Walter Emmons Alston was born in Ohio. A place called Venice Township. Population at the last census, 1,683 souls. He would play just one game at the major league level with the Cardinals in 1936. He would toil in the minors until 1946. He was a player-manager by then. In his only major league at bat, he struck out. Yet this unassuming man would go on and manage the Dodgers for 23 years, winning over 2000 games. The only Dodger manager to reach that plateau.
Walt’s dad, Emmons, was a farmer. His mom, Lenora, was a homemaker. He spent his youth on a farm near Morning Sun, Ohio. There were few neighbors for Walt to play with. When his dad was not around to play catch with, he would throw a ball against the barn door. That is how he got his nickname, Smokey. ” I used to have a pretty good fastball.” He told reporters later on in his career.
When he was a teenager, his family moved to Darrtown. This gave Walt a chance to play baseball with the local sandlot teams. He captained the basketball and baseball teams at Darrtown High School and helped lead the 1928 team to the Baker County Championship. He would graduate in 1929, two years after electric power arrived in Darrtown. He enrolled at Miami University in Oxford. He drove a laundry truck to help finance his education, plus he worked at the school cafeteria and moonlighted at a local pool hall.
He married a local girl, Lela Alexander in 1930. Getting married forced Walt to drop out of college for a couple of years while he established a better plan to finance his education. He reenrolled in 1932, right at the height of the Great Depression. He not only lettered in basketball and baseball all three years; he also was able to complete his degree in education. He found time to play baseball on Sundays in the Clark-Butler County league. He pitched and played 1st and 3rd base.
After graduation in 1935, he accepted a position at the New Madison High School district. He taught biology, high school science, industrial arts, and he was a basketball coach. Around that time, the St. Louis Cardinals, who were familiar with his success at the college level, offered him a contract to play third base for the Class-C Greenwood Chiefs of the Dixie League. In 319 at bats, Alston hit .326. After an offseason of teaching and coaching, he earned a promotion to Huntington Red Birds of the Mid-Atlantic League. He hit .326 and had 35 homers in the 1936 season. That caught the attention of the Cardinals executives. Alston was called up as insurance in what proved to be an unsuccessful pennant run. 
On September 27, 1936, Cardinal first baseman, Johnny Mize was tossed from the game. It was the final game of the year and Cards manager, Frankie Frisch, sent Alston in to replace Mize. It was not the debut a player would dream about. In 3 innings in the field, Alston had 2 chances and made an error on one of them. In his lone plate appearance, he faced Cub Ace, Lon Warneke, and fanned on three pitches. It would be his only at bat in the major leagues. The next year, with Mize entrenched at first, the Cardinals assigned Alston to the Houston Buffaloes of the Texas League.
Alston gave up teaching. He now had a young daughter, so he and his wife spent the next decade bouncing around the minor leagues in cities like Rochester, Portsmouth, Ohio, Columbus Georgia, and Springfield Ohio, chasing another chance at the majors. Every winter, they would return home to Darrtown right up until he retired in 1976. He never reached the same heights he had in 1936, and the Cardinals suggested he try managing. He replaced the manager at Portsmouth in the Mid-Atlantic League in 1940. On the field, he hit 28 homers. He managed just well enough to keep the Red Birds out of the cellar.
Alston played the next two seasons at Class-C Springfield. In 1943, he did not manage but played full time. His BA slipped to .240. The Cardinals then released him early in 1944. He was 32 years old. Brooklyn jumped in and named him player-manager of the Trenton Packers of the Class-B Interstate League. Alston replaced Joe Bird on July 28th. The team was at 32-57 when he took over, they went 31-18 the rest of the way.
Two years later, he managed the Nashua Dodgers to the 1946 New England League title. He repeated the feat with the Pueblo Dodgers of the Western League the next season. He took over St. Paul, the Dodgers second AAA affiliate in 1948 and then moved to their other affiliate, Montreal in 1950. In six years of managing at the AAA level, Alston’s teams won three league titles, one Junior League Championship, (1949) and posted a 544-373 won-lost record.
After the 1953 season, Dodger owner, Walter O’Malley, decided he would not meet manager Charlie Dressen’s demand for a multi-year contract and signed his AAA manager to take over the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was the first of 23 consecutive one-year contracts Alston would sign. The writers in New York asked, “Who’s he?” when spring training began in 1954.
The Dodgers were coming off of back-to-back pennants and losses to the Yankees in the World Series. The team was filled with stars, Robinson, Reese, Snider, Furillo, Campanella. So, the expectations were high. Alston led the team to 92 wins, but they lost the pennant to the Giants who rode the talent of a young Willie Mays and then beat the heavily favored Indians in the World Series. Alston received a lot of criticism for the team not meeting expectations.
The team was only a game back of first on June 27th, but within three weeks they had fallen 7 games back. They rallied and got back to within a game, but a September slump doomed their chances. There were also rumors that Jackie Robinson did not respect Alston. In a book published later, “The Last Years of the Brooklyn Dodgers: A History 1950-1957 by Rudy Marzano, he quoted Robinson in the aftermath of an early September defeat in Chicago. A game in which Duke Snider had been awarded a double on a fly ball that should have been a homer and Alston did not contest the call. “This team might be moving somewhere had Alston had not been standing at third base like a wooden Indian.” Comments like that and some from Billy Loes became fodder in the daily papers for dissecting the manager.
Spring training in 1955 at Vero saw some new players on the team. Preacher Roe and Billy Cox were traded to the Orioles for a couple of minor leaguers. In December, they signed a young left-hander from Brooklyn as a bonus baby and they would have to keep him on the major league roster for the next two years. He did not pitch often, but by 1966, he had compiled a Hall of Fame career, Sandy Koufax. His addition to the roster sent another lefty back to the minors, and that player would also make it to the Hall, as a manager, Tommy Lasorda. They picked up infielder Frank Kellert just prior to the start of the season. In June, they traded Joe Black to the Reds. But by June 9th, the day Black was traded, the Dodgers led the NL by 9 games.
They came out of the gate and won 22 of their first 24 games. Led by Duke Snider, who put up a 8.9 WAR that year, and eventual MVP< Roy Campanella, the Dodgers scored 857 runs and hit 230 homers. Snider hit 42 and drove in 136. Campy had 32 and drove in 107. Hodges also drove in over 100 runs. They met the Yankees in the World Series, and it was finally next year in Brooklyn. The series went 7 games. Brooklyn hit 9 homers to the Yankees 8. Snider hit 4 of them. Mickey Mantle played only 3 games and was injured; he was 2-10 with 1 homer and 1 RBI. Johnny Podres pitched game 7 and shut out the Yankees, 2-0 for the title. The game featured a game saving catch by Sandy Amoros, who replaced Jim Gilliam in left field. Podres was the MVP of the series.
In what some considered a slap in the face, Jackie Robinson, the team’s heart and soul for so many seasons, was not on the field for the final out. He sat on the bench the entire game. He only hit .182 in the series. In 56 they faced the Yankees again, and this time they lost. Changes were coming, but no one on the team really knew it. Ebbets Field was old, there wasn’t any parking, and despite his best efforts, O’Malley could not get permission to build a new park in Brooklyn. They wanted him to build it in Queens where the Mets eventually built Shea.
1957 was their last season in Brooklyn. The Dodgers were getting old. Robinson had been traded to the Giants but retired instead of reporting. The team played several games in New Jersey. Their attendance was 5th in the league. Alston signed another 1-year contract after the season and the team was relocated to Los Angeles. They would play their games for four years in a converted football stadium. 
In spring training, they were now the L.A. Dodgers sporting a new logo on their caps. Campy wasn’t there, he had been paralyzed in a car accident near his home in January. Johnny Roseboro became the new catcher. In 1958, his Dodgers limped to a 7th place finish. The Dodgers traded Gino Cimoli to the Cardinals that winter for former ROY, Wally Moon. Moon became the everyday left fielder in 1959.
The 1959 pennant race would be a tight one in the NL. The Dodgers, Braves, Giants and Pirates, were all fighting for the lead most of the year. Some key replacements to the Dodger roster would boost the team around the end of June. Maury Wills replaced Don Zimmer as the starting SS. Zimmer was having an awful year. They brought up pitchers Larry Sherry and Roger Craig. Craig would win some key games down the stretch including the last game of the final series with the Cubs. At the end, they tied the Braves for the pennant and had to play a 3-game series to name the winner.
They won the first game in Milwaukee, 3-2. Sherry got the win in relief. Game 2 in LA would end up being a 12-inning game. And who should have a hand in winning it but two Boys of Summer, Gil Hodges and Carl Furillo. Hodges walked and Pignatano singled him to second. Furillo hit a grounder up the middle that Mantilla misplayed, and Hodges scored the winning run. One final moment of glory for Ol Skoonj.
Alston would lead his team to their first title in Los Angeles in a six-game series win over the White Sox. Chuck Essegian, a mid-season pickup, hit two pinch hit homers in the series. A series record. Charlie Neal and Hodges were the hitting stars. Sherry won 2 and saved 2 out of the pen. Sandy Koufax lost a heartbreaker, 1-0 at the coliseum. Duke Snider hit the last World Series homer of his career, #11, in game six. Duke is still the only player in MLB history to hit 4 homers in two different World Series.
(Original Caption) Dodgers manager Walt Alston (left) enjoys a victory smile with 19-year-old rookie pitcher Don Drysdale.
Alston signed his typical one-year-deal after the season. There would be some new blood coming since the core of the team was getting older. Furillo would be released during the 1960 season. A young Frank Howard replaced him. Ron Fairly took some of Hodge’s time at first base when Norm Larker was not there. Don Demeter played CF more than Duke Snider, who slid over to right. Wills was now the full time SS. But the team could not repeat the prior year’s success. The Pirates won the pennant and then beat the Yankees in the World Series.
After the 1960 season, there was an expansion in Major League baseball. The American League added two cities, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. The Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins. The draft of players to fill the two new teams came from AL rosters alone. The National league would expand after the 1961 season. Adding teams in Houston and New York, all those players would come from the National League.
The Dodgers improved in 1961 and would finish second to the Reds. Another member of the Boys of Summer would leave in the expansion draft. The Dodgers lost 6 players in the draft, Norm Larker, Jim Golden, Bob Aspromonte and Turk Farrell to the Colt 45s, Gil Hodges and Roger Craig to the Mets. Norm Larker had just missed winning a batting title in 61, finishing at .323. to Groat’s .325. But Frank Howard and Ron Fairly were ready to take over first base. One huge development was Sandy Koufax reaching the potential they always thought he had. He led the team in wins with 18.
With an infusion of youth, and some stellar pitching, Alston’s 62 Dodgers became the first Dodger team in LA to win over 100 games with 102. Drysdale won the Cy Young and had 25 wins. Maury Wills broke Ty Cobbs stolen base record with 104. Tommy Davis became the first Dodger to win a batting title since Carl Furillo in 1953. But a late season collapse, and an injury to ace, Sandy Koufax, and they ended up tied with the Giants. There was a three-game series to decide the pennant. The Giants beat Koufax 8-0 in game one. Sandy was not fully recovered from his finger circulation problem. LA won the second game at Dodger Stadium. In game 3 it was shades of 1951 as they were leading 4-2 in the top of the 9th inning. Alston made, and excuse me for this, one of what I think was his worse decisions, and sent Ed Roebuck back to the mound for his third inning of relief work. The guy was gassed.
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1968: Manager Walter Alston #24 of the Los Angeles Dodgers stands on the mound with his players.
Duke Snider told Alston he should have Drysdale warm up before the 9th. But Alston insisted he wanted Drysdale to start game one of the World Series against the Yankees, totally forgetting, you have to get there first. The Giants scored 4 runs in the 9th off of Roebuck and Stan Williams, who was very wild that day, and they lost 6-4. In an uproar that would have made Robert’s haters proud, most fans wanted Alston fired immediately. As a very frustrated and angry 14-year-old, I agreed with them 100%.
But Smokey signed another one-year deal, and the 63 Dodgers redeemed themselves. It was an exciting race, and Koufax led the way. He and Drysdale formed a formidable 1-2 punch. LA would sweep the Yanks and bring home the 2nd World Championship to LA. 64 was another down year, punctuated by another Koufax malady.
Alston was now in his 12th season as manager. The Dodgers would end up winning the pennant by 2 games over the Giants. They played the Minnesota Twins, a very power laden team with some very good pitching. But the Twins jumped on the Dodgers best, Drysdale and Koufax, and had a 2-0 series lead heading back to LA. Claude Osteen, who had been acquired after the 1963 season for Frank Howard, righted the ship with a complete game win. Drysdale and Koufax followed suit and LA returned to Minneapolis up 3-2. Osteen lost game six. Alston decided to go with his Ace, and Koufax shut out the Twins for the Championship.
They would win the pennant and go to the World Series again in 1966. But this time, they were swept in four games. Things changed drastically after that season. Koufax retired, and the team would not win a pennant again until 1974. The next three seasons they finished 8th, 7th and 4th. Finally, with some new talent coming from the farm system, they began to win a little more in 1970. The finished 2nd four straight years. But those years were building blocks for the teams of the mid 70’s who would win three pennants.
Garvey, Lopes, Cey, Russell, Valentine, Yeager, Ferguson all made their debuts over those seasons. And their manager was still Alston. Theu finally broke through in 1974. They added Jimmy Wynn and had some very solid arms in the pen and the rotation. The had traded long time center fielder Willie Davis after the 73 season for reliever Mike Marshall. His 74-team won 102 games. Garvey was the MVP, although many fans said it should have been Jimmy Wynn. The Toy Cannon brought a lot of excitement to the team, but a late season injury slowed him down some. Mike Marshall would pitch in 106 games. A record still untouched in MLB. He also won the Cy Young Award.
Andy Messersmith, who had been acquired when they traded Frank Robinson to the Angels, won 20 games, Don Sutton, 19. But they would lose the series to the A’s in five games. In 75 and 76, the Dodgers just could not overtake the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati. They finished 10 games back in 75, and 20 back in 76. But by the end of the season in 1976, Alston was on his way home. He won his 2000th game as a manager on July 17th. Two months later, he handed the reins over to long time ally, Tommy Lasorda. At the time, the team was 90-68. Lasorda went 2-2 over the last 4 games. Alston’s career record as a manager is 2040-1613-5. A .558 winning percentage. He took the team to seven World Series. His team won 3 times. They finished 2nd, 8 times.
Walt and Lela went back to Darrtown and they lived there until Walt passes away on October 1st, 1984. His teams had only 4 losing seasons in his 23 years at the helm. His teams won 90 or more 10 times. He was Major League manager of the year three times, and NL manager of the year six. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983. What you saw, was what you got, Jim Murray wrote that in an article about Walt in 1976 just after he retired. He is the winningest manager in Dodger history. And the longest tenured.
Minor League Scores
OKC lost 3-1 to Sugarland. Duplantier took the loss. Lipcius hit his 24th homer in the 9th for the only run. Rushing was 0-3 with 2 Ks and a walk. OKC struck out 12 times. Tulsa dropped a 5-4 decision to San Antonio. Campos took the loss. Keith hit his 15th homer, a 2-run shot in the 5th. Jarrod Karros started and went 2 innings giving up 4 hits, 3 runs, he walked 2 and struck out 2. Great Lakes beat Dayton, 7-0 allowing just 3 hits. McDaniel’s got his 5th win. Nevill and Biddison homered. DePaula was 3-5 wit 2 doubles, a run scored and 2 driven in. Martin started and went 3 innings striking out 1. McDaniels relived him and went 2 scoreless striking out 3. Luna, Martinez and Cruz finished up. Rancho is leading Visalia 6-1 in the 5th at Rancho. Hope is 1-3 with a double and 2 driven in Decker has a triple and a run driven in.
Around the league
Arizona lost 3-2 to the Giants, they are now 5.5 games back. In a stunning comeback, Detroit, down 3-0, and down to their last strike, got a grand slam homer from rookie Parker Meadows and beat the Padres, 4-3. Padres now 4.5 back of the Dodgers. Report from Seattle says that despite the collapse of the Mariners, DiPoto is not in danger of being fired. Pirates DFAd Domingo German. Mets claimed CF, Jose Azocar from the Padres. Royals DFAd Dan Altavilla. If I am not mistaken, Altavilla is the guy who broke Mookie’s wrist. Janson Junk DFAd by the A’s.
Football is such a great sport.
Likely needs a smaller shoe. Great game.
Alston. My first favorite manager. Getting to the World Series was probably easier when he managed. I think he was only in 1 expanded playoff year. His last year.
Knack is a 4-5 inning pitcher and the team is 4-6 in his 10 outings this year. I’m glad he’s available though. Someone has to step in.
1974 was the only year he had to win the LCS before advancing to the Series. They beat Pittsburgh, 3-1.
If not smaller then a white shoe. Alston was also my first favorite Manager.
Uh ok.
Meh
{fart noise}
Great loss by the Padres! 🤗
With all their wild comebacks over the last 2 months they got some of their own medicine handed to them.
Dodgers now up 5 full games on them.
DePaula has been raking the last 2 weeks. Maybe he will start next year at AA. Would be some accomplishment at age 19 (will not turn 20 before May). Glad the Dodgers held on to him and Rushing at the deadline.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good guess, I am also thinking he might get some reps in spring before they head to Japan.
My last word on B. Miller. Maybe one day in a few years, he’ll turn into a “late-bloomer” and finally figure it out between the ears and shoulder blades. But for now, I’m so done with the Dodgers dealing with a head/heart case like him.
Miller is not a youngster anymore. Pushing 26 years of age now.
Which is a recent trend with the Dodgers that their prospects are rather “old” when they reach the majors. Especially on the pitching side. Miller, Stone, Ryan, Wrobleski for example all have been mid 20s arleady. When was the last early 20 phenom to take the big stage ? Kersh?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think maybe Miller and Buehler could benefit from more time in rehab. Neither look all that comfortable to me.
The Dodger pitching has been in emergency mode for some time now. On the ESPN stat site 4 of the top 5 IP hurlers aren’t pitching for the team now. Glasnow and Stone are the only pitchers with a WAR over 2 (Flaherty of course did with Detroit) Dodgers are currently 10th in team pitching, 20th in QS, and though the bullpen’s numbers aren’t awful, (with the exception of high blown saves numbers) they look maybe stretched a little thin.
Hold on. It could get bumpy going forward. Gotta score and score often.
Dustin May was 21 when he pitched in the 2019 LDS against the Nats.
How did he do?
He pitched in 2 games, went 3.1 innings, he allowed 3 hits and 1 run. He struck out 1 and walked 1. When he was 22, he pitched in three of the four playoff series the Dodgers played. He was 1-0 against the Padres. In 3 innings he gave up nothing. Against the Braves, he pitched 4.2 innings in 3 games he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits, he walked 5 and struck out 6. Against Tampa in the World Series, he got knocked around a bit. 9.00 ERA. In 2 games he pitched 3 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, one was a homer. He walked no one and struck out 3.
Henriquez with another scoreless inning, no hits, no BBs, 2 Ks and throwing pure gas.
ERA now under 2.00 .
Will the Dodgers really keep this arm away from MLB this season ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
I said this way before September. Don’t know why they don’t listen lol!
Cleaveland:
From The Athletic:
“Having the worst batting average on balls in play suggests some bad luck, but it’s not just that. Not only do the Guardians have the league’s lowest hard-hit percentage, they also have the shortest average home run distance, the lowest average exit velocity, the second-lowest barrel rate and the third-fewest balls hit at least 95 mph. The Guardians have a middle-of-the-pack .397 slugging percentage, but according to Statcast their expected slugging is .373 (third worst in MLB). The Guardians are above-average in run scoring, but they don’t hit the ball that way.”
Starters aren’t that good, 24th in MLB (neither are ours, 17th) but the bullpen is best in baseball. Get to them early
This series will be a good stretch run test.
When you allow CT3 to bat with the bases loaded in the 8th inning, losing 3-1, you are setting yourself up for failure. Old Doc keeps hoping………..
What choice did he have? The guys left on the bench were Kiermaier, Barnes and Pages. Taylor hits RHP better than he does LHP. Kiermaier does not have a good record as a PH. Pages has little experience PH. Taylor would not even have been in the game if Hernandez had not been hurt. And it tells me how much they trust Pages since Taylor went in instead of him that early in the game. Taylor had a good AB against Gaddis, he just happened to hit the ball hard on the ground.
No, Bear. This is the 2nd time I’ve seen Taylor bat in a crucial inning and not getting it done. You don’t throw someone like him, someone who has not produced for a couple of years, into a game we need to win. Doc sucks in these situations. He doesn’t prepare but tries to wing it.
So, Jeff, who do you pinch hit with? The kid with no experience, the lefty hitter who is hitting below the Mendoza line, or your reserve catcher? Those were his choices. Cold bat off of the bench or the guy who had seen live pitching. Cmon genius, who would you choose???? I have seen Taylor come through a lot of times, and he has a better track record against RHP than any of those bench players. Don’t bitch at me, take up your complaints with Roberts. He did not have a bunch of options. Muncy had already PH.
Thanks for the Alston memories Bear.
I’m with Fred. Great stuff Bear.
I enjoy reading about the unconventional paths players in the first half of the last century, took to get into pro baseball. A small town guy marries his high school sweetheart, has a kid, teaches high school science and coaches basketball.
He somehow impressed a scout enough in college, who signs him for nothing, I suppose, and he starts in Class C. And the man ends up Managing in the Big Leagues for 23 years. What a tale and journey.
I love similar stories from Joe Posnanski. The poor rural kid who was seen throwing a ball through a barn door, signs for $100 bucks, takes a train to nowhere USA, with $5 bucks in his pocket and a head full of dreams.
Compare that now with the latin kids in academies w/ Biscones and some getting great money at 16. Or US kids, playing travel ball all over the country as teenagers with Showcases and scouts galore. They’re not driving any laundry trucks. And 9.5 million , one-one slot money.
My, my, how the game has changed.
Great stuff Bear
Thank you, guys. Yes, there was a different path to the bigs back then. Small towns had sandlot teams. Factories and other businesses had teams. Those guys wore those heavy wool uni’s too. It is a wonder many did not die from heat stroke.
22 games left. 12 at home and 10 on the road. Padres have 20 left and Az 21. Phillies win last night tied them with the Dodgers for the best record in the league. Phillies have the tiebreaker and would be the #1 seed in the playoffs. Also, would have home field throughout the playoffs. Some dissension in Yankee land. There have been some very split discussions about whether or not they should bring up top prospect, Jasson Dominguez and play him every day over Alex Verdugo who has been struggling since May hitting only .227 since then. It would seem to indicate that the Yankees will not attempt to re-sign Verdugo when he is a free agent this winter. I read a story on Yahoo sports that suggests the Dodgers will not re-sign Teo. Instead, they would go after both Adames and OF Jesse Winker. Winker’s OPS+ is just 1 point lower than Teo. He is hitting over .300 since his trade to the Mets.
Two former Dodgers were DFAd, Rich Hill by the Red Sox, and Billy McKinney of the Pirates.
Wow, Dick Mountain’s comback didn’t last a minute.
Hope someone picks him up so he can at least pitch a few innings between now and season’s end.
Doubtful. Especially for a team in the race. His stats were not that great. 3.2 innings pitched in 4 games, 0-1 record. ERA of 4.91.
Dodgerram was discussing pitching prospect debut ages up above.
Julio Urias was only 19 when he got to the big stage in 2016. As a matter of fact, he’s still only 28. What a waste of what could have been a really great career.
I totally forgot about Julio. He was 19 when he pitched in the LDS and LCS. Was 1-1. He beat DC and lost to the Cubs. But he only threw 5 innings overall. He has been punished by the courts, but MLB still has not made any decision on whether he will be suspended for any length of time. Sometime around January, he should be finished with all of the court ordered public service and counselling he was ordered to take. He if released and not given a suspension, would probably be able to sign with a team after that.
Astros reinstated Kyle Tucker from the IL. D-Backs reinstated Ketel Marte from the IL. Phillies placed Alex Bohm on the 10-day IL. Dodgers reportedly, per MSM sports and X, have signed free agent LHP Zach Logue, who was recently DFAd by Atlanta. He has spent most of the year at AAA Gwinnett. He can start and relieve. He will not be eligible for the playoffs.
Gavin Stone to IL with shoulder inflamation. Doubtful that we see him again this year.
Doc announces Kike will start Game 1 of the playoffs. His arm feels great.
Not all that surprised. Anyone over 100 innings on this team looks like an IL candidate.
Just insane with all the injuries to our starting pitching! The bats will need to be on fire in October. How many starters end up making 30-35 starts in a year anymore? No Dodgers!
Gotta score 8. Maybe more.
Wrobo back along with Knack.
Petersen back to OKC.
Knack haters are quiet tonight
I don’t recall anyone on here hating on Knack.
I hate his conditioning, or lack thereof.
He just pitched 6 good innings, more than any of our starters in the last 9 games. Why do you think his conditioning is bad?
If the pitchers aren’t injured before we get them they will be after we get them. The Dodgers have lost more war to injury than any other team in baseball.
for whatever reason the Dodger plan is not working. For 2 years in a row we are approaching the playoffs without a healthy starter. I just don’t think this is being unlucky. Our medical staff needs to answer some tough questions. There has to be changes made.
even Muncy gets his problem solved by a chiropractor after months off. The Dodgers should not be leading the league in injured pitchers the past 2 years with this brain trust. The chess players have to figure this out.
If the problem was limited to the Dodgers, I would agree with you, but this is a league wide problem. It is not just the Dodgers. The league as a whole is already investigating to see what can be done. As for the medical and training staff, the Dodgers have some of the best doctors on the planet. All the front office can do is hire the best. There might be some changes to conditioning programs, but no one can predict when some pitchers arm is going to give out no matter how schooled they are in medicine or training.
It’s a league- wide problem but I think it’s affected the Dodgers a decent amount more than any other staff.
“It’s been a really challenging year on that front, and something that we’re going to need to spend a lot of time on this winter to really dig in on,” Andrew Friedman said of the Dodgers’ pitching injuries.
Friedman mentioned “reimagining” their process:
More @TheAthletic ($$$$)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5751280/2024/09/06/dodgers-andrew-friedman-pitching-injuries/
“The Atlanta Braves have managed to remain in postseason contention without reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. — and without ace Spencer Strider for the season as well as Reynaldo López and Max Friedmissing time. The Tampa Bay Rays have been without ace Shane McClanahan all season and have been without Shane Baz, Drew Rasmusson and Jeffrey Springs for significant stretches. Kyle Bradish, John Means and Grayson Rodriguez — all significant parts of the Baltimore Orioles’ pitching plans — are all currently out with injuries.”
There are 61 mlb pitchers who have thrown 140 innings or more. Gavin stone is number 61. Flaherty is 60 although he has only been with the Dodgers since the trade deadline. The entire starting rotation of the dodgers has been on the il this year. Most every bullpen guy as well.this is basically 2 years in a row. The Dodgers playing the long game hasn’t helped apparently. It is not just going on the il but how long they stay on it. There have been very few who went on the il and came back after 15 days mb a couple. If we get a starter to 5 innings more often than not they are coming out. We were gonna keep the starters fresh while burning up the bullpen 4 innings a night. The wins are there but the health is not.
Training and conditioning program is not first rate. That is the first thing I would investigate.
You are joking me, Bear. Baseball players are notoriously out of shape. Why? Because they have not kept up with mobility and strength conditioning and rigorously enforcing its use. You are good with history, not the practical day to day stuff that needs to happen. Even the FO has come out with a statement of intent to look into this problem deeper. The training staff needs to enforce the regimens, the proper ones and players should be fined for slacking. They are pros, not bush league or pickup players. They get paid millions!
Never said I was, but the problem is not limited to just the Dodgers. Atlanta has lost almost their entire starting rotation, and the same thing with the Astros. And Freidman just made that statement on the pre-game show tonight. Yep, they get paid millions, but you show me one doctor, trainer or coach who can predict an injury. You are arguing semantics.
My memory isn’t good on this subject, hoping Bear can help me out. I believe it was the last time the Angels were any good, in the middle of September they brought up a young flame thrower who was about 20 years old. This guy (maybe Francisco or something like that) had a great playoff series and ended up being a pretty good picture. So it has happened bringing up a young stud. There are hurdles to jump but it’s happened.
Francisco Rodriguez. F-Rod.
Mets did it a couple years ago too with another Francisco.
The loophole is super-dooper large.
Dino Ebel screwed up. Ohtani would have scored easily.
A sneak preview of our playoff offense. Doesn’t matter who gets healthy pitching wise, if this is all we can muster against good playoff pitching
Yup.
And the initial reactions to Teoscar’s injury is not great.
Rushing time?
Outman would get the first call. Rushing isn’t polished enough to play there every day. Pages will probably play there against lefties.
Might have looked a lot different if Hernandez had not gotten injured. Looks like an IL stint coming. He could be out until the end of the season. And they really do not have a replacement bat.
It’s amazing how the entire team can implode like they do. I cannot remember a more frustrating team to watch on too many occasions.
I’ve seen him screw up many times this season. Getting old?
That was just bad. And he looked at Ohtani immediately knowing he blew it. It wasn’t even a hard call. It’s a bobble and Ohtani circling third. Major blunder.
Offense takes the night off again. Pathetic.
More about great pitching on Cleveland’s side than bad offense. Boyd was excellent. He had the hitters off balance. A couple of those pitches that Freeman, Ohtani and Lux struck out on were so far off of the plate they could not have hit them with a long pole.
Gotta hit great pitching to win a WS championship.
Yeah, and you need your best players on the field to do it.
Time to change the batting coaches after the season?
I think the philosophy needs to change. They should be more concerned with making contact than launch angle and the way they teach hitting now. The FO loves Von Shylock and his theory’s, but I think if they taught better contact, and less launch angle, they would cut down their K rate immensely. Not sure what Bates philosophy is.