Righty swinging 3B Ron Cey was nicknamed the Penguin because of his short stature and the fact that he was bow legged. That didn’t impact him on the field though as he was a solid player for the Dodgers for a long time. Cey’s best year (in my opinion) with the Dodgers was 1977 despite his low batting average. Cey played in 153 games in 1977 and he was 136 of 564 (.241 avg, .797 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 30 homers, 110 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He finished 8th in the voting for the MVP in 1977. Cey played in 1,481 games in 12 years with the Dodgers and he was 1,378 of 5,216 (.264 avg, .804 OPS) with 715 runs scored, 228 homers, 842 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Cey is #5 in Dodgers’ history in homers with 228. He is also #10 in RBIs (842) and #5 in walks (765) in Dodgers’ history. Cey made it to six straight All-Star games with the Dodgers (1974-79).

In 2002, the Dodgers decided to convert righty starting pitcher Eric Gagne into a full-time short reliever and the result was awesome. From 2002-2004, Gagne pitched in 224 games (0 starts) in which he was 13-7 with 152 saves, a 1.79 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He whiffed 365 batters in 247 innings in those three years while only allowing 145 hits. Gagne’s best year came in 2003 when he won the N.L. Cy Young Award. Gagne pitched in 77 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in 2003 and he was 2-3 with 55 saves (led the majors), a 1.20 ERA and a 0.69 WHIP. He only gave up 37 hits while whiffing 137 batters in 82 1/3 innings pitched, which is amazing! Gagne pitched in 298 games (48 starts) in his 8 years with the Dodgers and he was 25-21 with 161 saves, a 3.27 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Gagne is the all-time saves leader for the Dodgers (161) and he’s also #4 in Dodgers’ history with a 1.11 WHIP.

Righty swinging 2B Steve Sax burst onto the scene for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1982. He played in 150 games in 1982 for the Dodgers and he was 180 of 638 (.282 avg, .694 OPS) with 88 runs scored, 4 homers, 47 RBIs and 49 stolen bases. Sax won the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League in 1982 and he also made the All-Star team. But, Sax’ best season with the Dodgers came in 1986. He played in 157 games for the Dodgers in 1986 and he was 210 of 633 (.332 avg, .830 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 6 homers, 56 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Sax played 8 years for the Dodgers and he made it to 3 All-Star teams. Sax played in 1,091 games for the Dodgers in his career and he was 1,218 of 4,312 (.282 avg, .696 OPS) with 574 runs scored, 30 homers, 333 RBIs and 290 stolen bases. Sax is still #5 in Dodgers’ history in steals with 290.

Righty starting pitcher Orel Hershiser looks like he could have been your science teacher in school. But he was a “Bulldog” on the mound for the L.A. Dodgers. In 13 years with the Dodgers Hershiser pitched in 353 games (309 starts) in which he was 135-107 with 5 saves, a 3.12 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He is 9th in Dodgers’ history in games started (309), #10 in wins (135), #6 in strikeouts (1,456) and he is #9 in shutouts (24). Hershiser was a three-time All-Star for the Dodgers and he won a Gold Glove. But in 1988, Orel Hershiser was the best pitcher on the planet. He won the Cy Young Award with a unanimous vote in 1988 a year in which he also won the Gold Glove. He pitched in 35 games (34 starts) in 1988 and he was 23-8 with 1 save, a 2.26 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Hershiser set a all-time record in 1988 that still stands and he threw 59 consecutive shutout innings that year to top Don Drysdale’s previous mark. Hershiser didn’t stop there as he was also the MVP of the World Series in 1988. In that series, Hershiser started 2 games and completed them both (1 was a shutout) as he was 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP. Hershiser won’t likely ever get into baseball’s Hall of Fame but at least in 2008 there was no pitcher even close to as good as he was.

The portly little lefty starting pitcher Fernando Valenzuela took L.A. by storm when he arrived for good in 1981. Valenzuela won the Rookie of the Year Award and the Cy Young Award in 1981 at the age of 20. He pitched in 25 games (all starts) for the Dodgers in 1981 and he was 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He had 11 complete games that season including 8 of which that were shutouts. The Dodgers worked Valenzuela hard which probably led his arm to be shot before his time should have been up. Valenzuela pitched in 331 games (320 starts) in 11 years for the Dodgers and he was 141-116 with 2 saves, a 3.31 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Valenzuela’s name is all over the record books for the Dodgers. He is #6 all-time in Dodgers’ history in games started (320), #8 in wins (141), tied for #6 in shutouts (29), #9 in innings pitched (2,348 2/3) and #5 in strikeouts (1,759). Fernando Valenzuela will always have a place in Dodgers’ fans hearts as he was truly a sight to see and a reason to come to the ballpark.