LOS ANGELES DODGERS by Marty Gitlin An Imprint of Abdo Publishing www.abdopublishing.com www.abdopublishing.com Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. SportsZone™ is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing. Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota 052014 092014 Editor: Chrös McDougall Copy Editor: Nicholas Cafarelli Interior Design and Production: Kazuko Collins Cover Design: Craig Hinton Photo Credits: Al Behrman/AP Images, cover; AP Images, 1, 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31, 42 (middle, bottom), 43 (top); Bain News Service, 10, 42 (top); Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 23; Yarnold /AP Images, 32; Michael Caulfield/AP Images, 34, 43 (middle); Rusty Kennedy/AP Images, 36, 43 (bottom); Lenny Ignelzi /AP Images, 39; David J. Phillip/AP Images, 41; David Zalubowski /AP Images, 44; Mark J. Terrill/AP Images, 47 Library of Congress Control Number 2014933056 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gitlin, Marty. Los Angeles Dodgers / by Marty Gitlin. p. cm. — (Inside MLB) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-62403-474-9 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (Baseball team)—History—Juvenile literature. I. Title. GV875.L6G58 2015 796.357’640979494—dc23 2014933056 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Chapter .............Finally! 4 2 Chapter .............The First Dodgers, 10 3 Chapter .............Coming Up Short, 16 4 Chapter .............Bye, Bye, Brooklyn, 24 5 Chapter .............From Garvey to Manny, 32 Timeline, 42 Quick Stats, 44 Quotes and Anecdotes, 45 Glossary, 46 For More Information, 47 Index, 48 About the Author, 48 1 CHAPTER FINALLY! I t did not seem to matter when the Brook- lyn Dodgers won 98 games and the 1955 National League (NL) pennant. It did not seem to matter that pitcher Don New- combe compiled a brilliant 20–5 record that year. It did not seem to matter that outfielder Duke Snider smashed 42 home runs or that the team led the NL in every important offensive statistical category. The Dodgers were bound to HHHHooootttt,,,, HHHHooootttt,,,, HHHHooootttt lose to the New York Yankees TTThhheee 111999555555 DDDooodddggeerrrsss rrraaannn aaawwwaaayy wwwiiittthhh in the World Series. 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So when ²²²²²² the 1955 World Series began, DDooddggeerrss ppiittcchheerr DDoonn NNeewwccoommbbee bbrroouugghhtt aa 2200––55 rreeccoorrdd iinnttoo tthhee 11995555 WWoorrlldd SSeerriieess aaggaaiinnsstt tthhee NNeeww YYoorrkk YYaannkkeeeess.. 5 FINALLY! the Dodgers fans in Brooklyn, RRRiiiggghhhttt MMMooovvveee,,, New York, awaited the inevi- RRiigghhtt TTiimmee table. When their beloved team DDDooodddgggeeerrrsss MMMaaannnaaaggeerrr WWWaaalllttteeerrr AAAlllssstttooonnn lost the first two games of the iiiinnnnsssseeeerrrrtttteeeedddd SSSSaaaannnnddddyyyy AAAAmmmmoooorrrroooossss iiiinnnnttttoooo GGGGaaaammmmeeee 7777 Series at Yankee Stadium, that ooofff ttthhheee 111999555555 WWWooorrrlllddd SSSeeerrriiieeesss aaattt ttthhheee iiidddeeeaaalll mmoommeenntt.. AAmmoorroossddiidd nnoott ssttaarrtt tthhee fear only grew. gggaaammmeee bbbeeecccaaauuussseee ttthhheee YYYaaannnkkkeeeeeesss ssstttaaarrrttteeeddd But suddenly the Dodg- aa lleefftt--hhaannddeedd ppiittcchheerr.. HHoowweevveerr,, hhee rreeppllaacceedd JJiimm GGiilllliiaamm iinn lleefftt ffiieelldd iinn ers came to life. They won tthhee ssiixxtthh iinnnniinngg.. TThhaatt wwaass jjuusstt iinn their next three games at home tttiiimmmeee tttooo cccaaatttccchhh ttthhheee llliiinnneee dddrrriiivvveee oooffffff ttthhheee bbbaaattt ooofff ttthhheee YYYaaannnkkkeeeeeesss''' YYYooogggiii BBBeeerrrrrraaa aaannnddd at Ebbets Field. Snider and ssaavvee ttwwoo rruunnss ffrroomm ssccoorriinngg.. IItt iiss catcher Roy Campanella com- ggggeeeennnneeeerrrraaaallllllllyyyy aaaacccccccceeeepppptttteeeedddd tttthhhhaaaatttt tttthhhheeee rrrriiiigggghhhhtttt---- bined for five home runs. The hhhaaanndddeedddGGGiilllllliiaaammm wwwooouuullldddhhhaaavvveee nnneeevvveeerrr cccaaauuuggghhhttt uuuppp tttooo ttthhhaaattt bbbaaallllll... Yankees rebounded to win Game 6. But the Dodgers had a Sandy Amoros sprinted 150 chance to make up for all their feet into the corner and made losses to the Yankees by win- a spectacular catch. He then ning the do-or-die Game 7 at turned and fired the ball back Yankee Stadium. into the infield. Shortstop Pee The Dodgers entered the Wee Reese caught the ball and bottom of the sixth inning with caught the runner off first base a 2–0 lead. They were led by the for a double play. The rally was brilliant pitching of left-hander squelched. Johnny Podres. Then the Yan- That was all Podres needed. kees put two runners on base He completed the 2–0 shutout with nobody out. Yogi Berra to give the Dodgers their World sliced a long line drive down Series title. the line. Dodgers left fielder 6 LOS ANGELES DODGERS Pitcher Johnny Podres gets a lift from catcher Roy Campanella after the Dodgers won Game 7 of the 1955 World Series. The win set off hysteria in bowed, but victorious after so the New York borough in which many long years.” the Dodgers resided. Wrote The celebration in Brook- one Brooklyn fan after the tri- lyn lasted well into the night. umph, “It was our national It was a moment captured by pastime (as the phrase goes) Sports Illustrated writer Robert at its best. And the underdog, Creamer. Brooklyn—beloved, bedraggled, “[O]n the night of October 4 un-glamorous Brooklyn, always in the year 1955, there really the also-ran, the runner-up, the was dancing in the streets of butt of jokes—emerging bloody, Brooklyn, and weeping for 7 FINALLY! DUKE SNIDER pure joy, too,” he wrote. “For that was the day the Dodg- New York baseball teams ers at long, long last brought featured some of the greatest center the baseball championship of fielders in baseball history during the the world home. . . . Hundreds 1940s and 1950s. The Dodgers were crammed into the ancient no exception. Duke Snider starred for Hotel Bossert on Montague the Dodgers from 1949 to 1962. During that time, Snider both Street to help the Dodgers scored more than 100 runs and celebrate. Thousands more racked up more than 100 runs batted milled around outside, cheer- in (RBIs) six times. He led the NL in ing, yelling, dancing.” runs scored three times, hit 40 or The Dodgers were great more home runs every year between again in 1956. Newcombe won 1953 and 1957, and earned spots a career-high 27 games that on the NL All-Star team in seven season. Meanwhile, Snider straight seasons. Snider was also a hit a career-high 43 home top fielder with a strong and accu- runs. The Dodgers swept a rate arm. three-game series with the “No player contributed more Pittsburgh Pirates to clinch to our team both offensively and the hotly contested NL pen- defensively,” wrote Dodgers pitcher nant. That set up a rematch Carl Erskine. “No player agonized against a Yankees team seek- more when he didn't perform well. ing revenge. Could he have been better? Some say The World Series proved yes. I say they didn't know him the to be a mirror image of the one way I did.” Snider was inducted into played a year earlier. This time the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. it was Brooklyn winning the 8 LOS ANGELES DODGERS