Who Will Be The Dodgers Next Centerfielder?

                                    In their long history, the Dodgers have had some really good and a couple of great centerfielders.  Hi, Myers, was the first full time CF who was close to being very good. He was 29 when he finally started playing like a star. Not a big average or power guy, Myers could cover a lot of ground in those old cavernous ball parks. Meyers played 11 of his 14 years with the Dodgers and hit .282 for them. He was a member of the 1916 and 1920 pennant winning teams. 

                                    Johnny Frederick was the next very good CF for Brooklyn. He came on the scene in 1929. He played his entire 6-year career in Brooklyn. He hit .308 as a Dodger. He had 85 HRs in his short career. But in 1929 he set a Dodger record that wasn’t broken until Freddie Freeman broke it in 2023. His 52 doubles were the high-water mark for a Dodger. His record stood for 94 years. In 1941, one of the most talented outfielders they ever had joined the team as a rookie and took over in center field. Pistol Pete Reiser.

                                   Reiser hit .343 as a rookie. He was fearless, and that would be his downfall. Over his career Reiser suffered many concussions from his encounters with outfield walls, which in those days were not padded. His career would be cut short by those injuries, and over his 10-year career he only played more than 100 games four times. He still finished with a .295 BA. He would later become a Dodger coach and helped many young hitters get their bearings as major leaguers.  

                                  Their next full-time centerfielder would earn a place in the Hall of Famer. Edwin D. Snider was a California boy from Compton. He got the proverbial cup of coffee in 1948. In 1949 he became the Dodgers full time CF, and he would stay there until 1959 when an injury to his elbow forced his move to RF with Furillo injured most of the year. Duke’s career record for career homers as a Dodger still stands, 389 in his 16 years with the team. He hit 40 or more HRs in a season 5 years in a row, no Dodger has ever matched that. He also hit 4 homers in a World Series twice. His 11 World Series homers still stand as the most for a Dodger in a World Series. His #4 was retired by the team and he was elected to the Hall in 1980. He will forever be, “The Duke of Flatbush.”

                                         Don Demeter patrolled CF when Duke moved to right, and he would become a very good player, in Philadelphia. He was traded and a kid from Arkansas would take over in 1961. Willie Davis was perhaps the fastest player to ever patrol CF for the Dodgers. He would steal 335 bases in his 14-year Dodger career. He was accused by some of never really reaching his potential as a player. There were those who thought he could have hit for a higher average by bunting more and using his speed. Or at least hitting more ground balls. He still finished with a career .279 average. Willie was not a big power guy. He hit 21 in 1963 and that was the only time he ever hit 20 or more. He had a 3-year stretch, 69-71 where he hit over .300. The only time in his career he had those numbers. And this was when BA got you paid. He was traded after the 1973 season to Montreal for Mike Marshall. Sadly, many just remember his 3 errors in one game in the 1966 World Series with Baltimore. 

                                                After Willie left, the Dodgers used Jimmy Wynn there for two years. He was great in 1974. The Toy Cannon was loved by all. His second year did not go as well as his first and he was traded to the Braves in the Dusty Baker deal. Baker played 112 games in CF for LA in 1976. But after they traded Bill Buckner to the Cubs for Rick Monday, he moved to left. Mo was the LA CF for only a year. In 78 he shared it with Bill North. In 79 it was Derrell Thomas. In 80, Rudy Law. In 1981, they traded for Kenny Landreaux. He remained the man until 1987 when they traded for John Shelby. Kirk Gibson played as the primary for 1990 with Shelby injured. And in 1991, they got Brett Butler. Butler played parts of 7 seasons and then retired after the 97 season. 

                                                 Raul Mondesi played a year in center, and then they signed Devon White in 99. Hollandsworth was the CF in 2000. Then there was Marquis Grissom for a year, Dave Roberts in 2002-3. Then the misguided trade for Milton Bradley. That lasted two years, next up, Kenny Lofton for a year. Juan Pierre came on the scene in 2007, but they moved him to left in 2008 for the kid, Matt Kemp. Kemp would be the Dodger CF until 2013. Kemp was injured most of 13 and Andre Ethier took his spot. In 2015 Joc took over and stayed in CF until 2018 when Kike was the primary guy. Pollock and Bellinger shared the spot in 2019. Bellinger took over in 20 and stayed there until he left after the 22 season. Outman was the guy last year and started out as that guy this year. But his hitting dropped off of a cliff, and he has been back in AAA since he was demoted. The Pages experiment lasted a while, but Andy is better suited as a corner outfielder. Edman has been getting the majority of the starts since he was activated. 

                                             I know the playoffs have not even started yet, but the question has to be asked, who is the CF going forward? CF is an important position both defensively and offensively. CF usually have some power. Kiermaier is retiring after the season, and never really was a consideration. Outman should at least get another shot come spring training next year. Could they possibly trade for one? Or will they go with a very young outfield of Rushing, LF, Outman, CF, and Pages, RF. It is almost a certainty that Mookie is going to move back to the infield, most likely at second base next year. Or will they go the free agent route? Whatever happens, it is going to be a very interesting winter in Dodgerland. Another option would be the free agent route. As of right now, there are only two players of that type who might be available. Harrison Bader, and if he opts out, Cody Bellinger. I have to believe that Tommy Edman, who plays a pretty good CF, will be their new Swiss Army knife. 

                                                                                                                            Game Summary

                                        The Dodgers scored 2 runs in the first on a homer by Teo, his 32nd and then just kept piling on the Rockies in a bullpen game. Brasier gave back one in the bottom of the first. In the second, they got a single from Kike, a walk to Pages and a single from Taylor drove in Kike. Barnes made an out and then Ohtani singled in Pages. Ohtani and Taylor pulled off a double steal and Ohtani went to third on the overthrow. Taylor scored the 5th run. Casparius came in to pitch the second. He would end up going 4.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 runs, 1 of which was earned. He walked 2 and struck out 6. He would be credited with the win. Meanwhile, the offense kept rolling. Pages led off the fourth with a homer deep to left. Colorado got their second run on a walk and two singles off of  Casparius in the fifth. Taylor led off the sixth with a double, Barnes singled him to third and then went to second on a wild pitch. Ohtani hit a massive blast to right for his 54th homer of the year. 

                                          Kiermaier doubled, and Lux walked, Kiermaier went to third on a wild pitch. Teo struck out and Edman hit a sac-fly scoring Kiermaier. 10-2 LA. With 1 out in the bottom of the sixth, Casparius gave up a double and two singles for a run and was replaced by Joe Kelly. Kelly got the next two hitters to end the inning. The Dodgers went 1-2-3 in the seventh.  Kelly got the first two hitters in the bottom of the inning and was replaced by Henriquez.  He struck out Beck to end the inning.

                                          Peralta came in to pitch the eighth. Ohtani doubled and Kiermaier singled him home for the 11th Dodger run. Henriquez struck out Toglia to begin the bottom of the inning. Rodgers walked and went to second on a wild pitch. He then scored the Rockies 4th and final run on a single by Nolan Jones. Henriquez then retired the next two hitters. The Dodgers went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth. Hudson came in to pitch the ninth. He walked Blackmon, Tovar flied out to left. Schunk struck out and Blackmon took second on defensive indifference. Beck got on base via a throwing error by Edman, and Toglia struck out to end the game.

                                      The Dodgers gained a full game on the Phillies who lost. LA’s magic number to be the #1 seed and have home field throughout the playoffs is 1. Arizona lost to San Diego, the Mets lost to Milwaukee, and Atlanta beat KC, who even with the loss, clinched the sixth and final spot in the AL playoffs. The Padres are in the playoffs for sure, but, Atlanta, the Mets and the D-Backs, are all in a virtual tie. Arizona has 1 more win and 1 more loss than NY and the Braves. But the Braves and Mets are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Monday due to losing 2 games to the hurricane.