Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
Baseball is at a stand-still.
There’s very little going on in the current state of the sport and no real idea of when things may return to normal. So, the best thing to do as fans is to reflect upon the game and look back at some of the greatest performances in a game we are without for the foreseeable future. In 2019, Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger pinned his name into the franchise’s record-books and has proved after just three seasons in the Major Leagues that he possesses nothing short of superstar talent.
Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is a baseball sabermetric which quantifies a player’s overall value to his team by calculating how many wins the player in question provided to his team over that of a replacement-level player. Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Bellinger held 17.3 points of WAR, according to Baseball-Reference, ranking him 45th all-time in Dodgers’ history. 9.1 points of Bellinger’s total were accrued during 2019, a season where he won a Silver Slugger Award, a Gold Glove Award, and National League MVP.
There are a number of key players in the history of Dodgers’ baseball that only a few seasons away from being eclipsed by Bellinger in WAR. Here are some who should be on Bellinger’s radar to pass in 2020:
Steve Yeager (17.9 WAR)
Steve Yeager played fourteen of his fifteen MLB seasons with the Dodgers, collecting 17.9 points of WAR in 1,219 games. Yeager was the hero of the 1981 World Series for the Dodgers, hitting a pair of home runs in the seven-game series on the way to defeating the New York Yankees and winning World Series MVP. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda always spoke positively of Yeager, often comparing him to the legendary Johnny Bench. “You won’t beat that arm of his,” said Lasorda, according to the Society of American Baseball Research.
Dusty Baker (20.0 WAR)
Dusty Baker played eight seasons with the Dodgers during his nineteen years in the Major Leagues, recording an even 20.0 points of WAR from 1976 through 1983. Baker’s best years were played in a Dodger uniform, specifically 1980 and 1981 when he finished 4th and 7th in National League MVP voting, respectively. Baker made two All-Star teams in his career, both of which were during his stint with Los Angeles. During the 1977 season, Baker hit a career-high 30 home runs, joining and completing a quartet of Dodgers to hit 30 or more home runs that season, the first time in MLB history that had happened.
Andre Ethier (21.5 WAR)
Andre Ethier played all twelve of his MLB seasons in a Dodger uniform, playing in 1,455 games and recording 21.5 points of WAR. The 2009 season cemented Ethier into Dodgers lore, as he hit 31 home runs, raked in 106 RBI, and won a Silver Slugger Award. But, what made Ethier most memorable to Dodgers fans that season was his ability to step-up in the big moments with the game on the line. Ethier had six walk-off hits in 2009, four of which were home runs. According to STATS, LLC, no other player between 1974 and 2009 had hit four walk-off home runs in the same season.
Raul Mondesi (21.6 WAR)
Raul Mondesi played his first seven MLB seasons with the Dodgers, posting 21.6 points of WAR over 916 games. In 1994, his first full year in the Major Leagues, Mondesi won National League Rookie of the Year, batting .306 with 56 RBI. Mondesi won two Gold Gloves in his time with the Dodgers. In 1997, Mondesi played his way into the 30-30 club, hitting 30 home runs and stealing 30 bases, as well as finishing in the top fifteen in National League MVP voting. Mondesi later joined the 30-30 club again in 1999, hitting a career-high 32 home runs and stealing a career-high 36 bases. Raul’s son, Adalberto Mondesi, currently plays for the Kansas City Royals.
Matt Kemp (23.0 WAR)
Matt Kemp, still active in the Majors, has played ten seasons for the Dodgers over his fourteen MLB seasons. Kemp was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2003 June Amateur Draft and played for Los Angeles from 2006 through 2014 before being traded to the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers then reacquired Kemp for the 2018 season in a trade with the Atlanta Braves. During his first stint with the Dodgers, Kemp was undoubtedly the best outfielder on the team, especially during the 2011 season. Kemp led the National League in home runs, RBI, and runs scored, finishing behind the later-discovered PED-using Ryan Braun for National League MVP.
Adrian Beltre (23.4 WAR)
Adrian Beltre played with the Dodgers from 1998 through 2004, spanning over seven of his incredible twenty-one-years in the Major Leagues. In those seven seasons, Beltre recorded 23.4 points of WAR, finishing second in National League MVP voting in 2004. In that 2004 season, Beltre played his very best baseball, recording career-highs in hits (200), home runs (48), RBI (121), batting average (.334), and OPS (1.017). Beltre earned a Silver Slugger Award for his play in 2004 as well as 9.6 points of WAR.
Arrick Joel has covered the Dodgers since 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @ArrickJoel.