Top 5 Los Angeles Dodgers
Continuing with my trend of doing lists of teams on the brink of elimination, I give you the Los Angeles Dodgers (I think we have at least one Dodgers fan here, so maybe someone might even be interested in this list). The Dodgers' roots stretch back to the 1870s (I must say, it's a little different doing these lists for teams that have existed for over a hundred years, as opposed to say, the Seattle Mariners) playing in Brooklyn under various names like the Atlantics, the Grays, the Bridegrooms, and the Grooms. They joined the National League in 1890 as the Brooklyn Superbras (man, these names are silly), before getting the nickname of Trolley Dodgers. They were also known as the Robins from 1914-1931, before settling on the Dodgers name for good in 1932. They won a World Championship in 1900 that I know nothing about, then played a silly brand of ball for several decades, earning them the nicknames of the "Daffiness Boys" and "Dem Bums", until manager Leo Durocher led them to a pennant in 1941. The Dodgers made history by breaking the colour line in baseball in 1947, which resulted in them contending for the next few decades, winning 14 pennants from 1949-1981, and five World Series titles (in 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, and 1981). They'd win again in 1988 behind Kirk Gibson's heroic home run, then have a decade of relative regular season success, but none in the postseason. They moved to Los Angeles in 1957, effectively crushing the heart of every citizen of Brooklyn forever. Fucking O'Malley.
5. Don Drysdale- It was a tough call between Drysdale and fellow pitcher Don Sutton, who tops Drysdale in all of the team's pitching statistics. But Sutton had one more season with the club, whereas Drysdale won a Cy Young (1962) and appeared in 8 All-Star games to Sutton's 4. Drysdale began his career in Brooklyn in 1956, finishing in Los Angeles in 1969 (for those of you scoring at home, that puts him on 3 Championship clubs). The Big D ranks second on the Dodgers all-times Wins list (209), Games Started (465), Innings Pitched (3432.0), and strikeouts (2486). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, and his number 53 is retired by the organization.
4. Duke Snider- One of the best centerfielders of his day, ol' Dook was probably only the third best centerfielder playing in New York in his day. But, the other two guys were Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, so what are you gonna do? A 7-time all-star with the club, The Silver Fox started his career in Brooklyn in 1947, following the club to Los Angeles before leaving for the Mets in 1963. Snider hit over 40 home runs in 5 consecutive seasons, leading the NL in 1956 with 43. Snider ranks fourth all-time in Walks (893), Hits (1995), and Slugging Percentage (.553) for the Dodgers, third in Runs Scored (1199), second in Doubles (343) and Total Bases (3669), and first in RBIs (1271) and Home Runs (361). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980 and his number 4 was retired by the Dodgers.
3. Roy Campanella- The top three on this list are three of the best to ever play baseball, but none have the same career statistics as other Dodgers, as injury and segregation cut their careers short. Campy is in the discussion of the greatest catcher of all-time, appearing in 8 All-Star games and winning 3 NL MVP Awards in his 10-year career, before a car crash left him paralysed before the club was to move to Los Angeles (prior to that segregation kept him from joining Major League Baseball until he was 26). Campy was the first catcher to hit 40 home runs in a season as a catcher, hitting 242 in his short career (putting him fourth on the club's all-time list). As great a power hitter as Campanella was, he was equally strong defensively, using his rocket arm to lead the Dodgers to five pennants and the 1955 World Series. Campanella was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969, the second African American to be inducted, and his number 39 is retired by the Dodgers.
2. Sandy Koufax- For five seasons, from 1961 to 1966, Sandy Koufax might have been the greatest pitcher to ever have played the game. He was coddled to start his career, when he battled injuries and wildness. Then, something clicked for him, and he became virtually unhittable, appearing in six straight All-Star games, winning 3 Cy Youngs in 1963, 1965, and 1966 (all unanimously), leading the NL in ERA for 5 straight seasons from 1962-66, led the league in strikeouts 4 times (including a then-record 382 in 1965), and threw a no hitter for 4 straight seasons, including a perfect game 1965. Koufax led the Dodgers to 4 World Series Championships, winning the World Series MVP twice (including the 1965 series, where he famously refused to pitch during game one, which fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur). Koufax won the pitching triple crown twice, in 1963 and 1965, and the NL MVP award in 1963. Koufax shocked the world by retiring at the age of 31 in 1966 at the peak of his career (having just won his third unanimous Cy Young and led the league in strikeouts), having battled arthritis most of his career. In 1972, he became the youngest person ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the Dodgers retired his number 32.
1. Jackie Robinson- There are those who will argue that Koufax was better (as much as one can compare hitters to pitchers), and they may be right. But here's the thing: the first baseball book I ever read was a biography of Jackie Robinson, and he is the biggest reason that I'm so interested in baseball history. I think Jackie Robinson is the most significant figure in the history of the game, and one of the most significant human beings in American history. When Robinson broke the colour line in baseball on April 15, 1947, he not only changed the face of the game, but also helped influence the entire nation, pre-dating Martin Luther King Jr's civil rights movement by five years. The integration experiment started by Dodgers president Branch Rickey wouldn't have paid off if Robinson hadn't played so well, leading the Dodgers to their first pennant since before the war, encouraging The Sporting News to create a Rookie of the Year Award, and award it to Robinson. Playing in the harshest and most hostile environment any player before or since has ever played in, Robinson brought Negro League baseball to the majors, changing the game from a base-to-base game to one where Jackie could dominate on the base paths, stealing home 19 times in his career. Joining the majors at age 28, Robinson made 6 straight All-Star teams from 1949-1954, winning the NL MVP award in 1949. In his 10 seasons in Brooklyn, Robinson played for 6 pennant winners, and 1 World Series. He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, and his number 42 is retired by every team in Major League Baseball.
Honourable Mentions: Don Sutton, Pee Wee Reese, Zack Wheat, Dazzy Vance, Gil Hodges
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