James Earl Keen gets me feeling good again
I needed a show to lift my spirits and the James Earl Keen band came through for me on a night that started with me as depressed as I could remember. Between Dad’s dementia /Brother Tom’s Parkinsons / Harvey/Irma/Mexican Earthquakes/Maria/North Korea/Las Vegas/Tom Petty/ I was feeling pretty low as I headed to the El Rey Theatre last night.
Nature is always a bitch out of control, but goddammit Las Vegas was senseless and easily prevented. The idea you can’t legislate evil is pure bullshit. Whatever you feel about the 2nd amendment, you can’t be sane and argue against automatic weapons and the products that create them.
How could I put Tom Petty in the same sentence as all those other catastrophes? Man, I don’t know, it is very possible I’m simply not a good human being, but I do know his death hit me harder than all the other misery being commiserated on the human race right now. I guess it is the old death of familiarity compared to strangers. Not that I knew Tom Petty personally, but I have known Tom Petty for all of my adult life.
I have most of his catalog, I have seen him numerous times, and would have seen him at the Hollywood Bowl but I needed to see my dad 650 miles away instead. I took an Uber ride from my car rental to my home when I got back and the young Uber lady driver told me that she had taken a client to the bowl to see Petty and how much she would rather have been going to the show instead of being the driver. We were easily 30 years removed in age, but we had one thing in common, the brilliance of Tom Petty.
Anyway, I’m not a huge Keen fan, but I do enjoy his music and he has a few songs that are real treasures. I heard he puts on a kick-ass show so I got a single ticket for Wednesday Night. I had a Senior Softball game last night but it ended by 07:00 so I took the Metro to Hollywood/Highland and walked a block down to Selma and Ubered from there so as not having to make the driver deal with the massive mess of traffic at Hollywood/Highland.
I got there early enough to hear the complete set by the opening act, a trio of ladies named The Wild Reeds with golden voices who had outstanding harmonies.
Still, I was feeling listless. The music they played was nice to listen too, but it wasn’t moving the needle for me. Keen came on about 09:45 and was good. He played the songs I liked but not the five songs I loved. The band was great though and every song was a treat. But it still wasn’t moving my needle. The El Rey was about 3/4 full, just the right amount of space to move around but still have people around you. Some dude moved into my space and started blabbering during the set. It was fortuitous, as I moved from my comfort zone, and into the throng of fans next to the stage. As soon as I moved Keen went into my zone and played the four songs I had wanted to hear. The Mandolin player was on fire, I’ve seen some good Mandolin players including Chris Thile but this guy was smoking. By the time Gringo Honeymoon had ended, the needle had moved, and a little joy had finally touched down.
I had one final request for this evening. I had read on twitter coming in that Bruce Springsteen had opened his set with a dedication to Tom Petty. Keen did two encores but no Tom Petty. I started to leave feeling a little disappointed when he came back on the stage by himself and told the audience “I’m always clueless but the band without my knowledge has put together a song for Tom Petty that they would like to close the night with”.
And with that, the band walked back on stage and lit into an American Girl. It is not my favorite Tom Petty tune but the band rocked the tune with a ferocious tilt that it deserved with the mandolin player doing the vocals. It brought tears to my eyes. I used to be a very sentimental person but the realities of a life lived for 58 years has blown most of that away. It felt good to feel the moistness running down my cheeks for joy and not for sadness.
Thanks to the Keen band, for putting a caper on a night I needed.
Feeling good again, indeed.
Here are some you tube videos but they aren’t of the band I saw. No Mandolin player.
Predictions are fun
SB Nation did their postseason baseball predictions and only one of nine contributing editors picked the Dodgers. Eric Stephen who blogs about the Dodgers picked the Nationals in the NLCS, while Grant Brisbee who blogs about the Giants picked the Dodgers for the NLCS. No homers there.
I kind of think the Indians will pull off the same stunt the Royals did. The Royals lost in seven games in 2014, but won the World Series in five games in 2015. The Indians lost in seven games in 2016 so I’m going to go with them to win the World Series in 2017.
Last year they took the Cubs to seven games without Carlos Carrasco, and he’ll be there this year in top form. Kluber is as good as ever. The bullpen still reigns supreme with Andrew Miller.
Who will they play?
I think the Dodgers finally get to the World Series in a strange wicked way. The Rockies win the Wild Card game when Fernando Rodney blows one final big game. The Dodgers take the gift and beat the Rockies. The talented Nationals team is unable to beat the Cubs setting up a rematch of last years NLCS. This time the Dodgers win in a grueling seven-game series with multiple heroes on both sides.
That is what I got, I could be wrong at every level.
Sophomore slamming
The two best players on the Los Angeles Dodgers are a 21-year-old 1st baseman and a 23-year-old shortstop. They will both be ROY winners, and they both will be leaned on very heavily to help the Dodgers move through October.
It seemed that Corey Seager had a very quiet sophomore season, but once the 162 games were done, and you looked back, you saw a season very similar to his outstanding 2016 ROY season.
There he is with a 5.7 fWAR season which I don’t understand. This is one case where the defensive eye test does not match the defensive metrics. Corey is a plus 12 defensively at Fangraphs while I felt his range was as limited as any SS I watched play in 2017.
In 2016 Corey had a 7.4 fWAR on the back of a 136 wRC+. In 2017 he had a 5.7 fWAR season on the back of a 127 wRC+. The difference was his 136 wRC+ and 7.4 were the best in baseball in 2016 for a shortstop. In 2017 the competition was stiffer as Zack Cozart inexplicably put up a 141 wRC+ to lead all shortstops. Corey was just a hair back from leading the league in fWAR for shortstops but Francisco Lindor edged him out at 5.9.
Either way, what you have in Corey Seager is one of the top three shortstops in baseball,
Using the table below which are the combined stats for shortstops since 2016:
- Seager is tied with Lindor for 2nd with 48 home runs
- Seager is 2nd in run scored at 190
- Seager is 2nd in hits at 352
- Seager is 3rd in doubles with 73
- Seager is 2nd in walks with 121
- Seager is 1st in batting average at .302
- Seagers is 2nd in OBP at .370
- Seager is 3rd in Slug% at .497
- Seager is 1st in OPS at .867
Player OPS+ From To Age PA R H 2B HR RBI BB BA OBP SLG OPS Carlos Correa 140 2016 2017 21-22 1141 158 291 61 44 180 128 .291 .373 .492 .866 Corey Seager 130 2016 2017 22-23 1300 190 352 73 48 149 121 .302 .370 .497 .867 Paul DeJong 121 2017 2017 23-23 443 55 119 26 25 65 21 .285 .325 .532 .857 Zack Cozart 116 2016 2017 30-31 1015 147 247 52 40 113 99 .274 .346 .484 .831 Aledmys Diaz 111 2016 2017 25-26 761 102 195 45 24 85 54 .283 .338 .461 .799 Francisco Lindor 111 2016 2017 22-23 1407 198 360 74 48 167 117 .287 .347 .472 .819 Elvis Andrus 109 2016 2017 27-28 1257 175 344 75 28 157 85 .299 .348 .457 .805 Xander Bogaerts 104 2016 2017 23-24 1354 209 348 66 31 151 114 .285 .350 .426 .776 Didi Gregorius 101 2016 2017 26-27 1167 141 308 59 45 157 44 .281 .311 .462 .773 Trevor Story 101 2016 2017 23-24 970 135 221 53 51 154 84 .253 .322 .504 .826
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/3/2017.
Just for fun, in just two years Corey Seager has more home runs as a Dodger shortstop than any LAD shortstop in history.
Player OPS+ HR Age PA BA OBP SLG OPS Corey Seager 133 52 21-23 1413 .305 .374 .502 .876 Bill Russell 83 46 20-37 8021 .263 .310 .338 .648 Rafael Furcal 100 44 28-33 2803 .283 .351 .406 .757 Hanley Ramirez 144 43 28-30 1120 .299 .368 .506 .874 Don Zimmer 69 22 27-32 813 .227 .294 .358 .651 Mariano Duncan 71 20 22-26 1439 .234 .284 .325 .609 Greg Gagne 83 19 34-35 1040 .253 .315 .359 .673 Maury Wills 87 17 26-39 6745 .281 .331 .332 .663 Jimmy Rollins 79 13 36-36 563 .224 .285 .358 .643
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/3/2017.
At 23 how does Corey Seager stack up with LAD history?
- Puig is still the best Age 23 and younger LAD in history but will his static stats hold off the future Bellinger stats?
- Seager ranks 3rd behind Puig and Bellinger and just in front of James Loney. We forget sometimes just how great the first two years were for James Loney.
- One home run behind Tommy Davis with 52
- Adrian Beltre had already amassed over 2500 plate appearances by the age of 23.
Player OPS+ HR From To Age PA BA OBP SLG OPS Pos Yasiel Puig 151 35 2013 2014 22-23 1072 .305 .386 .502 .888 *9/8H7D Cody Bellinger 142 39 2017 2017 21-21 548 .267 .352 .581 .933 /*379H8D Corey Seager 133 52 2015 2017 21-23 1413 .305 .374 .502 .876 *6/H5D James Loney 132 19 2006 2007 22-23 486 .321 .372 .543 .915 *3/H9 Raul Mondesi 123 20 1993 1994 22-23 545 .304 .331 .512 .842 *9/87H Mike Marshall 115 22 1981 1983 21-23 655 .274 .342 .429 .771 *9/3H75 Tommy Davis 115 53 1959 1962 20-23 1594 .308 .341 .471 .812 *785/9H Ron Fairly 114 31 1958 1962 19-23 1245 .273 .373 .429 .803 93/H87 Matt Kemp 111 35 2006 2008 21-23 1134 .299 .342 .474 .816 *98/H7 Joc Pederson 110 26 2014 2015 22-23 623 .207 .347 .402 .748 *8/H97 Todd Hollandsworth 109 17 1995 1996 22-23 641 .281 .340 .430 .770 *7/8H9 Bill Sudakis 106 17 1968 1969 22-23 609 .240 .309 .397 .706 *5/H Jim Lefebvre 106 12 1965 1965 23-23 631 .250 .337 .369 .706 *4/H Willie Crawford 104 23 1964 1970 17-23 1025 .242 .323 .386 .709 7H9/8 Willie Davis 103 44 1960 1963 20-23 1695 .267 .313 .425 .738 *8/H Frank Howard 102 25 1958 1960 21-23 540 .261 .312 .456 .768 *9/7H3 Russell Martin 101 10 2006 2006 23-23 468 .282 .355 .436 .792 *2/HD Steve Garvey 100 17 1969 1972 20-23 669 .254 .304 .397 .701 *5/H364 Adrian Beltre 99 76 1998 2002 19-23 2553 .267 .327 .429 .756 *5/H6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/3/2017.
Was Shohei Ohtani born or built
As I was reading the Dylan Hernandez piece on Shohei Ohtani the thought came to me that if I was going to build a baseball player, Ohtani-San would be what I’d hope to replicate.
He throws 100 MPH, he can hit a baseball 500 feet, and now I just read he’s as fast as Billy Hamilton.
He can run too. Scouts have timed Ohtani in as few as 3.8 seconds from the batter’s box to first base. That’s as quick as Billy Hamilton and Dee Gordon, two of the fastest players in the majors.
Come on, this sounds a little too much for me, so put me in the I’ll believe when I see it.
And I hope to see it in Los Angeles.
Some think the Dodgers might be his future destination but…
Rival organizations view the Dodgers and New York Yankees as the most likely destinations for Ohtani because they are perennial playoff contenders that have extensive histories with Japanese players. But Sasaki didn’t sound convinced, noting that Ohtani chose to play for his local high school instead of a national powerhouse.
The coach recalled what a Fighters executive told Ohtani when he was a high school senior deciding between moving to the United States as a pitcher or remaining in Japan as a two-way player: “Let’s be pioneers and do something no one has ever done before.”
The Dodgers can’t pay him much if he comes over in 2018 but he doesn’t seem as concerned with money as with competition. Ohtani could own this town in ways that Nomo/Kuroda/Darvish never could.
Whoever signs him, I hope they give him a real shot at being a two-way player.
Other pieces on Ohtani:
Whitney McIntosh from SBNation
Whatever team he ends up with, and whatever they decide on doing with his multiple talents, everybody should be looking forward to his hitting and how fun it will be to have it the league just as much as they are looking forward to his pitching prowess.
Shohei Ohtani will get to pick which major league team he plays for in 2018, and all it cost him is a hundred million dollars or two. He has leverage, and he has certainly paid a premium for it. I’m not saying that he can make Theo Epstein bark like a dog if he wants to, but he can probably make Theo Epstein bark like a dog if he wants to.
Harder and harder
As things fall apart around us, the Dodgers offer an empty way to hide from the onslaught of carnage that seems to come at us daily. From my space in Woodland Hills I can do little to combat nature’s power, a wannabe monarch, hate from every side as divisions grow deeper. Death seems to be reigning down more than ever on the innocents. These aren’t soldiers dying in a stupid war, these are just people.
So I write, and I write some more. But it gets harder. I wish I was young enough to be a National Guardsman, a trained second responder, something other than a blogger writing about something as trivial as how many home runs Cody Bellinger hit at age 21.
I feel wrong tweeting about baseball in the shadow of the Vegas tragedy, everything about which is just so hopeless to me.
— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) October 2, 2017
I give blood, I gave it after Harvey and I’ll see if I can give it again after Vegas. I give some money, but not enough.
I wish I could pray and feel as though it would mean something, but I don’t so I don’t.
Tom Petty also left us today. I loved Tom Petty’s music. Simple and raw. From the first chord I ever heard from “You don’t have to be a refugee” I have listened to Tom Petty, possibly more than any other artist. He didn’t die young and he already left us with his legacy. I feel bad he won’t be able to spend time with the granddaughter he mentioned missing by being on the road this one last time. I’d seen him numerous times and thought very much about seeing him this last time at the Hollywood Bowl but I had to leave town to check on my Dad.
We have had a horrible month in the United States. Harvey, Irma, Maria, Vegas, and always the Trump tweets with the daily reminder of how unhinged our commander in chief, is, and how close to catastrophe we are.
It would behoove the Dodgers to have an amazing October run to help us get through this rough patch, while we remember that for many of us it is simply a mental rough patch. For others, this rough patch is actually a large hole that took a lifetime of work and dreams.
Cody Bellinger Splits
You just don’t see many 1st base / Center Fielders so I thought I’d show his splits.
Split G PA HR BA OBP SLG OPS as 1B 89 364 30 .299 .382 .667 1.049 as LF 38 149 7 .189 .275 .394 .669 as CF 4 14 0 .250 .357 .250 .607 as RF 5 13 2 .273 .385 .818 1.203 as DH 1 4 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 as PH 4 4 0 .667 .750 1.000 1.750
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/2/2017.
I know Wes Parker played forty-seven games in center field and Franklin Stubbs played twenty-nine games, but those are the only two 1st baseman I can remember in Dodger history who were 1st baseman by trade, but played some center field.
If Cody had hit one home run as a center fielder he would have homered from each of the outfield spots, but alas he stayed at 39.
Bellinger crushes age 21 lists
Quite a few players made their marks on the LAD record books but no one made their mark like Cody Bellinger. Let’s get started:
Cody Bellinger hit the most home runs by a Dodger 1st baseman since Eric Karros hit 31 in the year 2000. Cody hit 39 home runs overall, but only 30 as a 1st baseman.
Player HR Year Age PA OPS Pos Eric Karros 34 1999 31 639 .912 *3/H Eric Karros 34 1996 28 670 .795 *3 Steve Garvey 33 1977 28 696 .834 *3/H Eric Karros 32 1995 27 620 .905 *3 Eric Karros 31 2000 32 663 .780 *3/HD Eric Karros 31 1997 29 700 .787 *3 Cody Bellinger 30 2017 21 364 .933 *37/9H8D
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/2/2017.
Highest OPS by a Dodger 1st baseman since Eddie Murray put up a .934 OPS in 1990. Cody crushed as a 1st baseman. His 1.049 OPS is the best ever for a LAD. His slug% of .667 is the best ever for a LAD 1st baseman.
Player OPS PA Year Age BA OBP SLG Pos Cody Bellinger 1.049 364 2017 21 .299 .382 .667 *37/9H8D Eddie Murray .934 645 1990 34 .330 .414 .520 *3/H James Loney .919 375 2007 23 .331 .381 .538 *3/H9 Eric Karros .912 639 1999 31 .304 .362 .550 *3/H Eric Karros .905 620 1995 27 .298 .369 .535 *3
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/2/2017.
Let’s go to historical age comparisons now.
Only seven National League players 21 years or less since integration in 1947 have put up an OPS+ of at least 140. Cody Bellinger is one of them.
Player OPS+ Year Age Tm PA HR OPS Pos Eddie Mathews 171 1953 21 MLN 681 47 1.033 *5 Cesar Cedeno 162 1972 21 HOU 625 22 .921 *8/H Albert Pujols 157 2001 21 STL 676 37 1.013 5379/HD Frank Robinson 143 1956 20 CIN 667 38 .936 *7/8H Cody Bellinger 142 2017 21 LAD 548 39 .933 *37/9H8D Giancarlo Stanton 141 2011 21 FLA 601 34 .893 *9/H8D Hank Aaron 141 1955 21 MLN 665 27 .906 *974/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/2/2017.
That list includes three HOF, the all-time major league home run hitter not named Barry Bonds, the greatest young hitter in baseball in Eddie Mathews, the greatest home run hitter of our era in Stanton. The only player who is either not in the HOF or is not on a HOF arc is Cesar Cedeno, and let me tell you, if you had seen Cesar Cedeno play, you would have sworn he was headed for the HOF.
Oh, and none of them were primarily a 1st baseman. Pujols did play 1st base in 2001 but back then he was primarily a 3rd baseman. Much like Bellinger they used him everywhere also playing Left and Right field.
If you want to see the greatest 1st baseman in baseball history who played at least 50% of their games at 1st base while being 21 years or younger, it looks like this:
Player OPS+ Year Age Tm Lg PA OPS Pos Jimmie Foxx 173 1929 21 PHA AL 638 1.088 *3/5 Hal Trosky 150 1934 21 CLE AL 685 .987 *3 Dick Hoblitzell 143 1909 20 CIN NL 592 .782 *3 Cody Bellinger 142 2017 21 LAD NL 548 .933 *37/9H8D
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/2/2017.
How about Dodgers, and we will lower the playing component to 350 PA, and any position.
Only two Dodgers have ever had an OPS+ > 120 age 21 or younger with at least 350 PA.
Player OPS+ PA Year Age Tm AB OPS Pos Cody Bellinger 142 548 2017 21 LAD 480 .933 *37/9H8D Adrian Beltre 114 575 2000 21 LAD 510 .835 *5/H6 Adrian Beltre 102 614 1999 20 LAD 538 .780 *5/H
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/2/2017.
Cody Bellinger is the greatest 21-year-old in Dodger history.
Cody Bellinger is the greatest National League 21-year-old since Albert Pujols
Cody Bellinger is the greatest National League 21-year-old left hand hitter since Eddie Mathews.
Cody Bellinger is the bomb
Locastro gets to say hi
The LAD front office continued their generous ways by bringing up Tim Locastro for a taste of the major leagues in this final weekend. There isn’t any need for the minor league middle infielder given the Dodgers have Seager, Forsythe, Chase, Barnes, Hernandez, Taylor, and Culberson who can play either 2nd or SS but maybe he’s not here for middle infield backup of the backups of the backups.
When we broke down the Dodger postseason roster we did notice a very glaring lack of speed which is one reason why I picked Joc Pederson for the last spot. Joc is not exactly a speed merchant, and neither is Locastro but he does have above average speed.
Maybe this isn’t just a weekend stint?
I also didn’t realize until I read the fine print of the Dodger press release that he had spent so much time in the outfield this year.
He has split time between the infield and the outfield this season, playing in a combined 47 games in center field, 46 games at second base, 31 games at shortstop, nine games in left field and two games in right field.
Maybe he’ll be the Dodger left fielder against LHP in October:)
I saw Locastro last fall in the AFL where he played 2nd base. At the time he seemed like a team soldier and you won’t find him on any prospect lists. Locastro had a middling season for AA but really found his batting stroke in AAA where he put up a .987 OPS in thirty-one games. He also had twelve stolen bases in those 31 games.
To make room for Locastro they put O’Koyea Dickson on the disabled list. Dickson now gets 60 days of pay as a major leaguer. That is a nice bonus.
I wonder what Brett Eibner did that he was just jettisoned while O’Koyea gets the treatment?
Adrian Gonzalez stuck on seven
With the news, last night that Adrian Gonzalez will be shut down for the rest of the season after his back tightened the chances of him being on a postseason roster are just about nil.
Which is too bad in that Adrian Gonzalez has hit seven postseason home runs putting him in 2nd place behind the LAD leader Steve Garvey who had hit ten postseason home runs. One of the reasons the LAD did not stall in the NLCS during the reign of the longest playing infield in history was that the infield combined to hit over 20 postseason home runs.
Garvey, Lopes, Cey, Baker, Yeager, Smith combined for 36 home runs.
Below are the key NLCS/NLDS home runs by this group to get them to the World Series:
1974 NLCS – Ron Cey pops a home run leading the Dodgers to a 3 – 0 victory in game one. In game four after being shut out in game three, Steve Garvey hits two two-run home runs driving in Jimmy Wynn both times and cementing the Dodger victory as they crushed the Pirates in game 4 and headed for the 1974 World Series.
1977 NLCS – Ron Cey hits a dramatic game one grand slam against National League Cy Young Award winner Steve Carlton to tie the game at 5 – 5. But alas they did lose game one 7 – 5. Still hitting a grand slam in the postseason against the best pitcher in baseball at the time was something I only thought happened to the Dodgers. Dusty Baker hit his own grand slam in game two with the score tied giving the Dodgers a win in game two. Dusty Baker would be the difference maker in game four hitting a key two-run home run off of Steve Carlton as Tommy John made it hold up with a 4 – 1 victory, and another trip the World Series.
1978 NLCS – Game one, Steve Garvey hits two home runs again and is helped by Davey Lopes and Steve Yeager as the Dodgers hit four home runs to win game one. Davey Lopes hits his second home run of the NLCS in game two helping the Dodgers win game two. In game three Steve launches his 3rd home run of the NLCS, and this one came against Steve Carlton but it would not be enough as the Dodgers lost game three. Game four found the Dodgers down 2 – 1 when Ron Cey tied the score at 2 with a home run. In the 6th inning, Steve Garvey hit his fourth home run of the NLCS to put the Dodgers in front 3-2 as they eventually won 4 – 3 and again headed to the World Series.
1981 NLDS – Once again that guy Steve Garvey did his magic hitting a home run in game one against Nolan Ryan to tie the game at 1 – 1. The Dodgers would lose the game 3 – 1. The Dodgers would lose game two 1 – 0 and were one game from elimination without any victories. They would need to win three games in a row. Not to be deterred Steve Garvey hit another home run in game three, a two-run shot in the first inning to get the Dodgers started on 6 – 1 victory. Game four found Pedro Guerrero hitting his first postseason home run putting the Dodgers in front 1 – 0. The Dodgers would win a nail-biter 2 – 1 and tie up the series at two games apiece. They didn’t hit any home runs in the game but won the game 4 – 0 behind the key hitting of Steve Garvey and Rick Monday.
1981 NLCS – In game one with the Dodgers holding onto a 2 – 0 lead, Pedro Guerrero hit a two-run blast, which was followed by Mike Scioscia’s first career postseason home run giving the Dodgers a commanding 5 – 1 lead. It would not be the most important home run of Mike Scioscia’s career but it was a nice start. Pedro Guerrero was starting to show Dodger fans a taste of what was to come in the 1981 World Series and the rest of his Dodger career. Montreal was a great team in 1981 and they were not going to go down easy. They shut out the Dodgers in game two behind Ray Burris. Steve Rodgers would handle the Dodgers easily in game three winning 4 – 1. Once again the Dodgers were one game away from elimination, once again they would rally behind home runs and once again Steve Garvey would be the man. In game four with the score tied 1 – 1, Steve Garvey hit a two-run home run in the 8th inning to break open the game. Game five was all about Rick Monday who hit the most famous postseason home run in LAD history until Kirk Gibson showed up. But to get their Fernando gutted out eight innings of one-run ball giving Rick Monday his chance to hit his 9th inning tiebreaking home run. Fernando got two outs in the 9th, and Bob Welch got the final out.
And that was the home run, run of several of the greatest teams in LAD history. You can see why Steve Garvey may not have been HOF material but was something of a folk hero for the Dodger fans of that era. He didn’t shirk, he delivered.
This group of Dodgers who have won four straight division championships hit 25 home runs while never advancing beyond the NLCS. The most memorable being the Juan Uribe home run that put the Dodgers into the 2013 NLCS though it was Carl Crawford and his two solo home runs that put the Dodgers even in the position to win that game.
Other memorable postseason home runs from 2013 – 2016:
2014 NLDS – Game two Matt Kemp hit a tiebreaking home run in the bottom of the eighth inning giving the Dodgers a 3 – 2 victory. It would be the only victory in the 2014 NLDS.
2016 NLDS – Game one, Corey Seager hits a home run off of Max Scherzer to give the Dodgers a quick 1 – 0 lead. Justin Turner hits a two-run home run off of Scherzer giving the Dodgers a 3 – 0 lead as they eventually win 4 – 3.
2016 NLDS – Game five, with the Dodgers down 1 – 0 to Max Scherzer, Joc Pederson gets the Dodgers off the mat with a home run to tie the game. The Dodgers would eventually score four runs that inning and win the climactic game five for the right to lose to the Cubs in the 2016 NLCS.
2017 NLCS – Game Two, Adrian Gonzalez launches his 7th postseason home run as a Dodger to win the game 1 – 0 and tie the series at one apiece.
The current team that will enter the postseason without Adrian, has hit a total of ten postseason home runs lead by the key 2017 pinch hitter Andre Ethier with four.
It would behoove them to double that number by the time the NLCS ends. With Cody, Corey, Grandal, Turner, Puig, and Granderson, it could happen.
The list below is courtesy of Baseball Reference. I modified it to only show anyone with at least two Los Angeles Dodger postseason home runs.
| Player | HomeRuns |
| Steve Garvey | 10 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 7 |
| Davey Lopes | 6 |
| Ron Cey | 6 |
| Manny Ramirez | 5 |
| Dusty Baker | 5 |
| Steve Yeager | 5 |
| Carl Crawford | 4 |
| Andre Ethier | 4 |
| Reggie Smith | 4 |
| Pedro Guerrero | 4 |
| Mike Marshall | 3 |
| Kirk Gibson | 3 |
| Bill Madlock | 3 |
| James Loney | 3 |
| Shawn Green | 3 |
| Matt Kemp | 3 |
| Ron Fairly | 2 |
| Juan Uribe | 2 |
| A.J. Ellis | 2 |
| Chuck Essegian | 2 |
| Lou Johnson | 2 |
| Charlie Neal | 2 |
| Justin Turner | 2 |
| Mike Scioscia | 2 |
| Jayson Werth | 2 |
| Corey Seager | 2 |
| Mickey Hatcher | 2 |
| Eric Karros | 2 |
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 