1992 ROY Eric Karros was more than just great hair
When Eric Karros won the 1992 Rookie of the Year award he was the first and only LAD first baseman to win the award. The only other rookie LAD 1st baseman to ever get any votes were Greg Brock in 1983 and James Loney in 2007. Brock came in 7th place and James Loney came in 6th place.
Cody Bellinger will be changing that dynamic in a few weeks when he wins the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year award.
I remember Eric bashing home runs in the minor leagues but not getting much respect from the prospect touting world. Much like Mike Piazza in 1993 he would have to prove he deserved to be a starting major league player. Pre 1990 he was ranked 84th, and was dropped to 94th in pre-1991, and had dropped off the lists by 1992.
Dodger Historian Mark Langill gives us the scoop on how Eric Karros won the starting job in 1992.
On May 23, the Dodgers trailed the Pirates 4–1 in the bottom of the ninth when Benzinger started a rally with a leadoff single. After a wild pitch, an RBI single by Mike Scioscia made it 4–2. Karros eventually came off the bench to face Pittsburgh closer Stan Belinda with one out and runners on second and third. When Karros hit a three-run home run into the Left Field Pavilion, it touched off more than a celebration after the 5–4 victory.
Lasorda returned Karros to the starting lineup and moved Benzinger to right field. Daniels, the Opening Day starter at first base, hit .231 in 35 games before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on June 27. Benzinger spent only one season with the Dodgers, batting .239 in 121 games with four home runs and 31 RBI.
When you review the vote in 1992 it does not look like Karros deserved to win the Rookie of the Year award. Eric won easily but Moises Alou and Reggie Sanders had much better seasons. Eric won because he hit 20 home runs and drove in 88 runs. The baseball card stats won the day for Karros.
Voti Voti Voti Name Tm Vote Pts 1st Place Share WAR Eric Karros LAD 116.0 22.0 97% 0.4 Moises Alou MON 30.0 0.0 25% 2.5 Tim Wakefield PIT 29.0 2.0 24% 2.1 Reggie Sanders CIN 23.0 0.0 19% 2.5 Donovan Osborne STL 12.0 0.0 10% -0.2 Mike Perez STL 2.0 0.0 2% 2.2 Ben Rivera TOT 1.0 0.0 1% 2.6 Frank Seminara SDP 1.0 0.0 1% 0.2 Brian Williams HOU 1.0 0.0 1% 0.3 Mark Wohlers ATL 1.0 0.0 1% 0.6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/19/2017.
While Karros may not have deserved the ROY in 1992 he ended up having a very lengthy Dodger career and currently holds the record for most home runs. Only three LAD have hit at least 200 home runs.
Player HR From To Age PA OPS Eric Karros 270 1991 2002 23-34 6624 .782 Ron Cey 228 1971 1982 23-34 6108 .804 Steve Garvey 211 1969 1982 20-33 7027 .796
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/19/2017.
He is also 2nd in runs batted in.
Player RBI From To Age PA OPS Steve Garvey 992 1969 1982 20-33 7027 .796 Eric Karros 976 1991 2002 23-34 6624 .782 Willie Davis 849 1960 1973 20-33 8035 .725 Ron Cey 842 1971 1982 23-34 6108 .804
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/19/2017.
Karros was also 4th in doubles in 302, and fifth in hits with 1608, and sixth in runs scored with 752. Yup, Eric Karros dominates the LAD cumulative leaderboards in the baseball card categories.
He does not fare so well in modern bWAR. His 11.4 bWAR ranks 39th all-time for the LAD.
Rk Player WAR/pos From To Age PA 1 Willie Davis 54.4 1960 1973 20-33 8035 2 Ron Cey 47.5 1971 1982 23-34 6108 3 Steve Garvey 36.4 1969 1982 20-33 7027 4 Pedro Guerrero 32.8 1978 1988 22-32 4089 5 Davey Lopes 32.1 1972 1981 27-36 5308 6 Mike Piazza 31.9 1992 1998 23-29 3017 7 Maury Wills 31.9 1959 1972 26-39 6745 8 Bill Russell 31.5 1969 1986 20-37 8021 9 Mike Scioscia 26.2 1980 1992 21-33 5057 10 Adrian Beltre 23.4 1998 2004 19-25 3818 11 Jim Gilliam 23.4 1958 1966 29-37 4894 12 Wes Parker 22.9 1964 1972 24-32 4835 13 John Roseboro 22.3 1958 1967 25-34 4505 14 Andre Ethier 21.8 2006 2017 24-35 5409 15 Raul Mondesi 21.4 1993 1999 22-28 3765 16 Matt Kemp 21.1 2006 2014 21-29 4496 17 Shawn Green 20.8 2000 2004 27-31 3462 18 Dusty Baker 19.9 1976 1983 27-34 4552 19 Willie Crawford 19.9 1964 1975 17-28 3199 20 Reggie Smith 19.3 1976 1981 31-36 2055 21 Justin Turner 18.6 2014 2017 29-32 1898 22 Steve Yeager 17.8 1972 1985 23-36 3869 23 Jim Lefebvre 17.2 1965 1972 23-30 3417 24 Gary Sheffield 17.1 1998 2001 29-32 2276 25 Yasiel Puig 16.3 2013 2017 22-26 2291 26 Tommy Davis 16.3 1959 1966 20-27 3216 27 Russell Martin 15.9 2006 2010 23-27 2713 28 Steve Sax 15.9 1981 1988 21-28 4745 29 Rafael Furcal 15.4 2006 2011 28-33 2803 30 Brett Butler 15.0 1991 1997 34-40 3342 31 Joe Ferguson 14.2 1970 1981 23-34 2525 32 Paul Lo Duca 13.8 1998 2004 26-32 2361 33 Adrian Gonzalez 13.1 2012 2017 30-35 2980 34 Corey Seager 12.9 2015 2017 21-23 1368 35 Ron Fairly 12.9 1958 1969 19-30 4529 36 Wally Moon 12.7 1959 1965 29-35 2657 37 Jim Wynn 12.4 1974 1975 32-33 1185 38 Manny Mota 11.6 1969 1982 31-44 2187 39 Eric Karros 11.4 1991 2002 23-34 6624 40 Frank Howard 10.8 1958 1964 21-27 2321 41 Tom Haller 10.2 1968 1971 31-34 1637 42 Mike Marshall 10.1 1981 1989 21-29 3546
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/19/2017.
- Posted in: LAD Rookies of the Year ♦ Los Angeles Dodger History ♦ Uncategorized
- Tagged: Cody Bellinger, Eric Karros, Greg Brock, James Loney, Moises Alou, Reggie Sanders
I grew up watching the Karros-era Dodger teams. Even as a kid, and before advanced stats took over, I always felt like his performance was a bit empty. Funny how things changed so fast. Nowadays a guy like Karros probably wouldn’t have much of a career.
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Karros and Piazza were absent the speed tool
The speed tool turns CODY – TED HOWARD FRANK WILLIAMS – BELLINGER into a real freak of nature.
Karros and Piazza had the slow tool.
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Five year from now is 2022
This is when CODY BELLINGER
should hit Home Run
201
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