Chasing Piazza on June 19th
For twenty years it looked like Mike Piazza’s LAD rookie record of 35 home runs would stand the test of time. Since 2015, however, it has had Dodger rookies taking good cuts at it.
Puig never had a chance in 2013 given he didn’t get started until June but still hit 19 home runs in only 432 plate appearances. He reached his 19th home run in about his 416 plate appearance.
Last year I put out some LAD Rookie HR leaderboards when Corey Seager was giving Piazza a run for his money. I wasn’t writing in 2014 but if I had been, Joc Pederson actually gave Mike a bigger run for his money until the all-star break happened. At the end of May, both Joc and Seager were ahead of the Piazza pace since Piazza had only hit eight of his thirty-five home runs by the end of May.
This year Cody Bellinger has the best chance to eclipse the Piazza record of 35 home runs in 1993 as a Dodger rookie based on home runs per plate appearance.
Below is a quick table of how long it took each of the Dodger rookies to hit their first nineteen home runs of the season. The PA are estimated within 4 PA. The table also shows how many home runs they each had by June 18th. We might have forgotten just how awesome Joc Pederson was in June of 2015. There was a reason he went to the Home Run derby in 2015. As you can see each Dodger was in front of the Piazza pace on this date. The only way to beat Piazza is to keep up the pace.
Joc couldn’t do it
Seager couldn’t do it
Bellinger ??? – I’d probably bet against it, my total is around 33. He has to slump at some point, doesn’t he?
| Player | Year | PA | HR | HR/PA | Total HR by June 18th | Total |
| Piazza | 1993 | 348 | 19 | 18.32 | 12 | 35 |
| Puig | 2013 | 416 | 19 | 21.89 | 4 | 19 |
| Pederson | 2015 | 291 | 19 | 15.32 | 17 | 26 |
| Seager | 2016 | 452 | 19 | 23.79 | 15 | 26 |
| Bellinger | 2017 | 205 | 19 | 10.79 | 19 | ??? |
If this confusing here is a quick legend.
PA – this is the number of plate appearances it took for each rookie to reach 19 home runs. We used 19 home runs because that is where Bellinger is right now.
HR – This is a marker showing you 19 home runs.
HR/PA – this is the home runs per plate appearance pace when they each hit their 19th home run.
Total HR by June 18th – self explantory
Total – season home run total
Two Cubans take the FFA for week of June 12th
Multiple Dodger prospects had huge hitting performances for the week ending on June 18th. It was a tough call who to pick for the weekly FFA award and ultimately I had to split the award between our Cuban positional prospects Yusniel Diaz and Jose Fernandez. Both Cubans have gotten red hot in June and amassed multiple hit games last week. They come from different places. Diaz is the young big bonus baby and coming into this year was expected to establish himself as a Dodger outfielder for the future. Jose Fernandez was signed for the minimum and at best was expected to provide some infield depth.
Through the end of May, neither was doing much but June came and they have woken up.
Just a few weeks ago I was discussing Yusniel Diaz as one of the most disappointing top prospects in the Dodger system, and right on cue, Diaz exploded in June and more so in the past week. Diaz had fourteen hits in just seven games. He had two hits in two games, three hits in two games, and four hits in one game. With his four walks, he got on base eighteen times in twenty-nine at-bats. So far in June Diaz has a triple stat line of .412 / .459 / 1.107 with three home runs. For the season, Diaz has a massive home/road split with a home OPS of .924 compared to a road split of .567. Nice to see the 20-year-old starting to put up some numbers worthy of the Dodger bonus.
Jose Fernandez has also gotten as hot as the West Valley sun. Fernandez also hit in every game last week, picking up fourteen hits. Four times he had two hits, and three hits one time. That is blazing hot, and for June his triple stat line now reads .453 / .532 / 1.136. He’s still 29 years old in AA but at least he’s making noise, and maybe it was just a rust issue after all and that there is some prime iron ready to shine once polished.
Part of the competition for the week came from my number one prospect Keibert Ruiz who hit in every game he played in last week. He might have knocked off Diaz if not for the fact Ruiz only played in four games. The eighteen-year-old isn’t showing much power but at eighteen he has plenty of time for that part of his game to show up. Over his last ten games, he is twelve for thirty with seven walks. Good for a .400 BA, and staggering .514 OBP.
Alex Verdugo also had a great week and now that I look at his numbers maybe I should have given the nod to Alex. Verdugo also hit in every game last week, tallying twelve hits, two home runs, and four walks. Verdugo is now hitting .487 over his last ten games and has a June triple stat line in June of .369 / . 438 / .615. The just turned 21-year-old is doing great things at AAA. Might not be long before he’s playing LF in some capacity for the Dodgers.
On the pitching side:
A. J. Alexy pitched his best game as a pro on June 13th. The Great Lakes Loon nineteen-year-old got eighteen outs for the first time in his career and did it without allowing a run. He struck out six and walked two.
Wilmer Font continues to amaze with another solid performance on June 14th in AAA. Font went six scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, walking one, and striking out seven. In his last three starts, Font has gone six innings each time, given up just one run combined, 10 hits, and a crazy twenty-four strikeouts with just two walks.
Walker Buehler was solid on June 15th in a start for AA Tulsa. Walker went five innings, gave up five hits, two earned runs, walked one, and struck out six.
Of the big three of Alvarez / Buehler / White, only Walker gets a mention with White on the DL and Yadier not pitching any better than Dennis Santana.
Speaking of Dennis Santana, the 21-year-old converted shortstop to relief to starting pitcher went seven innings for the first time in his professional career. Santana was almost brilliant, allowing only three hits, one earned run, two walks, and eight strikeouts. This was great to see as Santana had struggled in his two prior June appearances.
Starters getting it done in June for Dodgers
Overall Record – 44/26
June Record – 11/5
Position – 1 game back of Rockies
Highlights of June so far:
- Only six Dodgers have made starts in June so far.
- Four of the six starters have an ERA under 3.00.
- Four of the six starters have an OPS against below .600
- One starter is looking like a mountain of a problem
- Neither Alex Wood or Kenley Jansen have walked a hitter in June in a combined 23 innings.
- Josh Fields has pitched five games, gotten 17 outs, and given up five home runs.
Player IP ERA H ER BB SO WHIP SO9 SO/W OPS Clayton Kershaw 21.0 1.71 11 4 6 27 0.810 11.6 4.50 .537 Brandon McCarthy 16.1 2.76 13 5 5 10 1.102 5.5 2.00 .587 Hyun-Jin Ryu 16.0 5.63 21 10 2 16 1.438 9.0 8.00 .875 Alex Wood 13.2 2.63 9 4 0 12 0.659 7.9 .512 Rich Hill 13.0 6.92 13 10 9 14 1.692 9.7 1.56 .799 Kenta Maeda 13.0 2.77 8 4 4 18 0.923 12.5 4.50 .562 Kenley Jansen 9.2 0.00 4 0 0 15 0.414 14.0 .329 Pedro Baez 8.0 2.25 11 2 2 7 1.625 7.9 3.50 .951 Grant Dayton 6.0 1.50 3 1 2 6 0.833 9.0 3.00 .517 Josh Fields 5.2 11.12 6 7 4 6 1.765 9.5 1.50 1.339 Ross Stripling 5.2 11.12 12 7 2 5 2.471 7.9 2.50 1.130 Chris Hatcher 5.1 11.81 4 7 4 8 1.500 13.5 2.00 .796 Brandon Morrow 4.0 0.00 2 0 1 6 0.750 13.5 6.00 .388 Luis Avilan 3.0 6.00 4 2 1 2 1.667 6.0 2.00 1.049 Josh Ravin 2.0 0.00 1 0 0 2 0.500 9.0 .571 Sergio Romo 1.2 5.40 2 1 1 3 1.800 16.2 3.00 1.089
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/19/2017.
Dodgers hitters roll through Ohio
Overall Record – 44/26
June Record – 11/5
Position – 1 game back of Rockies
Highlights of June so far:
- The Dodgers swept the Reds at Dodger Stadium and on the road in a span of ten days, and they did it without Clayton Kershaw pitching in any of the six games.
- They have won nine of their last ten games
- Won five out of six in Ohio stumbling only when the Indians made a determined charge up the Hill.
Hitting Highlights:
- Justin Turner has hit in every game this month that he’s played, leading the team in OPS at 1.169
- Cody Bellinger is evidently going to put his name on every single LAD monthly home run leaderboard as he already has eight in June.
- Chris Taylor is doing his best Davey Lopes imitation with six steals without being caught.
- The Puig and Pederson show are back. Both have an OPS over.850 in the same month for the first time since…………I’ll look it up if they can do this for the whole month. Last June, for example, they both finished the month with an OPS barely over .800.
- Overall the Dodgers have fourteen stolen bases while being caught three times.
- Puig/Bellinger/Taylor have combined for a perfect 12 for 12 in stolen bases.
- Grandal is struggling mightily and not showing any signs of slump relief.
- Logan Forsythe was struggling mightily but might have cracked the code with his monstrous home run and a sweet single to center yesterday.
- Chase has come back to earth.
Player Split HR GS PA RBI SB CS SO BA OBP SLG OPS Corey Seager June 2 16 73 8 0 1 15 .267 .397 .450 .847 Cody Bellinger June 8 15 68 14 3 0 19 .279 .353 .754 1.107 Chris Taylor June 2 14 62 12 6 0 16 .263 .323 .474 .796 Yasiel Puig June 3 14 61 8 3 0 12 .283 .361 .528 .889 Logan Forsythe June 1 12 53 2 0 0 19 .130 .245 .196 .441 Yasmani Grandal June 1 11 50 3 0 0 19 .163 .180 .245 .425 Chase Utley June 1 11 48 4 0 0 6 .200 .333 .325 .658 Enrique Hernandez June 2 7 37 2 1 0 12 .182 .270 .424 .695 Justin Turner June 2 7 35 5 0 0 4 .414 .514 .655 1.169 Adrian Gonzalez June 0 8 31 3 0 1 5 .214 .258 .286 .544 Joc Pederson June 2 6 27 4 1 1 3 .261 .370 .609 .979 Austin Barnes June 0 6 26 1 0 0 5 .292 .346 .333 .679 Franklin Gutierrez June 0 2 14 3 0 0 4 .154 .214 .154 .368 Brett Eibner June 0 2 11 0 0 0 5 .100 .182 .100 .282
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/19/2017.
Alex Wood almost cracks game score leaderboard
During the broadcast tonight, Joe Davis and Orel starting talking about game scores. Orel was wondering if the current game score by Alex was close to the brilliant game that Clayton pitched. Joe correctly said no because Wood only had five strikeouts. At the time Wood had a game score over 80 which is excellent but it was still the 8th inning. By the time the 8th inning had ended it had dropped below 80 because of the Mesoraco home run. Orel was acting like Wood had already pitched his complete game shutout but seemed to forget he still had five outs to go.
Anyway for those who don’t know (like Orel) how a game score is calculated here it is:
Game Score – This is a value created by Bill James that evaluates how good a pitcher’s start was.
Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (or 3 points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed. Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.
Stan Williams shows up for the first time so I can tell my little Stan Williams story. It actually involves his son. In 1975 my High School Herbert Hoover of Glendale beat Stan Williams Junior’s team at Dodger Stadium to win the CIF Baseball Championship. The game involved a matchup between Stan Williams Junior and our ace Chuck McMichael. Chuck had not given up a run during the playoffs and would outpitch Stan to give Hoover the victory.
Here is an excellent recap of the history of Chuck who actually worked as a scout for the Dodgers in the 1980’s. Chuck was the first fireballing lefty I ever faced in baseball. He was two years older than me and basically struck out everyone he faced. His dad was an ump in every league I played in.
I had expected to follow Chuck’s career as he went from high school phenom to major league star but injuries derailed that career. Instead, he went into scouting and has had a long career and was just a step away from the GM job in Atlanta.
Player Date Rslt IP H ER BB SO GSc Sandy Koufax 1960-08-11 W 3-0 9.0 2 0 1 13 95 Don Sutton 1967-06-27 W 9-0 9.0 2 0 0 11 94 Fernando Valenzuela 1984-08-05 L 1-2 10.0 2 1 6 10 88 Ramon Martinez 1998-04-05 W 1-0 8.0 1 0 1 7 86 Tommy John 1972-08-08 L 1-2 9.0 3 1 4 13 86 Bob Welch 1985-08-03 W 2-0 9.0 2 0 3 5 85 Don Drysdale 1962-08-19 W 5-1 9.0 3 0 1 7 85 Stan Williams 1961-05-22 W 2-1 10.0 4 1 3 8 85 Jerry Reuss 1980-05-26(1) W 4-0 9.0 4 0 0 5 84 Claude Osteen 1971-04-23 W 3-0 9.0 5 0 0 6 83 Sandy Koufax 1964-08-12 W 4-1 9.0 5 1 1 10 82 Pedro Astacio 1992-09-29 W 5-0 9.0 3 0 2 2 81 Ramon Martinez 1990-09-15 W 3-0 9.0 6 0 1 7 81 Bill Singer 1969-06-22 W 5-0 9.0 5 0 3 7 81 Tim Belcher 1988-09-16 L 0-1 8.0 3 0 1 7 80 Claude Osteen 1967-06-26 W 3-0 9.0 5 0 2 5 80
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/16/2017.
Howie Kendrick and Yordan Alvarez
While it might seem that everything the Dodger front office turns to gold, it isn’t true.
Last year at this time I was noting how Howie Kendrick could not drive in a run as a starting left fielder. Eventually, Howie got that figured out and was basically the de-facto starting left fielder until Andrew Toles showed up. Even then Dave Roberts went to Howie more often than not in Sept. It wasn’t until October that it seemed that Roberts had figured out that Andrew Toles was a better left fielder than Howie.
Headed into 2017, Howie didn’t like what he saw for himself and the Dodgers and asked to be traded. They obliged and sent him to the Phillies where he was supposed to be their starting LF. Amazing in baseball how things don’t work out as planned. Howie did indeed start out as the Phillies LF and was hitting the hell out of the ball when he got hurt on April 15th.
Enter Aaron Altherr. Aaron took over in LF while Howie was on the DL, and he’s not giving the starting job back. Aaron has a wRC+ of 133 and so when Howie came back they moved Aaron to RF.
Howie came back On May 29th and started ten games in LF and continued to pound the ball. On June 11th the starting 2nd baseman for the Phillies, Cesar Hernandez was hurt and is not due back until late July. No problem, Howie took over at 2nd base and if you happened to be watching MLB network last night you got to see Howie make an amazing play as a 2nd baseman diving to his right on the grass in CF and throw out the runner. This year Howie has a TSL of .330 / .393 / .485.
Logan Forsythe, not so much.
In time they might pass each other headed up and down but maybe not. A year ago in the spring of 2016 you wouldn’t have traded Howie for Logan straight up would you? Logan had one successful season to his name, Howie had a career. They were both 2nd baseman. The older one stayed healthy in 2016, the younger one did not. Winter of 2017, one was given away, while one was acquired for a talented young pitcher. It was probably the right move and time could easily prove the Dodgers correct.
I just think the Dodgers should rethink this policy of trading veterans who ask for a trade. To much can change and the same reason you signed Howie Kendrick in the spring of 2016 still applied in the winter of 2016.
Last summer the Dodgers made a deal acquiring Josh Fields from the Houston Astros. The price was Yordan Alvarez who had yet to play on the mainland. The Dodgers had given him a $2,000,000 bonus so they must have liked something about him given the cost was $4,000,000 with the tax included.
Just before this year’s international signing period closed in June, the Dodgers landed Alvarez for $2 million (plus a $2 million tax for exceeding their allotted spending pool). Now, without playing a single game for the Dodgers, he’s on the move to Houston. He’s around 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds and earns high marks from scouts for his smooth lefthanded swing. He also has average or better power from the left side, though he needs to work on getting more leverage in his swing to tap into that power more often. He’s going to have to improve his defense at first base, but he is an offensive prospect first and foremost.
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/dodgers-acquire-josh-fields-fresh-cuban-signee/#hRw4a1Octcj8Ubsg.99
At the time of the deal, I was happy to get Josh Fields and didn’t give much thought to the price being a kid who had never played on the mainland. I probably should have given it more thought.
That price is looking mighty high right now. The 6’5 19-year-old Yordan Alvarez is making a name for himself.
Chad Moriyama didn’t seem to think it was a big deal since they had basically just traded 4 Million for Josh Fields. And if money was just the deal that would have been correct. But it wasn’t. Yordan Alveraz was the deal, and it is very possible he’s the real deal. It is the rare 19-year-old who carves up the Midwest league.
Per the Baseball America Hot Sheet on June 2nd.
4. Yordan Alvarez, 1b, Astros (19)
Low Class A Quad Cities (Midwest)Alvarez is moving beyond just an interesting back story. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Cuban has feel to hit—he’s one of the best hitters in the Midwest League’s Western Division, a scout said—and now he’s pairing it with tremendous in-game power (.280 isolated slugging).
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-june-9/#3Ku8KdhxVxVqI0bs.99
That was two weeks ago. Since that time he’s continued to hit and leads the MWL in OPS at 1.1326
Josh Fields did help out the Dodger bullpen in 2016 and did pitch in the 2016 postseason. Was he a difference maker? No. He was also one of the best bullpen options early in 2017, but after watching him give up key home run after key home run in June, I can’t help but wonder if Dodger fans won’t be looking yonder toward Yordan in the future.
Do the Dodgers have a pitching problem?
Maybe?
The Houston Astros currently have four of their five starters on the disabled list. Their projected rotation the next five games reads like this.
Fiers, Paulino, Musgrove, Peacock, Martes
That from the team with the best record in baseball. Their best pitcher Keuchel will be back shortly but the Lance McCullers won’t be. Colin McHugh out until July. Charlie Morton late June. Musgrove is in the rotation but just came off the DL last week. It is pretty iffy right now in Houston. Not that they have to worry about their division which is a hot mess after Houston.
The Boston Red Sox just got David Price back but they didn’t get back the good one. The Red Sox went about nine deep this year in the rotation. Four of the nine are on the disabled list. Last year’s Cy Young Award winner is pitching like he’s headed for the DL. Chris Sale has lived up to his billing and price. Drew Promeranz cost the Red Sox a princely sum and is not returning dividends. They had to give Kyle Kendrick two starts and that is never a good idea.
The Washington Nationals have Max Scherzer and Steven Strasburg. They have the two aforementioned pitchers with a FIP below 4.00. They have thrown away three starts to Jacob Turner and Jeremy Guthrie. They traded their best pitching prospects so they don’t have alot to turn too.
Should I even mention who is in the Twin rotation after Santana and Berrios?
The first place Brewers have thrown away starts to the likes of Tommy Milone, Pablo Espino, and Brent Suter. Along with letting Wily Peralta blow up until removed to middle relief. They finally have some health with Davies/Guerra back. Nelson has been good and might continue to be good. Chase Anderson? Probably not. Matt Garza definitely not. That is their top five. No depth, no one to turn to when at least two of those five hit the skids.
How about the World Champion Cubs. They have Lester and he has not exactly been a world beater this year. His ERA is just 3.89 and the FIP says he could have some improvement. Arrieta is a long way past his the days he was compared to Kershaw. John Lackey really might be done. Hendricks is hurt and wasn’t impressive before he got hurt. The Brett Anderson experiment went exactly as expected leaving Mike Montgomery to take his spot. Montgomery did great work in relief but has made only two starts and it is still up in the air if Monty came handle the work of a rotation piece. Rockie reclamation project Eddie Butler is now the number five. They have nothing after him.
The Rockies are using four rookies in their rotation right now. That will change when Jon Gray comes back. Basically, they have already dipped as far as they can dip into their depth. They have done great things, and if they continue to keep the team afloat you can only tip your hat, but anyone who would take the Rockie starting pitching situation over the Dodgers is drinking purple lemonade.
The Diamondbacks have been resilient. They lost Shelby Miller for the year. That might have been a good thing. Robbie Ray has blossomed into a stud and it just might hold. Greinke has bounced back enough to be called a team ace. Taijuan Walker just came back off the DL to give them a solid three. Patrick Corbin is not doing the job to help round out the rotation. Zach Godly and Randall Delgado pitched well. I”m not much of a believer in Godly but time will tell. What they do have is three good to great pitchers fronting the rotation which no one else can say at this time except the Dodgers.
So, do the Dodgers have a rotation problem? Maybe?
They have Kershaw, still the best pitcher in the league.
They have Alex Wood who is just as suspect at Robby Ray at holding these gains, but for now, he’s a solid number two.
Brandon McCarthy has been as solid as anyone could have hoped for.
That is the Dodgers big three and it is as good as any big three in baseball with postseason aspirations.
Kenta Maeda was supposed to be a key part of the first five. He’s been so inconsistent he was the last pitcher to get sent to the bullpen but wouldn’t you bet on him figuring it out to at least get back to a consistent 15 – 17 out pitcher that doesn’t kill you?
That leaves Ryu and Hill fighting for the five spot. I don’t know what to make of either of them. I think either should be good enough to get the ball every five days.
That is the current status.
Back on the farm, the team took a big hit when Urias went on the DL. Not a structural issue but no timetable for return. I think we have to write him off for this year until we see how he bounces back from this.
Brock Stewart is back and just about ready to answer the call if his phone rings.
Scott Kazmir is about ready for some rehab games. Many seem to have written off Scott Kazmir but I don’t know why. He’s taken a lot of time to get healthy, and a fresh, healthy Scott Kazmir could be an important part of the 2017 team going forward.
I am going to mention Wilmer Font because over the last six weeks he’s been the best pitcher in minor league baseball even if he is a 27-year-old minor league journeyman.
I am going to mention Justin Masterson because he was signed for depth, and he remains for depth.
I am going to mention Trevor Oaks. Because is still a part of the Dodger depth.
Could the Dodgers use another pitcher? I think we have to see what Kenta/Ryu/Hill do over the next month. CanKazmir can show something in his rehab starts? I still think all three can at least be part of a rotation even if they aren’t going to be the best they once had to offer.
And I think Brock Stewart could do what any Rockie rookie is doing.
Check back in a month.
This wasn’t how I drew up the Dodger season
1. Adrian Gonzalez was the 1st baseman
2. Andrew Toles was the LF
3. Chris Taylor was in AAA
4. Cody Bellinger was in AAA
5. Urias had settled in as the 2nd best pitcher in the rotation
6. Hill had settled in as the 3rd best pitcher in the rotation
7. Ryu had been released
8. Logan Forsythe was a solid leadoff hitter
9. Corey Seager was doing something like .300/.375/.525
10. Alex Wood had proven to be a force in the BULLPEN
11. Grant Dayton was 2016 all over again
12. Chase Utley was frustrated over his lack of at-bats
13. Puig was having a 26-year-old season like others before him
14. Joc Pederson was leading the team in home runs
15. Kenley Jansen had walked at least one hitter
16. Kenta Maeda has used his work this winter to consistently pitch into the 6th inning
17. Brock Stewart had taken over the 5th spot in the rotation
18. Justin Turner would have 10 bombs
You get the point. This is amazing
Pump the brakes
I blame Vin Scully for my reticence to acknowledge that a rookie has made it no matter what they are doing. I’m startled sometimes by the things that are blazed into my brain when so many more important things fail to adhere.
It was with my full support back in 1983 that Greg Brock had supplanted the venerable Steve Garvey as the Dodger 1st baseman. Brock, after all, seemed to have everything going for him. A thunderous left-handed swing that produced a billion home runs in AAA, and a calm demeanor that should allow him to handle the emotional complexities of the major league game. He had the patience to go with the power and looked like the whole package. Garvey would get on base with hits, Brock would take a walk. Garvey would attempt to drive in anyone on base, Brock was OK with letting someone else do it and wouldn’t widen the strike zone.
Brock started off okay and ended April with an OPS of .846. Pretty good for your first full month facing major league baseball. It was the weekend in Montreal on May 17h that really got me excited. Brock had been on a mini tear in May and had raised his OPS to .938. For all appearances, he looked like the Dodger 1st baseman for the rest of the decade. On May 17th, in the first game of the series against Montreal, he walked five times. Five times!!!. No LAD 1st baseman has ever walked five times. No one. Dusty Baker did it. That is it. Two players in LAD history have walked five times in a game and one was one of the greatest LF to ever play for the Dodgers. Surely that meant Greg Brock was destined for greatness.
Player Date Tm Rslt PA BB IBB Greg Brock 1983-05-17 LAD L 2-3 7 5 1 Dusty Baker 1980-09-28 LAD L 5-7 5 5 0
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Generated 6/14/2017.
It was the game on May 18th that changed me. In that game, Greg Brock hit a grand slam in the top of the fifth. Vin Scully exclaimed something like “He’s the real deal” and so I believed he was. To further seal the deal Brock hit another home run and raised his OPS to an amazing .989.
That would be the high point of the Greg Brock career. May 18th, 1983.
Brock would have a fine career but he certainly wasn’t the Dodger 1st baseman for the rest of the decade.
Since that time I’ve watched Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi, Corey Seager not only match their great rookie seasons but build upon them year after year. Yes, I’m assuming Cory Seager does this.
It doesn’t matter, whenever a Dodger rookie gets off to a great start I still remember Vin Scully on May 18th and I pump the brakes.
Maybe it is time I hit the accelerator
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 
Kind of expected the Dodgers to eventually be the best team in the West but I’ll be honest I kind of figured that meant: