Personally... I'm pulling for Jose Altuve, Josh Reddick, and the Houston Astros. However most people I've talked to are predicting a New York Yankees victory. If that's the case, then 100% of my support will be given to the Dodgers. I don't see myself ever rooting for the Yankees unless it somehow benefits the A's or Padres.
With that being said... I wanted to dedicate tonight's post to all of the Dodgers fans out there and write about my five favorite players from your franchise. At first I had planned on ranking them, but this proved to be too challenging since they played in different eras. So instead, I decided to break them down by exactly that.
Let's kick things off with my current favorite Dodger... and slowly work back in time.
Late 2000's to Present: Clayton Kershaw
As a baseball fan, I'll always appreciate "greatness" and that's exactly what Kershaw exemplifies. Year in and year out he has one of the lowest ERA's in the game and is a Cy Young Award winner candidate. Plus as a left-handed guy who has grown up in a society that caters to right-handed people, I have admired left-handed pitchers since the days of Steve Carlton.
Mid to Late 90's: Hideo Nomo
You couldn't walk into a card shop in the mid 90's without hearing people talk about Nomo, his baseball cards, or his signature "tornado" windup. Nomomania was officially born. And although he wasn't the first Japanese guy to play in the MLB, he was the guy who paved the way for all of the other Japanese players in the league today.
Early to Late 80's: Fernando Valenzuela
Before the Tornado... there was El Toro. Just like Nomo, he took baseball and America by storm. During the 1981 strike shortened season, he took home the NL ROY Award and the NL Cy Young Award, while leading the league in strikeouts and ERA. I remember his 1981 Fleer baseball card was one of the first prized possessions in my collection.
Late 70's to Early 80's: Steve Garvey
I have always been obsessed with players with high batting averages and Garvey routinely hit .300 or higher throughout his career. I also remember seeing a photo of him and his wife and thinking "this guy is the man", because she was smokin' hot. It's not the best reason to start cheering for a baseball player, but I was only a prepubescent kid at the time.
Before I was born: Jackie Robinson
There's a chance someone out there will declare "shenanigans" on this pick, since technically... Robinson retired from baseball almost twenty years before I entered this world. But for as long as I can remember, I have admired what #42 did for baseball and millions of Americans when he broke the color barrier in 1947.
Well this post took a lot longer for me to write than anticipated. I'm gonna wrap things up and go watch Game 7 to see who the Dodgers will face this Tuesday.
In the meantime, feel free to respond to today's question of the day...
Who are your favorite Dodgers of all-time?
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
8 comments:
That's a great question. Kerhsaw is my favorite modern Dodger too, and while I was too young for Fernando-mania I was definitely into Nomo-mania. I dont remember if I bought myself a Nomo jersey or my mom paid for it, but I still have it somewhere. Loved that tornado wind-up.
One of my side PCs is the Brooklyn Dodgers, specifically the 1955 team that finally took down the Yankees. I'm always on the hunt for vintage Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, and Gil Hodges cards. Sandy Koufax is one of my favorite Dodger legends - I'd collect his stuff if I could afford it. Same with Jackie Robinson. I did a report on Jackie for Black History month when I was in high school - I know it was in '97 because it was the 50th anniversary of his MLB debut. I think 97 was also the grade I got for that project.
Damn,i'm gonna go with Kershaw.Ethier and then Matt Kemp.
Fred McGriff and Juan Marichal. But no, your 5 are good picks, too!
Know that the Yankees are out of the playoff picture, I'm all for the Dodgers!
My favorite LAD players would include Hiroki Kuroda, Walker Buehler, Yadier Alvarez, Orel Hershiser and Jose De Leon.
My Dodgers top 5 would be more old school.
Joe Ferguson-C, Bill Russell-SS, Rick Monday-OF, Shawn Green-OF, Tom Candiotti-P
steve garvey is at the top of my list, but if i were to go by your method, this list would be kershaw (matt kemp a close second), mondesi, sax, garvey, and jackie.
It has to be Nomo, hands down. He came to MLB at the right time and really boosted the flood on Japanese players coming over.
You got some great picks there. I'd say Kershaw 2000s to current
Piazza 90s
Gibson 80s (most famous HR all-time?)
Koufax before I was born
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