Los Angeles Dodgers: Fifty greatest Dodgers of all-time (50-46)
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers organization is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious in all of baseball. Along with prestige comes countless stars.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been around for a very, very, long time. The origins of the Dodgers dates all the way back to 1884 when the team was called the Brooklyn Atlantics. Fast forward to the year 1890, the year that the Brooklyn Grays joined the National League – which was the founding father of the MLB.
Then, in 1900, the National League formed what is now known as the “classic eight” – which were the eight teams that built the foundation of Major League Baseball. The Dodgers were part of this formation, with all eight teams still being Major League teams. The Braves, Cubs, Reds, Giants, Phillies, Pirates, Cardinals, and Dodgers all formed this alliance, and are still going strong today.
Because of this long history, the Los Angeles Dodgers have some of baseball’s best ever players to throw, or hit, a baseball. There are superstars, social icons, and revolutionary players that shaped the direction of baseball and the United States. Finding fifty great Dodgers will be no problem, especially since there are over 100 years to look at.
To rank these 50 players we are going to use their career WAR’s (according to FanGraphs) while a member of the Dodgers. WAR, for those that don’t know, stands for wins above replacement; measuring how many wins a player adds over an everyday, middle of the line, replacement.
Wins above replacement is part of the sabermetrics surge that has hit the game of baseball. ESPN has adopted it, MLB has adopted it, and it is widely regarded as the ultimate tool to measure a players worth.