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The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The team is in the Western Division of the National League. The team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known as the Brooklyn Dodgers, before moving to Los Angeles before the 1958 season. Early Brooklyn baseball The borough of Brooklyn was home to outstanding baseball clubs beginning in the mid-1850s. Eight of 16 participants in the first convention were from Brooklyn, including the Atlantic, Eckford and Excelsior clubs that combined to dominate play for most of the 1860s. Brooklyn helped make baseball commercial, as the locale of the first paid admission games, a series of three all star contests matching New York and Brooklyn in 1858. Brooklyn also featured the first two enclosed baseball grounds, the Union Grounds and the Capitoline Grounds; enclosed, dedicated ballparks accelerated the evolution from amateurism to professionalism. Despite the success of Brooklyn clubs in the first Association, officially amateur until 1869, they fielded weak teams in the succeeding National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first professional league formed in 1871. The Excelsiors no longer challenged for the amateur championship after the war and never entered the professional NA. The Eckfords and Atlantics declined to join until 1872 and thereby lost their best players; Eckford survived only one season and Atlantic four, with losing teams. The National League replaced the NA in 1876 and granted exclusive territories to its eight members, excluding the Atlantics in favor of the New York Mutuals who had shared the same home grounds. When the Mutuals were expelled by the League, the Hartford, Connecticut club played its home games at Union Grounds in 1877 before shutting down. Dodgers The Brooklyn baseball club that eventually became the NL Dodgers was established in 1883, and the team joined the upstart American Association the following year. Originally the Brooklyn team was known as the "Trolley Dodgers," a reference to Brooklyn pedestrians who "dodged" the trollies that ran over the maze of streetcar lines that criss-crossed Brooklyn. After several of the team's players were married in succession in 1888, the press began referring to the team as the "Brooklyn Bridegrooms.” The Bridegrooms won the AA pennant in 1889. Upon switching to the National League in 1890, the franchise became the first of only three major league sports teams, and the only major league baseball team, to win championships in different leagues in consecutive years. (The other two sports teams to win consecutive championships in different leagues were the 1948-1949 Minneapolis Lakers and the 1949-1950 Cleveland Browns.) Eight years passed before any more success followed. Because of joint ownership between the two clubs, several Hall of Fame players were sold to Brooklyn by the soon-to-be-defunct Baltimore Orioles, along with their manager, Ned Hanlon. This catapulted Brooklyn to instant contention, and “Brooklyn Superbas" (as the team was known in the late 1890s because the manager shared a surname with "Hanlon's Superbas,” a popular acrobatic troupe at the time) lived up to their name, winning pennants in 1899 and 1900. Teams of this era played in two principal ballparks, Washington Park and Eastern Park. They first earned the nickname “Trolley Dodgers,” later shortened to Dodgers, while at Eastern Park during the 1890s because of the difficulty fans (and players) had in reaching the ballpark due to the number of trolley lines in the area. The name "Trolley Dodgers" is recorded separately in two newspapers on September 3, 1895. * The club also engaged in a series of mergers during this period, acquiring the New York Metropolitans in 1888 for territorial protection and star contracts, merging with the Brooklyn Wonders in 1891 as part of the Players League settlement, and merging with the Baltimore Orioles (NL) in 1900 as part of the National League's consolidation of clubs. In 1902, Hanlon expressed his desire to buy a controlling interest in the team and move it (back, effectively) to Baltimore. His plan was blocked by a lifelong club employee, Charles Ebbets, who put himself heavily in debt to buy the team and keep it in the borough. Ebbets’ ambition did not stop at owning the team. He desired to replace the dilapidated Washington Park with a new ballpark, and again invested heavily to finance the construction of Ebbets Field, which would become the Dodgers' home in 1913. “Uncle Robbie” and the “Daffiness Boys” Manager Wilbert Robinson, another former Oriole, popularly known as “Uncle Robbie,” restored the Brooklyn team to respectability, with his “Brooklyn Robins” winning pennants to reach the 1916 and 1920 World Series, ultimating losing both, but contending perennially for several seasons. Upon assuming the title of president, however, Robinson’s ability to focus on the field declined, and the teams of the late 1920s were often fondly referred to as the “Daffiness Boys” for their distracted, error-ridden style of play. Outfielder Babe Herman was the leader both in hitting and in zaniness. After his removal as club president, Robinson returned to managing, and the club’s performance rebounded somewhat. When Robinson retired in 1931, he was replaced as manager by Max Carey. Although some suggested renaming the "Robins" the "Brooklyn Canaries," after Carey (whose last name was originally "Carnarius"), the name "Brooklyn Dodgers" returned to stay following Robinson's retirement. It was during this era that Willard Mullin, a noted sports cartoonist, fixed the Brooklyn team with the lovable nickname of “Dem Bums.” After hearing his cab driver ask "So how did those bums do today?" Mullin decided to sketch an exaggerated version of famed circus clown Emmett Kelly to represent the Dodgers in his much-praised cartoons in the New York World-Telegram. Both the image and the nickname caught on, so much so that many a Dodger yearbook cover featured a Willard Mullin illustration with the Brooklyn Bum. Perhaps the highlight of the Daffiness Boys era came after Wilbert Robinson had left the dugout. In 1934, New York Giants manager Bill Terry was asked about the Dodgers’ chances in the coming pennant race and cracked infamously, “Is Brooklyn still in the league?” Managed now by Casey Stengel (who played for the Dodgers in the 1910s and would go on to greatness managing another team), the 1934 Dodgers were determined to make their presence felt. As it happened, the season ended with the Giants tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the pennant, with the Giants’ remaining games against the Dodgers. Stengel led his Bums to the Polo Grounds for the showdown and beat the Giants twice to knock them out of the pennant race. The “Gas House Gang” Cardinals nailed the pennant by beating the Reds those same two days. One key development during this era was the 1938 appointment of Leland Stanford MacPhail -- better known as Larry MacPhail -- as the Dodgers' general manager. MacPhail, who brought night baseball to MLB as GM of the Cincinnati Reds, brought night baseball to the Dodgers' home games and ordered the successful refurbishing of Ebbets Field. He also brought Reds voice Red Barber to Brooklyn as the Dodgers' lead announcer in 1939, just after MacPhail broke the New York baseball execs' agreement to ban live baseball broadcasts, a ban enacted because of the fear of what the radio calls would have on the home teams' attendance. MacPhail remained with the Dodgers until 1942, when he returned to the Armed Forces for World War II. (He later became one of the New York Yankees' co-owners, bidding unsuccessfully for Barber to join him in the Bronx as announcer.) MacPhail's surviving son Leland Jr. (Lee MacPhail) and surviving grandson Andy MacPhail also became MLB execs. The first major-league baseball game to be televised was Brooklyn’s 6-1 victory over Cincinnati at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939. Batting helmets were introduced to Major League Baseball by the Dodgers in 1941. Breaking the color line For the first half of the 20th century, not a single African-American played on a Major League Baseball team. A parallel system of Negro Leagues developed, but most of the Negro League were denied a chance to prove their skill before a national audience. Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play for a Major League Baseball team when he played his first major-league game on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. It appears to have happened mainly due to General Manager Branch Rickey's efforts. The deeply religious Rickey's motivation appears to have been primarily moral although business considerations were also present. This event was the harbinger of the integration of sports in the United States, the concomitant demise of the Negro Leagues, and is regarded as a key moment in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. Robinson was an exceptional player, a speedy runner who sparked the whole team with his intensity, and was given the inaugural Rookie of the Year award. Robinson would eventually go on to make the Hall of Fame. “Wait ’til next year!” After the wilderness years of the 1920s and 1930s, the Dodgers were rebuilt into a contending club first by general manager Larry MacPhail and then the legendary Branch Rickey. Led by Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges in the infield, Duke Snider in center field, Roy Campanella behind the plate, and Don Newcombe on the pitcher 's mound, the Dodgers won pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. In all five of those World Series, however, they were defeated by the New York Yankees. The annual ritual of building excitement, followed in the end by disappointment, became old hat to the long suffering fans, and “Wait ’til next year!” became an unofficial Dodger slogan. While the Dodgers generally enjoyed resounding success during this period, in 1951 they fell victim to one of the largest collapses in the history of baseball. On August 11, Brooklyn led the National League by an enormous 13-1/2 games over their archrivals, the New York Giants. However, while the Dodgers went 26-22 from that time until the end of the season, the Giants went on an absolute tear, winning an amazing 37 of their last 44 games. At the conclusion of the season, the Dodgers and the Giants were tied for first place, forcing a three-game playoff for the pennant. The Giants took Game 1 by a score of 3-1 before being shut out by the Dodgers' Clem Labine in Game 2, 10-0. It all came down to the final game, and Brooklyn seemed to have the pennant locked up, holding a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, Giants third baseman Bobby Thomson hit a stunning three-run walk-off home run off the Dodgers' Ralph Branca to secure the NL Championship in dramatic fashion for New York. Today, this home run is known as the Shot Heard 'Round The World and, despite the crushing blow it represented for the Dodgers, is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in baseball history. In 1955, by which time the core of the Dodger team was beginning to age, “next year” finally came. The fabled “Boys of Summer” shot down the Bronx Bombers in seven games, led by the first-class pitching of young left hander Johnny Podres, whose key pitch was a changeup known as “pulling down the lampshade” because of the arm motion used right when the ball was released. Podres won two Series games including the deciding seventh. The turning point of Game 7 was a spectacular double play that began with left fielder Sandy Amoros running down Yogi Berra’s long fly, then throwing perfectly to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who doubled up a surprised Gil McDougald at first base to preserve the Dodger lead. Although the Dodgers again lost the World Series to the Yankees in 1956 (in which they became the victims of history’s only postseason perfect game), it hardly seemed to matter. Brooklyn fans had their memory of triumph, and soon that would be all they were left with. The move to California (1957)
Is OMalley to Blame? There has been much controversy over the move of the Dodgers to California, perhaps more than over any other franchise move of that era. Walter O'Malley, in particular, is described as villainous by some and admirable by others. Some think he demonstrated some measure of selfishness and greed, but the same might also be said of the New York City politicians who opposed him. Both sides were quite stubborn, and fatally misjudged each other. It should also be noted that Brooklyn had declined in many ways, under various social pressures, and was a much less desirable location for a baseball team than it had been. In fact, both sides in the stadium dispute proposed to remove the Dodgers from Brooklyn (Moses' plan for a team in Flushing Meadows was realized several years later, with little alteration, when the New York Mets began playing in Shea Stadium). O'Malley also deserves credit as a visionary. Until 1958, cities in Missouri had generally been the westernmost outpost of Major League Baseball, whereas 12 of baseball's 30 teams now have their homes farther west. On the opposite side, the Dodgers were the second-most profitable team in the National League in the 1950s, even with the deficiencies of Ebbets Field. Other teams (like the Boston Red Sox) proved successful in facilities that were as old as Ebbets Field, and the New York Yankees still drew large crowds to the Bronx, in a neighborhood facing many of the changes and challenges that Brooklyn did. Robert Moses' motives for opposing O'Malley's stadium may not have been without foundation: the Dodgers' owner wanted to drop a cookie-cutter stadium in the middle of Flatbush, which would have required a massive urban renewal project that would have been politically and financially problematic. Moses also felt the development there would create a "China Wall" of traffic. The site remains problematic: The proposed Atlantic Yards development in Flatbush has run into opposition from Brooklyn politicians and community activists, who say its scale could ruin the neighborhood's character. Many writers have suspected O'Malley of deliberately making his stadium proposal impractical, in order to bolster his claim that New York politicians drove him out of Brooklyn. It has been noted that O'Malley kept a model of the Dodgers' new stadium on his desk and publicly touted its merits while privately negotiating with Los Angeles politicians. Many Moses scholars would, however, point to Moses' almost pathologically uncompromising nature; Moses was openly dismissive of public and press criticism of his projects, and the political structure of New York City in the 1950's was such that he nearly always got his way. Still, prominent New York leaders learned how to deal with Moses for mutually beneficial projects: Francis Cardinal Spellman was even able to pressure Moses to build a Manhattan expansion for Fordham University. By the 1950s, only Queens had large undeveloped areas of land in New York City, a fact O'Malley was keenly aware of. Moreover, O'Malley was hardly the first team owner to see the possibilities of Los Angeles. The St. Louis Browns attempted to move there after the 1941 season; a vote on the proposed relocation was scheduled but cancelled due to the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. Kansas City Athletics owner Arnold Johnson was rumored to have parked the A's in Kansas City while waiting to move the team out to California, and the American League would soon expand to Los Angeles in 1961. During the 2000 World Series, Roger Kahn wrote an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times in which he recalled sitting on a panel of New York State and City officials to explore the purchase of the Dodgers. The O'Malley family put the team up for sale in 1998, and the panel was charged with exploring the possibility of moving the Dodgers back to Brooklyn. Kahn said the officials came up with a preliminary offer which was rejected by the O'Malleys; the figure, he said, was larger than the price Rupert Murdoch eventually paid for the team. Kahn argued that the O'Malleys rejected the offer because the story of the Dodgers being thrown out of New York was an essential part of the team's mythology. Kahn said the O'Malleys needed the myth more than the money. However, it is possible to look at O'Malley's entire record as a baseball-team executive, from 1942 to 1979, and believe he was justified in moving the Dodgers, and still believe him to have been one of baseball's great villains, due to how he gained control of the team, how he treated his players, how he got Dodger Stadium built, how he treated the Angels while they shared Dodger Stadium, and his apparent role in controlling the office of the Commissioner of Baseball and its decisions. A new start The process of building Walter O'Malley's dream stadium soon began in semi-rural Chavez Ravine, in the hills just north of downtown L.A. There was some political controversy, as the residents of the ravine, mostly Hispanic and mostly poor, resisted the eminent domain removal of their homes, and gained some public sympathy. Still, O'Malley and the city government were determined, and construction proceeded. The resistance of the residents against their removal was known as the Battle of Chavez Ravine. In the meantime, the Dodgers played their home games from 1958 to 1961 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a gargantuan football and track-and-field stadium that had been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympics. The Coliseum's dimensions were not optimal for baseball, and the only way to fit a diamond into the oval-shaped stadium was to lay the third-base line along the short axis of the oval, and the first-base line along the long axis. See picture. This resulted in a left-field fence that was only some 250 feet from home plate, and a 40-foot screen was erected to prevent home runs from becoming too easy to hit. Still, the 1958 season saw 182 home runs hit to left field in the Coliseum, while only 3 were hit to center field and 8 to right field. Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon, newly acquired for the 1959 season, became adept at launching lazy fly balls over the screen, which became known as "Moon shots." In 1959, the Dodgers benefited from a general decline in the National League. No team was dominant, and several teams were in the thick of the pennant race until the very end. The season ended in a tie between the Dodgers and the Milwaukee Braves, and the Dodgers won the tie-breaking playoff. 1959 also saw a team other than the Yankees win the A.L. pennant, one of only two such years in the 16-year stretch from 1949 through 1964. In a lively World Series, the Dodgers defeated the "Go-Go" White Sox in 6 games, thoroughly cementing the bond between the team and its new California fans. Pitching, defense, and speed
The Lasorda years For 23 years, beginning in 1954, the Dodgers had been managed by Walter Alston, a quiet and unflappable man who commanded great respect from his players. Alston's tenure is the third-longest in baseball history for a manager with a single team, after Connie Mack and John McGraw. His retirement near the end of the 1976 season, after winning 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles over his career, cleared the way for an entirely different personality to take the helm of the Dodgers. Tommy Lasorda was a 49-year-old former pitcher (never very successful in that capacity) who had been the team's top coach under Alston, and before that had been manager of the Dodgers' top minor league team. He was colorful and gregarious, an enthusiastic cheerleader in contrast to Alston's taciturn demeanor. He quickly became a larger-than-life personality, associating with Frank Sinatra and other celebrities, and eating Italian food in large volumes. He became well-known for sayings such as, "If you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue," and for referring to God as "the big Dodger in the sky." Although some considered his persona to be a schtick and to find it wearing, his enthusiasm won him a reputation as an "ambassador for baseball," and it is impossible to think of the Dodgers from the late '70s to the early '90s without thinking of Lasorda. Another transition had recently occurred, higher up in the Dodgers management. Walter O'Malley passed control of the team to his son Peter, who would continue to oversee the Dodgers on his family's behalf through 1998. New blood had also been injected into the team on the field. The core of the team was now the infield, composed of Steve Garvey (1B), Davey Lopes (2B), Bill Russell (SS), and Ron Cey (3B). These four remained in the starting lineup together from 1973 to 1981, longer than any other infield foursome in baseball history. The pitching staff remained strong, anchored by Don Sutton and Tommy John. The Dodgers won NL West titles in both 1977 and 1978, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies both years in the National League Championship Series, only to be defeated in the World Series both years by the Yankees. In 1980, they swept a three game series from the Houston Astros in the final weekend of the regular season and were in a first place tie in the National League West, but lost to the Astros. 7-1 in the one-game playoff. The 1980s: Fernandomania and the Bulldog The Opening Day starting pitcher for 1981 was a 20-year-old rookie from Mexico: Fernando Valenzuela. Pressed into service due to an injury to Jerry Reuss, Valenzuela pitched a shutout that day, and proceeded to win his first 8 decisions through mid-May. The youthful left-hander, speaking only Spanish but sporting a devastating screwball, became a sensation. “Fernandomania” gripped Southern California, as huge crowds turned out to see him pitch. Valenzuela became the only pitcher ever to be named Rookie of the Year and win the Cy Young Award in the same season. The Dodgers' torrid start assured them of a playoff berth in the strike-shortened split season, and they proceeded to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983 and 1985, but lost in the NLCS both those years (to the Phillies and Cardinals, respectively). The 1985 NLCS was particularly memorable for Game 6, in which the Dodgers were protecting a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning, hoping to force a deciding seventh game. With two runners on and first base open, Lasorda elected not to walk Cards slugger Jack Clark, who proceeded to hit a home run off Tom Niedenfuer and send St. Louis to the World Series. After seven years of high strikeout totals, and a 21-win season in 1986, Valenzuela sat out for most of the 1988 season. Plagued by arm troubles that were widely blamed on his being overused by Lasorda, his effectiveness faded before he turned 30. The new anchor of the pitching staff was a bespectacled string-bean of a right-hander named Orel Hershiser. He had been given the nickname "Bulldog" by Lasorda, more as a hopeful motivational tool than an objective description of his personality, but by 1988 he had matured into one of baseball's most effective pitchers. That year he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award, and broke Don Drysdale's record by tossing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, ending with a 10-inning shutout on his final start of the season. The 1988 World Series Championship Team: "The Impossible Has Happened!" The 1988 Championship is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were hardly baseball's best team on paper. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson (the league's Most Valuable Player that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets, the Dodgers pulled out a thrilling back-and-forth series in 7 games. The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland Athletics, featuring the "Bash Brothers" duo of Mark McGwire and José Canseco. The A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam by Canseco, and led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, pinch-hitter Mike Davis drew a walk off formidable closer and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley. During Davis' at-bat, Lasorda had infielder Dave Anderson on deck so the Athletics would pitch to him more carefully. Then, Gibson, hobbled by injuries to both his legs, came in to pinch hit. On a 3-2 count, Eckerlsley threw a backdoor slider which Gibson promptly smacked to right field for a two-run walk-off home run, winning the game for the Dodgers, 5-4. Gibson's dramatic home run has been called one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, and it set the tone for the rest of the Series. Hershiser dominated the Athletics in Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the Dodgers completed their stunning 4 games to 1 upset of the A's; he capped off an incredible personal season by being named the Series MVP. Few remember that the Dodgers were so injury riddled during their World Series appearance. They won the Series in Game 5 with lifetime reserves Danny Heep and Micky Hatcher in the starting lineup. The Nineties and the Fox Era After 1988, the Dodgers did not win another postseason game until 2004, though they did reach the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, narrowly missed in 1991, and led the NL West when the end of the 1994 season was cancelled by a strike. Hershiser, like Valenzuela before him, suffered an arm injury in 1990 due to overwork, which took the edge off his effectiveness for the remainder of his career. From 1992 to 1996, five consecutive Dodgers were named Rookie of the Year: Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí, Hideo Nomo, and Todd Hollandsworth. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remains with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell. Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954-1996, owned by a single family 1950-1998) finally came to an end. In 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, owner of the Fox network and 20th Century Fox. Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with celebrity manager Davey Johnson. Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy. To fans accustomed to the personal touch of the O'Malleys, the Fox corporate ownership often seemed clumsy and distracted. Huge contracts were awarded to injury-prone pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort, unprofitably tying up money that could have improved the team in many other areas. Fox made the first changes to the home uniform since the club moved from Brooklyn and introduced the team's first alternate jersey and cap, adding silver to the team's official colors. Yet the team became more steady on the field in the early 2000's, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, slugger Shawn Green, third baseman Adrián Beltré, and catcher Paul Lo Duca. The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Éric Gagné as one of baseball's top relief pitchers. Gagné later won the Cy Young Award in 2003. The Sabermetric Experiment In 2004, the Dodgers were returned to family ownership, as News Corp sold the team to real estate developer Frank McCourt. McCourt immediately hired Paul DePodesta, schooled in Billy Beane's methods of using statistical approaches to evaluate players, as general manager. With a team largely assembled by DePodesta's predecessors, augmented by some shrewd acquisitions, the Dodgers were near the top of the standings through much of 2004. In an effort to put the team over the top, DePodesta then executed a blockbuster series of mid-season trades, sending away three starting players (including popular team leader LoDuca) and two key pitchers, while obtaining several new players. The Dodgers did win the NL West in 2004, but went down quickly three games to one in the Division Series to the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. During the winter of 2004-05, the team parted with several more longtime players, including Beltre and Green. Their replacements included starting pitcher Derek Lowe, outfielder J. D. Drew, and hard-hitting second baseman Jeff Kent. DePodesta's radical overhaul did not bear fruit in 2005, as the Dodgers suffered from clubhouse strife and decimating injuries, finishing with their second-worst record in Los Angeles history. Supporters of DePodesta note that many of the players he let go also had sub-par seasons elsewhere, but he was widely blamed for ignoring "chemistry" and other intangible factors in the players he acquired or let go. Also, the Dodgers faced an overwhelming number of injuries, such as Drew's broken wrist and All-Star shortstop Cesar Izturis's injury that required Tommy John Surgery. Manager Jim Tracy parted ways with the team, citing irreconcilable differences with DePodesta. But DePodesta himself was fired by McCourt less than a month later, McCourt later citing DePodesta's lack of leadership and personal skills. Ned Colletti was hired as the new Dodger GM on 16 November 2005. Ned Colletti and the 2006 Turnaround Newly hired Ned Colletti was responsible for the Dodgers resurgence in the 2006 season. He hired former Red Sox manager Grady Little to help the team and also traded oft-troubled Milton Bradley for rookie phenom Andre Ethier. His off season acquisitions included former Atlanta Brave shortstop Rafael Furcal and former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller. Coletti also signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to a team that already had two starting shortstops (Furcal and the then-injured Cesar Izturis). Garciappara agreed to play first base and adjusted quite well both in the field and at the plate. Due to the crowded infield, untimely injuries and the mediocre track record of several players, the team was rebuilt during the season. The flurry of trading saw Cesar Izturis go to the Chicago Cubs for Greg Maddux while Willy Aybar and Dany Baez went to Atlanta for Wilson Betemit. A series of rookies were called up with two, catcher Russell Martin and starting pitcher Chad Billingsley, winning starting spots on the team. Another key move saw reliever Takashi Saito designated as closer where he compiled a 2.07 ERA with 24 saves in 26 oppurtunities. At the end of 2006, the Dodgers swept the San Francisco Giants in the last series of the season to land them an 88-74 record and a tie with the San Diego Padres for first place in the divison. Due to a losing record to the Padres, however, the Dodgers had to settle for the wild card spot. They were swept, 3-0, by the New York Mets in the 2006 National League Division Series; they lost the first two games at Shea Stadium, 6-5 and 4-1, and the third game at Dodger Stadium, 9-5. The 2006 season witnessed several historic moments: Team nickname Prior to the declaration of an official team nickname in 1933, sportswriters and fans applied a number of nicknames to the club. Early names included the Brooks and the Bridegrooms (after several players married prior to the 1888 season). When the streetcar lines were set up in Brooklyn, writers began calling the city and the team by the somewhat pejorative term Trolley Dodgers, which became shortened to Dodgers. Under manager Ned Hanlon (1899-1905), the team became known as the Superbas, after a popular (though unrelated) acrobatic troupe at that time called "Hanlon's Superbas." Under manager Wilbert Robinson (1914-1931), the team was known as the Robins, though newspapers used Robins and Dodgers interchangeably, often in the same game summary. No nickname was acknowledged on team uniforms until 1933, when the word Dodgers finally appeared. Prior to that, they had sported either the word "Brooklyn" or a stylized letter "B."Also known as The Blue Crew Rivalry with the Giants The historic and heated rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants is more than a century old, having begun when both clubs played in New York City (the Dodgers in Brooklyn and the Giants in Manhattan). When both franchises moved to California in 1958, the rivalry was easily transplanted with them, as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have long been rivals in economic, cultural, and political arenas throughout the history of the State of California. Dodger fans call the Giants "The Gnats" or "The Jints" -- but then again, fans in Brooklyn referred to their team as "dem Bums." Fortunately for Dodgers fans, the "Gnats" haven't won a World Series since moving to San francisco. Vin Scully Vin Scully has served as the play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers for 57 years, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single club in professional sports history. In 1976, he was selected by Dodgers fans as the Most Memorable Personality (on the field or off) of the team's history in L.A. He is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Unique to baseball, he works normally alone and simulcasts on TV and radio. Season-by-Season Records Quick facts Founded: 1855, as a member of the National Association of Baseball Players and National Association and minor Inter-State League. The team moved up to the American Association in 1884 and transferred to the National League in 1890. Chairman: Frank McCourt Vice Chairman and President: Jamie McCourt Special Advisor to the Chairman: Tommy Lasorda Chief Operating Officer: Martin Greenspun General Manager: Ned Colletti Logo design: cursive "Dodgers" superimposed over a red streaming baseball Team motto: Think Blue Uniform: cap is "Dodger blue" with white "LA" (letters overlapped) centered on front of cap; home is "Dodger blue" on white, jersey has cursive "Dodgers" (similar to logo but without baseball) across chest; away is "Dodger blue" on gray, jersey has similar cursive "Los Angeles" across chest; names were printed on back of home or away jerseys from circa 1970 to 2004. The names on the back will be restored for the 2007 season, after a two-year absence. Radio: KFWB Local Televison: FSN Prime Ticket (Formerly FSN West 2), KCAL Spring Training Facility: Holman Stadium, Vero Beach, FL World Series Wins: 6 (1 Brooklyn, 5 Los Angeles) Rivals: San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Logos: Image:BrooklynDodgersLogo.jpg|Brooklyn Dodger "B" logo Image:Dodgers_logo.jpg|Los Angeles Dodgers logo Image:Dodgers3dlogo.jpg|Los Angeles Dodgers "3D" logo Image:Los.gif|Los Angeles Dodgers "LA" logo Image:BRO-D_682.gif|Brookyln Dodgers "Brooklyn" Script Image:BRO-D_6150.gif|Brookyln Dodgers "Dodgers" Script Image:LA 1142.gif|Los Angeles Dodgers "Los Angeles" Script Image:LA_1132.gif|Los Angeles Dodgers "Dodgers" Script (1958-1971) Image:LA_1133.gif|Los Angeles Dodgers "Dodgers" Script (1972-Present) Baseball Hall of Famers Alston, Drysdale, Koufax, Lasorda and Sutton are the only Hall-of-Famers elected primarily for their service with Los Angeles. Bunning pitched 9 games with Los Angeles in 1969, Marichal 2 games in 1975. Retired numbers Robinson's Koufax, Campanella, and Robinson were the first Dodgers to have their numbers retired. They were all retired in a ceremony at Dodger Stadium on June 4, 1972. Snider, Robinson, and Drysdale were all natives of Los Angeles, but only Drysdale was known for his great play during the Los Angeles era. Though a Brooklyn native, Koufax had his best years while the Dodgers were in Los Angeles. Gilliam died suddenly in 1978 at the age of 49. The Dodgers retired his number promptly after his death. Campanella would have played for the Dodgers in Los Angeles, but before the 1958 season he was paralyzed in a career ending automobile accident. Presidents Current roster Minor league affiliations Recommended reading See also | |||||||||||
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