1979_Los_Angeles_Dodgers_season
1979 Los Angeles Dodgers season
Major League Baseball team season
The 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers finished the season in third place in the National League West. Near the end of the season, owner Walter O'Malley died, and the ownership of the team went to his son, Peter.
| 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | National League | |||
| Division | West | |||
| Ballpark | Dodger Stadium | |||
| City | Los Angeles | |||
| Owners | Walter O'Malley | |||
| President | Peter O'Malley | |||
| General managers | Al Campanis | |||
| Managers | Tommy Lasorda | |||
| Television | KTTV (11) | |||
| Radio | KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter KTNQ Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos | |||
| ||||
- February 15, 1979: Brad Gulden was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Gary Thomasson.[1]
Season standings
| NL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds | 90 | 71 | 0.559 | — | 48–32 | 42–39 |
| Houston Astros | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | 1½ | 52–29 | 37–44 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 11½ | 46–35 | 33–48 |
| San Francisco Giants | 71 | 91 | 0.438 | 19½ | 38–43 | 33–48 |
| San Diego Padres | 68 | 93 | 0.422 | 22 | 39–42 | 29–51 |
| Atlanta Braves | 66 | 94 | 0.412 | 23½ | 34–45 | 32–49 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 4–8 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 1–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 4–8 | |||||
| Chicago | 8–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–12 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 8–10 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 10–7 | 6–12 | 8–4 | |||||
| Houston | 11–7 | 6–6 | 10–8 | — | 10–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 6–6 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 6–12 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 8–10 | — | 6–6 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 9–9 | 14–4 | 6–6 | |||||
| Montreal | 9–1 | 12–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 15–3 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 10–8 | |||||
| New York | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–15 | — | 5–13 | 8–10–1 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 7–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 5-7 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 7–11–1 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 8–4 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 | 10–8–1 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 11–7 | |||||
| San Diego | 12–6 | 3–9 | 7–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 5–7 | — | 8–10 | 4–8 | |||||
| San Francisco | 7–11 | 4–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 10–8 | — | 5–7 | |||||
| St. Louis | 8–4 | 10–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 11–7–1 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 7–5 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- April 7, 1979: Rick Rhoden was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jerry Reuss.[2]
- May 11, 1979: Lance Rautzhan was purchased from the Dodgers by the Milwaukee Brewers.[3]
- May 11, 1979: Lerrin LaGrow was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox.[4]
Roster
| 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Steve Yeager | 105 | 310 | 67 | .216 | 13 | 41 |
| 1B | Steve Garvey | 162 | 648 | 204 | .315 | 28 | 110 |
| 2B | Davey Lopes | 153 | 582 | 154 | .265 | 28 | 73 |
| SS | Bill Russell | 153 | 627 | 170 | .271 | 7 | 56 |
| 3B | Ron Cey | 150 | 487 | 137 | .281 | 28 | 81 |
| LF | Dusty Baker | 151 | 554 | 152 | .274 | 23 | 88 |
| CF | Derrel Thomas | 141 | 406 | 104 | .256 | 5 | 44 |
| RF | Reggie Smith | 68 | 234 | 64 | .274 | 10 | 32 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ferguson | 122 | 363 | 95 | .262 | 20 | 69 |
| Gary Thomasson | 115 | 315 | 78 | .248 | 14 | 45 |
| Von Joshua | 94 | 142 | 40 | .282 | 3 | 14 |
| Ted Martínez | 81 | 112 | 30 | .268 | 0 | 2 |
| Mickey Hatcher | 33 | 93 | 25 | .269 | 1 | 5 |
| Pedro Guerrero | 25 | 62 | 15 | .242 | 2 | 9 |
| Johnny Oates | 26 | 46 | 6 | .130 | 0 | 2 |
| Manny Mota | 47 | 42 | 15 | .357 | 0 | 3 |
| Rick Monday | 12 | 33 | 10 | .303 | 0 | 2 |
| Vic Davalillo | 29 | 27 | 7 | .259 | 0 | 2 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Sutcliffe | 39 | 242.0 | 17 | 10 | 3.46 | 117 |
| Don Sutton | 33 | 226.0 | 12 | 15 | 3.82 | 146 |
| Burt Hooton | 29 | 212.0 | 11 | 10 | 2.97 | 129 |
| Andy Messersmith | 11 | 62.1 | 2 | 4 | 4.91 | 26 |
| Doug Rau | 11 | 56.0 | 1 | 5 | 5.30 | 28 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Reuss | 39 | 160.0 | 7 | 14 | 3.54 | 83 |
| Charlie Hough | 42 | 151.1 | 7 | 5 | 4.76 | 76 |
| Bob Welch | 25 | 81.1 | 5 | 6 | 3.98 | 64 |
| Gerry Hannahs | 4 | 16.0 | 0 | 2 | 3.38 | 6 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Patterson | 36 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5.26 | 34 |
| Lerrin LaGrow | 31 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 3.41 | 22 |
| Ken Brett | 30 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3.45 | 13 |
| Bobby Castillo | 19 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1.11 | 25 |
| Joe Beckwith | 17 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4.34 | 28 |
| Terry Forster | 17 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5.51 | 8 |
| Lance Rautzhan | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7.45 | 5 |
| Dennis Lewallyn | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.11 | 1 |
- National League Rookie of the Year
- TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award
- NL Player of the Week
- Dusty Baker (May 22–28)
- Manny Mota (Aug. 27 – Sep. 3)
All-Stars
- 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Steve Garvey, starter, first base
- Davey Lopes, starter, second base
- Ron Cey, reserve
- TSN National League All-Star
- Baseball Digest Rookie All-Star
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Albuquerque Dukes | Pacific Coast League | Del Crandall |
| AA | San Antonio Dodgers | Texas League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Lodi Dodgers | California League | Stan Wasiak |
| A | Clinton Dodgers | Midwest League | Dick McLaughlin |
| Rookie | Lethbridge Dodgers | Pioneer League | Gail Henley |
Teams in BOLD won League Championships
The Dodgers drafted 36 players in the June draft and 11 in the January draft. Of those, five players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.
The Dodgers lost their first round pick in the June draft to the San Diego Padres because they signed free agent Derrel Thomas but they gained the first round picks of the Pittsburgh Pirates (compensation for Lee Lacy) and New York Yankees (for Tommy John). With those picks they drafted two players from the University of Michigan, left-handed pitcher Steve Howe and right-handed pitcher Steve Perry. Howe was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year, a 1981 World Series Champion and a 1982 All-Star. He played in 12 seasons and saved 328 games before a drug addiction forced him out of the game. Perry pitched six seasons in the minors, the last two with the AAA Albuquerque Dukes, and finished 28-40 with a 5.34 ERA before the Dodgers released him.
This year's draft class also included pitcher Orel Hershiser from Bowling Green University, who was picked in the 17th round. He pitched 18 seasons (13 with the Dodgers), winning 204 games. He set a Major League record with a 59 consecutive scoreless inning streak in 1988 en route to winning the Cy Young Award and the World Series MVP. He was also a three-time All-Star.
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January draft
January Secondary phase
June draft
June secondary phase
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