Here’s Our Los Angeles Dodgers All-Time Team. Do You Agree?

When the Brooklyn Dodgers moved west to Los Angeles before the 1958 season, it broke the hearts of many baseball fans in New York.

But that heartbreak has all but disappeared, and the franchise feels as much a part of LA as the Hollywood sign, palm trees, and hopeful actors working as baristas.

The Dodgers are enjoying tremendous success on and off the field. The team is on the verge of making the MLB playoffs for a 10th straight season. According to Forbes, the Dodgers are valued at more than $4 billion. The team has drawn at least 3 million fans to Dodger Stadium in 19 of the past 20 seasons, barring the COVID-19 season.

Yes, the Dodgers are a landmark brand in Southern California, which is why we feel fine ignoring the Brooklyn years and choosing an all-time team made up of players from 1958 on.

So, here’s our Los Angeles Dodgers all-time team.

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Dodgers All-Time Roster

Mike Piazza, Catcher, 1992-1998

How good do you have to be to make sane people think you may have been a better hitting catcher than Johnny Bench? That’s how good Piazza was, and he put up big offensive numbers for the team that drafted him in the 62nd round as a favor to manager Tommy Lasorda.

Piazza batted .331 in seven seasons as a Dodger, and from 1993-1997, he averaged 33 homers and 105 RBI.

Honorable Mention: Johnny Roseboro, Mike Scioscia

Steve Garvey, First Base, 1969-1982

No one ever looked more like a Hollywood star in Dodger Blue than Garvey, who was named NL MVP in 1974. With his Popeye-sized forearms, Garvey was an eight-time All-Star for Los Angeles. He saved his best for the postseason: .346 with 10 homers for LA in the playoffs.

Honorable Mention: Wes Parker, Eric Karros, Adrián González

Davey Lopes, Second Base, 1972-1981

Possibly the best baserunner in baseball history, Lopes was successful on 83% of his steal attempts. He was more than speed: Lopes could generate power with his short right-handed swing. He hit as many as 28 homers in a season for Lasorda’s Dodgers. With Garvey, he was a member of the Dodgers 1981 World Series championship club.

Honorable Mention: Junior Gilliam, Steve Sax, Jeff Kent

Maury Wills, Shortstop, 1959-1966, 1969-1972

Once Wills got a chance to play, he revolutionized baseball with his feet. In 1962, he stole 104 bases, a major league record at the time. He led the NL in stolen bases in his first six full seasons as LA’s shortstop.

Honorable Mention: Bill Russell, Corey Seager

Justin Turner, Third Base, 2014-Present

Turner was typecast as a platoon player with a bad glove for the first half of his career. The Dodgers gave the redhead a chance to play. He’s responded with more than 150 home runs and has served as a key run producer for two pennant-winning LA teams. His 13 postseason home runs are tied with Corey Seager for most in Dodger history.

Honorable Mention: Ron Cey, Adrián Beltré

Dusty Baker, Left Field, 1976-1983

That 70-plus-year-old guy chewing a toothpick in the Astros dugout? He used to be a heckuva player. Baker batted .281 with 144 homers in eight seasons as a Dodger. In 1977, he was one of a record four Dodgers to hit at least 30 homers. In the NLCS that season, Baker hit two homers and drove in eight runs to be named MVP of the series. Oh, and he also reportedly helped invent the high-five when he was in LA.

Honorable Mention: Kirk Gibson, Gary Sheffield

Willie Davis, Center Field, 1960-1973

Former Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi said of Davis: “He could have been a Hall of Famer, but he had million-dollar legs and a 10-cent head.” Davis might have been the fastest player in baseball in the 1960s, and he helped the Dodgers win three pennants and two World Series in the 1960s.

Honorable Mention: Brett Butler, Matt Kemp

Mookie Betts, Right Field, 2020-Present

Since he moved to California for the 2020 season, the five-tool Betts has done everything expected of a superstar. He was second in MVP voting in 2020 and also won a Gold Glove. In his Dodgers postseason career,

Betts has batted .305 with 12 steals in 25 games.

Honorable Mention: Frank Howard, Reggie Smith, Raúl Mondesi, Shawn Green

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Pedro Guerrero, Designated Hitter, 1978-1988

Pedro could flat-out hit. Once Garvey and others were jettisoned to make room for Guerrero’s quick bat, the Dominican batted .309 in 11 seasons for the Dodgers. He was no singles hitter: Pedro topped 30 homers three times and was named co-MVP of the 1981 World Series when he smacked a pair of home runs against the Yankees.

Honorable Mention: Max Muncy

Manny Mota, Pinch-Hitter, 1969-1980, 1982

Dodgers teammate Reggie Smith said of Mota, “Manny likes fastballs like lumberjacks like pancakes.” Indeed, Mota made a career of punishing fastballs, and he could roll off the bench and do it as well as any ballplayer in history. He batted .304 for his career, and an even .300 in the pinch-hit role. When he retired at the age of 44, Manny’s 145 career pinch-hits were an MLB record.

Honorable Mention: Kirk Gibson (ninth inning only)

Chris Taylor, Utility Man, 2016-Present

A Swiss Army Knife in cleats, Taylor has blossomed into a pivotal player on the Dodgers roster. He’s played as many as seven positions in a season for Dave Roberts. He’s not just a placeholder either: “CT3” has topped 20 homers twice, and he has a .784 OPS for LA. In Game 5 of the 2021 NLCS, he blasted three home runs.

Sandy Koufax, Starting Pitcher, 1955-1966

The greatest LA Dodger of them all. Koufax is an icon, one of baseball’s most revered pitchers. In a career that ended because of a chronic shoulder injury when he was still just 30, Koufax won an MVP award and three Cy Youngs, and he tossed four no-hitters (including a perfect game). In 1965-66, the lefty averaged 26 wins, 27 complete games, six shutouts, 329 innings, a 1.89 ERA, and 350 strikeouts. Called “The Left Arm of God,” Koufax was twice the MVP of the World Series, and he had a 0.95 ERA in the Fall Classic.

Clayton Kershaw, Starting Pitcher, 2008-Present

“The Claw” has matched Koufax’s three Cy Youngs, and his career winning percentage (more than 68%) ranks seventh all-time. Kershaw’s 2.49 ERA is the lowest in MLB since 1961 for a pitcher with at least 2,500 innings (by almost a half-run!).

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Fernando Valenzuela, Starting Pitcher, 1980-1990

Another southpaw, this one with a trick pitch, the screwball. Using his “scroogie,” the popular Mexican pitcher won the hearts of Dodger fans as a rookie in 1981 when he won both the NL MVP and Cy Young awards. That season he pitched an amazing eight shutouts and added three more wins in the postseason as he led LA to its first championship in 16 years.

Orel Hershiser, Starting Pitcher, 1983-1994, 2000

Probably the most important player the Dodgers had in LA since Koufax. Without Hershiser, the 1988 Dodgers never sniff the playoffs and certainly don’t get into the World Series. “Bulldog” pitched a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings in the regular season, then he won both the NLCS and World Series MVP honors after three more wins and a save out of the bullpen.

Don Sutton, Starting Pitcher, 1966-1980, 1988

Consistency and dependability are underrated, but they were the hallmarks of Sutton’s Hall of Fame career. The right-hander went 15 seasons in the Dodger rotation without missing a turn. He averaged 17 wins, 12 complete games, four shutouts, and a 3.04 ERA in the decade from 1969 to 1978.

Lasorda said of Sutton, “He’s the one I want on the mound when we really need a win.”

Honorable Mention: Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, Ramón Martínez, Hideo Nomo, Walker Buehler

Eric Gagne, Closer, 1999-2006

For three seasons (2002-2004), Gagne was as good as any reliever has ever been: 51 games, 122 Ks in 82 innings in 75 games per season. That type of performance earned him the Cy Young in 2003.

Honorable Mention: Ron Perranoski, Mike Marshall, Kenley Jansen

Tommy Lasorda, Manager, 1976-1996

The numbers tell a story: eight division titles, four pennants, and two World Series titles in 21 seasons managing his beloved Dodgers. But the real story is the man himself, who once said, “If you don’t love the Dodgers, there’s a good chance you may not get into Heaven.” He also said, “I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I’m going to the big Dodger in the sky.”

Honorable Mention: Walter O’Malley, Dave Roberts

Vin Scully, Voice

We’ve said it before, and it’s worth repeating: Scully is the greatest broadcaster in baseball history. And if Vin could move from Brooklyn to LA and not be bitter about it, East Coast Dodger fans can accept it after all these years too.