Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Let’s face it. 2023 was a transitional year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. A lot of temporary faces were in the lineup as we said so long to longtime team members like Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger. And while it cleaned up the books for the big free agent push at the end of the year, it made for a rather unusual regular season and playoff run. And, it ended in the worst way possible, being swept by the inferior Arizona Diamondbacks in the middle of the stinking dessert. Still, that doesn’t mean that 2023 was without its charms. And, looking back on the year as we head into 2024, we’ve compiled a list of ten great things that we Dodger fans experienced together this year. Here we go…
10. Kershaw’s great first half
Like the Dodgers, Clayton would probably like to forget everything that happened in October. However, that doesn’t erase some truly awesmome performances earlier in the year. Before the All-Star break, Kersh posted a 10-4 record with a 2.55 ERA. Compare that to eventual Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who was 6-7 with a 2.85. If Kershaw hadn’t been injured, he would have likely started the All Star Game. After the shoulder injury though, things sort of unraveled for him, and even though he gutted through eight starts with a 2.23 ERA, his stuff was visibly diminished. Hopefully, the surgery will get him back to where he needs to be, which is in a Dodger uniform, and getting his 3000th strikeout in front of the Chavez Ravine faithful.
9. The resurrection of Jason Heyward
When good buddy Freddie Freeman lobbied for the Dodgers to sign veteran outfielder Jason Heyward to a minor league deal after he got cut by the Cubs, I was skeptical. J-Hey hadn’t been a productive offensive player in a good long time. However, maybe the reunion with Freeman was just what the doctor ordered to turn Heyward around. He emerged from Spring Training with a retooled and simplified swing, and almost immediately it begin to show results. In basically platoon duty in right field, he posted the best numbers he’s put up in over a decade, slashing .269/.340/.473. In fact, his performance was so solid that it allowed Mookie Betts to move to second base pretty regularly, which gave the whole team a different vibe. Let’s hope that success will continue into 2024 because without Betts, the Dodgers are still decidedly light around the outfield.
8. James Outman emerges as everyday centerfielder
James Outman was NOT supposed to be the rookie that everyone was talking about in LA this year. This was supposed to be Miguel Vargas‘s time to shine. But Vargas struggle at the MLB level and finished the season in Oklahoma. But James Outman more than made up for the Vargas fizzle. He played a decent, though not spectacular, center field, but he had the knack for getting big hits in big moments. His .790 OPS was well above league average, and was fifth among National League rookies last year. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind the Mets’ Kodai Senga and the winner Corbin Carroll of the D-backs. He’s got a lot to learn; there is still too much swing and miss in his game at the plate, and you’d like the defense to continue to improve, but Outman gave a lot more than any of us had reason to expect at the beginning of the year.
7. J.D. Martinez shores up the DH position
With eyes on grabbing Shohei Ohtani at some point, the DH in 2023 was always going to be a bit of a transitional position. And while it was sad that Justin Turner couldn’t be kept for one more year, his replacement on the roster was a great addition to the lineup. Though missing nearly 50 games due to injury, Martinez nevertheless put up some gaudy numbers: 33 home runs, 103 RBI, slugging at a .572 clip. His 134 OPS+ was third on the team, trailing only the All-World Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Though he doesn’t fit into the Dodgers’ plans going forward, we should take at least a minute or two to say thanks for the memories.
6. Glasnow and Yamamoto join the rotation
The starting pitching of the LA Dodgers has always been the team’s calling card. From Koufax to Drysdale to Hershiser to Kershaw, there have been a bunch of absolute studs taking the mound at Chavez Ravine. That’s why the shambles of a rotation that the team finished the 2023 season with was so shocking. LA pitching is not supposed to be this… bad. The trio of an injured Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, and Lance Lynn posted a ridiculous 25.07 ERA in getting swept by the Diamondbacks in October. Suboptimal. So, this offseason it was critical to shore up the rotation with some quality arms. The Dodgers did just that, thanks to trading for Tyler Glasnow and picking up Yoshinobu Yamamoto from Japan. These guys haven’t pitched an inning in Dodger blue yet, but just seeing their names on the roster gives LA fans hope for a bright future for years to come. Both guys are youngish (Yamamoto 25, Glasnow 30) and have electric stuff. Questions remain, but I feel a whole lot better about next year knowing these two are on the staff.
5. Young guns take to the mound
With Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin all going down with injuries at one point or another in 2023, the Dodgers needed production in a big way from some of their younger arms. And for the most part, they got just that. Ryan Pepiot came on like gangbusters after returning from an injury of his own, pitching well enough to be a trade chip that the team could dangle in front of the Rays to get Tyler Glasnow. Emmet Sheehan had good moments as well, not the least of which was his amazing debut, when he no-hit the Giants for six innings in June. And to lesser degrees, Michael Grove and Gavin Stone both got to taste some big league action. However, the no-doubt leader among these young arms turned out to be flamethrower Bobby Miller. His 22 starts were second only to Kershaw’s 24, and he exhibited moments of absolute brilliance during the year. He still needs to work on consistency and keeping his emotions in check on the mound, but Miller’s spot in the rotation in 2024 seems secure.
4. Fernando gets his due
There is only one Fernando Valenzuela. No other Dodger before or since (except of course Jackie Robinson) had such a significant cultural impact on the baseball world and beyond. The Fernando-mania craze of the early 80s transformed the LA fan base into the Latino-heavy crowds that you still see at Dodger Stadium today. And the guy was a damn good pitcher to boot. My buddies over at the Bleed Los podcast lobbied tirelessly for his number to be retired in recognition of his significance to the organization. So, when the Dodgers finally waived the unofficial “Hall of Famers Only” policy and Fernando got his jersey retired in August, it felt like sweet justice. Gracias por todo, Fernando!
3. The Mookie & Freddie Show
One of the things that was an absolute drag about 2023 was that it absolutely squandered two monumentally epic seasons from the one of the best 1-2 punches that the game has ever seen. After a lackluster (by his lofty standards) 2022, Mookie put together a great run in 2023. His .987 OPS was the second best of his career, only beaten by his epic MVP campaign with Boston in 2018. Yes, he’s a streaky hitter, but when he’s on, there is nobody better in baseball. And he was on for most of the summer. On the other side of the streakiness spectrum is the guy who follows him in the batting order. Freddie Freeman was simply brilliant in 2023, putting together some of the best numbers of his career. With the rotation struggling to find its footing during much of the year, these two guys simply bashed the Dodgers to their fifth 100-win season in the last seven years. More of this please!
2. Division Champs. Again!
Let’s not lose the forest for the trees here, folks. Yes, the Dodgers disappointed in October. But that doesn’t take away from the absolute joy it was to watch these guys night in and night out for the other six months of the season. You remember how all the pre-season pundits were saying that it was the Padres’ time to shine in the division, and that the Dodgers would be taking a step back and would probably end up a wild card team at the end of the year. “Not so fast!” said Dave Roberts and the brain trust at the top of the franchise. Somehow, some way, they were able to cobble together a team that was just not competitive, but dominant. They rolled to yet another division title, their tenth in the last eleven years. There are kids getting bar mitvahed this year who have only known Dodger excellence their entire lives. Let’s sit with that a moment and appreciate just how hard it is to be this good for this long.
1. It’s Sho-time, folks!
And finally, there could be no other number one for 2023. Landing the biggest free agent in the history of American sports will likely go down as Andrew Friedman’s crowning achievement. A lot of ink has already been spilled on Shohei Ohtani, so we needn’t re-hash all of that here. However, this is one of those “Babe Ruth Sold to the Yankees” moments that may very well redefine the franchise for the next decade, if not longer. The Los Angeles Dodgers are now an international brand.
Plus, maybe we can get out of the first round of the playoffs. That would be nice.
Conclusion
So there you have it, our “Top Ten” for 2023. A year that exceeded expectaions and was somehow a disappointment at the same time. And as we head into the New Year, we can see that this fan base is fired up more than at any time in recent memory. Get ready to ride the whirlwind, folks because, trust me, it’s coming.
