were still in Brooklyn.

1958 - In Brooklyn, the club had one of the most successful runs in baseball

The stars of this team were the still young pitchers Koufax, Drysdale

history leading up to the move to LA, having won 6 pennants and losing three

and Podres plus relief ace Perranoski and speedsters Wills, Willie

more pennants on the last day of the season in the preceding twelve years.

Davis and Tommy Davis This group plus Claude Osteen and Phil

Regan will be the stars of the '65 & '66 pennant winning squads.

1958 - The Dodgers open up their tenure in Los Angeles playing in the

Coliseum

1964 - Righthander Bill Singer, 20, is a rookie. He was signed three

years earlier.

1958 - LA brings up four youngsters who will be a big part of the club

moving forward:

1964 - Lefty reliever Jim Brewer, 26, is stolen from the Cubs for Dick Scott.

□ first baseman Ron Fairly, 19, signed in 1958

You would think that the Cubs would have learned something after the

□ outfielder Frank Howard, 21, 6 foot 7 basketball All American at Ohio State

Perranoski deal. The Dodgers had been fleecing the Cubs for decades.

□ righty reliever Larry Sherry, 22, signed in 1953

□ righthhander Stan Williams, 21, signed in 1954

1965 - Lefthander Claude Osteen, 25. is obtained in a huge deal with

Washington. At first, the general consensus was that the Dodgers

1959 - Two more big time youngsters are brought up by LA, as the changing

were out of their minds to make this deal. They gave up slugger

of the guard from the Ebbets field sluggers to the LA speedsters gains

Frank Howard (who altho' he was very talented was completely

momentum:

opposite of the type of player needed in Chavez Ravine), excellent

□ Outfielder Tommy Davis, 20, signed in 1956 -

young third baseman Ken McMullen and two top young pitching

he would win two batting titles with LA

prospects in lefty Pete Richert and righthander Phil Ortega.

□ shortstop Maury Wills, 26, originally signed in 1951

It turns out that Bavasi knew exactly what he was doing as Osteen

with an odyssey taking him thru the Tigers and Reds organizations before

would be a valuable member of the Dodger rotation for years

coming back to the Dodgers. Maury would revolutionize the game winning

to come as he turned the Dodges big two into a big three.

six consecutive stolen base titles including a record (since broken)

104 steals in 1962.

1965 - The Dodgers win the World Series beating the Twins

1959 - Los Angeles and the Braves tie for first place.

1966 - Future Hall of Fame righthander Don Sutton, 21, is a rookie.

LA then beats the Braves 2-0 in a playoff before proceeding to beat the

He was signed in '64 out of USC.

White sox in the World Series 4-2

This is a very different team than the Brooklyn squad that dominated the

1966 - The Tigers are fleeced for ace righty reliever Phil Regan, 29.

National League in the Fifties. GM Buzzy Bavasi didn't have time to do

He is obtained for utility infielder Dick Traceowski.

much of a re-tooling job. LA was fortunate, that at this point of time,

the whole league was in transition, particularly Milwaukee, and that there

1966 - Righty Charlie Hough, 18, is an 8th round pick in the draft.

were no dominant clubs to challenge at the moment.

He comes up in '70

It allowed the Pirates to sneak in as champs in 1960, the Reds in 1961,

and the Giants in 1962 before the Dodgers would restore order with a

1966 - Shortstop Bill Russell, 17, is a 9th round pick in the draft.

completely re-tooled team by 1963.

He comes up in '69

The 1959 team had a runs scored/given up ratio that would have only

predicted a mundane 80-74 mark.

1966 - Los Angeles wins the pennant on the final day of the season,

Superior relief pitching from Larry Sherry, 22, Roger Craig, 29,

but then gets swept by the Orioles in the World Series.

Stan Williams, 22, Clem Labine, 32 and Danny McDevitt, 26, allowed

the Dodgers to win an inordinate share of the close ones.

1967 - Catcher Steve Yeager, 18, is a 4th round pick in the draft.

The staff was led by three young and talented starters:

He comes up in '72

Johnny Podres, 26, Don Drysdale, 22, and Sandy Koufax, 23.

Craig, Labine, Podres and Drysdale had been big contributors in

1967 - Sandy Koufax retires after the 1966 season with an arthritic elbow.

Brooklyn, the rest were new.

His retirement instantly marks the end of the Dodgers dominance in the

The offense, meanwhile, was way behind where it was in Brooklyn,

National League.They had won ten pennants in the previous twenty years.

altho those clubs set an impossibly high bar.

Additionally, they had either lost the pennant on the last day of the

Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese were gone.

season or lost a playoff after being tied for first place at the end of the

Their replacements, Charlie Neal, 28, John Roseboro, 26, and

regular season on five more occasions.

Don Zimmer, 28 weren't nearly as good.

That's fifteen of twenty one seasons that the Dodgers had either won

Carl Furillo, 37, was no longer starting, replaced by Don Demeter, 24.

the pennant or were there on the last day, By comparison, in the

1B Gil Hodges, 35, and CF Duke Snider, 32, were showing their age.

American League, the Yankees also were right there fifteen times during

Only LF Wally Moon, 29, was an upgrade over the Brooklyns.

that same stretch - the difference being that the Yankees won the

pennant all fifteen times that they were that close and the Yankees

1960 - Centerfielder Willie Davis, 20, is a rookie. A vastly underrated

also won ten World Series (including five of seven against the Dodgers)

player by everyone except the Dodgers, he was the perfect player for

while the Dodgers "only" managed to win four World Series in that span.

Chavez Ravine. He could cover tons of space in centerfield, he was

a force on the basepaths, altho' overshadowed by Wills' exploits,

1968 - GM Buzzy Bavasi leaves a parting gift for the Dodgers before

and he was a decent hitter with a bit of power.

moving on to San Diego to start up the Padres franchise.

Here's some of his picks in the '68 draft:

1961 - The Dodgers had a succession of outstanding relievers in the Sixties.

□ #1 - first baseman Steve Garvey, 19, comes up in '69

Most of whom they stole from other clubs in lopsided deals.

□ #2 - outfielder Bill Buckner, 19, comes up in '69

The first was Larry Sherry, who was the only home grown one.

□ #2 - supplemental draft - second baseman Davey Lopes, 23,

The next was lefthander Ron Perranoski, 25, who was pilfered from

he came up in '72

the Cubs in exchange for Don Zimmer.

□ #3 - third baseman Ron Cey, 20, comes up in '71

□ #5 - lefthander Geoff Zahn, 22, comes up in '73

1962 - Chavez Ravine opens. It is a ballpark where pitching,

□ #8 - catcher Joe Ferguson, 21, comes up in '70

defense and speed rule.

1969 - Al Campanis takes over as Dodgers GM. As good as Bavasi was,

1962 - OF Tommy Davis, 23, emerges as a star with a 27-153-.346

there is no dropoff in quality in the front office with Campanis at

line and 18 SB. He wins the batting title and repeats

the helm. Owner Walter O'Malley had a great eye for management

with a .326 average in '63.

talent.