MLB Top 5: Los Angeles Dodgers Outfielders

This is the fourth article in a series that looks at the five best players at each position for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In this installment are the outfielders.

Fans at Ebbetts Field and Dodger Stadium witnessed some of the greatest outfielders in baseball history. Four Hall of Fame players appear on these lists, and a few more could make their way to the hallowed halls of Cooperstown someday.

The Best Outfielders in Los Angeles Dodgers History

Left Fielders

Honorable Mentions – William “Darby” O’Brien was a star in the early days of the franchise, including time spent in the American Association. In five seasons (1888-92), he stole 272 bases, which ranks seventh in team history, and he also has 480 runs and 484 hits in 582 games. His 1889 season (the team’s last in the AA) was his best, when he hit .300, scored 146 runs (which rank second in franchise history) and stole 91 bases (third).

The first of those four Hall of Famers is Joe Medwick, who was known for his time with the Cardinals (which included a Triple Crown and MVP Award in 1937) but also spent five seasons with the Dodgers (1940-43 and ’46). “Ducky” was a two-time All-Star and two-time fielding champion in Brooklyn, with his best season coming in 1941, when he batted .318 with 100 runs, 171 hits, 10 triples, 18 home runs and 88 runs batted in. In the World Series that year against the Yankees, he played in five games, with one run scored and four hits. Medwick returned to St. Louis end his 17-year career where it began in 1948. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.

Wally Moon joined the Dodgers in the first few seasons after their move to the West Coast (1959-65). The 1954 Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals appeared in both All-Star Games in 1961 after batting .302 with 19 home runs, 74 RBIs and a league-leading 11 triples. Moon earned a gold glove the following year and led the league with a .434 on-base percentage in 1963. He was a part of three Dodgers championships, totaling three runs, six hits, one home run and two RBIs in eight World Series games.

Before he became maligned for his fielding gaffe in the 1986 World Series, Bill Buckner was a solid outfielder with the Dodgers in the 1970s. His eight-year stint in Los Angeles (1969-76) included three seasons with 150 or more hits and three batting .300 or higher. Buckner spent time in left field, right field and at first base, going wherever he was needed. His best season in Dodger blue was 1974, when he batted .314 with 83 runs, 182 hits, 58 RBIs and a career-high 31 stolen bases. The following year, he suffered a severe ankle injury, which caused him to play in pain for the rest of his 22-year career. Buckner was traded to the Cubs in 1977 and spent the next eight seasons at first base in Chicago, followed by stints with the Red Sox, Angeles and Royals before going back to Boston for one final season in 1990.

Pedro Guerrero was a versatile player who appeared at six positions during his 11 seasons with the Dodgers (1978-88), with his three years in left field being the most he spent at any one spot. He earned four All-Star selections, one silver slugger and three top 10 MVP finishes. Guerrero batted .300 or better six times, had more than 80 runs and 150 hits five times each and topped 25 home runs and 80 runs batted in four times. His best season in left field was 1985 when, in addition to a .320-33-87 stat line, he led the league with a .422 on-base percentage and .577 slugging percentage, which led to a third-place finish in the MVP voting. Overall, Guerrero batted .309 with 561 runs, 1,113 hits, 169 doubles, 171 home runs, 585 RBIs and 1,843 total bases in 1,036 games. The 1981 World Series MVP had seven runs, 20 hits, four homers and 16 RBIs in 26 playoff games. He was traded to St. Louis in 1988, the year his former team won the championship.

Kirk Gibson spent just three injury-plagued seasons in Los Angeles, but all it took was one swing of the bat for him to be catapulted into franchise lore. In 1988, he became the first player to win a league MVP award without being named an All-Star, after he batted .290 with 25 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Gibson hit two more homers against the Mets in the NLCS but injured his knee and was thought to be out for the World Series against the Athletics. He was on the roster but had no mobility. However, he was able to hobble around enough that he told manager Tommy LaSorda he could be a pinch hitter.

He got his chance with the Dodgers trailing 4-3 in the ninth and a runner on against future Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley. After weakly fouling off the first two pitches, Gibson worked the count full then slammed a slider into the right field bleachers to give Los Angeles the win. Even though he didn’t appear in the series again, the Dodgers had momentum and won the title in five games. Gibson dealt with a torn hamstring that cost him most of the next two seasons, and he spent one year each with the Royals and Pirates before finishing his career where it began, with the Tigers.

5. Gary Sheffield – He was primarily a third baseman early in his career with the Brewers, Padres and Marlins before converting to right field with Florida in the mid-1990s. Sheffield was traded to the Dodgers in the 1998 deal that sent Mike Piazza to South Florida. He moved to left field the following year, earned two All-Star selections and had three straight seasons batting at least .300 with 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in. The best of those was 2000, when he finished ninth in the MVP voting after batting .325 with a career-high 43 home runs, 109 RBIs, 105 runs and 163 hits.

A champion with the Marlins in 1997, Sheffield holds franchise records with a .424 on-base percentage and a .573 slugging percentage. In his four years with the Dodgers (1998-2001), he batted .312 with 358 runs, 583 hits, 129 home runs and 367 RBIs in 526 games. He played with the Braves, Yankees, Tigers and Mets before retiring after the 2009 season. Sheffield is entering his tenth year on the Hall of Fame ballot, with his 55 percent voting total in 2023 being his highest to date.

4. Jimmy Sheckard – He was a solid hitter and fielder who spent eight seasons in Brooklyn over three stints. (1897-98, 1900-01 and 02-05). After two seasons with the Grooms as a teenager, Sheckard was sent to the Baltimore Orioles which, despite being a major league entry, was basically a feeder team for their neighbors to the north, since both teams had the same owners. He returned to Brooklyn after the Baltimore team folded and had his best season in 1901, when he led the league with 19 triples and a .534 slugging percentage and set career-highs with a .354 average, 196 hits, 11 home runs and 104 runs batted in.

Sheckard went to the new Baltimore Orioles entry in the American League in 1902, but his stay there lasted just four games before he jumped back to Brooklyn, which was now known as the Superbas. He played four more seasons in Brooklyn and batted .295 with 566 runs, 966 hits, 160 doubles 76 triples (tied for ninth in team history), 36 home runs, 420 RBIs and 212 stolen bases in 871 games with the franchise. Sheckard also won the 1902 fielding title and led the league in putouts and double plays three times each and assists twice. He was traded to the Cubs in 1906 and played in four World Series in a five-year span, winning a pair of championships.

3. Tommy Davis – He easily could have been a fifth Hall of Fame entrant on this list if not for one fluke injury. Davis spent eight seasons in Los Angeles (1959-66), finishing fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting as a center fielder in 1960. After a year at third base, he was switched to left field in 1962 and had an all-time great season. Davis appeared in both All-Star Games and finished third in the MVP voting after leading the league with a .346 batting average, 153 runs batted in (also a franchise record) and 230 hits (second in team history). He won another batting title the following year with a .326 average and continued his solid play in 1964.

The next year, in a May 1 game against San Francisco, Davis was running to second on a ground ball. The Giants got the out a first, but Davis, unsure of whether they would try to get him out as well, slid into second causing his ankle both to break and dislocate. He returned the following year and batted .313, but had no power, so he was traded to the Mets after the season and bounced around to nine teams in 10 years,

Davis batted .304 with the Dodgers, totaling 392 runs, 912 hits, 109 doubles, 86 home runs and 465 RBIs in 821 games. He was a part of two pennant-winning teams and batted .400 (6-for-15) in the win over the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. Davis was a solid designated hitter and pinch hitter later in his career, but his lackadaisical approach was seen as lazy, causing teams to frequently release him. He was a coach and instructor with the Dodgers and Mariners after his playing career and died in 2022 at the age of 83.

2. Johnnie “Dusty” Baker – Although the Dodgers long-tenured infield gets mentioned frequently, Baker played five seasons behind the quartet of Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey. Baker spent eight years in Los Angeles overall (1976-83), earning two All-Star selections, two silver sluggers and a gold glove. He totaled 150 hits, 20 home runs and 80 RBIs four times each, hit the .300 mark twice and finished in the top 10 in the MVP race twice with the Dodgers.

Baker earned all three honors in the strike-shortened 1981 season, when he batted .320 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 103 games. Overall, he had a .281 average, 549 runs, 1,144 hits, 179 doubles, 144 homers, 586 RBIs and 1,779 total bases in 1,117 games. Baker appeared in three World Series, including 1981, when the Dodgers beat the Yankees. He totaled 23 runs, 42 hits, six doubles, five home runs and 21 RBIs in 40 postseason games. Baker was named MVP of the 1977 NLCS win over the Phillies after batting .357 (5-for-14) with four runs, two homers and eight RBIs.

Dusty stayed in California for his final three seasons, one with the Giants and two with the Athletics, before retiring in 1986. He is probably better known as a manager, posting a 2,183-1,862 record in 26 seasons on benches with the Giants, Cubs, Reds, Nationals and Astros. Baker has led teams to 13 playoff appearances, 13 seasons with 90 or more wins, three pennants and a World Series title with Houston in 2022.

1. Zack Wheat – He had a quiet demeanor but was a gutsy determined player on the field. Wheat was also a defensive standout who spent 18 seasons in Brooklyn (1909-26). He hit better than .300 a total of 13 times and topped 150 hits in a season 11 times, including three seasons with 200 or better. Wheat won the batting title with a .335 average in 1919, matched the average and drove in a career-high 112 runs in 1922. He finished fourth in the MVP race after hitting a career-high .375 in 1924, but he had arguably his best season the following year when he batted .359, set career-bests with 125 runs and 221 hits (third in franchise history), hit 14 home runs and had 103 runs batted in.

The popular Wheat had four hitting streaks of at least 20 games and was a part of two pennant-winning clubs. In 12 World Series games, he totaled four runs, 13 hits and three RBIs. Wheat is the all-time franchise leader in games (2,322), hits (2,804), doubles (464), triples (171) and total bases (4,003), ranks second in runs (1,255), third in RBIs (1,210) and tied for sixth in average (.317) to go with 31 home runs and 203 stolen bases. He also won a pair of fielding titles and led the league in putouts seven times and double plays four times.

Wheat was released by the Robins and signed with the Philadelphia Athletics for one final season in 1927. He worked in the police department in Kansas City for nearly a decade after his playing career, but he was forced to leave the job after suffering a fractured skull, dislocated shoulder, broken wrist and 15 broken ribs in a patrol car accident while chasing a fugitive. Wheat later opened a hunting and fishing resort, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1959 and passed away in 1972 at age 83.

Center Fielders

Honorable Mentions – Pete Reiser was one of many players of his era who lost prime years to service during World War II. After starting as a third baseman, he transferred to center field in 1941 and took the league by storm. He was named an All-Star and finished second in the MVP voting after leading the league with a .343 average, 117 runs, 39 doubles, 17 triples, a .558 slugging percentage and 299 total bases and set career highs with 184 hits, 14 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Reiser followed that with another All-Star campaign in which he batted .310 and topped the National League with 20 stolen bases.

After serving three years in the Army, Reiser returned to lead the league with 34 steals while earning his third and final All-Star selection. Over his six-year Dodgers career (1940-42 and 46-48), he batted .306 with 400 runs, 666 hits, 135 doubles, 44 homers and 298 RBIs in 616 games. Reiser appeared in two World Series, totaling two runs, six hits, one home run and three RBIs in 10 postseason contests. He also led all National League center fielders in putouts and assists in 1941. Reiser spent two seasons with the Braves, then one each with the Pirates and Indians before he retired in 1952.

While he is best known for his time with the Astros, Jim Wynn was an All-Star in both of his seasons with the Dodgers (1974-75). His first year by far was the best, in which he finished fifth in the MVP race after batting .271 with 104 runs scored, 32 home runs and 108 runs batted in. The “Toy Cannon” appeared in nine games during the 1974 playoffs, totaling five runs, five hits, three doubles, one home run and four RBIs as the Dodgers lost to the Athletics in the World Series.

Brett Butler had a knack for getting on base, smacking 150 or more hits four times in his seven seasons in Los Angeles (1991-94 and 95-97). His best season was his first with the Dodgers, as he earned his only All-Star selection after batting .296 and leading the league with 112 runs and 108 walks. Butler had at least 25 steals four times and led the N. L. with 24 sacrifices in 1992. He batted .298 with 455 runs, 837 hits, 14 home runs, 191 RBIs and 179 stolen bases in 763 games. The two-time fielding champion signed with the Mets in 1995 but was dealt back to the Dodgers in August. He finished out his career in Los Angeles and retired in 1997 at age 40.

Although he had his best season in right field, Cody Bellinger played the most games in center during his six-year run in Los Angeles (2017-22). He won the Rookie of the Year Award and was named an All-Star as a first baseman in 2017 after batting .267 with 39 home runs and 97 runs batted in. He won fielding titles in each of the next two seasons, once at first base and once in right field. Bellinger was a quadruple hardware winner in 2019, taking home the MVP Award and earning All-Star, gold glove and silver slugger selections after setting career highs with a .305 average, 121 runs, 170 hits, 47 home runs (third-most in franchise history), 115 RBIs and 351 total bases, which led the National League.

Bellinger totaled 434 runs, 652 hits, 134 doubles, 152 home runs, 422 RBIs and 1,280 total bases in 745 games with Los Angeles. He added 29 runs, 51 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs, 33 RBIs and 14 steals in 69 postseason games. Bellinger was a part of three pennant-winning clubs and earned MVP honors in the 2018 NLCS win over the Brewers. He signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in 2023 and, after winning his second silver slugger, is currently a free agent.

5. Henry “Hi” Myers – He specialized in baserunning and knowing when to take a gamble on the basepaths. Myers rapped 150 or more base hits six times in 11 seasons with the Superbas, Dodgers and Robins (1909, ’11 and 14-22) and batted over .300 three times. His best season was 1919, when he led the league with a .436 slugging percentage, 14 triples, 73 runs batted in and 223 total bases. The following year, he smacked 22 triples, which is the second-most in team history.

Myers ranks third in franchise history with 97 triples and batted .282 with 512 runs, 1,253 hits, 155 doubles, 29 home runs, 496 RBIs, 101 steals and 1,689 total bases. He appeared in two World Series with Brooklyn, totaling two runs, 10 hits, one home run and four RBIs in 12 games. Myers spent his final three seasons mostly with the Cardinals before retiring in 1925.

4. Mike Griffin – He was a speedster who was adept at getting on base and scoring runs. Griffin spent eight seasons with the Grooms (1891-98) topping 100 runs six times and hitting at least .300 five times. His best season was 1894, when he batted a career-high .357 with 123 runs (in just 108 games), 39 steals and a .466 on-base percentage, which is still a team record.

Griffin ranks eighth in franchise history with 264 stolen bases and ninth with 882 runs. He batted .305 with 1,168 hits, 211 doubles, 64 triples, 29 home runs, 478 RBI and 1,584 total bases in 988 games. Griffin was also a five-time fielding champion who led the league in putouts twice.

3. Matt Kemp – He was one of the most productive players of the 2000s, topping the 20-homer mark six times in 10 seasons with the Dodgers (2006-14 and ’18). Kemp was a three-time All-Star, who also earned two gold gloves and two silver sluggers during his time in Los Angeles. His best season was 2011, when he finished second in the MVP voting after batting .324 and leading the league with 115 runs, 39 home runs, 126 runs batted in and 353 total bases.

“Bison” missed more than half of the 2013 season after spraining his ankle while sliding into home plate. Kemp ranks seventh in franchise history with 203 home runs, and he also has a .292 average, 712 runs, 1,322 hits, 240 doubles, 733 RBIs, 170 stolen bases and 2,237 total bases in 1,262 games. He also has the dubious distinction of striking out 1,179 times, the most in team history. Kemp appeared in 33 postseason games with the Dodgers, totaling seven runs, 24 hits, four doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs. His last appearance for the team came in a loss to the Red Sox in 2018 World Series.

Kemp was sent to the Padres in the December 2014 trade that brought catcher Yasmani Grandal to the Dodgers. He was traded back to Los Angeles by Atlanta in 2017 and was sent to Cincinnati the following year in the deal that also sent Yasiel Puig to the Reds. Kemp finished his career with the Rockies in 2020.

2. Willie Davis – He was one of the fastest men in baseball during his 14-year stay in Los Angeles (1960-73) and he fit in perfectly with the Dodgers’ ideal of the time: pitching, speed and defense. Davis led the league in triples twice, topped 150 hits nine times and stole at least 20 bases in a season 11 times. The three-time gold glove winner was a part of three pennant-winners and two championship teams, and he had a franchise-record 31-game hitting streak in 1969.

Davis ended his run in Los Angeles ranked second in franchise history in triples (110), third in hits (2,091) and stolen bases (335), fourth in total bases (3,091), sixth in games (1,952), runs (1,004) and doubles (321) and ninth in RBIs (849) to go with a .279 average and 154 home runs. In the playoffs, he totaled five runs, nine hits, three RBIs and three steals in 15 games.

Late in 1971, Davis converted to Buddhism and, in addition to his clubhouse chanting, he was in the midst of a messy divorce. As a result, he bounced around to five teams in his final four major league seasons and spent two seasons in Japan. Davis finished his career with the Angels in 1979. He continued to be troubled, even allegedly going after his parents with a samurai sword and threatening to burn down their house in 1996. He died in 2010 at age 69.

1. Edwin “Duke” Snider – He earned his nickname as a boy due to his penchant for pouting when he didn’t get his way. This behavior continued even after he came to the Dodgers in 1947 after serving two years during World War II. Snider got angry when he struck out, thought training exercises were beneath him, complained about hotel conditions and lashed out at fans, especially when they booed him during slumps. The attitude got him demoted to the minors by general manager Branch Rickey.

After working with Hall of Famer George Sisler, Snider developed plate discipline and became one of the best hitters in baseball. New York baseball fans in the 1950s were treated to watching three of the greatest centerfielders in the game’s history played for their teams (Willie Mays for the Giants, Mickey Mantle with the Yankees and “the Duke of Flatbush” with the Dodgers). The trio was immortalized in a 1981 song by Terry Cashman.

On the field, Snider topped the .300 mark seven times, scored more than 100 runs six times (leading the league on three occasions), topping the 150-hit mark in eight straight seasons, hitting at least 40 home runs five straight years, driving in more than 100 runs six times and leading the league in total bases three times (including 378 in 1954, which ranks second in team history). The seven-time All-Star finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting six times and was runner-up in 1955, when he batted .309 with 166 hits, 42 homers and league-leading totals of 126 runs and 136 RBIs (which ranks third in team history). He followed that by hitting .320 in the World Series (8-for-25) with five runs, four home runs and seven RBIs as the Dodgers were finally able to knock off the Yankees.

The “Silver Fox” is all all-time franchise leader in home runs (389) and RBIs (1,271), ranks second in doubles (343) and total bases (3,669), third in runs (1,199), fourth in hits (1,995), tied for sixth in triples (82) and seventh in games (1,923) while also batting .300 over his 16 seasons in Brooklyn and Los Angeles (1947-62). In the playoffs, he amassed 21 runs, 38 hits, eight doubles, 11 homers and 26 RBIs in 36 games.

Snider’s contract was purchased by the Mets in 1963 and was the team’s lone All-Star that season. He returned to the West Coast the following year and finished out his career with the rival Giants. After retiring, the three-time fielding champion was a scout and minor league manager, as well as a Dodgers broadcaster. Somehow, Snider took 11 tries to get elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, finally succeeding in 1980. He dealt with diabetes and hypertension in later years before passing away in 2011 at age 84.

Right Fielders

Honorable Mentions – Thomas “Oyster” Burns joined Brooklyn at the tail end of the team’s run in the American Association and proved to be a solid run-producer. During his eight-year run with the franchise (1888-95), he drove in 80 or more runs in five seasons and topped 100 three times. Burns’ best year was 1890, the team’s first in the National League, when he hit .284 and led the circuit with 13 home runs and 128 runs batted in. Overall, he ranks fifth in franchise history with 85 triples and batted .300 with 592 runs, 958 hits, 155 doubles, 40 homers, 608 RBIs, 172 stolen bases and 1,403 total bases in 821 games. Burns appeared in back-to-back World Series in 1889-90 with Brooklyn, totaling 14 runs, 14 hits, five doubles, three home runs and 16 RBIs in 16 games.

Harry Lumley broke into the big leagues with a strong season in which he batted .279 with league-high totals of 18 triples and nine home runs. Two years later, he batted .324 and led the N. L. with a .477 slugging percentage. After four solid years, Lumley broke his ankle on a slide in 1907, and the injury, as well as his inability to stay in playing shape, cutting short his career (1904-10). His playing time declined in later years, and he had a brief stint as Brooklyn’s manager before retiring in 1910. Lumley played and managed in Binghamton, NY, opened a restaurant and passed away in 1938.

While he was best known for his time with the Red Sox, Reggie Smith spent six mostly solid years with the Dodgers (1976-81) after being traded from the Cardinals. Smith finished fourth in the MVP voting two straight years, with his best being in 1977, when he hit a career-high 32 home runs, scored 104 runs, drove in 87 and led the league with a .427 on-base percentage. The three-time All-Star had 14 runs, 19 hits, four home runs and 14 RBIs in 25 postseason games, and he played in three World Series with the Dodgers, coming off the bench in the win over the Yankees in 1981.

While a player with an elite outfield arm tops the list at this position, Raul Mondesi was certainly no slouch in that department. He registered 103 assists from the position in 13 career seasons and led the league twice in seven seasons with Los Angeles (1993-99). Mondesi posted a .306-16-56 stat line to win the 1994 Rookie of the Year Award and followed that with five straight seasons with at least 20 home runs and 80 runs batted in. The 1995 All-Star also won two gold gloves and had four hits and two RBIs in six playoff games with the Dodgers. Mondesi was traded to the Blue Jays in 2000 (for the next player on this list) and played with six teams in six years before retiring after spending 2005 with the Braves.

After seven years in Toronto Shawn Green went to the West Coast in exchange for Mondesi before the 2000 season. He regressed slightly in his first season with Los Angeles, but exploded in 2001, batting .297 with 125 runs batted in and a franchise record 49 home runs. Green earned his only All-Star selection with the Dodgers the following year and also posted his second straight MVP Top 10 finish after posting a .285-42-114 stat line. In five seasons with Los Angeles (2000-04), he batted .280 with 505 runs, 842 hits, 183 doubles, 162 home runs and 509 RBIs in 798 games. Green hit three home runs in four games during the 2004 Division Series, but the Dodgers fell to the Cardinals. He spent two seasons each with the Diamondbacks and Mets before he retired in 2007. Green is arguably the greatest Jewish baseball player since Sandy Koufax.

Few modern players created a spectacle whenever they stepped to the plate like Yasiel Puig. The Cuban-born player nicknamed “Wild Horse” was known for his towering home runs, showmanship and temper. He was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year Award in 2013 after batting .319 with 19 home runs in 104 games, then earned his only All-Star selection the following year. Although his average dropped, his power did not, topping out at 28 in 2017. Puig batted .279 with 108 homers and 331 RBIs in 712 games over six seasons (2013-18). He was traded to Cincinnati, then Cleveland in 2019 and has since played in Mexico, Korea and the Dominican Republic.

Baseball has a way of filling in puzzle pieces, even if it takes a while for the finished image to take shape. Puig was traded to the Reds so Alex Verdugo could get some playing time. One year later, Verdugo was shipped off to the Red Sox for Markus “Mookie” Betts, who had earned his fourth straight All-Star selection and was two years removed from an MVP season and a World Series win. During his first campaign, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Betts finished second in the MVP race, posting a .292-16-39 stat line in 55 games.

His numbers have improved in each of the past three seasons, earning him three All-Star selections, two silver sluggers, a gold glove and two more Top five MVP finishes. Betts’ 2023 season was the best, which saw him hit .307 with 107 RBIs and a career-high 39 home runs and finish as the MVP runner-up. In the playoffs, he has 24 runs, 38 hits, 10 doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs in 37 postseason games with the Dodgers, and he blasted a pair of homers against the Rays in the 2020 World Series.

5. “Wee Willie” Keeler – He was purchased by Brooklyn during the 1893 season and, after a 20-game stint, was traded with another future Hall of Famer, Dan Brouthers, to Baltimore and won three straight pennants. After winning back-to-back batting titles (including a .424 mark in 1897) and a pair of hit crowns, Keeler was brought back to Brooklyn in 1899, since the clubs were now run by the same ownership group. He had little power but was known to “Hit ‘Em Where They Ain’t” and led the league in singles seven times during his career. Keeler topped the 200-hit mark in three of his four later seasons with the Superbas, including a league-high 204 in 1900. He also hit .379 (the third-best mark in team history) and topped the N. L. with 140 runs in 141 games the year prior.

In five total seasons in Brooklyn (1893 and 99-02), Keeler became the all-time franchise leader with a .352 batting average to go with 469 runs, 833 hits, 219 RBIs and 130 stolen bases in 566 games. The two-time fielding champion finished his career in 1910 with the Giants, the team he started his career with, passed away in 1923 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

4. Andre Ethier – He spent his entire 12-year career with the Dodgers (2006-17), earning two All-Star selections, a silver slugger and a gold glove during that time. His best season was 2009, when he batted .272 and set career highs with 92 runs, 162 hits, 42 doubles, 31 home runs and 106 runs batted in. He excelled in the field as well, earning three fielding titles, including two in which he finished the season with a perfect fielding percentage.

Ethier ranks ninth in franchise history with 303 doubles, and he batted .285 with 641 runs, 1,367 hits, 162 home runs, 697 RBIs and 2,224 total bases in 1,455 games. In the postseason, he appeared in 51 games, totaling 18 runs, 31 hits, six doubles, five homers and 11 RBIs. Ethier came off the bench to bat .400 (2-for-5) with an RBI in the loss to the Astros in the 2017 World Series, which was his final big-league action.

3. Fred “Dixie” Walker – He was the son of a former major league pitcher who bore the same nickname and spent four seasons with the Washington Senators. In his own big-league career, Walker had stints with the Yankees, White Sox and Tigers before finally finding steady playing time with the Dodgers. He was a five-time All-Star who won a batting title (.357 in 1944) and an RBI title (124 in 1945), and he also finished in the Top 10 of the MVP voting four times during his nine-year run in Brooklyn (1939-47) and topped the .300 mark seven times.

Walker batted .311 with the Dodgers and totaled 666 runs, 1,395 hits, 274 doubles, 56 triples, 67 home runs, 725 RBIs and 1,982 RBIs in 1,207 games. He also appeared in two World Series, producing four runs, 10 hits, one home run and four RBIs in 12 games. Despite all of this, Walker is best known as being the main player against the Dodgers putting Jackie Robinson on their roster. He did not outwardly show hate for Robinson, he signed the team petition to keep him away. Although the two were able to co-exist, Walker requested, and was granted, a trade to the Pittsburgh, where he spent his final two seasons before retiring in 1949.

2. Floyd “Babe” Herman – He was traded to Brooklyn after spending several years in the minor league systems of the Tigers and Red Sox, including a stop in the Detroit farm team in Edmonton, where a female fan gave him his nickname. While Herman was a poor fielder, he was one of the best in the game at the plate, batting over .300 in five of six seasons during his first stint in Brooklyn. In 1929, he finished with the second-best single season average in franchise history with a .381 mark, to go with 21 home runs and 113 runs batted in. The following year, he was even better, setting team records with a .393 average, 241 hits, 416 total bases and a .678 slugging percentage and added career highs with 35 homers and 130 RBIs. Somehow, that season did not earn him a single MVP vote.

Herman was also known to hold out nearly every year, with the move finally costing him in 1932, when he was traded to the Reds. He spent time four teams over the next six seasons, with his offensive production in decline. After Detroit cut him in 1937, Herman spent the next seven seasons with minor league and independent teams in New Jersey and California, where he also got a role as the hitting consultant for actor Gary Cooper, who was playing Lou Gehrig in the 1942 movie, “Pride of the Yankees.”

Herman came out of retirement and returned to the Dodgers in 1945 after the team lost several players to wartime service. He appeared in 37 games, mostly as a pinch hitter, until he was hit in the knee by a line drive during batting practice and never played again. During his seven years with the Dodgers (1926-31 and ’45), Herman ranked second in franchise history with a .339 average and had 540 runs, 1,093 hits, 232 doubles, 66 triples, 112 home runs and 594 RBIs in 888 games.

1. Carl Furillo – Imagine a minor league player being so good, the owner of your team would only agree to relinquish control of your contract if the major league team that wanted you bought the entire team? Such was the case with Furillo when he was with Reading of the Class B Interstate League in 1941. After another year in the minors and three more serving in World War II, he appeared for Brooklyn beginning in 1946.

Furillo started his career with six solid seasons, including back-to-back 100-RBI campaigns, before slumping in 1952, when he had a .247 average despite being named to his first All-Star team. He found out the problem was cataracts, had eye surgery to remove them, and responded with a .344 average, which led the National League and was the highest of his 15-year career (1946-60).

One of his nicknames was “The Rock” for his solid and steady play. Furillo drove in 80 or more runs nine times, had 150 or more hits seven times and scored 80 or more runs five times. He batted .299 with 56 triples, and he ranks fourth in franchise history in runs batted in (1,058), fifth in doubles (324), seventh in hits (1,910) and total bases (2,922), and eighth in games (1,806), runs (895) and home runs (192). Furillo was a member of “The Boys of Summer” Dodgers teams that went to seven World Series in a 13-year span, with wins in 1955 and ’59. He totaled 13 runs, 34 hits, nine doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs in 40 games.

Furillo also had a cannon arm from the outfield that possibly rivaled later legends such as Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker, Jesse Barfield, Vladimir Guerrero and Ichiro Suzuki. The “Reading Rocket” had 151 career outfield assists (115 from right field) and led the league in that category three times. Furillo suffered from persistent leg pains later in his career, and Los Angeles released him early in the 1960 season. Since the Dodgers had not paid him his full salary, he sued for the $21,000 he was owed. Furillo eventually won the suit, but never played or coached in the major or minor leagues again.

After baseball, Furillo bought a deli, worked in construction, which included installing elevator doors in the World Trade Center, and took a job as a security guard. He was diagnosed with chronic leukemia and died of heart failure in 1989 at age 66.