Greatest All-Time Dodgers question

[jason.1969]

I took the liberty of organizing your list into a roster by position. This may help how you think about your list and also help others think about who might be missing.

What you have already is a pretty well-rounded roster, particularly if you factor in the position versatility of some of the players. I've added in red text some other guys that I might throw in for consideration.

CATCHERS
Mike Piazza
Mike Scioscia
Roy Campanella

FIRST BASE
Steve Garvey
Eric Karros
Gil Hodges
Wes Parker - one of the best fielding 1B ever; I'd take him over Karros personally.

SECOND BASE
Dave Lopes
Jackie Robinson (could move to 3B or 1B)
Jim Gilliam (could move to 3B)

THIRD BASE
Ron Cey

SHORTSTOP
Bill Russell
Maury Wills
Pee Wee Reese

OUTFIELD
Kirk Gibson (could move to PH, as in 88 WS)
Pedro Guerrero (could move to 3B at your own risk!)
Dusty Baker
Tommy Davis
Carl Furillo
Duke Snider
Willie Davis
If you need a defensive specialist, remember Derrel Thomas?

STARTING PITCHERS
Sandy Koufax
Clayton Kershaw
Orel Hershiser
Fernando Valenzuela
Don Sutton
Don Newcombe
Claude Osteen
Carl Erskine
Ramon Martinez
Bob Welch had some good seasons and memorable moments.

RELIEF PITCHERS
Eric Gagne
Ron Perranoski

PINCH HITTERS
Manny Mota
Dave Hansen

MANAGERS
Tommy Lasorda
Walter Alston

ANNOUNCERS
Vin Scully

[KCRfan1]

Jason,

I noticed Drysdale is missing from the list, which I'm sure is just an oversight.

BamBam,

If you are wanting to limit yourself to 25 players, you will have to make some " tough " decisions about who you personally feel belongs. This is your list, after all. From Jason's organized list, personally I would remove Scoscia, Gibson, Baker, Osteen, R. Martinez ( not sure what he did other than being Pedro's brother ). I would settle on 1 pinch hitter, 1 relief pitcher, 1 manager, and 2 first basemen.

The Dodgers have such a long and storied history, that forming a roster of 25 greats can be difficult. It would be difficult to do with any franchise that has been around for a long time. This is your team and selection though. Who do you like for your 25 greats?

[jason.1969]

Originally Posted by KCRfan1

Jason,

I noticed Drysdale is missing from the list.

Sorry, my error. Definitely the OP included the Big D!! Thx for the catch.

[hawaiian bam bam]

Thank you all for your response and help with this and a big thank you to jason for this amazing breakdown of the team: i think jasons team might be my final dodgers team listed below. im going to review stats and finalize a team in the next few days. so far here are the finalists and my questions regarding the "final candidates" if anyone can help with these questions below:

CATCHERS
Mike Piazza
Mike Scioscia-good or great? anything he did to be considered a dodger legend?
Roy Campanella

FIRST BASE
Steve Garvey

Eric Karros-does he get your vote, lots of power, hits and 1992 ROY
Gil Hodges

Wes Parker - one of the best fielding 1B ever; But does he get the nod over the power and hits of Karros?

SECOND BASE
Dave Lopes-good or great dodger? with robinson and gilliam locks for the team, is there room for lopes? is h justified as a dodger great?

Steve Sax-good player or legendary dodger?

Jackie Robinson
Jim Gilliam

THIRD BASE
Ron Cey

SHORTSTOP
Bill Russell-with wills and reese and short is there room for russell? what makes him a dodgers great?

Maury Wills
Pee Wee Reese

OUTFIELD
Kirk Gibson-what is great about him besides that famous HR? was a a good dodger or a legendary dodger? the dodger outfield is crowded with greats so he might need more than just a game winning home run to be considered great. your thoughts?

Pedro Guerrero-what makes him great. i loved watching him play, but what say you?

Dusty Baker-a couple good seasons but what bumps him up into legend status?

Tommy Davis
Carl Furillo
Duke Snider
Willie Davis

any love for Brett Butler?
any love for Raul Mondesi?
any love for mike marshall?

STARTING PITCHERS
Sandy Koufax
Clayton Kershaw
Orel Hershiser
Fernando Valenzuela
Don Sutton
Don Newcombe

Claude Osteen-What makes him deserving on a legendary staff like this? i think he has awesome stats, but what do you think?
Carl Erskine

Ramon Martinez-will swap him out for drysdale

Bob Welch- had some good seasons and memorable moments. but a dodger great?

what about:
Jerry Reuss
Tommy John
Hideo Nomo
Chan Ho Park

RELIEF PITCHERS

Eric Gagne-was he great or was he on steroids?

Ron Perranoski-i struggle with this one. how good was he in your opinion?

Mike Marshall- dos 2-3 great seasons make a legend?

PINCH HITTERS
Manny Mota
Dave Hansen-dodgers all time pinch hit leader. any love for him over mota?

MANAGERS
Tommy Lasorda
Walter Alston

ANNOUNCERS
Vin Scully

[KCRfan1]

I would take Kenley Jansen over the relief pitchers you have selected.

[hawaiian bam bam]

You are do right . After comparing stats of Jansen and gagne. Jansen actually has more saves for the dodgees than gagne. I never knew that. That's why I love this thread because there is so much knowledge here. Thank you. I think I'll switch out gagne for Jansen .

[jason.1969]

But don't forget to add Drysdale back...I accidentally missed him when I put your guys in position order.

[hawaiian bam bam]

Yes, I'm going to swap out Ramon Martinez for drysdale . This is fun! Keep the posts /advice coming.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by hawaiian bam bam

STARTING PITCHERS
Sandy Koufax
Clayton Kershaw
Orel Hershiser
Fernando Valenzuela
Don Sutton
Don Newcombe

Claude Osteen-What makes him deserving on a legendary staff like this? i think he has awesome stats, but what do you think?
Carl Erskine

Ramon Martinez-will swap him out for drysdale

Bob Welch- had some good seasons and memorable moments. but a dodger great?

Are you freaking kidding me? Ramon Martinez over Hall of Famer Don Drysdale?

Quick trivia question. What player in the entire history of the Dodgers, has the highest Wins Above Replacement?

Sandy Koufax? Nope.
Duke Snider? Nope.
Clayton Kershaw? Nope.
Jackie Robinson? Nope.
Zack Wheat? Nope.

Don Drysdale has a 67.0 career WAR while wearing the Dodger blue. Cy Young winner, eight-time All Star, winner of 209 games for the Dodgers....and Ramon Martinez bumps him off your all-time team. Between 1962 and 1965, Drysdale won 85 games. He led the NL in wins (25) in 1962, starts four times, strikeouts three times, WHIP and Ks per 9 IP once each. Ramon never led the NL in any meaningful category. And his career WAR, 26.3, is nowhere close to Drysdale's.

You are a Dodgers fan, are you not? What, may I ask, is your logic for swapping Ramon Martinez for Don Drysdale? He doesn't get points for being Pedro's brother.

[the 'stache]

One more thing to consider when comparing Drysdale and Martinez.

Hitting.

While Ramon Martinez was a weakling at the plate, Drysdale could flat out rake. Martinez had 1 home run in 596 career at bats. Drysdale is third in Major League history with 29 carer bombs in 1,169 at bats. Drysdale had 26 doubles, 7 triples, 29 home runs, and drove in 113 runs. The guy ahead of him, Warren Spahn, had 6 more homers, but over 700 more at bats.

You've got to have Drysdale on your all-time Dodgers team. And you really need to consider all the players that have ever played for the franchise. Eliminating the early part of the franchise's history because "not a lot of people know about those players" is a bad decision, in my opinion. Use it as an opportunity to educate some people.