Category Archives: Personnel News

Apr 15

Game 19, 2024

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Nationals at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: MASN2, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

LHP Mitchell Parker (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his MLB debut for the Nationals. He’ll face RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.25 ERA) of the Dodgers. Glasnow has so far been everything the Dodgers hoped for when they signed him to a long-term contract over the offseason.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1909 On Opening Day, the Superbas are no-hit by the Giants’ Red Ames for 9.1 innings. The Polo Grounds contest will go thirteen innings before Brooklyn defeats the 26 year-old right-hander, 3-0.
  • 1930 On Opening Day, Phillies’ southpaw Les Sweetland throws a three-hitter at Ebbets Field. The 28 year-old southpaw doubles and scores the lone run in the eighth inning of his 1-0 complete-game victory over Brooklyn.
  • 1933 In his major league debut, Tigers rookie Lynwood “Schoolboy” Rowe tosses a six-hitter, blanking the White Sox, 3-0. During his 15-year career, playing also with the Dodgers and Phillies, Rowe will compile a 158-101 record, posting an ERA of 3.87.
  • 1947 A year before President Truman desegregated the military, Jackie Robinson debuts for the Dodgers, becoming the first black player to participate in a major league game this century. In front of 25,623 Ebbets Field fans, the 28 year-old first baseman is hitless in three at-bats, but scores a run in the 5-3 Opening Day victory over the Braves.
  • 1958 On Opening Day, the transplanted New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers play the first major league game on the West Coast. The California contest sees Ruben Gomez blanking Los Angeles and Don Drysdale at San Francisco’s Seals Stadium, 8-0.
  • 1959 Cardinal right-hander Bob Gibson makes his major league debut at LA Memorial Coliseum, tossing the final two innings in a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. The 23 year-old rookie becomes the first future Hall of Fame hurler to give up a home run to the first batter he faces in the major leagues when third baseman Jim Baxes takes him deep in the seventh inning.
  • 2004 Major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration commemorating the day the color line was broken in 1947. At big league venues across the country ceremonies are being held to honor the ground-breaking historic event, including baseball commissioner Bud Selig and Jackie’s widow Rachel Robinson attending the festivities at Shea Stadium.
  • 2005 The Dodgers, to commemorate the 58th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game in the big leagues, wear replicas of the old road uniforms worn by the 1947 team which played in Brooklyn. Right-hander Derek Lowe throws a three-hitter, blanking the Padres in San Diego, 4-0.
  • 2007 To honor Jackie Robinson, some players on each team, including Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter and Braves’ outfielder Andruw Jones, wear the Dodger immortal’s uniform No. 42 on the 60th anniversary of his historic breaking the color barrier in baseball. In the Cardinals and Brewers contest at Busch Stadium, every player and coach on both teams dons Jackie’s revered number.

Lineups when available.

Aug 04

Game 108, 2023

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Dodgers at Padres, 6:40 PM PDT, TV: Dodgers –SPNLA; Padres — DirecTV (channel 694-3), Spectrum (channel 305), AT&T U-Verse (channel 781), Cox (Back on good ol’ channel 4); streaming options here

All those optional channels are a result of Bally Sports SD and Diamond Sports failing to make a rights fees payment, resulting in Major League Baseball taking over the broadcasting rights.

RHP Bobby Miller (6-2, 4.37 ERA) takes the mound at Petco Park for the visiting Dodgers; he’ll face the Padres’ RHP Yu Darvish (8-7, 4.53 ERA).

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1908 In Brooklyn, the last-place Cardinals blank the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), 3-0. The entire Washington Park contest is played with just one ball.
  • 1941 Mickey Owens becomes the first catcher to handle three foul pop ups in one frame. The Brooklyn backstop’s third inning defense contributes to the Dodgers’ 11-6 victory over New York at Ebbets Field.
  • 1942 In a military relief game at the Polo Grounds, which will be the last war-time twilight game played, Pee Wee Reese’s grand slam in the top of the ninth, which puts the Dodgers up 5-1, doesn’t count, because of the 9:10 pm government curfew. The game ends up as a 1-1 tie with the Giants.
  • 1948 Ernie Harwell, filling in for Red Barber, who is recovering from a bleeding ulcer, calls his first major league game as the Dodgers beat the Cubs at Ebbets Field, 5-4. To obtain the future Hall of Fame broadcaster, Brooklyn general manager Branch Rickey trades minor league catcher Cliff Draper to the Atlanta Crackers.

Lineups when available:

Dec 27

Hot Stove League #3, 2022-2023

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The Dodgers’ apparent attempt to stay below the luxury tax cutline was thrown into turmoil by MLB’s reinstatement of Trevor Bauer.

Whether or not the Dodgers release him, Bauer will still be owed $22.5 million this season. (That could drop to about $21.8 million if he is released and signed by another team on a league-minimum salary.)

That’s less than the $32 million Bauer was originally supposed to make in 2023. But even that reduced amount pushes the Dodgers’ estimated luxury tax payroll for next season, according to Fangraphs Roster Resource database, to just under $233 million — the threshold at which the league begins assessing luxury tax penalties.

After paying tax penalties the past two years, and facing an inflated 50% tax rate in 2023 for being a repeat offender, the Dodgers had previously seemed likely to stay below the $233-million tax line.

They had freed up more than $100 million in salary from last year’s team. They had made only a string of modest one-year signings so far this offseason. And though their lack of spending had netted an underwhelming cast of additions for next year, the long-term benefits of potentially resetting the tax now would have positioned them to spend big again next offseason, when Shohei Ohtani is set to headline the free agent market.

Bauer’s reduced suspension could complicate any such plans.

Staying below the tax line could box the Dodgers out from making other needed additions to the roster in 2023 — such as adding more pitching depth or a left-handed bat before the end of the winter, or trading for a shortstop or bona fide ace before the midsummer deadline.

On the other hand, if they do cross the threshold to complete their 2023 squad, the resulting penalties might make them less willing to pay a luxury tax again the following season, leaving the possibility of adding another lucrative long-term contract a year from now increasingly tenuous.

Given the team’s reluctance to sign Carlos Correa due to possible fan resistance, I can’t imagine them keeping Bauer, even though he’s been convicted of no crimes. I imagine there’s some heavy cogitation going on in the offices at 1000 Elysian Park Avenue.

Sep 23

Game 151, 2022

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Cardinals at Dodgers , 7:10 PM PDT, TV: Apple TV+

LHP José Quintana (5-6, 3.16 ERA) pitches for the Redbirds and LHP Andrew Heaney (3-2, 2.66 ERA) pitches for the Dodgers.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1901 The Superbas establish a new franchise record for runs scored in a game when they rout the Reds, 25-6. Brooklyn tallies 11 times in the fifth inning during the League Park contest played in Cincinnati.
  • 1916 Allowing only just one walk during a twin bill with the Cincinnati Reds, Grover Alexander of the Phillies wins both ends of a doubleheader, 7-3 and 4-0,to establish a National League record. The future Hall of Famer will repeat the feat on September 3, 1917 against the Brooklyn Robins at Ebbets Field.
  • 1939 In the first game of a twin bill, Brooklyn’s third baseman Cookie Lavagetto reaches base seven consecutive times as the Dodgers rout the Phillies, 22-4. The 26-run Shibe Park contest takes only two hours and five minutes to complete.
  • 1947 Prior to a game against the Giants in a sold-out Ebbets Field, the Dodgers staged Jackie Robinson Day. The Brooklyn rookie, who endured much grief this season as the game’s first black player in modern times, is moved when his teammates crowd around home plate to take part of the ceremony.
  • 1956 Due to the enforcement of a curfew, the Sunday contest between the Dodgers and Pirates is postponed with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, sending the 44,932 fans, the largest crowd in Forbes Field’s history, home. The game will be completed tomorrow with Brooklyn maintaining their 8-3 advantage over Pittsburgh.
  • 1969 In his last major league at-bat, John Miller homers, making the Dodger the only player in history to have hit a home run in his first and last plate appearance in the major leagues. In 1966, as a Yankee, he went deep in the first of only 61 big league career at-bats in which he would collect only 10 hits, including the two memorable round-trippers to start and end his 32-game career.
  • 1986 Astros rookie starter Jim Deshaies sets a major league record by striking out the first eight batters he faces. The young left-hander will finish with a two-hitter and ten strikeouts, beating the Dodgers, 4-0.
  • 1992 Lead-off hitter Bip Roberts ties the National league record with his 10th consecutive hit, a first-inning single in the Reds’ 3-0 victory over Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine. The Cincinnati left fielder’s streak ends when he grounds out in the fifth inning, facing Dodger starter Pedro Astacio.
  • 2006 With one home game left on the schedule, the Dodgers break their single-season attendance record established in 1982 as the team sells 3,708,723 tickets to its games played in Chavez Ravine. The previous record of 3,608,881 was determined by former National League rules which counted fans by turnstile count.
  • 2009 Trailing 8-0 at Dodger Stadium, the Giants take the lead, scoring nine runs in the top of the seventh inning. Although L.A. will come back twice to tie the score with clutch two-out hits in the eighth and ninth, San Francisco tallies four runs in the top of the tenth frame for the 14-10 victory.

Also, in 1908 Fred Merkle’s failure to touch second after an apparent game-winning hit by Bridwell scoring McCormick from third costs the Giants a 2-1 win over the Cubs when the ump calls him out and rules the game a tie. Merkle’s ‘boner’ will eventually cost the Giants the flag.

Lineups when available.

Sep 20

Game 147, 2022

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First game of a doubleheader.

Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: BS Arizona, SPNLA

RHP Zach Davies (2-4, 4.05 ERA) goes for the D-Backs and RHP Michael Grove (0-0, 4.11 ERA) goes for the Dodgers.

Rest in Peace, Maury Wills.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1907 At Exposition Park in Pittsburgh, Nick Maddox no-hits the Dodgers, 2-1. At the age of 20 years and ten months, the Pirates hurler becomes the youngest pitcher and the second rookie to throw a no-hitter.
  • 1911 Bill Bergen ends his major league career with the lowest lifetime batting average for a position player in major league history by hitting an anemic .170 during his 11-year tenure with the Reds and Superbas. The 33 year-old backstop, who had only one year of batting above .200, also holds the records for lowest season batting average for a regular season (.139 in 1909) and the longest streak of at-bats without a hit (46 in 1909).
  • 1954 The Giants clinch the pennant when they beat the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, 7-1. The National League champs, finishing the season five games ahead of second-place Brooklyn, will go on to sweep Cleveland in the Fall Classic.
  • 1959 The San Francisco Giants, bowing to the Dodgers, 8-2, play their last game at Seals Stadium. The transplanted New York team, who compiled a 163-145 record in their two-year stay in the former PCL park, will move to the newly constructed Candlestick Park next season.
  • 1961 In a 13-inning contest, Sandy Koufax goes the distance, beating the Cubs, 3-2, in the last regular season game to be played at the LA Memorial Coliseum, which was originally built for the 1932 Olympics. The Dodgers are leaving the only home they have known since moving from Brooklyn four seasons ago to play in a brand new stadium in Chavez Ravine, located a few miles from downtown Los Angeles.
  • 2011 Clayton Kershaw becomes the Dodgers’ first 20-game winner since Ramon Martinez accomplished the feat in 1990. Allowing just one run in 7 1/3 innings, the southpaw gets the victory when LA beats the visiting Giants, 2-1.
  • 2012 Washington secures a playoff spot when they beat the Dodgers at Nationals Park, 4-1. The last time there was postseason baseball in the nation’s capital occurred 79 years ago, when player-skipper Joe Cronin and the Senators lost to the Giants in five games in the 1933 World Series.

Lineups when available.

Aug 12

Game 111, 2022

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Dodgers at Royals, 5:10 PM PDT, BSKC, SPNLA

The Dodgers’ RHP Tony Gonsolin (13-1, 2.30 ERA) heads for the Kauffman Stadium mound this evening. He’ll face the Royals’ LHP Daniel Lynch (4-7, 4.79 ERA). Gonsolin has won his last two starts and four of his last six. Lynch got no decision in his last start but won the one prior.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1984 Former Dodgers Don Drysdale and Pee Wee Reese, along with Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew, American League hurler Rick Ferrell, and perennial All-Star shortstop Luis Aparicio are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
  • 2021 The Romines become the first siblings to be battery mates since the Dodgers’ Norm and Larry Sherry (1960-62) when Andrew, an infielder by trade, takes the mound in a mop-up role, throwing the ball to his younger brother, Austin, in the Cubs’ 17-4 loss to the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The sons of Kevin, an outfielder with the Red Sox (1985-1992), join Jim & Ed Bailey (1959 Reds) and Bobby & Billy Shantz (1954-55 A’s), who also appeared in the same major league game as pitcher and catcher, playing at the same time in the contest.

In 2006 the Portland Beavers honor Rodney McCray, the former Vancouver Canadian who gain everlasting notoriety in 1991 when he literally ran through the right field plywood fence trying to catch Chip Hale’s fly ball in Portland’s Civic Stadium. The PCL team commemorates the memorable play with a bobble head promotion which features the moment of impact and renames the right field area of their current ballpark “McCray Alley.”

In a great moment of fan history, in 2014 Tim Pinkard, attending his first game at Minute Maid Park, catches two home run balls, both off the bat of the Astros’ DH Chris Carter. In the third inning of Houston’s 10-4 victory over Minnesota, the Springfield (VA) resident gets his first souvenir of the night when the ball rebounds off a sign in left field, and then in the fifth frame, against astronomical odds, catches the second round-tripper stroked by the same batter, which is a laser shot hit directly to his seat.

Lineups when available.

Aug 10

Game 110, 2020

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Twins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: BSSN, SPNLA

RHP Sonny Gray (6-3, 3.19 ERA) pitches for the visitors this evening and RHP Ryan Pepiot (1-0, 2.76 ERA) does the same for the Dodgers. In Gray’s last start he went five scoreless innings and gave up just one hit but got no decision in a game which blew up after he left: The Jays got three runs in the sixth and six in the eighth and won 9-3. Pepiot has been in four games for the Dodgers, all starts in this his rookie season. He got his first win in his last game, the first one in which he went as many as five innings. He gave up four hits and one run in that one.

On this day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1979 Dodger hurler Don Sutton sets a franchise record with his 50th shutout, blanking San Francisco at Candlestick Park, 9-0. The 34 year-old right-hander had previously shared the mark with Don Drysdale. (Ed. note: 50! In his twelfth year [now fifteenth] Clayton Kershaw has a career total of 15! In fact, Kershaw hasn’t thrown a complete game since 2017, which shows how the management of pitchers has changed.)
  • 1995 The first forfeit in the majors in sixteen years occurs when the fans for the third time during the night throw promotional souvenir baseballs onto the Dodger Stadium field. At the time of the decision to halt the game, Los Angeles is trailing the Cardinals, 2-1 with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

August 10 is a good day for pitchers: in 1971 at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Juan Marichal records his 50th career shutout as the Giants blank the Expos, 1-0. The Dominican hurler’s ninth inning double helps to build the winning run.

Lineups when available.

Aug 09

Game 109, 2022

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Twins at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: BSSN, SPNLA

RHP Joe Ryan (8-4, 3.67 ERA) pitches for the Twins, who are making a rare appearance at Dodger Stadium. He’ll face LHP Julio Urías (11-6, 2.57 ERA). Ryan is in his second year in the big leagues, all as a starter. He had a mediocre July, going 1-1 but posting a 5.06 ERA. His only August start was much better: he went five innings against the Tigers, gave up one run on three hits and got the win. Urías is on a roll; he’s won his last eight starts.

This day in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1975 At Shea Stadium, Davey Lopes steals his 32nd consecutive base without being caught, breaking Max Carey’s 1922 record in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory over New York. The Dodger second baseman’s mark will be broken by Vince Coleman in 1989.
  • 1976 John Candelaria becomes the first Pirate since 1907 to throw a no-hitter in Pittsburgh. Nick Maddox threw the first and only Buc home no-hitter until the ‘Candyman’ beat the Dodgers at Three Rivers Stadium. (There was never a no-hitter pitched in the 61-year history of spacious Forbes Field.)
  • 2001 Mike Hampton ties the National League record for pitchers with his seventh homer when he goes deep off Felix Heredia in the Rockies’ 14-5 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The Colorado southpaw equals the mark established by Dodger hurlers Don Drysdale (1958, 1965) and Don Newcombe (1955), and two shy of the major league standard set by Wes Ferrell, playing for the Indians in 1931.
  • 2013 The Dodgers rally for four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, overcoming a six-run, seventh-inning deficit, for their fifth walk-off victory of the season. The team’s 7-6 victory over Tampa Bay is their 11th consecutive win in a one-run games, a span in which they have defeated ten different clubs.

Lineups when available

Aug 05

Game 106, 2022

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Padres at Dodgers, 7:10 PM PDT, TV: BSSD, MLBN (out-of-market only), SPNLA

LHP Sean Manaea (6-5, 4.25 ERA) pitches for the new-look Padres and RHP Tony Gonsolin (12-1, 2.41 ERA) goes for the Dodgers. Manaea had a winning July (3-2) but a lousy ERA (5.40). Gonsolin’s July was somewhat similar: 3-1 W-L record but 4.40 ERA.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1954 Stan Musial, in a 13-4 rout of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, paces the Cardinals attack, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs. The defeat is Preacher Roe’s first loss to St. Louis at Ebbets Field in four years.
  • 1969 With a titanic blast that clears the right-field pavilion, Willie Stargell becomes the first player to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium. The 506-foot round-tripper helps the Pirates defeat LA, 11-3.

  • 1979 Don Sutton, surpassing Don Drysdale, becomes the Dodgers’ all-time strikeout leader with 2,487 when he fans six in an 8-1 victory over San Francisco at Chavez Ravine. After establishing the mark, and receiving a two-minute standing ovation that he acknowledges by tipping his cap, the right-hander is charged with an automatic ball due to running his fingers across his lips while thanking the crowd.
  • 1979 Outfielders Willie Mays (Giants, Mets) and Hack Wilson (Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, and Phillies) are enshrined into the Hall of Fame. Baseball administrator Warren Giles, who served as the president of the National League from 1951 to 1969, is also inducted during the Cooperstown ceremony.

Lineups when available.

Jul 31

Game 101, 2022

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Dodgers at Rockies, 12:10 PM PDT, TV: ATT SportsNet RM, SPNLA

RHP Tony Gonsolin (11-1, 2.28 ERA) is coming off three consecutive poor outings: his last start before the All Star Game, one inning during that game and his first start after it. He gave up four runs on six hits to the Nats last Monday while pitching six innings. He and the Dodgers hope he rights the ship. He’ll face RHP Germãn Mãrquez (6-8, 5.45 ERA), who’s split his last two starts, losing the second one despite giving up just one run on seven hits in six innings.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1954 At Ebbets Field, using a borrowed bat, Joe Adcock hits four home runs in one game as well as a double which just misses by inches being his fifth round-tripper, in the Braves’ 15-7 victory over the Dodgers. The Milwaukee first baseman’s 18 total bases, collected on just seven pitches, set a major league record, surpassing the mark established in 1950 by Brooklyn’s Gil Hodges.
  • 1955 The Indians obtained Sal Maglie off waivers from the Giants, who release the 38 year-old right-hander because of his ailing back. The ‘Barber’, who will be used sparingly in Cleveland, will become a major cog next season in the Dodgers’ National League championship after being acquired by the team in May for $100.
  • 1983 Orioles Gold Glover Brooks Robinson, Giants ace Juan Marichal, ten-time American League All-Star infielder George Kell, and long-time Dodger skipper Walter Alston are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Marichal, the Dominican Dandy, becomes the first Latin player to be enshrined at Cooperstown.
  • 2004 Ten minutes prior to the trading deadline, Steve Finley gives the Diamondbacks permission to deal him to the Dodgers. The trade sends the four-time Gold Glove center fielder and backstop Brent Mayne to LA for minor league catching prospect Koyie Hill, flycatcher Reggie Abercrombie, and southpaw Bill Murphy, who was acquired in yesterday’s trade with the Marlins.
  • 2006 The Dodgers trade infielder Cesar Izturis to the Cubs for 300-game winner Greg Maddux. The last minute deadline deal, in which the future Hall of Famer waived his no-trade clause, gives the 40 year-old hurler an opportunity to go to a contender.
  • 2008 In a three-team swap, the much-anticipated departure of Manny Ramirez from Beantown is finally accomplished with the unhappy outfielder being traded to the Dodgers. Former Pirates player Jason Bay will now roam left field for the Red Sox, with Pittsburgh receiving outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen from Boston as well as getting third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-hander Bryan Morris from Los Angeles to complete the last-minute deal.

Lineups when available.