Cody Snavely
Yesterday the Dodgers finally retired fan favorite and icon Fernando Valenzuela‘s number 34 in a ceremony that feels long overdue to many Dodgers fans. What Valenzuela means to not only the Dodgers but the LA community is an essay on its own, but it does finally feel nice to have his number 34 retired. However, that makes me wonder what potential set of numbers we could see retire soon.
Clayton Kershaw #22
Let’s get the easy one out of the way first. Clayton Kershaw is in the final stages of his legendary hall-of-fame career and will one day have his number retired by the Dodgers. Kershaw, who leads most Dodgers pitching statistics along with three Cy Young awards, a Gold Glove, an MVP, a World Series champion, and numerous ERA titles along with a career-long effort of giving back to the community, his chances of getting his number retired were 100% years ago.
Mookie Betts #50
Mookie Betts has all the accolades to put him on a path toward the Hall of Fame, and in his time as a Dodger, he has been in the MVP conversation every year and was part of the team that finally ended the thirty-plus-year championship drought. Betts in 2023 is arguably off to his best year as a Dodger, where he has displayed his athleticism playing SS, 2nd, and RF at an elite level while also clobbering a career-high pace of 40 HR. Betts, who already has an MVP under his belt along with multiple Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers with the Red Sox and Dodgers. Betts who signed a long 13-year contract withLA, will put him at more years played with the Dodgers rather than the Red Sox. Betts will likely stay in the MVP race for the next few years before we reach the likely regression that comes with aging. Although his level of play will probably get his number 50 retired when he is elected to the HOF, which was the rule for players in LA to have their number retired.
Dave Roberts #30
Here is where we get controversial as, in my opinion, the next Dodgers manager to have their number retired will be “fan favorite” Dave Roberts. There is an argument to be made that if Roberts gets the Dodgers another World Series ring, he would be and should be considered one of the best Dodgers managers ever. Roberts has had some great Dodgers teams under his belt to manage, which does make his job a little less complicated; however, with years like 2016, 2018, and 2023 Dave has managed an injury-riddled team to play at an elite level and win or lead their division. For active managers Roberts is currently ranked 8th with 712 wins; however, in terms of winning percentage Roberts now has the best percentage at .628 minimum of at least 1000 games managed. With the Dodger’s current window of contention far from over, Dave should be able to manage another championship or two before he’s done.
Kenley Jansen #74
Another number likely to get retired sometime down the road is former Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen. The Dodgers’ all-time save leader with 350 saves is another player on the road to the Hall of Fame, and if that is the case, the Dodgers will likely honor the closer with his number being retired. What makes this take a little controversial is how Dodger fans perceived Jansen at the end of his career, where his up-and-down postseason left many fans sour, and to top it off, when the team finally won the World Series, it was Julio Urías who closed it off not Jansen. However, I need to remind Dodgers fans just how dominant he was during his time in LA, where in 12 years, he has a 2.37 ERA, 1022 SO, and 13 K/9.
