The 20 GREATEST DODGERS of all time
No Dodgers fans should be surprised by who’s at the top of this list
We asked you to pick the greatest Dodgers ever — no matter the position, no matter the role — and what you came up with was one outfielder short of an amazing team.
You even had us covered on the bench, in the executive branch, and in the booth. Now, before you turn the page to find the names — 1 through 20 — of what more than 14,000 latimes.com readers believe are the very best of the boys who have worn blue, here are a few more hints: The group includes four left-handed pitchers, though the biggest contributions by one of them wasn’t what he offered as a player. There are four right-handed pitchers, two first basemen, three other infielders, a catcher and two slugging outfielders. Can you name them all?
If you had to pick the 10 greatest Dodgers of all time, including Brooklyn, whom would you pick? That is what we asked readers of latimes.com to do: Come up with a list of the 10 greatest Dodgers, ranked in order. The player listed first received 12 points, listed second received nine, all the way down to one point for a 10th-place listing. In the two weeks voting was open, we received 14,383 ballots, with 57 players being listed on at least one ballot. Here are the top 20 vote-getters:
1. SANDY KOUFAX
(6,381 first-place votes and 135,389 points)
The clear winner: Koufax, of course, is considered by many to be the greatest left-hander in baseball history, and won three Cy Young Awards with the Dodgers. For four seasons (1963-66), he was as close to untouchable as any pitcher in history, going 97-27 with a 1.86 ERA and allowing only 825 hits in 1,1922⁄3 innings. He also led the team to two World Series titles in that time.
2. JACKIE ROBINSON
(3,242, 108,852)
Broke the color barrier, but what is often overlooked is he was a great player too.
3. VIN SCULLY
(2,938, 79,410)
Would have been higher if he hadn’t been left off of many ballots.
4. DON DRYSDALE
(202, 65,432)
Overshadowed by Koufax, but was the backbone of the 1960s Dodgers.
5. DUKE SNIDER
(101, 57,731)
The Duke of Flatbush is still the Dodgers’ all-time home run leader with 389.
6. ROY CAMPANELLA
(10, 44,667)
Three-time NL MVP never played in L.A., but would have if not for his 1958 auto accident.
7. CLAYTON KERSHAW
(3, 33,222)
Three Cy Youngs vault Kershaw into the top 10. Would a World Series title move him to No. 1?
8. TOM LASORDA
(212, 32,412)
Love him or hate him, the former lefty did as much as anyone to make the Dodgers what they are today.
9. FERNANDO VALENZUELA
(23, 27,335)
Fernandomania will always be remembered by Dodgers fans.
10. MAURY WILLS
(35, 27,046)
Brought the stolen base back to the game and remains the team’s all-time leader with 490.
11. PEE WEE REESE
(24, 25,018)
One of the most underrated shortstops in major league history.
12. STEVE GARVEY
(42, 24,411)
Longtime fan favorite who broke hearts when he signed with Padres before 1983 season.
13. OREL HERSHISER
(14, 21,473)
People remember his great 1988 season, but he was almost as good in 1989.
14. BRANCH RICKEY
(506, 12,764)
Signed Robinson and was a key figure in his success.
15. WALTER O’MALLEY
(304, 12,558)
Brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles, but don’t mention that in Brooklyn.
16. WALTER ALSTON
(0, 12,547)
Quiet man led the Dodgers to four World Series titles and seven National League pennants.
17. DON NEWCOMBE
(7, 11,749)
First pitcher to win Cy Young and MVP in same season. Was also a rookie of the year
18. GIL HODGES
(0, 11,344)
Should be in the Hall of Fame.
19. DON SUTTON
(0, 10,332)
Never had a great season, but was amazingly consistent from year to year.
20. KIRK GIBSON
(0, 9,421) Made the list for one reason: the home run.
Just missed the top 20: Zack Wheat, Tommy Davis, Mike Piazza, Ron Cey and Davey Lopes.