Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — With Tim Anderson rounding the bases with a walk-off winner on a beautiful Sunday night in Iowa, the inaugural “Field of Dreams” game to a glorious ending. Finally, Major League Baseball had done something that was, in the words of the movie, “perfect”. There wasn’t a single negative thing that I can think of to say about this great celebration of nostalgia and baseball (well maybe those apple pie hot dogs). Nevertheless, it got me to thinking about which Dodgers that I would like to see emerging from the cornstalks to play one more time, a la Shoeless Joe Jackson in the 1989 movie.
Criteria
First things first, this is not an “All-Time” Dodger team. It is a list of Dodgers that I never had the chance to see play baseball but whom I would like to see hit the field. So, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, et al, I love you, but you’re not going to make this list because I can head to Chavez Ravine and see you anytime. In addition, the great teams of the 70’s and 80’s aren’t on the list either because I watched them all play when I was a kid. This is a list of Dodgers I’ve only read about or seen old clips of. So with that said, let me give you the lineup of my Dodgers “Field of Dreams” team.
Pitcher: Sandy Koufax
This one is a no-brainer. Everything I hear about Sandy’s dominance is something that I would love to see in person. His 0.90 World Series ERA is legendary, and in an age of managing workload, his 27 complete games in both ’65 and ’66 are incredible.
Catcher: Roy Campanella
A lifetime .321 hitter out of the catcher position is remarkable, and that doesn’t even count his nine seasons in the Negro Leagues before he joined the Dodgers in 1948. And the tragic way his career came to an end with an auto accident would make it even more special to see him running out of the corn.
First Base: Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges is a near-miss Hall of Fame candidate and really is the bridge between the great teams of the fifties in Brooklyn and the new batch of great players to arrive in LA in the 1960s. A career .273 over eighteen seasons, Hodges had a lifetime OPS of .846 and was the rock of the Dodgers’ first World Series winners in 1955.
Second Base: Jackie Robinson
Of course. Jackie Robinson is the most important sports figure of the last century, and would be welcome addition to any Field of Dreams team. But the Dodgers get him. I wish his career would have been easier and that he was able to enjoy a long and fruitful retirement, but what he did on the field took too much out of the poor man. To see him emerge from the corn to play a game without abuse and cat-calls from opposing dugouts would make it worth it just for that.
Shortstop: Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese was the other half of Robinson’s double-play combo, with Reese playing the role of veteran mainstay who helped Robinson ingratiate himself in the bigs. But make no mistake, Reese was exceptional, finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting eight times while placing in the top 10 in Dodgers franchise history in at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, runs scored and WAR.
Third Base: Maury Wills
Maury Wills didn’t play a whole lot of third base during his career, spending most of his time at shortstop, but since it’s my team, I’m moving him to third so I can see him at his base-stealing prime. His 104 stolen bases in 1962 is an almost unthinkable number in today’s game, even though I suspect Trea Turner could come close if Dave Roberts let him loose.
Outfield: Zack Wheat, Duke Snider, Carl Furillo
These three guys would be great to see roaming my outfield. Snider is an icon (we all remember the “Willie, Mickey, and the Duke” song), and is a Hall of Famer. Furillo’s five best years in Brooklyn are as good as anybody who has ever donned Dodger blue. And finally, Zack Wheat is the only early Dodger on my list, but he is on so many top-ten lists in statistical categories for the Dodgers that I want to see what the guy has got.
So there you go. My classic “Field of Dreams” squad. Let’s get the Dodgers to play in the next one!
