Dodgers Dugout: Who is their best first baseman, Freddie Freeman, Steve Garvey or Gil Hodges?
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Shohei Ohtani pitched! We will have more on that in Friday's newsletter.
Here are my picks for the top 10 first basemen in Dodgers history, followed by how all of you voted. Numbers listed are with the Dodgers only. Click on the player's name to be taken to the baseball-reference.com page with all their stats.
1. Gil Hodges (1943, 1947-61, .273/.369/.487, 120 OPS+, 8-time All Star, 3 Gold Gloves)
Hodges made his debut with the Dodgers in the final game of the 1943 season. And it could have been his final game ever, as he joined the Marines after the season ended and was a gunner for the 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. In April 1945, Hodges and his battalion stormed the beaches of Okinawa and were involved in heavy fighting. He was awarded a Bronze Star for heroic service in a combat zone. In a letter to his family, Hodges wrote about the experience.
'We arrived here [Okinawa] the first of April and things really cut loose. We were always having air attacks and the ships were really knocking down the planes. It's just like being tied down when you're on board a ship because you can't do a thing but just stand there and wait for something to happen. One Japanese plane, a Zero, came circling around where we were anchored and when everyone saw it they really cut loose. I don't see how it was possible for him to escape with so much firing being done at that time. He was the plane that really gave all of us a scare. He started to pull away from the firing and then he got hit and started circling around, then into a suicide dive. He started coming down and boy he was really moving. He crashed on the bow of another LST not very far from our ship and exploded. I don't know how many got hurt but I'm sure there were quite a few. Well, that's just one incident and I don't want to go into any other at the present time because I could probably sit here and write all day and still not be through.'
You can read more about Hodges' time in the Marines here.
Hodges was discharged before the 1946 season and returned to the Dodgers. He spent 1946 in the minors, but came up to the majors in 1947 to stay. He broke in as a catcher, but with the Dodgers wanting to get his bat in the lineup and realizing he would never be better behind the plate than Roy Campanella, they converted him to first base before the 1948 season. As manager Leo Durocher said, 'I put a first baseman's glove on our other rookie catcher, Gil Hodges. Three days later I'm looking at the best first baseman I'd seen since Dolph Camilli.'
Hodges hit at least 20 homers in 11 consecutive seasons and drove in at least 100 runs in seven consecutive seasons.
After never being voted into the Hall of Fame in his 15 years on the regular ballot, Hodges was elected by the Golden Era Committee in 2021. 'It's a great thing that happened for our family,' Gil Hodges Jr. said. 'We are all thrilled that Mom got to see it, being 95. We've all waited a long time, and we are just grateful and thankful that it's finally come to fruition.'
2. Steve Garvey (1969-82, .301/.337/.459, 122 OPS+, 1 NL MVP award, 8-time All Star, 4 Gold Gloves)
One of the most beloved Dodgers while he was playing, Garvey was an integral part of the longest-lasting infield in baseball history, the Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey infield.
Garvey was drafted by the Dodgers in 1968 and made it to the big leagues one year later. He had a hard time sticking there, however, because he was a terrible third baseman. He had a weak arm and little range. He played 85 games at third in 1972, making 28 errors, mostly on throws.
It was more of the same in 1973, with Garvey mainly riding the bench as a pinch-hitter. On June 23 of that year, both left fielders, Von Joshua and Manny Mota, were injured. Bill Buckner, the regular first baseman, went to manager Walter Alston and suggested they put him in left and Garvey at first base (Buckner and Garvey were teammates in the minors and Buckner remembered that Garvey had played well in a few games there).
As Buckner later recounted, 'I never played first base for the Dodgers again.'
Garvey had an off year, for him, in 1982, hitting .282 with 16 homers, good for a 101 OPS+. He was a free agent after the season, but there's no way they would let Mr. Dodger leave, right? Wrong.
'Final offers had to be made,' Garvey recounted in his book. 'Peter O'Malley said his final offer was $5 million for four years, no incentives. We drew the line at $6 million for four years.' Garvey signed with the San Diego Padres for five years, $6.6 million.
A lot of Dodger fans believe Garvey should be in the Hall of Fame. With 75% needed for induction, Garvey never got higher than 42.6% of votes on the Hall of Fame ballot, back in 1995. Some fans mistakenly believe he is already in the Hall.
Although the Dodgers usually only retire the numbers of people who make the Hall of Fame as Dodgers, they did not hand out Garvey's No. 6 after he signed with the San Diego Padres before the 1983 season until Jolbert Cabrera was given the number in 2003.
3. Freddie Freeman (2022-current, .316/.399/.524, 143 OPS+, 3-time All Star)
You could put the Nos. 2-4 guys in almost any order and be fine. If Freeman continues to play like he has so far with the Dodgers, then he'll be No. 1 one day. There's not much to write about Freeman that I haven't covered the last few seasons, so let's just watch his World Series grand slam again.
4. Dolph Camilli (1938-43, .270/.392/.497, 136 OPS+, 1 NL MVP award, 2-time All Star)
Camilli was an offensive machine with the Dodgers, leading the league in homers (34) and RBIs (120) in 1941, and leading in walks in 1938 (119) and 1939 (110).
He immediately made the Dodgers better and led them to the NL pennant in 1941, their first since 1920.
While playing for the Dodgers, he developed a real hatred for the Giants. This was during an era that featured a lot of dirty play, such as the sharpening of spikes and stepping on first basemen. The Giants targeted Camilli often because he was the best player on the Dodgers.
When the Dodgers traded him to the Giants in July 1943, he refused to report to his new team, instead going home and spending the rest of the season on his ranch. 'I hated the Giants,' Camilli told the New York Times. 'This was real serious; this was no put-on stuff. Their fans hated us, and our fans hated them. I said nuts to them, and I quit.'
5. Wes Parker (1964-72, .267/.351/.375, 111 OPS+, 6 Gold Gloves)
Many consider Parker to be the best fielding first baseman in history. He's certainly the best one in Dodgers history.
In 2007 he was voted by fans as the best defensive first baseman since the Gold Glove award was established in 1957 and was named to the all-time Gold Glove team. He is the only member of that team not in the Hall of Fame. He never even appeared on the ballot since he played only nine seasons, leaving him one short of the 10 needed for eligibility.
His numbers on offense are also better than they appear because he played in one of the greatest pitchers' eras in baseball history. He drove in 111 runs in 1970 despite hitting only 10 homers. He led the league that season with 47 doubles and also hit .319. Parker has been criminally underrated by many because of the era he played in and the fact he retired young, quitting after the 1972 season when he was only 32.
'By the time I retired, we had winning records, but we weren't winning pennants,' Parker told biographer David Krell. 'My friends were gone. Tommy Davis was traded. Maury Wills was released. Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Wally Moon, and Jim Gilliam had retired. The game was changing. It was becoming more individualized. Plus, I got tired of the traveling.'
6. Jake Daubert (1910-18, .305/.365/.395, 123 OPS+, 1 NL MVP award)
Daubert was named NL MVP in 1913 when he led the league with a .350 average. He also led the league with a .329 average in 1914 and led the Dodgers to their first World Series appearance in 1916.
Daubert is probably the second-best fielding first baseman in Dodgers history and was considered one of the best fielders of his era.
He was also ahead of his time, wanting players to form a union, which is one of the reasons the Dodgers traded him to Cincinnati after the 1918 season. He led the Reds to the World Series title in 1919 (the infamous Black Sox scandal Series).
He was still with the Reds in 1924 when he left to have an appendectomy. He died one week after the operation.
7. Adrián González (2012-17, .280/.339/.454, 119 OPS+, 1-time All Star, 1 Gold Glove
González was acquired on Aug. 25, 2012, along with Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and Carl Crawford from the Boston Red Sox for James Loney, Iván DeJesús Jr., Allen Webster, Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa. In his first at-bat with the Dodgers that same day, he hit a three-run home run against the Miami Marlins, which was apropos because he was one of the Dodgers' best clutch hitters for four seasons.
In his final at-bat as a Dodger, González homered, making him the rare player who has homered in his first and last at-bat with a team. He was traded after the 2017 season along with Charlie Culberson, Scott Kazmir and Brandon McCarthy to Atlanta for Matt Kemp.
González was a very popular Dodger who led the majors in RBIs in 2014 with 116. He was the heart of the Dodger offense for several seasons until age, injuries and the infield shift all seemed to catch up to him at the same time.
8. Eric Karros (1991-2002, .268/.325/.454, 109 OPS+, Rookie of the Year)
The Dodgers finished 63-99 in 1992, their worst season since moving to L.A., and the biggest bright spot to the season was Karros, who in 149 games hit 30 doubles, 20 homers and was named NL Rookie of the Year.
Over the next six seasons, Karros seldom drew the headlines on a team that had Mike Piazza and Raul Mondesi, but you knew what you were going to get from him every season: Around 145 games played, a batting average around .270, 25 homers, 25 doubles and 100 RBIs. One of the secrets to having a good team over a long period of time is finding guys who can produce consistently. Karros was that for the Dodgers.
He still holds the L.A. record for most career homers, and you can probably win a few bets with that knowledge.
He was also one of the slowest Dodgers in history. And he had a fielding quirk at first base. When there were two outs and he took a throw from another infielder, he pulled his foot off the bag and started running toward the dugout at almost the same exact second he caught the ball, even before the ump could make a call. I'm convinced he stole a few outs for the Dodgers during his career by doing this. The ump would see him running full speed off the field and on a call that could go either way, say 'Well, I guess he was out then.'
9. Jack Fournier (1923-26, .337/.421/.552, 157 OPS+)
One of the best hitters the Dodgers have ever had, Fournier led the NL in homers in 1924 with 27 and drove in 130 runs in 1925.
If you are just going by offensive numbers, then Fournier should be in the top three. However, Fournier was really bad defensively. He was born about 50 years too soon to be a designated hitter.
For what it's worth, in his 'Historical Baseball Abstract,' Bill James has Fournier listed as the 35th-greatest first baseman of all time, just behind Camilli (29th), Hodges (30th) and Garvey (31st). That, of course, counts their time with other teams as well.
Fournier has ties to Los Angeles: He played for the Los Angeles Angels minor league team for three seasons and he also coached UCLA's baseball team from 1934 to 1936.
10. Tim Jordan (1906-10, .263/.356/.384, 139 OPS+)
Only one Dodger has led the National League in home runs twice, and it's not Duke Snider or Mike Piazza. It's Jordan, who led the NL in 1906 and 1908 with 12 home runs, which was a lot in the dead-ball era.
Jordan got the Dodgers' first base job in an unusual way. Acquired from Baltimore before the 1906 season, he was set to become the backup to regular first baseman Don Gessler. On April 18, a devastating earthquake hit San Francisco, and several major league teams held benefit exhibition games, with proceeds going to relief help. Jordan started the game held in Brooklyn, went three for three with a double, and manager Patsy Donovan decided to make him the starter.
Jordan was one of the best power hitters in the league, and he was fast. Four of his 12 homers in 1906 were inside-the-park homers. It also helped that ballparks back then were much more spacious. The wall in center field at Pittsburgh's Exposition Park was 515 feet away.
Jordan held out for more money after the 1909 season, but Brooklyn had Jake Daubert (sixth on this list) and were in no hurry to give Jordan more money. He hurt his knee and finally reported, but his knee injury pretty much ended his career in the majors. He was released in May, and played in the minors until 1920. He worked as a security guard, opened his own restaurant, and died in 1949 at the age of 70.
The next five: Dan Brouthers, Del Bissonette, James Loney, Eddie Murray, Greg Brock.
1,352 ballots were sent in. First place received 12 points, second place nine, all the way down to one point for 10th place. Here are your choices:
1. Gil Hodges, 825 first-place votes, 14,475 points
2. Freddie Freeman, 360 first-place votes, 11,625 points
3. Steve Garvey, 147 first-place votes, 11,483 points
4. Eric Karros, 13 first-place votes, 8,471 points
5. Wes Parker, 7,402 points
6. Adrián González, 5,802 points
7. Dolph Camilli, 4,433 points
8. Eddie Murray, 3,123 points
9. Jake Daubert, 1,845 points
10. James Loney, 1,462 points
The next five: Nomar Garciaparra, Jack Fournier, Albert Pujols, Norm Larker, Greg Brock.
Who are your top 10 Dodgers first basemen of all time (including Brooklyn)? Email your list to top10secondbasemen@yahoo.com and let me know.
Many of you have asked for a list of players to consider for each position. Here are the strongest second baseman candidates, in alphabetical order.
Hub Collins, Álex Cora, Tony Cuccinello, George Cutshaw, Tom Daly, Delino DeShields, Mark Ellis, Jim Gilliam, Mark Grudzielanek, Billy Herman, Orlando Hudson, Jon Hummel, Jim Lefebvre, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Kent, Pete Kilduff, Lee Lacy, Davey Lopes, Gavin Lux, Bill McLellan, Charlie Neal, Willie Randolph, Jody Reed, Jackie Robinson, Juan Samuel, Steve Sax, Ted Sizemore, Eddie Stanky, Chase Utley, John Ward, Eric Young.
A reminder that players are listed at the position in which they played the most games for the Dodgers, which is why Gilliam and Robinson are listed here and not at other positions they played.
Gil Hodges and Ernie Banks compete on 'Home Run Derby.' Watch and listen here.
Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
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