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Dodger Award Winners: Part 3 The ROYs

                                                   One thing about doing these posts on awards, it makes me research how the award was established. In most cases I knew part of the story, but not the inside info. The ROY as we call it, actually began in Chicago in 1940 by their chapter of the BBWAA. It was in existence until 1946. The award became national in 1947. The first two seasons, 47-48, the award was just given to one player. In 1949, they started awarding one in each league. In 1987, 40 years after he broke into the game, the award was named for Jackie Robinson. Since in inception, 19 ROY’s have been elected to the Hall. There have been dual winners once in each league. Butch Metzger and Pat Zachry in the NL in 1976, Alfredo Griffin and John Castino in the AL in 1979. The qualifications to be considered for the ROY have changed several times. At first, it was fewer than 75 at bats, or 45 innings pitched in any previous MLB season. That was then amended to 90 at bats, 45 innings pitched, or 45 days on a MLB roster before September 1st of the previous year. The current standard, adopted in 1971, is 130 at bats, 50 innings pitched, or 45 days on the active roster, excluding time in the military or on the IL before September 1st.

                                                    The first winner was as most of us know, Jackie Robinson. He pioneered the advent of players of color being allowed to play with whites in the major leagues. I myself cannot imagine what he had to endure to be successful. The movie, 42, is by all accounts an excellent adaption of his struggles during that season. With all of that distraction, Robinson helped lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to the 1947 National League pennant.

                                                   Jackie won on the strength of a .297/12/48 line. He was a 4.2 WAR player with an OPS of .810 and a OBP of .389. He stole 29 bases. All of that while playing out of position at first base. His 29 steals led the league, and he also led the league with 28 sacrifice bunts. He walked 79 times and struck out just 36. He got a 78$ share of the votes, beating out Giants pitcher, Larry Jansen, by 14%. Jansen won 21 and lost 5 with a 3.16 ERA.

                                                   1948’s winner was Alvin Dark of the Giants. In 1949, the award was given to both leagues for the first time. The AL winner was outfielder, Roy Seivers. In the NL, it was Dodger pitcher, Don Newcombe. Newk posted a 17-8 mark with a 3.17 ERA. He had a 1.211 WHIP, 19 complete games, 5 shutouts and 1 save. He struck out 149 batters and walked 77, 4 intentionally. He handily beat Del Crandall of the Braves, 88%-13%.

                                                  The next Dodger winner was in 1952 when reliever, Joe Black beat out Hoyt Wilhelm, the future Hall of Famer by 66%. Black had a stellar rookie season winning 15 games, losing just 4 with a 2.15 ERA. He saved 15 games and had a 1.005 WHIP.  He appeared in 56 games, 2 of them starts. He pitched 142.1 innings allowing just 102 hits. He struck out 85 and walked 41.

                                                 1953 saw another Dodger take home the award. This time it was infielder, Jim Gilliam. Junior as most called him, had a .278/6/63 line. He stole 21 bases and walked 100 times. His OPS was .798. His OBP .383. For one of the few times in his career, he played just one position all year, second base. He got just a 49% share of the votes, beating out 20 game winner, Harvey Haddix of the Cardinals, who got just 17%. Seven players earned votes. 

                                                Gilliam was the last Brooklyn Dodger to win the award. They would be in Los Angeles when the award went to outfielder, Frank Howard in 1960. Howard was a huge human being, standing 6’7″ and weighing 255 pounds. He had a couple of cups of coffee with the team in 58-59. In 1960, he came up to stay. Big Frank, or Hondo as he became to be called, hit .268/23/77. He struck out a lot for that era, 108 times, and walked just 32. His slugging pct. was .464. He did not really reach his potential until after the Dodgers traded him to the Senators in 1964. But in the early 60’s, he was the Dodgers main power source. He played 1st base too for a while. He got a 50% share of the vote, beating out Philie’s 1st basemen, Pancho Herrera who had 17%. Teammate, Tommy Davis, who hit .302, finished 5th.

                                                 Four years later in 1965, Dodger second baseman, Jim Lefebvre would beat out Houston Astros second baseman, and future Hall of Famer, Joe Morgan, 65% to 20%. Morgan’s BA was 21 points higher, plus he led the league in walks, 97 and stole 20 bases. But Lefebvre drove in 29 more runs and played for the eventual pennant and World Series winner. I would venture to say, if they had done the same thing in this era, Morgan would most likely have won the award. His stats over all were just than much better. Houston finished 9th that year.

                                                 Just 4 years later, another Dodger would win the award. Second baseman, Ted Sizemore was the winner in 1969.  Ted hit .271 with 4 homers and 46 driven in. He garnered a 58% share of the vote, beating out Montreal’s Coco Laboy by 45%. Finishing third was a future member of the Dodgers, Al Oliver of the Pirates. Larry Hisle, of the Phillies finished 5th. Not sure why Sizemore ended up getting the award. Laboy, Oliver and Hisle all had superior offensive numbers to Sizemore. Sizemore’s defense at second, and at SS where he played some games, left a lot to be desired. Nonetheless, he became the Dodgers seventh recipient of the award.

                                                It would be 10 years before the next Dodger would win the award. This time it went to a pitcher, Rick Sutcliffe. Sut won 17, lost 10, with a 3.46 ERA. He was not a strikeout pitcher, getting just 117 in 242.0 innings. He had 5 complete games and one shutout. He beat Jeffery Leonard, who had just a 13% share of the votes, whereas Rick totaled 883%. He would not be a Dodger long, traded after the 1981 season to the Indians in the Jorge Orta trade, which also brought Jack Fimple and Larry White to LA. Jack Perconte was the other player sent to Cleveland. 

                                            In 1980, the ROY went to Steve Howe, another pitcher, but this time a lefty reliever. Howe did something that year as a 22-year-old that not many players have done. He made the jump to the majors after just 13 games in the minors at AA San Antonio in 1979. Howe had a 7-9 record with a 2.66 ERA. He walked almost as many as he struck out, 32-39, in 84.2 innings of work. He saved 17 games. He got a 67% share of the vote, and he beat out players like Bill Gullickson 2nd, Lonnie Smith 3rd, Dave Smith 5th, Jeff Readon, Leon Durham, Al Holland and Bob Walk.

                                          1981 belonged to the Dodgers and their 3rd ROY in a row, Fernando Valenzuela. Not only did he win the ROY, he was the Cy Young winner also. The only pitcher in MLB history to accomplish that feat. He was 13-7 with 11 complete games and 8 shutouts in the shortened season. He led the league in shutouts, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts. He pitched well in the playoffs and World Series adding 3 wins and a loss to his totals. He beat out Tim Raines by getting a 89% share to Raines 71%. Hubie Brooks finished 3rd.

                                         For the fourth year in a row, a Dodger took home the trophy in 1982. 2nd baseman, Steve Sax was the winner. Sax hit .282 with 4 homers and 47 driven in. He stole 49 bases. He eked out a win over Johnny Ray of the Pirates by a 53%-48% margin. Ray had just 2 hits more than Sax 182-180. He was a point lower in BA. Sax overcame a bad case of the yips to become about average as a defender. He also made the All-Star team that year.  

                                         It would be 1991 before another Dodger took home the trophy. Eric Karros took over as the Dodgers regular 1st baseman. He would hit .257 with 20 homers and 88 RBIs. Eric played in 149 games and had 149 hits. He also had 30 doubles and 1 triple. Karros was born in Hackensack New Jersey and attended college at UCLA. He was a sixth-round draft choice in 1988. He went to high school in San Diego at Patrick Henry High School. He presently works for the Dodgers as a color commentator on television broadcasts.

                                        The Dodgers did not have to wait long for the next one. 1992’s award went to catcher Mike Piazza. Mike was born in Norristown Pa, in 1968. His dad was friends with Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda was also from Norristown. Mike was drafted as a favor to Lasorda in the 62nd round. He was not considered at the time to be a great prospect. He was attending Miami Dade College. Mike had one of the best rookie seasons any Dodger ever has had. He batted .318 with 35 homers, a Dodger rookie record, and 112 driven in. He also had 24 doubles and 2 triples.

                                      Unfortunately, when the Dodgers changed ownership from O’Malley to Fox Sports, their execs decided to trade him to Miami. He was there just a short time before he was traded to the Mets, where he would spend 8 years. One year longer than his Dodger tenure. But Dodger fans can say they saw the best of Piazza who hit .331 in LA, and .296 as a Met. Mike was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016 with 83% of the vote. It was his 4th year on the ballot.

                                      LA made it three in a row in 93. Raul Mondesi, a outfielder from San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, took home the trophy on the strength of a .306/16/56 line. He played right field most of the time and had the best arm they had seen in Dodger blue since Carl Furillo. Karros had won his with 97% of the vote, Piazza had been a unanimous choice. Mondesi was a unanimous choice too. Mondesi spent seven years with the Dodgers before moving to Toronto in the Shawn Green trade.

                                       The Dodgers signed a pitcher from Japan for the 94 season. It was Hideo Nomo. The Tornado as he was known, would win 13 games while losing 6. He led the league in strikeouts with 236 and wild pitches with 19. His ERA was 2.54 and he had 4 complete games and 3 shutouts. Nomo would pitch 6 full seasons in LA and part of another. He was traded to the Mets in 1998 and then returned to LA in 2002 as a free agent. He threw 2 no-hitters in his career, one with LA against the Rockies in 1996 at Coors Field, and his second came for the Red Sox in his Red Sox debut on April 4 in Baltimore against the Orioles. His win was the second time the Dodgers had 4 in a row, 79-82 was the first.  

                                    They did that run one better in 95 when outfielder Todd Hollandsworth took home the award. Nomo had barely beaten out Chipper Jones in 94. Hollandsworth beat slick fielding Cardinals SS, Edgar Renteria with 15 first place votes to 10. Hollandsworth hit .291/12/59. He stole 21 bases and had 26 doubles and 4 triples. Todd was a 3rd round draft choice out of Newport HS in Bellevue Washington in 1991. He played for the Dodgers for six years before being traded to the Rockies with 2 minor leaguers for Tom Goodwin.

                                  The Dodgers would have to wait 20 years for the next player to be named the Rookie of the Year. In September of 2015, the Dodgers called up SS, Corey Seager. Seager got into 27 games, coming to bat 98 times. He had 33 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. He stole 2 bases without being caught. He batted .337. He went 3-16 in the NLDS loss to the Mets. If he had a downside, it was his defense. In 21 games at SS, he made 5 errors. 

                                 In 2016 he became the starting SS for the LA Dodgers. Seager played in 157 games. He had 193 hits. 40 doubles, 5 triples, 26 homers and 72 RBIs while batting .308. Corey had been a 1st round draft pick in 2012 out of Northwest Cabarrus HS in Concord North Carolina. He was a unanimous choice for the award, and he beat out a future teammate, Trea Turner od the Nationals.

                                Corey would play seven years for the Dodgers. His injury and surgery in 2018 forced them to trade for Manny Machado. But he returned healthy for the 2019 season. In the pandemic year of 2020, Corey would play a huge part in the Dodgers Championship run. He was the MVP of both the NLCS and World Series blasting 8 homers and driving in 20 in the four-playoff series. He hit 5 in the NLCS against the Braves driving in 11 runs. He was teamed with Turner in 21 when LA brought him in to play second and possibly be their SS in 2022 if Seager left, which he did for the Texas Rangers. Seager has played well for the Rangers when healthy, and he won the World Series MVP award for Texas in 2023. But he was a better hitter in LA and a more productive run producer.

                               In 2017, the Dodgers had back-to-back winners again. This time it was 1st baseman, Cody Bellinger. Bellinger would also win unanimously beating Paul DeJong of the Cardinals.  Bellinger was a 4th round draft choice out of HS in Chandler Arizona. His dad, Clay, played for the Yankees and was part of the 2000 Yankees champs.  Bellinger was an emergency call up when Adrian Gonzalez went down. Bellinger wasn’t spectacular, but what he was being was consistent. He started off hitting around .270 and stayed at that mark or just below all year. He finished with a .267/39/97 line in 480 at bats over 132 games. He added 26 doubles and 4 triples, along with 10 stolen bases. His OPS was .933 and his 39 homers were a new record for rookies passing Piazza’s 35.

                             He hit 3 homers in the Dodgers playoff run, driving in 9 runs. He batted .318 against the Cubs in the NLCS, but had a miserable World Series against Houston, striking out 17 times in 28 at bats. All four of his hits in the series went for extra bases. 2 doubles a triple and a homer. He played 93 games at first and 46 in the outfield. He was an excellent defender at both positions. He was the MVP of the NLCS against the Brewers in 18, despite batting just .200. After a down year in 2018, Bellinger would have his finest in 2019.

                            Bellinger would win the MVP award in 2019. He started out fast. He was hitting .336 with 30 homers after 88 games. In 68 games in the second half, he hit just .263/17/44. That gave him 47 homers and 115 RBIs for the year. LA was beaten in the playoffs by the eventual World Series winners, the Nationals. Like many players he struggled to be consistent in 2020. He would have 14 hits in the 4-playoff series, including 4 homers and 13 runs batted in. He hit what would be a game winning homer in game 7 of the NLCS against the Braves. 

                           He was injured much of 21 playing in just 95 games. He batted just .165. He rebounded some in 22, hitting .210 with 19 homers, but the Dodgers non-tendered him that winter and he signed with the Cubs. He has made better contact the last three years with his batting average in the .280 range.  He hit .307 for the Cubs in 23, but his power numbers are down as is his hard-hit rate. He is currently playing for the New York Yankees and playing pretty well. 

                           Walker Buehler finished 3rd in 18 to Acuna, same year Ohtani won while an Angel. Gonsolin and May were4th and 5th in 2020. James Outman, who was third in 2023 was the last Dodger rookie to get any votes. LA has not really had a rookie make any kind of impact in 24 or so far this season. But they have some very good players in the minors. Will any of them take up that mantle and win the award? Or do we have to wait several more years for the next one. 18 Dodgers have won the award, two went on to have Hall of Fame careers. 

 

MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS

 

OKC Comets 5 – Reno Aces 1

Blake Snell put an exclamation point on his final 2025 rehab assignment.  A text book Snell outing…4.2 IP, 0 runs, 0 hits, 7 K, and yes the trademark 4 BB.  He threw 76 pitches and is ready to make his next start against Tampa Bay, next week.

 

 

 

He held his velo through his entire outing, which shows he can hold his endurance. He was 96 in the 1st, and 96 in the 5th.

The OKC pitching staff carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning during a 5-1 win over the Reno Aces Saturday.

The Comets opened the scoring in the 2nd with a Nick Senzel double (9) and scored on the first of Hunter Feduccia’s 3 hits.

In the 3rd, Austin Gauthier singled and moved to 2nd on a Justin Dean BB.  Gauthier scored on a Ryan Ward single.

In the 6th, Senzel and Feduccia hooked up again.  Senzel singled and Feduccia hit a 2-run HR (9) for a 4-0 lead.

In the 8th, Senzel and Feduccia hooked up for a 3rd time.  Senzel drew a BB, stole 2nd and scored on a Feduccia single and a 5-0 lead.

 

Relievers José Rodríguez and Garrett McDaniels followed Snell with a combined 3.1 hitless innings and retired all 10 batters, as the Comets held Reno without a hit through eight innings. However, Albert Almora led off the bottom the ninth inning with a triple to right-center field and later scored on a wild pitch, representing the Aces’ only run and hit of the night.

Ryan Ward extended his hitting streak to 15 games, going 1-for-4 with a RBI single. During the streak, Ward is 25-for-63 (.397) with 14 extra-base hits and 21 RBI…Ward collected his Minor League-leading 93rd RBI of the season.

Nick Senzel went 2-for-3 with a double and a season-high three runs. He has hit safely in seven straight games, going 11-for-27 (.407).

Justin Dean went 1-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases, as he is now on a 19-game on-base streak…Dean is up to 13 stolen bases in July and 24 steals for the season.

We learned a couple of other things on this day as it relates to OKC.

 

 

 

Box Score

 

Springfield Cardinals 4 – Tulsa Drillers 1

The series trend of strong pitching continued in Saturday night’s matchup between Tulsa and Springfield, but the Drillers were slightly outpitched by the Cardinals in a 4-1 loss. Four hurlers for the Cards combined to hold the Drillers to just four hits in the defeat, with the fourth inning being Tulsa’s downfall. In that pivotal fourth, Springfield produced five hits and scored three of its runs.

The loss by the Drillers gave the Cardinals their second win in the six-game series. Tulsa is now 4-13 against Springfield this season, but could claim a series victory with a win in Sunday’s series finale.

The Cardinals started quickly with the game’s first two batters reaching on a single and a ground-rule double. It set up the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly.

Tulsa responded in the second inning with its only run of the night when Chris Newell’s 12th home run of the season tied the game at 1-1.

All of the runs in the big fourth inning scored with two outs, thanks to three straight singles, as Springfield jumped ahead 4-1.

Tulsa starting pitcher Chris Campos recovered from the four runs allowed to retire the final seven hitters he faced in six innings of work. He also matched his season high with eight strikeouts.

After Campos’ six innings, Brandon Neeck and Kelvin Ramirez each had perfect outings over the final three innings.

Newell finished with a perfect night at the plate by earning three of Tulsa’s four hits, increasing his on-base streak to 12 straight games. During the streak, the University of Virginia product has reached base safely 21 times. Newell also finished a triple shy of the cycle.

For just the second time this season, the Drillers did not issue a walk in the game.

 

Box Score

 

Great Lakes Loons 7 – Beloit Sky Carp (Miami) 2

The Great Lakes Pontooners (Loons) had three multi-run innings and strong pitching, sailing to a 7-2 win over the Beloit Sky Carp.

Payton Martin pitched from the fourth and gained the first two outs in the eighth, striking out six along the way and earning the win. Up 4-2 in the seventh, the right-hander responded after permitting two singles, with a pickoff of Jacob Jenkins Cowart and back-to-back strikeouts.

For the third straight game, Great Lakes scored in the first inning, adding three. The inning saw five stolen bases, earning the franchise record for most stolen bases in a six-game series with now 22 in five games, with a sixth tomorrow.

In the first, Kendall George singled and stole both second and third. The second swipe was a double steal with Zyhir Hope, who walked. The throw went to second but was overthrown into centerfield. The debuting Eduardo Quintero singled home Hope with a poke to right center field.

 

George and Hope highlighted a two-run fifth inning. Wilman Diaz led off the frame with a double and scored on a George RBI groundout. Next up, the Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect rocked his second home run of the series. Hope sent it 410 feet with a 109 mph exit velocity over the right center field wall. He walked with the bases loaded in the eighth to add his 60th RBI of 2025.

 

Carlos Rojas provided a two-run single in the eighth inning, where the Pontooners extended the lead to 7-2. Beloit’s Justin Storm walked four in the inning, coupled with a defensive error at third base.

Cam Day earned the four-out save, inducing a game-ending double play.

Beloit’s two runs were on two-out hits. One in the first inning, the lone run given up by Sean Paul Linan in his two-inning start, and the other an RBI double in the sixth off Martin.

Kendall George has nine stolen bases in the series.

 

Box Score

 

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 11 – Visalia Rawhide (Arizona) 0

The Quakes fell five outs shy of their first nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history, but still earned a series-win with an 11-0 whipping of the Visalia Rawhide on Saturday night.

Starter Sterling Patick fired a career-high six innings of no-hit baseball and Mairo Martinus had five RBIs, helping the Quakes to their fourth win in five games over the Rawhide in the current series.

Rancho broke through against Visalia starter Chung-Hsiang Huang (0-1) in the fifth, as Martinus singled home Chase Harlan for a 1-0 lead.

Leading 2-0 in the sixth, Rancho got after the Visalia bullpen, with Martinus ripping a three-run double, then scoring on a wild pitch to give the Quakes a 6-0 advantage.

They’d add five more in the seventh, including a two-run double, the first hit in a Rancho uniform for Emil Morales, helping the Quakes to an 11-0 lead.

 

And his defense?

 

Patick struck out seven and walked just one over six frames, before turning it over to Justin Chambers. Chambers allowed a one-out infield hit to Alexander Benua on a bang-bang play at first, as the Rawhide broke up the no-hit bid.

Visalia opened the ninth with a pair of singles, but Jhonny Jimenez retired the final three hitters to give the Quakes a three-hit shutout, their seventh of the year.

  • Mairo Martinus – 2-3, 1 run, 5 RBI, Sac Fly, double (13)
  • Chase Harlan – 2-4, 2 runs
  • Samuel Munoz – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs
  • Ching-Hsien Ko – 1-2, 2 BB, 3 runs
  • Emil Morales – 1-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (1)

 

Box Score

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michael Norris

Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear

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Born June 14th, 1948, in Los Angeles California. AKA The Bear

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Bluto
Bluto
4 hours ago

Per Ardaya:

Casparitus may have been tipping pitches
Bobby Miller being moved to the pen
Kyle Hurt an option
Team isn’t sure what role for Diaz

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dodgerram
dodgerram
2 hours ago
Reply to  Bluto

If Miller does not cut down on his BBs he will be a train wreck in the pen too.

Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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