The idea for this post came from Cassidy. And it is a very interesting question. Who are the best defenders, and runners-up in Dodger history at their positions? What should the criteria be? How do you judge the different eras? Prior to the 1960’s, players used much smaller gloves, the fields were not as well manicured as they are now. Outfield walls were not padded. No social media to show replays of the great and spectacular plays that were made, usually just crude video from the broadcasts of the time. Like Gionfriddo’s catch, or the catch made by Sandy Amoros.
But I will do the best I can, using some stats, and comments from players who played alongside some of the best. I will stick to players who played from 1950 on. Their stats were kept much better than the earlier players. And the gloves were closer to what modern players use than the ones used through WWII. We will go position by position. Focusing on the defensive prowess of each.
Catcher
1950: Roy Campanella, catcher of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
If you went by fielding percentage, some all-time greats would not be in the top 25 in baseball history. That would include 7 who are in the Hall of Fame. You can get a lot of different answers from a lot of different websites. The best defensive catcher in Dodger history is Roy Campanella. Campy has the MLB record for the highest caught stealing percentage in history, 57.4 % of base runners caught. He caught more than 62.5% four times in his career. He had only 64 passed balls in his 10-year career. Campy’s career fielding percentage was .987. Right behind him would be Steve Yeager and then Mike Scioscia. They are the only other catchers with a caught stealing percentage over 36. Like Campy, both were excellent game callers and very good at blocking home plate when it was still allowed. Highest fielding percentage by a Dodger catcher? AJ Ellis. .997. Highest career dWAR Steve Yeager 15.4, Mike Scioscia, 13.4. Campy’s dWAR 9.0. The best catcher since they moved to LA, Steve Yeager. Boomer was solid defensively and probably the best at blocking the plate along with Scioscia.
First Base
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 1971: First baseman Wes Parker, of the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have had several very good defensive first basemen over the years. Gil Hodges won the first three Gold Gloves awarded to first basemen in 57-58 and 59. He was a sure handed defender and made just 126 errors as a first baseman over his 18-year career. His career fielding percentage was .992. Wes Parker won six consecutive Gold Gloves from 67-72. Garvey won 4 straight Gold Gloves, 74-77. I am going with Parker. Wes was a wizard with his glove. Highest fielding percentage of any Dodger first baseman in their history. Plus, I saw him play a lot, and he passes the eye test. Freddie hasn’t played in LA long enough, and he is slightly better than average as a defender. Adrian Gonzalez actually has more Gold Gloves than Freddie, 2-1.
Second Base
Well one thing is for sure, Steve Sax won’t make the cut. Most players today are judged by their defensive runs saved. The most games played at second as a Dodger, Jim Gilliam. Gilliam played 1166 games at second. Davey Lopes played 1207 games for the Dodgers, but some of them as an outfielder or third baseman. Jackie Robinson has the highest dWAR among those who played second, but he played 748 games at the position. Gilliam gets the nod here. His 8.2 dWAR is much higher than Lopes 3.2. He was much more versatile than Lopes and spent his entire career with the Dodgers.
Third Base
Tough category to evaluate. Ron Cey and JT spent the most time there since I have watched the Dodgers. Cey played 12 years for the Dodgers and his dWAR is 11.0. JT played 9 years for the Dodgers but his dWAR as a Dodger is just 3.1. Cey also beat out Adrian Beltre who had a 7.8 in his time with the Dodgers. The Penguin was a solid defensive player during his Dodger years. Beltre might have been the best had he stayed in LA.
Shortstop
The all-time best would go to Pee Wee Reese. Reese has the all-time best dWAR of any Dodger player, 25.6. He is by a wide margin, the best defensive SS the Dodgers have ever had, but Bill Russell, which might surprise some, is the best in LA history. His dWAR if 19.4 is second only to Reese. Yeager’s 14.9 is third. Maury Wills is third on the list. Watching Russell play all those years, I just never considered him a great shortstop. I believed Wills was better because he was so fast. Offensively, Seager was probably the best. By the way, Pee Wee is the only Dodger on the dWAR leader list in the top 25 in MLB history. Beltre, who is 15th on the list, played the bulk of his career elsewhere.
Left Field
Another tough position to evaluate. Dusty Baker played there 7 seasons. His first year in LA he played center. Believe it or not, no left fielder I can find in LA played longer. Tommy Davis had 7 full seasons there also. Even Wally Moon only played 7 years in LA. The all-time leader at the spot is Zack Wheat, who was by all accounts, an excellent fielder. But simply because he had more time there than any other left fielder in LA history, the nod goes to Baker. Dusty had a very good throwing arm and had 110 outfield assists.
Center Field
In my heart, the nod would go to Duke Snider. Duke had a cannon for an arm, excellent range, and was as graceful as they come. Duke never won a Gold Glove, there was this guy named Mays who played the same position. He won 12 straight playing CF. But the best CF the Dodgers have had has to be Willie Davis. The 3-Dog could cover a lot of ground. He had 113 outfield assists in his career. Willie could get to balls that no one else could run down. His career dWAR is 12.0, fourth on the list. 
Right Field
The best Brooklyn ever had was Carl Furillo. The Reading Rifle was an excellent defender with one of the best outfield arms in Dodger history. But Carl only had a couple of seasons in LA, and he did not play much. He did spend 15 years with the Dodgers, and probably was the best right fielder in team history. The longest tenured right fielder in LA history is Raul Mondesi. He was with the Dodgers for 7 years. Puig spent 6 seasons in LA. They had perhaps the best arms in LA history in right. Reggie Smith was very good in right field too but only spent 6 years in LA and was injured much of that time. My choice has only been a Dodger for 5 years, but he has made some of the best plays in right I have seen. He is now going to be their SS, Mookie Betts. Mookie has saved more than a few games in his short time in LA. He made some very memorable catches in the NLCS in 2020. He also made a diving game saving walk off catch against the Padres a few years ago. Honorable mention to Furillo who did it longer than any other Dodger. Revision: I would like to apologize to our readers. I made a huge omission. The longest tenured RF in LA Dodger history was Andre Ethier who played for the Dodgers for 12 years. I am totally surprised that no one caught me on that. You could actually say he played 10 full seasons. His last two years he was injured most of the time and only played a total of 38 games. He was an excellent fielder and won a Gold Glove in 2011. He finished his career with 67 outfield assists. “Captain Clutch” definitely was one of the best they have had out in RF.
Pitcher
It is very hard to judge pitchers by their fielding ability. Greg Maddux won 16 Gold Gloves in his career. Zack Greinke and Andy Messersmith are the only two pitchers in Dodger history to win two while with the team. But the best fielding Dodger pitcher in their history is Clayton Kershaw. Kersh has just one Gold Glove, but he has made just 12 errors in 17 years. Greinke, who has 6, has only 9 in his 20 years. But he only played 3 years in LA. So, CK gets the nod.
That is the list of the best defenders by position. I am sure all of you have your picks. I left out utility guys since they only began getting recognition a few years ago. Kike and Taylor would both be on that list.
Nice win to start the home stand. Old friend Jack Flaherty takes the mound for the Tigers tonight. Kike will most likely miss the game. Treinen did a high wire act in the 9th, but got the job done.
We’re going to shell him
Great article Bear. Still can’t get the 1966 WS out of my mind with Willie Davis. I was young so maybe that is why it burnt the memory. Loved Parker, I played first is probably why I had such fond memories of him.
Thanks John. Like I have said many times, I met Wes at a card show in Orange in 1980. He was the one who got me my anthem gig at Dodger Stadium. Really nice guy. He worked as a broadcaster on Dodger Talk for a while.
Izturis
Not even close. Izturis played 5 years in LA. He won exactly one gold glove. Reese far exceeds him in dWAR. Same with Russell.
Baseball Savant uses Fielding Run Value. There are several other metrics used as well. I’ve often wondered how Golden Gloves have been determined.
Same way Best Picture at Oscars is.
Good point.
I will have to check out Baseball Savant.
I saw Cesar with my own eyes and he was a shutdown SS. Not quite Ozzie or Vizquel but outstanding in his own right. Stats don’t tell the whole story with defense, Silly Old Bear.
Well Johnny, I saw Izturis too. And he was not a Dodger long enough to be considered. Russell was much better as a Dodger than Izturis was. Stats tell the real story even if you disagree. You want to pick the players, I suggest you ask Jeff if you can write for Dodger Chronicles.
Calm down, bruv.
You’re no expert. Don’t feel so challenged.
Neither are you, and I am not your bruv whatever the hell that is. Like I said, you want to pick you own team, ask Jeff to let you write for the Chronicles. And I am always calm. I am not silly either. Challenged? By you? Doubtful. The story was about the best as a Dodger. Izturis wasn’t with them long enough.
You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?
I know exactly what I am talking about. I chose the players because of longevity and what they accomplished as Dodgers. Adrian Beltre was with the Dodgers for 7 years. He spent the next 14 years in the American League. Cey had a more productive career defensively than Beltre. Izturis was a Dodger for 5 years. I am not comparing a guy who spent just 5 years with the team to two guys who spent their entire careers as Dodgers. Now if that offends you, I don’t give a shit.
Thanks Bear. Can’t disagree with any of your selections except maybe Beltre over Cey. More range. Never knew Russell had such statistically good numbers. Never considered him a great defender. Speaking of defense, always remembered the story of Pedro Guerrero. He prayed first that the batter would not hit the ball to him. And second, not to Sax as well.
Cey gets the nod because he played a lot longer as a Dodger than Beltre. Beltre’s career dWAR is better, but not as a Dodger.
Beltre was the better defender. Your article’s fine, btw, just offering my own opinion.
Not as a Dodger he wasn’t and that is what the post is about. He was great elsewhere.
Well we are still on pace for 162 and 0.
*Fun game. Fun atmosphere and fun to see the intensity ramp up after spring games. Even the Japan games seemed like an exhibition.
*I thought the Freddie and Kirk Gibson first pitch ceremony was great.
*Snell and the Dodger pitchers did a number of Houdini escapes all making big pitches for big outs all game. Dodgers 3 LOB, Tigers 11.
*I miss the challenge system already.
*6 walks by Dodger pitching is too many.
*I thought Teoscar’s throw to third in the 5th that short-hopped Muncy was not described well by the booth. Snell had hustled to back up third but the hitter advanced to 2nd. Teo got criticized for overthrowing the cut-off man. I saw it differently. Mookie was the cut-off man and he was way out of position, hanging out close to 2nd base instead of being lined up closer to third so he could cut the throw and keep Greene from advancing.
*Snell’s change up was great and overall he had a tough outing with 5 hits and 4 walks but only 2 runs. The wild pitch to score a Tiger run was weird. He tried the same chase breaking ball the previous pitch and Will made a great block. But going to the well a second time with a 50 footer over Will’s shoulder was a poor idea
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*I loved the conversation with David Cone, who I think is great on TV, about Skubal’s change up. He discussed how he doesn’t pronate on his change, with 2 fingers on top and palmed enough to scrap speed. That was close to home of me. Back in the day when the Glavin Circle Change became a thing that everybody wanted to copy, I scrapped it with my pitchers because the pronation caused a lot of sore arms. So we came up with grips to look like a fastball but scraped speed. I learned a change grip from a kid who moved the baseball as far out on his fingertips as he could control, with a crab-grip with the 2 middle fingers on top of 2 seams. It worked great, especially for kids who struggled with a grip with the ball palmed ie stuffed back in their hand. I taught the change-up grip to many kids and it worked great with no pronation issues and was easier to control
.
*Eddie Perez pointed out the changes in Torkelson’s swing. That swing looks great; short to the ball, in balance with serious bat speed. He’s no longer out front as shown by the video. That is an example of how a one-one draft pick can make adjustments to make a great swing even better.
Fun game
I like the Tigers. I didn’t know some of their guys but they played hard. Aside from the baserunning mistake by Torkelson, they played well.
I agree Johnny. I was impressed with their effort and play despite being undermanned and lack of RBI. Ryan Kreider made a great catch in center which all the more impressive as he is a recently converted SS moved to center.
The move seems to have worked often. Mickey Mantle comes to mind.
And the Tigers can certainly compete with Skull on the bump.
“Mookie was the cut-off man and he was way out of position, hanging out close to 2nd base instead of being lined up closer to third so he could cut the throw and keep Greene from advancing”
I saw that too. I wondered if anyone else had.
Skubal change. I’ve never seen that grip before. Interesting.
I didn’t find that a particularly well played game. Snell wasn’t that impressive, neither was the bullpen. An unearned run given up. 1 for 2 WRISP. Really? 2 at bats with runners in scoring position? 3 home runs accounting for all 5 runs was very Dodger-like.
I noticed a lot of empty seats all over the stadium, but the crowd was listed at 53, 595. Capacity is now 56,000. Not a sellout on Opening Day.
Ice Cube delivering the trophy in that particular car was …differe. I think I would have rather seen Koufax in a ‘59 Cadillac.
Koufax in a 63 Corvette. Or, Judge and Cole in a 58 Edsel.
Good choices.
I picked Koufax in a ‘59 Cadillac because, well, the ‘59 Championship I saw him pitch in, and a Cadillac because that’s what Tommy Davis was in when I got his autograph in the Coliseum parking lot. It was a brand new white one.
Koufax would have been great.
I also didn’t especially like the music selection pre-game with Freddie, family and dad either. Then with Gibby and the first pitch.
Again piercingly loud and odd hip-hop selection for that ceremony.
I understand that Ice Cube is a die hard Dodger fan since he was a kid. But I too found it an odd choice. Maybe we’re just too old to get it. Wouldn’t be the first time for me.
Ice Cube cemented his connection to the Dodgers by winning the World Series rap battle against the NY guy, whats-his-name.
Easy quiz…
What do Ice Cube and Duke Snider have in common?
Some of you know…
Both are straight outta Compton.
The OKC Comets start their 2025 season tonight in Sugar Land Texas against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, the Houston Astros AAA affiliate. The Space Cowboys won the AAA National Championship Game last year, after they swept the 2-game series against the Reno Aces (Dbacks) to win the PCL, and then beat the Omaha Storm Chasers (KC) to win baseball’s Triple-A National Championship Game.
The current Comets starting rotation is:
· Bobby Miller (40 man)
· Landon Knack (40 man)
· Justin Wrobleski (40 man)
· Nick Frasso (40 man)
· Carlos Duran
From those pitchers, Nick Frasso is getting the nod for opening day starter.
Frasso will face off against the Space Cowboys 26-year-old LHSP Colton Gordon. Gordon had #3 ERA for the Space Cowboys which was good enough for #3 in the PCL. The top three Sugar Land/PCL ERA leaders for 2024 were:
· Ryan Gusto (RHSP) – 3.70 (148.1 IP) – Houston roster as long reliever
· AJ Blubaugh (RHSP) – 3.83 (124.2 IP) – AAA roster
· Colton Gordon (LHSP) – 3.94 (123.1 IP) – AAA rosters
Tomorrow, I will have a report on the game with a discussion of the 2025 OKC Comets’ team. I will have the Dodgers game on the TV and OKC game on the computer. I am really looking forward to watching Nick Frasso.
That makes 2 of us. I’ll have my mini sports bar going tonight with the Dodgers on the laptop and OKC on the ipad,
Damn that AAA staff for OKC would be a nice rotation for a few MLB teams
I hope Wrobleski finds his way back.
Rushing and Chavis homered tonight.
Checked today and my MLB subscription comes with the Dodgers affiliates games. OKC plays at 6:05 my time
I just noticed that too. Happy to see.
I am not sure what all the fuss is about with Snell’s outing. He generally starts out the season slow, and this was not bad at all for him. Yes, he threw too many pitches (92), but 26 were in the 5th inning. He was at 66 after 4.0. Actually not bad at all for Snell. Did he run out of gas in the 5th? Probably. But he pitched a total of only 9.0 innings in 3 starts in the Spring, including his start against the Hanshin Tigers (exhibition game). The exhibition game is the last game Snell pitched, almost two weeks ago.
Compare that to Tarik Skubal. He had 5 Spring starts with 19.1 IP. He last pitched March 21 with 6.0 IP. Skubal is the reigning CY winner and is considered the favorite to repeat. During the Spring, Tarik gave up 5 runs including 2 HRs. In 5.0 innings against the Dodgers he gave up 2 HRs and 4 runs.
Snell had 14 swings and misses (40 swings): 5 on his 4-seamer (31%), 3 on his curve (30%), and 6 on his change (50%). Total 35% whiffs. He had 2 strikeouts and 4 walks (3 to Torkelson). Snell’s issues were not with his stuff, but with his control. Too many 3-ball counts. The Dodgers had 41 swings against Skubal with only 8 whiffs (20%).
Snell has a history of starting out the season a little sketchy. For his career, Snell has 471.0 IP for the first three months of the season, with a 4.34 ERA. For the final three months of the season, Snell has compiled 630.2 IP with a 2.34 ERA. His K/9 for the first three months is 9.8 while it is 11.6 for the final three months. His BB/9 for the first three months is 4.4 and 3.9 for the final three months. Snell is especially lethal the final month.
Snell gave up 5 hard hit balls (>95.0), with only 1 > 100 (100.1 – Gleyber Torres in 5th). Skubal allowed 8 hard hit balls including 4 of the 5 hardest hit balls on the night, all above 108.6 MPH. That does not include Teoscar’s HR which was 108.3 (6th hardest hit). Detroit’s Brenan Hanifee gave up the other hardest hit.
The Dodgers are now 3-0 against LHSP and good LHSP.
What I am concerned about is Andy Pages’ misreading balls hit over his head. He does not seem to get a read at all off the bat. He darn near misjudged Jake Rogers flyball in the 2nd with 2 on and 2 out. Whoever is teaching Pages how to play OF is not getting through to him. He does not seem to get a good jump on balls in the gap, but has enough speed to be able to catch up to it. But anything hit over his head is an adventure. Ryan Kreidler’s catch of Tommy Edman’s ball in the RC gap is how to play defense.
Pages is going to be an adventure in CF. The team is much better defensively with Edman in CF. Unless Pages OPS is .800 or better, I would prefer they go with Edman in CF and Kike, Taylor, or Rojas at 2B. The best scenario is Outman in CF with Edman at 2B. If Pages does not put up OPS of .800 plus, I would go with Outman.
Great article by the way. Really enjoyed it. I love great defense.
I think with kike healthy the line up would have been different. Personally I would have kept Outman up just for the defense, and prayed he could figure out how to hit.
Thanks Ohio.
Fully agree. Edman is good in CF, but a Gold Glover at 2B. We saw him make three sterling plays in one inning the other day.
I’m rooting for Outman to get hot in OKC and get called up. The best defensive lineup would have Outman in CF and Edman at 2B. Of course I’m also rooting for Pages to improve–but he just isn’t a “true” centerfielder.
The Dodgers have five or six position players in OKC who could make several ML rosters: Rushing, Outman, Freeland, Kim, Feduccia and Rosario. And pitchers Miller, Knack, Wrobleski and Frasso are ML quality as well….
Speaking of defense, check out the recent highlights of Matt Chapman for the Giants. Platinum quality. Back when Max was playing 1B–quite well, btw– I want the Dodgers to get Chapman from the A’s. But the Jays got him instead.
Things worked out with Freddie, of course. But AF should have still landed Chapman.
Have the Dodgers made any errors through five games? I can’t think of any…
That’s the spirit Jeff. But pointing out the obvious is ok too. A WHIP of 1.8 sucks begonias. He’ll get better. So will Skubal
Pages is just not a good outfielder. Maybe he’ll get better too. If he doesn’t start hitting, lose him. If he does start hitting, trade him to Chicago.
It was a very Snellian performance.
Thank you bear, that was a
great read on a very interesting topic, and thank you Cassidy for coming up with the idea
Your welcome Keith
Tonight’s lineup against Flaherty. Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Teo, Muncy, Edman, Conforto, Pages, Barnes. Yamamoto pitching. Detroit’s lineup against Yamamoto. Torres 2B, Carpenter RF, Greene LF, Torkelson DH, Keith 1B, McKinstry 3B, Dingler C, Sweeney SS, Kreidler CF.
It’s nice seeing so many old friends start the season well. Vargas, Sweeney, McKinstry, Ruiz, Busch.
Deluca and Pepiot, too
I called the Sweeney K against Treinen last night. Bad match up for a young hitter.
You can always count on Freeman. Nice start by Flaherty. I would have liked to se the Dodgers keep him but knew that probably would not happen.