Dodgers vs. the Giants: compare and contrast
My son Anthony, his roommates, and I recently pondered one of life’s most pressing questions right now: Since the end of World War II, which team has been the better organization, the Giants or the Dodgers? “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth…”
Let’s start with the players:
Left field
Barry Bonds was a great player before he started using “the cream.” He won the National League Most Valuable Player seven times including four years in a row as a member of the Giants. He is the all-time home run leader* in Major League Baseball. Ironically the best Dodgers left fielder was former Giants manager Dusty Baker. He played eight years for the team and was a member of the 1981 Dodgers World Series championship team. Bonds never got a ring. Karma baby, karma.
Pick: Bonds
Center field
One name. Willie Mays. End of discussion.
Pick: Mays
Right field
Dodger Duke Snider played 18 years in the big leagues including 9 years in right field. He’s a Hall of Famer, 14-time All-Star, and two time world champion. In his 10 years with the Giants, Jack Clark hit 163 home runs and made the All-Star team twice. Once he caught a fly ball and thinking there were three outs, started jogging towards the dugout. There were only two outs and the runner on second scored. He did that twice while in San Francisco.
Pick: Snider
Third Base
Matt Williams played a decade for the Giants. He was a four time All-Star, won three Gold Gloves for fielding excellence, and hit 247 home runs. The Dodgers’ Ron Cey was with the team for twelve years, he earned 1974 Rookie of the Year honors, was selected for the All-Star team six times, hit 228 home runs, won a ring with the 1981 team, and waddled around the field like a penguin.
Pick: Cey
Shortstop
No, the Giants’ representative is not Johnny Disaster. Brandon Crawford has won two rings with the Giants but Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese played 16 years for the Dodgers, was selected for the AllStar team nine times, was on the 1955 World Series champion team, served in World War II, and was a friend to Jackie Robinson.
Pick: Reese
Second Base
Jeff Kent had an interesting six years as a member of the Giants. He played in a World Series, won a Most Valuable Player award, was an All-Star four times, broke his wrist doing a “wheelie” on his motorcycle during spring training, and went after Bonds in “The Slugout in the Dugout.” Jackie Robinson is a civil rights icon, breaking the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947. People forget he was a pretty good player too. He was the Rookie of the Year, six time All-Star, National League MVP in 1949, member of the 1955 World Series champion team, and is a member of the Hall of Fame.
Pick: Robinson
First Base
Willie McCovey played 19 years for the Giants and was a star from the first time he stepped into the batters box. He was the rookie of the year, a six time All-Star, the
National League MVP in 1969, smacked 469 homers, and is in the Hall of Fame. Gil Hodges quietly had a great career for the Dodgers. He played 16 years for the team, hit 361 home runs, was an All-Star eight times, won three Gold Gloves, and was a World Series champion twice.
Pick: In an upset... Hodges
Catcher
Buster Posey has had a Hall of Fame career for the Giants. He’s been a humble hard-working leader for the team since he was called up in May 2010. He was the Rookie of the Year, National League MVP, six time All-Star, National League batting champion, and as much as it pains me to say this, three time world champion between 20102014. Mike Piazza and Roy Campanella had Hall of Fame careers for the Dodgers but neither one of them came close to Posey.
Pick: Posey
Right Handed Starting Pitcher
Most fans have forgotten how good Juan Marichal was for the Giants. He pitched 14 years for them, was a member of the National League All-Star team ten times, had 238 wins, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. Don Drysdale had a similar record for the Dodgers. He played 14 years in Los Angeles, won 209 games, was an AllStar eight times, and is in the Hall of Fame. But he also won the Cy Young Award and was a World Series champion three times. Tough to beat that.
Pick: Drysdale
Left Handed Starting Pitcher
Now Giants fans, let your mind, not your heart be your guide here. Madison Bumgarner had a great ten year run with the team. He won 119 games, was a world champion three different times, was the MVP of the 2014 World Series, and was a four time AllStar. Sure he wasn’t a Ray Sadecki or Gary Lavelle but he is one of the most clutch pitchers in postseason history. That being said, Sandy Koufax is regarded by historians as the most dominant pitcher of his era. He pitched 12 years for the Dodgers, won 165 games, was a six-time AllStar, won the Cy Young award three times, won three championships and was the World Series MVP twice. And he retired at age 31.
Pick: Koufax
Manager
I would have liked to have played for Bruce Bochy. He had a great relationship with his players and was a quiet steady presence in the Giants’ dugout. His teams won over 1,000 games and three World Series titles and he will be in the Hall of Fame. Tommy Lasorda managed the Dodgers for 21 years. His teams won 1,600 games and two world championships, he is a member of the Hall of Fame, and he has an ego the size of the preferred parking lot at Dodger Stadium. If he had spent more time going over scouting reports than he did with Sinatra the Dodgers would have won four more championships.
Pick: Bochy
Announcers
Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow are great. They’re easy to listen to, knowledgeable and will be critical of the Giants on occasion. But, and you know where I’m going here, Vin Scully is on the Mount Rushmore of great baseball announcers. He operated at a level above most of his peers for over 60 years. Almost three generations of Dodgers fans grew up listening to him. He is baseball.
Pick: Scully
Overall
Since 1945, the Giants have been to eight World Series, winning four of them. The Dodgers have participated in seventeen fall classics, only winning six. The 50’s and 70’s were pretty rough for the Boys in Blue.
Championships are great but the gutsy decision by Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey to sign Robinson to a major league contract in 1947 changed the game forever.
Pick: Dodgers
In conclusion, I must mention that we were all wearing our “Dodgers Spring Training 2021?” tshirts while we were discussing this subject. Hopefully we’ll have some real baseball to talk about soon.