Continuing my 5 in 50 series, today’s team is the Los Angeles Dodgers. This will be a list of the top 5 greatest players for the Dodgers in the last 50 years, since the 1972 season. The criteria are as follows: Player must have been part of team for at least 5 full seasons. Both regular season and post season success will be measured (statistical leaders, awards, et). Players on this list can be from any position. Multiple players at the same position can be included. I’ll list the major accomplishments for each player only for the team they are selected.
Here is my list of the top 5 greatest Dodgers in the last 50
years.
5. Fernando Valenzuela (1980-1990)- 1981 NL Cy
Young award winner. Finished 3 times in top 5 Cy Young voting
4. Orel Hershiser (1983- 1994)- 1988 NL Cy Young
award winner. 1988 NLCS MVP, and 1988 World Series MVP
3. Mike Piazza (1992-1997)- Finished 3 times in
top 5 MVP voting. Hit .331 in his 7 yrs as a Dodger.
2. Steve Garvey (1972-1982)- 1974 NL MVP.
Finished 4 times in top 6 MVP voting. 1978 NLCS MVP.
1. Clayton Kershaw (2008-2021)- 3-time NL Cy
Young award. 2014 NL MVP.
Honorable mention to Don Sutton, Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, Justin
Turner, Kenley Jensen.
Notes. This list was a lot tougher to put together than I thought
it would be. The Dodgers have a lot of great players, but most of their Hall of
Fame players played prior to the 1972 cut off. At #5, I considered another Hall
of Famer, Don Sutton, but he was a classic compiler. Valenzuela had more impact
(and won a Cy Young). Hershiser almost singlehandedly led the Dodgers to the
1988 World Series championship. Piazza was one of the greatest hitting catchers
of all time. Garvey was one of the great players in the decade of the 70s and
should be in the Hall of Fame. Finally, Kershaw will be a first ballot Hall of Famer
and will go down as the second-best pitcher in Dodger’s history after Koufax.
Next up is the San Diego Padres
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