1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season

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1988 Los Angeles Dodgers
1988 World Series Champions
National League Champions
NL West Champions
Major League affiliations
Location
  • Dodger Stadium (since 1962)
  • Los Angeles (since 1958)
Results
Record94–67 (.584)
Divisional place1st
Other information
Owner(s)Peter O'Malley
General manager(s)Fred Claire
Manager(s)Tommy Lasorda
Local televisionKTTV (11)
Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Don Drysdale
Z Channel
Rick Monday, Tony Hernandez
Local radioKABC
Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Don Drysdale
KWKW
Jaime Jarrín, René Cárdenas
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The 1988 season was a memorable one for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a squad that was picked to finish fourth wound up winning the World Series, beating the heavily favored New York Mets and Oakland Athletics on the way. Kirk Gibson carried the Dodger offense, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Orel Hershiser dominated on the mound, throwing a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to winning the Cy Young Award.

Offseason[]

  • December 11, 1987: Acquired Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco in a three-team deal with the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets for Bob Welch, Jack Savage and Matt Young
  • January 29, 1988: Kirk Gibson was signed as a Free Agent.[1]
  • April 1, 1988: Acquired John Gibbons from the New York Mets for Craig Shipley

With the sub-par 1987 performance fresh in their minds, General Manager Fred Claire and Field Manager Tom Lasorda knew what needed to be fixed. They started the off-season by allowing poor performers such as Glenn Hoffman, Ken Landreaux and Phil Garner explore the free agent market. On December 11, 1987, Claire pulled the trigger on a trade that helped solidify the Dodgers' defense and bullpen, despite giving up one of the top pitchers of the National League in 1987 in Bob Welch. The Dodgers acquired shortstop Alfredo Griffin and relief pitchers Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco in a three-team trade ironically with the Athletics and Mets, the two teams they would eventually defeat in the '88 postseason. In an attempt to boost the offense for the upcoming season, the Dodgers signed Mike Davis on December 15, 1987. The biggest move of the off-season was still to come.

On January 29, 1988, the Dodgers signed free agent slugger Kirk Gibson from the Detroit Tigers. Gibson, who was a 9 year veteran at the time of the signing, was known for his power at the plate and speed on the basepaths, but was also brought in to be a clubhouse leader. To help solidify their roster the Dodgers went on to sign 21-year veteran pitcher Don Sutton and 20-year veteran catcher Rick Dempsey. Dempsey, known for his fiery personality, joined Gibson as the veteran clubhouse leaders.

It was Gibson, however, who would make the biggest impact. Preparing for his first spring training game as a Dodger on March 3, 1988, Gibson began his pregame warm-ups in the outfield. Taking off his hat to wipe sweat from his head, Gibson noticed people laughing. He soon realized that someone (it turned out to be reliever Jesse Orosco) had greased the inside of his cap with eyeblack and he had unknowingly wiped it all over himself in full view of the fans who were in attendance. Gibson immediately left the field in anger and left the Dodgers' spring training complex, missing the game. The next day, manager Tommy Lasorda held a team meeting where Orosco apologized. The message was made clear, however: Gibson came to the Dodgers to win and was serious about it.[2]

Key player from the 1987 team were also brought back. These players included right fielder Mike Marshall, center fielder John Shelby, catcher Mike Scioscia, Second Baseman Steve Sax, Utilityman Mickey Hatcher, and pitchers Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, and Tim Leary.

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
NL West 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 94 67 0.584 — 45–36 49–31
Cincinnati Reds 87 74 0.540 7 45–35 42–39
San Diego Padres 83 78 0.516 11 47–34 36–44
San Francisco Giants 83 79 0.512 11½ 45–36 38–43
Houston Astros 82 80 0.506 12½ 44–37 38–43
Atlanta Braves 54 106 0.338 39½ 28–51 26–55

Record vs. opponents[]

1988 National League Records
  • v
  • t

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD MON NYM PHI PIT SD SF STL
Atlanta — 5–7 5–13 5–13 4–14 4–8 4–8 6–6 5–5 8–10 5–13 3–9
Chicago 7–5 — 6–6 7–5 4–8–1 9–9 9–9 8–10 7–11 8–4 5–7 7–11
Cincinnati 13–5 6–6 — 9–9 7–11 5–7 4–7 9–3 7–5 10–8 11–7 6–6
Houston 13–5 5–7 9–9 — 9–9 6–6 5–7 8–4 8–4 6–12 7–11 6–6
Los Angeles 14–4 8–4–1 11–7 9–9 — 8–4 1–10 11–1 6–6 7–11 12–6 7–5
Montreal 8–4 9–9 7–5 6–6 4–8 — 6–12 9–9–1 8–10 4–8 7–5 13–5
New York 8–4 9–9 7–4 7–5 10–1 12–6 — 10–8 12–6 7–5 4–8 14–4
Philadelphia 6-6 10–8 3–9 4–8 1–11 9–9–1 8–10 — 7–11 4–7 7–5 6–12
Pittsburgh 5–5 11–7 5–7 4–8 6–6 10–8 6–12 11–7 — 8–4 8–4 11–7
San Diego 10–8 4–8 8–10 12–6 11–7 8–4 5–7 7–4 4–8 — 8–10 6–6
San Francisco 13–5 7–5 7–11 11–7 6–12 5–7 8–4 5–7 4–8 10–8 — 7–5
St. Louis 9–3 11–7 6–6 6–6 5–7 5–13 4–14 12–6 7–11 6–6 5–7 —


Opening Day lineup[]

Opening Day Starters
# Name Position
3 Steve Sax 2B
7 Alfredo Griffin SS
23 Kirk Gibson LF
28 Pedro Guerrero 3B
5 Mike Marshall 1B
31 John Shelby CF
37 Mike Davis RF
14 Mike Scioscia C
34 Fernando Valenzuela P

[3]

Roster[]

1988 Los Angeles Dodgers

Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Manager

  •  2 Tommy Lasorda

Coaches

Starting 9[]

Notable transactions[]

  • June 6, 1988: Raúl Mondesí was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[4]
  • June 27, 1988: Mario Soto was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers.[5]
  • August 10, 1988: Don Sutton was released by the Dodgers.[6]
  • August 16, 1988: Acquired John Tudor from the St. Louis Cardinals for Pedro Guerrero
  • August 30, 1988: Shawn Hillegas was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Ricky Horton.[7]
  • October 3, 1988: Acquired Jim Neidlinger from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bill Krueger

Season summary[]

April[]

The Dodgers started the 1988 season at home against the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers opening day pitcher was Valenzuela. The opening day lineup featured Sax, Griffin, Gibson, Marshall, Shelby, Davis, Scioscia and Third Baseman Pedro Guerrero. The first pitch of the season, to Sax by Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky, was hit into the Left Field seats at Dodger Stadium. However, Valenzuela would then give up the lead and the Dodgers would eventually lose the game 5-1. The team would go on to win their next five games and finish April with a 13-7 record which included a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Hershiser finished the month of April with a 5-0 record.

May[]

The Dodgers went 14-13 during the month of May. As it had always been, May was one of the toughest months for the Dodgers. On May 21, 1988, Griffin was hit by a pitch from Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden on the hand. Griffin would miss over two months with a broken hand. This heated up the Dodger-Met rivalry which would last the remainder of the season. In fact, the next day, May 22, 1988, Mets starting pitcher David Cone hit Pedro Guerrero in the head in the 6th inning. As a show of disgust at what the Dodgers felt was headhunting by the Mets pitchers, Guerrero proceeded to stand up, throw his bat in Cone's direction and charge the mound. A benches clearing mêlée ensued and Guerrero and Lasorda were ejected from the game. Because Griffin had to be placed on the disabled list with a broken hand the Dodgers were left with a hole at shortstop, though they had a solid replacement in the form of veteran Dave Anderson. At times during May, the lead over the Astros neared five games. By the end of the month the Dodgers' lead in the NL West Division was only a half of a game over the Houston Astros.

June[]

The Dodgers had a solid month of June compiling a record of 17-9 over the month. Hershiser continued his successful year by finishing the month of June with a record of 12-3. Much of the Dodgers' success to this point in the season could be attributed to solid starting pitching from Hershiser, Leary and the emerging rookie Tim Belcher. However, the best pitchers of the Dodgers' pitching staff were those who came out of the bullpen. Orosco, Howell, Brian Holton and Alejandro Peña were all enjoying successful seasons. After a slow start in April, Gibson was now hitting .288 with 15 HR's, 40 RBI, 53 runs scored and 15 SB's.

August[]

The summer success continued for the Dodgers as they completed August with a 17-12 record. Don Sutton was released August 10 after GM Fred Claire discovered Sutton had informally discussed a possible front office job with the Houston Astros. Sutton was 3-6 with a 3.92 ERA at the time. Sutton did not sign with another team. His 233 career wins with the Dodgers remains the team record.

Dramatic summer moments[]

Many[who?] who have followed the Dodgers have pointed to a few moments during the months of July and August that got the season going in the right direction, keep the successes going and exemplified what the 1988 Dodgers were all about.

  • July 6, 1988- Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers scored three runs then Anderson, Mike Sharperson and Sax loaded the bases. The Cardinals would bring in closer Todd Worrell in an attempt to snuff out the rally. However, First Baseman Franklin Stubbs would drive a Worrell offering into the right field seats for a game winning grand slam.
  • August 13, 1988- The Dodgers and Giants take the Dodger Stadium fans to the 11th inning with a tie. Guerrero starts the Dodgers side of the 11th inning with a fly ball to right that Giants outfielder Candy Maldonado loses in the lights. A passed ball allows Guerrero to go to second. However, Guerrero and Lasorda are then ejected from the game arguing that the Giants' pitcher had balked. Because of this, Stubbs had to pinch run for Guerrero leaving the Dodgers with no additional pinch hitters on their bench. When pitcher Alejandro Peña's batting spot comes around in the lineup they are forced to pinch hit for him with another pitcher, Tim Leary. Amazingly, Leary singled back up the middle and Stubbs scored giving the Dodgers the extra inning walk off win.
  • A week after Leary's dramatic game-winning hit, the Dodgers had another walk off win. The Dodgers entered the bottom of the 9th inning at Dodger Stadium trailing the Montreal Expos 3-2. The Expos brought in Joe Hesketh to close out the game. After getting Sax out, Hesketh allowed Mickey Hatcher to double. Anderson ran for Hatcher and Kirk Gibson singled home Anderson. One out later with John Shelby at the plate, Gibson stole second base. With John Shelby at the plate, Hesketh threw a wild pitch through catcher Nelson Santovenia. Gibson advanced to third but did not stop there; the former linebacker kept going, charging toward the plate that was being covered by pitcher Hesketh. Santovenia threw back to Hesketh but Gibson beat the throw to the plate giving the Dodgers the win. Gibson later revealed that part of his reasoning for attempting to take home was that he knew Hesketh had suffered a broken leg earlier in his career and Gibson felt he would not be willing to risk a collision by stepping into the basepath to block off the plate.

September/October[]

Hershiser would begin a scoreless inning streak in September that he would eventually take to over 59 innings and pass Dodger legend Don Drysdale for the record for most consecutive scoreless innings. Hershiser would throw complete game shutouts against the Braves on September 5, the Reds on September 10, the Braves again on September 14, the Astros on September 19 and the Giants on September 23 to take him within 9 innings of Drysdale's record. Before Hershiser would get a chance to break the record the Dodgers needed to clinch the National League West Championship. Their chance came in San Diego on September 26. The San Diego Padres would take a 2-0 lead in the first inning. But the Dodgers would get 3 runs back and win the game 3-2, clinching the division. Hershiser would get his next start on September 28 and he would pitch 10 scoreless innings against the Padres to break Drysdale's record.

Game log[]

1988 Game Log (94–67)[8]
April (13–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 4 Giants L 1–5 Dravecky (1–0) Valenzuela (0–1) 48,484 0–1
2 April 5 Giants W 5–0 Hershiser (1–0) Downs (0–1) 37,472 1–1
3 April 7 @ Braves W 5–2 Peña (1–0) Assenmaacher (0–1) Orosco (1) 5,257 2–1
4 April 8 @ Braves W 6–3 Leary (1–0) Coffman (0–1) Belcher (1) 10,723 3–1
5 April 9 @ Braves W 11–3 Valenzuela (1–1) Glavine (0–1) 16,603 4–1
6 April 10 @ Braves W 3–1 Hershiser (2–0) Mahler (0–1) Orosco (2) 14,171 5–1
7 April 12 @ Padres L 3–5 Hawkins (1–1) Sutton (0–1) Davis (1) 52,395 5–2
8 April 13 @ Padres W 4–3 Howell (1–0) Show (0–2) Orosco (3) 16,838 6–2
9 April 14 @ Padres L 0–2 Jones (1–1) Valenzuela (1–2) McCullers (2) 24,096 6–3
10 April 15 Braves W 3–2 Hershiser (3–0) Glavine (0–2) 41,222 7–3
11 April 16 Braves W 7–4 Belcher (1–0) Mahler (0–2) Peña (2) 27,114 8–3
12 April 17 Braves L 1–3 Smith (1–2) Sutton (0–2) 46,484 8–4
13 April 18 Padres W 6–0 Leary (2–0) Show (0–3) 24,357 9–4
April 19 Padres Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for June 17
April 20 Padres Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for June 19
April 21 Padres Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 21
April 22 @ Giants Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 26
14 April 23 @ Giants W 10–3 Hershiser (4–0) Krukow (1–1) 33,271 10–4
15 April 24 @ Giants W 4–0 Valenzuela (2–2) LaCoss (1–2) Howell (1) 39,092 11–4
16 April 26 Cubs L 3–7 Maddux (4–1) Leary (2–1) 34,279 11–5
17 April 27 Cubs W 4–0 Sutton (1–2) Moyer (1–2) Peña (3) 29,462 12–5
18 April 28 Cubs L 1–5 Schiraldi (1–2) Belcher (1–1) DiPino (1) 29,509 12–6
19 April 29 Cardinals W 6–4 Hershiser (5–0) Cox (2–3) Howell (2) 44,301 13–6
20 April 30 Cardinals L 2–5 O'Neal (2–1) Valenzuela (2–3) McWilliams (1) 47,425 13–7
May (14–13)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
21 May 1 Cardinals L 0–9 Tudor (1–0) Leary (2–2) Terry (1) 46,176 13–8
22 May 2 Pirates W 6–3 Orosco (1–0) Drabek (3–2) 26,821 14–8
23 May 3 Pirates W 14–6 Belcher (2–1) Dunne (1–1) 26,943 15–8
24 May 4 Pirates W 8–5 Hershiser (6–0) Palacios (0–2) 30,423 16–8
25 May 6 @ Cardinals W 10–2 Valenzuela (3–3) O'Neal (2–2) 49,194 17–8
26 May 7 @ Cardinals L 1–2 Worrell (1–2) Orosco (1–1) 46,159 17–9
27 May 8 @ Cardinals W 12–6 Sutton (2–2) DeLeón (2–3) 40,098 18–9
May 9 @ Cubs Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 14
28 May 10 @ Cubs W 6–5 (14) Holton (1–0) Lancaster (1–3) Hershiser (1) 12,985 19–9
29 May 11 @ Pirates L 1–2 (11) Medvin (1–0) Peña (1–1) 26,367 19–10
30 May 12 @ Pirates L 4–7 Smiley (3–2) Hershiser (6–1) 11,072 19–11
31 May 13 Phillies L 1–2 Gross (3–1) Leary (2–3) Tekulve (2) 38,015 19–12
32 May 14 Phillies W 3–2 Sutton (3–2) Ruffin (3–3) Howell (3) 47,379 20–12
33 May 15 Phillies W 9–2 Belcher (3–1) Palmer (0–3) 41,045 21–12
34 May 17 Expos L 5–6 Heaton (1–2) Valenzuela (3–4) Burke (5) 34,309 21–13
35 May 18 Expos L 0–3 Dopson (1–1) Hershiser (6–2) Burke (6) 27,775 21–14
36 May 19 Expos W 2–0 Leary (3–3) Martínez (3–6) 25,283 22–14
37 May 20 Mets L 2–5 Fernandez (2–3) Sutton (3–3) Myers (6) 44,867 22–15
38 May 21 Mets L 0–4 Gooden (8–0) Belcher (3–12) 47,017 22–16
39 May 22 Mets L 2–5 Cone (6–0) Valenzuela (3–5) McDowell (5) 44,826 22–17
40 May 24 @ Phillies W 2–1 (12) Peña (2–1) Harris (0–1) Orosco (4) 17,759 23–17
41 May 25 @ Phillies W 4–0 Leary (4–3) Palmer (0–4) 24,444 24–17
42 May 26 @ Phillies W 10–8 Howell (2–0) Bedrosian (0–1) 19,361 25–17
43 May 27 @ Expos W 5–2 Orosco (2–1) McClure (1–2) Peña (3) 18,113 26–17
44 May 28 @ Expos L 2–3 (10) Parrett (4–1) Howell (2–1) 15,320 26–18
45 May 29 @ Expos W 2–1 Hershiser (7–2) Dopson (1–2) 35,311 27–18
46 May 30 @ Mets L 2–3 Darling (6–3) Leary (4–4) Myers (8) 42,096 27–19
47 May 31 @ Mets L 4–5 (11) Myers (3–0) Peña (2–2) 35,564 27–20
June (17–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
48 June 1 @ Mets W 4–3 Holton (2–0) Fernandez (2–5) Howell (4) 29,659 28–20
49 June 3 Reds W 13–5 Crews (1–0) Rasmussen (2–6) 45,242 29–20
50 June 4 Reds L 2–5 Rijo (6–1) Hershiser (7–3) 32,550 29–21
51 June 5 Reds W 5–4 Leary (5–4) Soto (3–5) Howell (5) 38,982 30–21
52 June 6 Astros L 4–10 Knepper (7–1) Peña (2–3) Andersen (2) 19,327 30–22
53 June 7 Astros L 2–5 Darwin (3–4) Belcher (3–3) 25,509 30–23
54 June 8 Astros W 11–1 Valenzuela (4–5) Scott (6–2) 33,737 31–23
55 June 9 Astros W 4–2 Hershiser (8–3) Ryan (5–4) Howell (6) 25,959 32–23
56 June 10 @ Padres L 3–4 McCullers (1–4) Howell (2–2) 19,859 32–24
57 June 11 @ Padres L 1–2 Rasmussen (3–6) Sutton (3–4) 26,068 32–25
58 June 12 @ Padres L 2–5 Whitson (6–5) Belcher (3–4) Davis (9) 21,533 32–26
59 June 14 @ Braves W 5–4 Valenzuela (5–5) Smith (1–7) Howell (7) 11,136 33–26
60 June 15 @ Braves W 7–5 Hershiser (9–3) Glavine (3–7) Peña (4) 10,154 34–26
61 June 16 @ Braves L 2–9 Smith (3–3) K. Howell (0–1) 9,666 34–27
62 June 17 Padres L 4–7 Whitson (7–5) Leary (5–5) Davis (11) N/A 34–28
63 June 17 Padres L 3–4 Rasmussen (4–6) Holton (2–1) McCullers (6) 33,649 34–29
64 June 18 Padres W 3–0 Belcher (4–4) Show (5–7) Howell (8) 37,743 35–29
65 June 19 Padres W 12–2 Hershiser (10–3) Jones (5–6) N/A 36–29
66 June 19 Padres W 5–4 (11) Crews (2–0) Davis (2–4) 37,045 37–29
67 June 20 Braves W 7–3 Hillegas (1–0) Glavine (3–8) Peña (5) 43,268 38–29
68 June 21 Braves W 2–1 Leary (6–5) Smith (3–4) 18,485 39–29
69 June 22 Braves L 1–4 Mahler (8–6) Sutton (3–5) 27,878 39–30
70 June 24 @ Reds W 5–3 Hershiser (11–3) Robinson (3–6) Belcher (2) 33,781 40–30
71 June 25 @ Reds W 6–4 Holton (3–1) Rijo (8–3) Orosco (5) 35,470 41–30
72 June 26 @ Reds W 9–6 Belcher (5–4) Franco (1–5) Holton (1) 29,520 42–30
73 June 27 @ Astros W 4–0 Hillegas (2–0) Andújar (0–3) Peña (6) 27,185 43–30
74 June 28 @ Astros L 3–4 Knepper (8–1) Holton (3–2) Agosto (1) 28,838 43–31
75 June 29 @ Astros W 2–0 Hershiser (12–3) Ryan (5–6) 27,678 44–31
July (16–12)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
76 July 1 Cubs L 44–32
77 July 2 Cubs W 45–32
78 July 3 Cubs L 1–2 45–33
79 July 4 Cardinals W 46–33
80 July 5 Cardinals W 47–33
81 July 6 Cardinals W 48–33
82 July 8 Pirates L 48–34
83 July 9 Pirates L 48–35
84 July 10 Pirates L 48–36
85 July 14 @ Cubs W 49–36
86 July 14 @ Cubs W 50–36
87 July 15 @ Cubs W (10) 51–36
July 16 @ Cubs Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 17
88 July 17 @ Cubs W 52–36
89 July 17 @ Cubs W 53–36
90 July 18 @ Cardinals W 1–0 54–36
91 July 19 @ Cardinals L 54–37
92 July 20 @ Cardinals L 54–38
93 July 21 @ Pirates L 54–39
94 July 22 @ Pirates W 55–39
95 July 23 @ Pirates W 56–39
96 July 24 @ Pirates W 57–39
97 July 25 @ Giants L 1–3 57–40
98 July 26 @ Giants W 58–40
99 July 26 @ Giants W (11) 59–40
100 July 27 @ Giants L (10) 59–41
101 July 29 Astros L 1–3 59–42
102 July 30 Astros L 59–43
103 July 31 Astros W 60–43
August (17–12)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
104 August 1 Reds L 60–44
105 August 2 Reds W 61–44
106 August 3 Reds L (11) 61–45
107 August 5 @ Astros L 61–46
108 August 6 @ Astros W 62–46
109 August 7 @ Astros L 62–47
110 August 8 @ Astros L 62–48
111 August 9 @ Reds L 62–49
112 August 10 @ Reds W 63–49
113 August 11 @ Reds L (10) 63–50
114 August 12 Giants W 64–50
115 August 13 Giants W (11) 65–50
116 August 14 Giants L 65–51
117 August 15 Giants W 1–0 66–51
118 August 16 Phillies W 67–51
119 August 17 Phillies W 68–51
120 August 18 Phillies W 69–51
121 August 19 Expos W 70–51
122 August 20 Expos W 71–51
123 August 21 Expos W 72–51
124 August 22 Mets L 1–7 72–52
125 August 23 Mets L 1–5 72–53
126 August 24 Mets L 1–2 72–54
127 August 26 @ Phillies W 73–54
128 August 27 @ Phillies W 74–54
129 August 28 @ Phillies W 75–54
130 August 29 @ Expos W 76–54
131 August 30 @ Expos W 77–54
132 August 31 @ Expos L 77–55
September (16–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
133 September 2 @ Mets L 77–56
134 September 3 @ Mets L 1–2 77–57
September 4 @ Mets Postponed (rain) No rescheduling
135 September 5 @ Braves W 78–57
136 September 6 @ Braves L 1–2 78–58
137 September 7 Astros W 79–58
138 September 8 Astros L 1–2 79–59
139 September 9 Reds L 79–60
140 September 10 Reds W 80–60
141 September 11 Reds W 81–60
142 September 12 Braves W 82–60
143 September 13 Braves W 83–60
144 September 14 Braves W 84–60
145 September 16 @ Reds L 84–61
146 September 17 @ Reds W 85–61
147 September 18 @ Reds W 86–61
148 September 19 @ Astros W 87–61
149 September 20 @ Astros W 88–61
150 September 21 Padres L 88–62
151 September 21 Padres W (10) 89–62
152 September 22 Padres L 89–63
153 September 23 @ Giants W 90–63
154 September 24 @ Giants W 91–63
155 September 25 @ Giants L 91–64
156 September 26 @ Padres W 92–64
157 September 27 @ Padres L 92–65
158 September 28 @ Padres L 1–2 (16) 92–66
159 September 30 Giants W 93–66
October (1–1)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
160 October 1 Giants W 94–66
161 October 2 Giants L 94–67
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Postponement
Bold = Dodgers team member

Player stats[]

Batting[]

Starters by position[]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Pos Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
C Mike Scioscia 130 408 29 105 .257 3 35 0
1B Franklin Stubbs 115 242 30 54 .223 8 34 11
2B Steve Sax 160 632 70 175 .277 5 57 42
3B Jeff Hamilton 111 309 34 73 .236 6 33 0
SS Alfredo Griffin 95 316 39 63 .199 1 27 7
LF Kirk Gibson 150 542 106 157 .290 25 76 31
CF John Shelby 140 494 65 130 .263 10 64 16
RF Mike Marshall 144 542 63 150 .277 20 82 4

Other batters[]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player G AB R H Avg. HR RBI SB
Rick Dempsey 77 167 25 42 .251 7 30 1
Gilberto Reyes 5 9 1 1 .111 0 0 0
Dave Anderson 116 285 31 71 .249 2 20 4
Pedro Guerrero 59 215 24 64 .298 5 35 2
Tracy Woodson 65 173 15 43 .249 3 15 1
Mike Sharperson 46 59 8 16 .271 0 4 0
Mike Davis 108 281 29 55 .196 2 17 7
Mickey Hatcher 88 191 22 56 .293 1 25 0
Danny Heep 95 149 14 36 .242 0 11 2
Mike Devereaux 30 43 4 5 .116 0 2 0
José González 37 24 7 2 .083 0 0 3
Chris Gwynn 12 11 1 2 .182 0 0 0

Pitching[]

Starting pitchers[]

Player G GS IP W L ERA BB SO CG
Orel Hershiser 35 34 267.0 23 8 2.26 73 178 15
Tim Leary 35 35 228.7 17 11 2.91 56 180 9
Tim Belcher 36 27 179.7 12 6 2.91 51 152 4
Fernando Valenzuela 23 22 142.3 5 8 4.24 76 64 3
Don Sutton 16 16 87.3 3 6 3.92 30 44 0
Shawn Hillegas 11 10 56.7 3 4 4.13 17 30 0
John Tudor 9 9 52.3 4 3 2.41 10 32 1
Bill Krueger 1 1 2.3 0 0 11.57 2 1 0

Other pitchers[]

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ramón Martínez 9 35.7 1 3 3.79 23
Ken Howell 4 12.7 0 1 6.39 12
William Brennan 4 9.3 0 1 6.75 7

Relief pitchers[]

Player G IP W L SV ERA BB SO
Jay Howell 50 65.0 5 3 21 2.08 21 70
Alejandro Peña 60 94.3 6 7 12 1.91 27 83
Jesse Orosco 55 53.0 3 2 9 2.72 30 43
Brian Holton 45 84.7 7 3 1 1.70 26 49
Tim Crews 42 71.7 4 0 0 3.14 16 45
Brad Havens 9 9.7 0 0 0 4.66 4 8
Ricky Horton 12 9.0 1 1 0 5.00 2 8

Playoffs[]

National League Championship Series[]

Main article: 1988 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers faced the New York Mets in the LCS. The Mets had dominated the Dodgers during the regular season, winning 10 out of 11 meetings and were heavy favorites going into the series. But the Dodgers, led by series MVP Orel Hershiser (who pitched a complete game shutout in game 7) won the series 4 games to 3.

World Series[]

Main article: 1988 World Series

The Dodgers were again heavy underdogs in the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, led by sluggers Mark McGwire and José Canseco. However, the Dodgers won the series in five games thanks to Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit game winning homer in the first game off of Dennis Eckersley and the continued mastery of series MVP Orel Hershiser.

Postseason Game log[]

1988 Postseason (8–4)
National League Championship Series (4–3)
Game Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series
1 October 4 Mets L 2–3 Myers (1–0) Howell (0–1) 55,582 0–1
2 October 5 Mets W 6–3 Belcher (1–0) Cone (0–1) Peña (1) 55,780 1–1
October 7 @ Mets Postponed (rain), rescheduled for October 8
3 October 8 @ Mets L 4–8 Myers (2–0) Peña (0–1) 44,672 1–2
4 October 9 @ Mets W 5–4 (12) Peña (1–1) McDowell (0-1) Hershiser (1) 54,014 2–2
5 October 10 @ Mets W 7–4 Belcher (2–0) Fernandez (0–1) Holton (1) 52,069 3–2
6 October 11 Mets L 1–5 Cone (1–1) Leary (0–1) 55,885 3–3
7 October 12 Mets W 6–0 Hershiser (1–0) Darling (0–1) 55,693 4–3
World Series (4–1)
Game Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Series
1 October 15 Athletics W 5–4 Peña (1–0) Eckersley (0–1) 55,983 1–0
2 October 16 Athletics W 6–0 Hershiser (1–0) Davis (0–1) 56,051 2–0
3 October 18 @ Athletics L 1–2 Honeycutt (1–0) Howell (0–1) 49,316 2-1
4 October 19 @ Athletics W 4–3 Belcher (1–0) Stewart (0–1) Howell (1) 49,317 3–1
5 October 20 @ Athletics W 5–2 Hershiser (2–0) Davis (0–2) 49,317 4–1

Awards[]

Farm system[]

Level Team League Manager
AAA Albuquerque Dukes Pacific Coast League Terry Collins
AA San Antonio Missions Texas League Kevin Kennedy
High A Bakersfield Dodgers California League Gary LaRocque
High A Vero Beach Dodgers Florida State League John Shoemaker
A-Short Season Salem Dodgers Northwest League Tom Beyers
Rookie Great Falls Dodgers Pioneer League Tim Johnson
Rookie Gulf Coast Dodgers Gulf Coast League Joe Alvarez

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball Draft[]

Main article: 1988 Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers drafted 62 players in this draft. Of those, 11 of them would eventually play Major League baseball. The Dodgers lost their second round pick to the Oakland Athletics as compensation for their signing free agent outfielder Mike Davis.

The top pick in the draft was Pitcher Bill Bene out of California State University, Los Angeles. In nine seasons in the Minors he had a record of 18-34 with a 5.45 ERA in 252 games (49 starts). In 2012, he was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison for operating a counterfeit karaoke business and failing to pay federal taxes.[9]

This draft produced two of the Dodgers top players of the 1990s. In the sixth round they selected first baseman Eric Karros from UCLA. The 1992 Rookie of the Year and a 1995 Silver Slugger Award winner, Karros hit .268 with 284 homers and 1,027 RBI in 14 seasons (12 of them with the Dodgers) and is the L.A. Dodgers all-time home run leader.

In the 62nd round with their last pick of the draft the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza from Miami Dade College as a favor to his god-father, manager Tommy Lasorda. Piazza would win the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award and was a 12 time All-Star and 10 time Silver Slugger Award winner in his 16 seasons (mostly with the Dodgers and New York Mets). He hit .308 with 427 home runs and 1,335 RBI.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Kirk Gibson Stats".
  2. ^ "Gibson Returns, Isn't Amused : Orosco Apologizes After Admitting He Blackened Cap". Los Angeles Times. March 5, 1988.
  3. ^ 1988 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
  4. ^ Raúl Mondesí page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Mario Soto page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Don Sutton page at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Shawn Hillegas page at Baseball Reference
  8. ^ "1988 Los Angeles Dodgers schedule and results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Ex-Dodgers pitcher Bill Bene gets 6 months in jail for dodging taxes". LA Daily News. September 23, 2012. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  10. ^ 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft

External links[]

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