Los Angeles Dodgers: Fifty greatest Dodgers of all-time (50-46)
By Jason Reed
50. 1B Wes Parker, RHP Carl Erskine, RHP Ramon Martinez (21.4 WAR)
For simplicities sake, we are just going to include all players that have the same wins above replacement as one ranking, not multiple.
Wes Parker Stats: 1288 G, .267 AVG, 64 HR, 470 RBI’s, 6x Gold Glove
Wes Parker is perhaps best known for his glove over at first base, as his bat did not shout out as a great first baseman bat. Parker played his entire career for the Los Angeles Dodgers, stemming from 1964 to 1972. Parker was a member of the 1965 World Series winning team, playing in 154 games for the Dodgers.
Parker’s best season came in 1970 when he put together a great 5.1 WAR. Parker drove in 111 runs that season, scoring 84 himself, all while batting .319. That was the only truly great season for Parker, with his career coming to a close two years later. Fun fact: Parker is the only member of the All-time Gold Glove Team that is not a Hall of Fame inductee.
Carl Erskine Stats: 1718.2 IP, 122-78, 4.00 ERA, 981 K’s, 1x All-Star
Carl Erskine played for both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, serving time from 1948 to 1959. Quite frankly, Erskine’s stat line is not all that impressive, with his best season, in terms of WAR, coming in 1953. Erskine pitched to a 20-6 record and 3.54 ERA – a bump up from his 2.70 mark the year prior.
Fun fact: Erskine tossed two no-hitters as a member of the Dodgers, making him second in franchise history only behind Sandy Koufax’ four.
Ramon Martinez Stats: 1731.2 IP, 123-77, 3.45 ERA, 1314 K’s, 1x All-Star
Getting a tad more modern with this member, Ramon Martinez also clocks in as the fiftieth best Dodger of all-time. Martinez pitched for the Dodgers for 11 years, with his first big league appearance coming in the miraculous 1988 season.
Martinez’ best season was by far his 1990 season. That year Martinez was an All-Star and finished second in Cy Young voting to Doug Drabek. Martinez owned a 2.92 ERA, a 20-6 record, and 223 strikeouts. Fun fact: Martinez started five Opening Days for the Dodgers.