All-Time Dodgers Team

From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the boys in blue have produced some of the greatest players in baseball history.

All-Time Dodgers Team

Sandy Koufax was one of the best pitchers in baseball history.

If not for the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers could be the greatest franchise in Major League Baseball history.

The Dodgers rank second behind the Yankees in pennants won and World Series appearances (20), yet they have lost in the Fall Classic a whopping 14 times, 10 of which came against their former intracity rivals from the Bronx.

They say pitching wins championships, and the Dodgers have had no shortage of pitching— whether it was in Brooklyn or Los Angeles, where they moved before the 1958 season. Still, some of the greatest players have donned a Dodgers uniform, and each was called by arguably the finest play-by-play voice in sports history, Vin Scully.

This is the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers all-time 25-man roster.

Roy Campanella — Catcher

Experience: 10 seasons (1948-57, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 1,215 games, .276/.360/.500, 242 HR, 856 RBI, 8-time NL All-Star, 3 NL MVPs (1951, 1953, 1955)

World Series titles: 1 (1955)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Roy Campanella is one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, who guided the Dodgers to five World Series appearances in his 10 big league seasons.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969, and had his No. 39 retired on June 4, 1972.

Campanella could’ve done more if not for an automobile accident that left him paralyzed, but he still ranks eighth all-time in RBI in franchise history.

Steve Garvey — First Base

Experience: 19 seasons (1969-87)

Years with Dodgers: 14 seasons (1969-82)

Career stats: 2,332 games, .294/.329/.446, 272 HR, 1,308 RBI, 10-time NL All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves, 1974 NL MVP

Dodgers stats: 1,727 games, .301/.337/.459, 211 HR, 992 RBI, 8-time NL All-Star, 4 Gold Gloves, 1974 NL MVP

World Series titles: 1 (1981)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Steve Garvey edges out Eric Karros, mostly because of his playoff statistics, where he was NLCS MVP in a sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, and batted .417 against the Yankees in the Dodgers' World Series win in 1981.

Garvey was the model of consistency in his tenure in Los Angeles, playing every game for seven straight seasons while also posting double-digit homers and 60-plus RBI and reaching the All-Star Game in six of those years.

Jackie Robinson — Second Base

Experience: 10 seasons (1947-56, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 1,382 games, .311/.409/.474, 137 HR, 734 RBI, 6-time NL All-Star, 1947 NL Rookie of the Year, 1949 NL MVP

World Series titles: 1 (1955)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in the majors, but he proved he belonged very quickly.

Robinson could do it all, leading the National League in batting average and steals while also driving in 124 runs in 1949, the season he won his MVP award. He helped Brooklyn reach the World Series six times, winning the Dodgers’ lone championship in New York in 1955, and was the consummate Dodger.

He retired after the 1956 season after Brooklyn was poised to trade him across town to the Giants.

Pee Wee Reese — Shortstop

Experience: 16 seasons (1940-58, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 2,166 games, .269/.366/.377, 126 HR, 885 RBI, 10-time NL All-Star.

World Series titles: 1 (1955)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Pee Wee Reese was the other half of Robinson’s double-play combo, with Reese playing the role of veteran mainstay who helped Robinson ingratiate himself in the bigs.

But make no mistake, Reese was exceptional, finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting eight times while placing in the top 10 in Dodgers franchise history in at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, runs scored and WAR.

Ron Cey — Third Base

Experience: 17 seasons (1971-87)

Years with Dodgers: 12 seasons (1971-82)

Career stats: 2,073 games, .261/.359/.445, 316 HR, 1,139 RBI, 6-time NL All-Star

Dodgers stats: 1,481 games, .264/.359/.445, 228 HR, 842 RBI, 6-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 1 (1981)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Ron Cey directly influenced the Dodgers’ only World Series championship win against the Yankees in Los Angeles by hitting .350 with six RBIs, earning MVP honors in the 1981 Fall Classic.

Cey was an offensive force for three World Series appearances, hitting 20-plus homers 10 times in his 17-season career and driving in 100-plus runs twice.

Duke Snider — Center Field

Experience: 18 seasons (1947-1964)

Years with Dodgers: 16 seasons (1947-62)

Career stats: 2,143 games, .295/.380/.540, 407 HR, 1,333 RBI, 8-time NL All-Star

Dodgers stats: 1,923 games, .300/.384/.553, 389 HR, 1,271 RBI, 7-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 2 (1955, 1959)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: The "Duke of Flatbush" is arguably the greatest player in Dodgers history, and one-third of an iconic New York outfield troika that included Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Snider led the NL in runs scored three times and drove in 100-plus six times, including a career-high 136 in the championship season of 1955.

Snider followed that season by hitting .320 with four homers and seven RBIs, lifting the Dodgers to their only World Series championship in Brooklyn.

Pedro Guerrero — Right Field

Experience: 16 seasons (1978-92)

Years with Dodgers: 11 seasons (1978-88)

Career stats: 1,536 games, .300/.370/.480, 215 HR, 898 RBI, 6-time NL All-Star, 1-time Silver Slugger

Dodgers stats: 1,036 games, .309/.381/.512, 171 HR, 585 RBI, 5-time NL All-Star, 1-time Silver Slugger

World Series titles: 1 (1981)

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Aside from Duke Snider, the Dodgers aren’t rife with great outfielders, so Pedro Guerrero edges Carl Furillo and others as the third outfielder.

Guerrero was an All-Star on the team that won the World Series in 1981, then won World Series MVP by batting .333 with two homers and seven RBIs.

He finished in the top three in MVP voting twice, in 1983 and 1985, helping Los Angeles reach the playoffs both years.

Zack Wheat — Left Field

Experience: 19 seasons (1909-27)

Years with Dodgers: 18 seasons (1909-26)

Career stats: 2,410 games, .317/.367/.450, 132 HR, 1,248 RBI

Dodgers stats: 2,322 games, .317/.367/.452, 131 HR, 1,210 RBI

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Starter

Bottom line: Zack Wheat was an elite hitter in the dead ball era, who had more triples (172) than home runs (132) in his big league career.

Wheat still holds the franchise record for hits and bases, as well as singles, doubles and triples, no small feat given the franchise’s rich history.

Mike Piazza — Catcher

Experience: 16 seasons (1992-2007)

Years with Dodgers: 7 seasons (1992-98)

Career stats: 1,912 games, .308/.377/.545, 427 HR, 1,335 RBI, 12-time NL All-Star, 10-time Silver Slugger, 1993 NL Rookie of the Year

Dodgers stats: 726 games, .331/.394/.572, 177 HR, 563 RBI, 5-time NL All-Star, 5-time Silver Slugger, 1993 NL Rookie of the Year

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Roy Campanella is arguably the greatest catcher in major league history, which puts Mike Piazza on the bench for these exercises.

If the NL had a DH, Piazza would be the perfect fit, but he played in the Senior Circuit his entire career. Piazza was arguably the best hitting catcher of his day, specifically in Los Angeles, where he hit 30-plus homers four times, was NL MVP runner-up twice and was the Silver Slugger every season with the Dodgers.

Piazza could’ve been the greatest catcher in franchise history had he hung around, but he was traded to the Florida Marlins, then the New York Mets, where he helped them reach the World Series in 2000.

Maury Wills — Infielder

Experience: 14 seasons (1959-72)

Years with Dodgers: 12 seasons (1959-66, 1969-72)

Career stats: 1,942 games, .281/.330/.331, 20 HR, 458 RBI, 7-time NL All-Star, 2-time NL Gold Glove winner, 1962 NL MVP

Dodgers stats: 1,593 games, .281/.331/.332, 17 HR, 374 RBI, 5-time NL All-Star, 2-time NL Gold Glove winner, 1962 NL MVP

World Series titles: 3 (1959, 1963, 1965)

All-time Dodgers team role: Reserve

Bottom line: Maury Wills only hit 20 home runs in his big league career, and 17 with the Dodgers, but we like his stellar fielding and wheels off the bench as a reserve.

Wills led the National League in stolen bases in six seasons, topping off with 104 steals in his MVP season of 1962.

He was a catalyst for Los Angeles’ World Series championship team in 1965, leading the team with 11 hits in seven games, and helped the Dodgers win three championships during his tenure.

Kirk Gibson — Outfielder

Experience: 17 seasons (1979-95)

Years with Dodgers: 3 seasons (1988-90)

Career stats: 1,635 games, .268/.352/.463, 255 HR, 870 RBI, 1988 NL MVP

Dodgers stats: 310 games, .264/.353/.433, 42 HR, 142 RBI, 1988 NL MVP

World Series titles: 2 (1984, 1988)

All-time Dodgers team role: Reserve

Bottom line: We trust Kirk Gibson to "run into one" off the bench, as he did off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

Gibson was the 1988 NL MVP and carried Los Angeles to the World Series before dramatically altering it with one swing of the bat.

His iconic homer was his only plate appearance of the series, as a leg injury kept him from starting that game and playing the subsequent three games, but it set the tone of one of the most unlikely outcomes in World Series history.

Sandy Koufax — Left-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 12 seasons (1955-66, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 397 games, 165-87, 2.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 2,324.1 IP, 2,396 K, 817 BB, 6-time NL All-Star, 3-time Cy Young Award, 1963 NL MVP.

World Series titles: 3 (1959, 1963, 1965)

All-time Dodgers team role: No. 1 starter

Bottom line: Sandy Koufax is the greatest pitcher who ever lived and would be the ace of even the Dodgers' all-time team.

He finished with only 165 career wins, but only because he retired as a 30-year-old after the 1966 season. Koufax was an All-Star in each of his final six seasons, won three Cy Young Awards — in an age where only one Cy Young Award was given across the major leages -- and was the MVP of the 1963 season and World Series.

His 0.95 World Series ERA is the lowest of any pitcher with at least 40 innings pitched, and ranks seventh all-time among qualifiers. Koufax was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972 on the first ballot.

Don Drysdale — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 14 seasons (1956-69, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 518 games, 209-166, 2.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3,432 IP, 2,486 K, 855 BB, 9-time NL All-Star, 1962 Cy Young Award

World Series titles: 3 (1959, 1963, 1965)

All-time Dodgers team role: No. 2 starter

Bottom line: Don Drysdale would be the ace of any other team’s all-time staff, but he’s a really solid No. 2 in the Dodgers' organization.

Koufax and Drysdale were the 1-2 punch of starters, and no surprise that they presided over the most successful run in the organization’s history.

Drysdale ranks second among Dodgers pitchers in wins, starts, innings, strikeouts and WAR, and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

Clayton Kershaw — Left-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 12 seasons (2008-present, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 347 games, 169-74, 2.44 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 2,274.2 IP, 2,464 K, 577 BB, 8-time NL All-Star, Gold Glove Award, 3-time NL Cy Young Award, 2014 NL MVP

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: No. 3 starter

Bottom line: Clayton Kershaw has had a more dominant run of success than Sandy Koufax, which is quite a feat given Koufax’s impressive resume.

Kershaw has been baseball’s best pitcher for the better part of a decade, but he doesn’t have a World Series championship to his ledger. In an age of offense, Kershaw has had three sub-2 ERA seasons, including his 2014 campaign, where he went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA and won the NL Cy Young Award and MVP.

Kershaw falls to third in the staff, mostly because of his playoff struggles. He’s 9-11 with a 4.43 ERA in 158.1 innings in the playoffs, and an uncharacteristic 5.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 26.2 World Series innings.

Orel Hershiser — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 18 seasons (1983-2000)

Years with Dodgers: 13 seasons (1983-94, 2000)

Career stats: 510 games, 204-150, 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 3,130.1 IP, 2,014 K, 1,007 BB, 1988 NL Cy Young Award

Dodgers stats: 353 games, 135-107, 3.12 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2,180.2 IP, 1,456 K, 667 BB, 1988 NL Cy Young Award

World Series titles: 1 (1988)

All-time Dodgers team role: No. 4 starter

Bottom line: Orel Hershiser, aptly nicknamed "Bulldog," was the ace of the Dodgers' staff, winning his lone Cy Young Award in 1988 and the NLCS and World Series MVP by winning two starts in Los Angeles’ stunning victory over the A’s in the World Series.

Hershiser won 23 games that season, and broke Drysdale’s major league record for consecutive scoreless innings with 59. But Hershiser had a 3.12 ERA in 2,180.2 innings in a Dodgers uniform and led the NL in innings three straight seasons between 1987-89.

Hershiser made his living in the playoffs especially, winning his first seven postseason decisions. He was 4-0 with four complete games in seven playoff starts with the Dodgers.

Don Sutton — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 23 seasons (1966-88)

Years with Dodgers: 16 seasons (1966-80, 1988)

Career stats: 774 games, 324-256, 3.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5,282.1 IP, 3,574 K, 1,343 BB, 4-time NL All-Star

Dodgers stats: 550 games, 233-181, 3.09 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3,816.1 IP, 2,696 K, 996 BB, 4-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: No. 5 starter

Bottom line: We added Don Sutton simply because he needed to be on the list, and no other starting pitcher could be supplanted. Sutton leads the Dodgers in almost every major pitching category, simply because of his 16-season career in Los Angeles.

Sutton’s tenure fell in the longest World Series championship drought in franchise history. Sutton still made 10 playoff starts in a Dodgers uniform, going 5-3, and even was 2-2 in six World Series starts with Los Angeles. But the team couldn’t ever get past the Yankees, dropping the Series to the Bronx Bombers in 1977 and 1978.

Don Newcombe — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 10 seasons (1949-60)

Years with Dodgers: 8 seasons (1949-58)

Career stats: 344 games, 149-90, 7 saves, 3.56 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2,154.2 IP, 1,129 K, 490 BB, 4-time NL All-Star, 1949 NL Rookie of the Year, 1956 Cy Young Award, 1956 NL MVP

Dodgers stats: 258 games, 123-66, 4 saves, 3.62 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 1,662.2 IP, 913 K, 413 BB, 4-time NL All-Star, 1949 NL Rookie of the Year, 1956 Cy Young Award, 1956 NL MVP

World Series titles: 1 (1955)

All-time Dodgers team role: Relief pitcher

Bottom line: The fact Don Newcombe couldn’t crack this staff as a starter just shows how loaded the Dodgers all-time pitching staff is. Newcombe falls short of the rotation based mostly on his postseason numbers — Newcombe was 0-4 in five starts with an ERA of 8.59.

Still, in an age of one Cy Young Award, and with Drysdale and Koufax on his staff, Koufax led the majors in wins (27), WHIP (0.99) and claimed the Cy Young Award and NL MVP in 1956.

The year prior. he was a 20-game winner and an All-Star for the World Series champions, one of his three 20-win seasons.

Fernando Valenzuela — Left-Handed Pitcher

Relief pitcher

Experience: 17 seasons (1980-97)

Years with Dodgers: 11 seasons (1980-90)

Career stats: 453 games, 173-153, 3.54 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2,930 IP, 2,074 K, 1,154 BB, 6-time NL All-Star, 1981 NL Cy Young Award

Dodgers stats: 331 games, 141-116, 2 saves, 3.31 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 2348.2 IP, 1,759 K, 915 BB, 6-time NL All-Star, 1981 NL Cy Young Award, 1981 NL Rookie of the Year

World Series titles: 2 (1981, 1988)

All-time Dodgers team role: Lefty specialist

Bottom line: We’d love to have Fernando Valenzuela on the team as a starter, but also can’t go wrong with him as a lefty specialist coming out of the bullpen, particularly with his devastating screwball.

Valenzuela lit Los Angeles on fire during the 1981 season, when he won both NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, but even though Fernando-mania cooled later in the 1980s, Valenzuela still carved out an excellent career in Los Angeles.

He’d be a tough player to leave off, even though the bullpen doesn’t necessarily showcase his talents most effectively.

Johnny Podres — Left-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 15 seasons (1953-69)

Years with Dodgers: 13 seasons (1953-66)

Career stats: 440 games, 148-116, 10 saves, 3.68 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2,265 IP, 1,435 K, 743 BB, 3-time NL All-Star

Dodgers stats: 366 games, 136-104, 6 saves, 3.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2,029.1 IP, 1,331 K, 670 BB, 3-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 3 (1955, 1959, 1963)

All-time Dodgers team role: Lefty specialist

Bottom line: Johnny Podres, a lefty, would be one of two left-handers coming out of our bullpen, and he finished 26 games and picked up six saves during his tenure with the Dodgers.

Podres was a fixture for three World Series championship teams, including the 1955 club where he was the World Series MVP, going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in two starts for the only championship the franchise won in Brooklyn.

We think Podres could give us length, either as a long man, opener-type pitcher or even someone to pick up an out against a tough left-handed hitter.

Bob Welch — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 17 seasons (1978-94)

Years with Dodgers: 10 seasons (1978-87)

Career stats: 506 games, 211-146, 8 saves, 3.47 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 3,092 IP, 1,969 K, 1,034 BB, 2-time All-Star, 1990 AL Cy Young Award

Dodgers stats: 292 games, 115-86, 8 saves, 3.14 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 1,820.2 IP, 1,292 K, 565 BB, NL All-Star

World Series titles: 2 (1981, 1989)

All-time Dodgers team role: Long reliever

Bottom line: Bob Welch came up as a reliever/starter in the Dodgers' system in 1978, and famously locked down Game 2 of the 1978 World Series by striking out Reggie Jackson in an epic at-bat for the first of his two postseason saves.

Welch took off with the Oakland Athletics organization, winning the AL Cy Young Award with Oakland in 1990. Welch transitioned as a starter, where he developed as a formidable second option to Hershiser.

He won 115 games and reached the All-Star Game in 1980.

Nap Rucker — Left-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 10 seasons (1907-16, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 336 games, 134-134, 14 saves, 2.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2,375.1 IP, 1,217 K, 701 BB

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Lefty specialist

Bottom line: Few know Nap Rucker’s full story, but we want him on the roster as a lefty specialist.

Rucker may have pitched in an era where starters finished their own games, but Rucker still finished with 14 career saves, and finished his only World Series appearance with two scoreless innings.

Rucker’s credentials are worthy, despite the fact he finished under .500 in five of his 10 seasons with Brooklyn. His 2.42 ERA is better than Sandy Koufax, and ranks third in franchise history behind only Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Jeff Pfeffer.

And he’d be more than capable at giving us a spot start — since he threw 200-plus innings in seven seasons and 300-plus in four campaigns.

Todd Worrell — Right-Handed Pitcher

Experience: 11 seasons (1985-97)

Years with Dodgers: 5 seasons (1993-97)

Career stats: 617 games, 50-52, 256 saves, 3.09 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 693.2 IP, 628 K, 247 BB, 3-time NL All-Star, 1986 NL Rookie of the Year,

Dodgers stats: 269 games, 17-19, 127 saves, 3.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 268 IP, 263 K, 80 BB, 2-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Setup man

Bottom line: Todd Worrell was one of the first closers in Dodgers history, as baseball was evolving to the point that a team’s best pitcher would enter at the end of games.

We like Worrell in a setup role, since he was the setup man for Lee Smith in St. Louis before signing a three-year, $9.5 million contract with the Dodgers before the 1993 season.

Worrell scuffled in his first two seasons, then locked down 111 games in his final three campaigns in Los Angeles, helping the Dodgers reach the playoffs as the NL wild card in 1996.

Eric Gagne — Right-Handed Paitcher

Experience: 10 seasons (1999-2008)

Years with Dodgers: 8 seasons (1999-2006)

Career stats: 402 games, 33-26, 187 saves, 3.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 643? IP, 718 K, 226 BB, 3-time NL All-Star, 2003 NL Cy Young Award

Dodgers stats: 298 games, 25-21, 161 saves, 3.27 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 545? IP, 629 K, 183 BB, 3-time NL All-Star, 2003 NL Cy Young Award

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Righty specialist

Bottom line: Eric Gagne had the greatest stretch of any closer, which is no small feat given how baseball has evolved.

He locked down an eye-popping 161 of 167 save opportunities in his career with the Dodgers, including 84 in a row between 2002 and 2004, and saved a big league best 55 games in 2003.

Injuries cut Gagne’s dominant career short, and he was never the same pitcher after undergoing two Tommy John surgeries, but we’d like to have prime Gagne on our side at the end of games.

Kenley Jansen — Closer

Experience: 10 seasons (2010-present, all with Dodgers)

Career stats: 605 games, 30-21, 301 saves, 2.35 ERA, 0.906 WHIP, 611.2 IP, 903 K, 159 BB, 3-time NL All-Star

World Series titles: 0

All-time Dodgers team role: Closer

Bottom line: With all due respect to Eric Gagne and his improbable 2003 season, Kenley Jansen is the go-to pick for closer of the all-time Dodgers team.

Jansen, like Clayton Kershaw, has been the most consistent pitcher at his sub-position in his era. He has been the most dominant closer since Mariano Rivera called it quits in 2013, and probably could’ve earned Cy Young consideration if not for the baseball writers penchant for failing to properly reward relievers in the award’s voting.

Jansen is already the franchise leader in games, saves, career WHIP and ERA and will likely go down as one of the greatest closers in baseball history whenever his career ends.

Walter Alston — Manager

Experience: 23 seasons (All with Dodgers)

Career stats: 2,040-1,613 (.558)

World Series titles: 4 (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965)

All-time Dodgers team role: Manager

Bottom line: With all due respect to Tommy Lasorda, Walter Alston is the best manager in Dodgers history.

He won 90-plus games 10 times, en route to seven NL pennants, and probably would’ve had an even more impressive resume if not for the old-school, one-division format.

Alston moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and handled it with remarkable aplomb.