Dodgers of the Decade: Left Field
December 31, 2009 at 7:39 am | Posted in Brian Jordan, Gary Sheffield, Jayson Werth, Luis Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez | 23 CommentsWith Rafael Furcal winning the shortstop competition handily, we now have a complete infield for our All-Decade team:
Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
1B: James Loney (62%)
2B: Jeff Kent (88%)
3B: Adrian Beltre (80%)
SS: Rafael Furcal (87%)
As you can see, there wasn’t a whole lot of competition for those spots, but here’s where the real fun begins. You could make a case for the 2009 outfield of Manny/Kemp/Ethier being the best in team history and voting for all three. Who knows, maybe that’s how it will turn out. But before you do that, just keep in mind how great Shawn Green was at the beginning of the decade, how feared Gary Sheffield was while he was a Dodger, and how many fans have an eternal love for Juan Pierre which I will never understand.
Since outfielders tend to play multiple spots, a few of these guys are eligible at more than one position. I thought about doing just three “outfield” spots, but that’s no fun. So what I’ve done is chosen the one position the player is most known for as a Dodger - which means that even though today is left field, you’ll only see Pierre in center and Ethier in right.
Left field
Gary Sheffield (284 games, 2000-01)
Dodger stats: .318/.428/.612 1.040 79 hr 209 rbi
WAR: 11.6
Brian Jordan (194 games, 2002-03)
Dodger stats: .289/.349/.453 .802 24 hr 108 rbi
WAR: 4.5
Jayson Werth (191 games, 2004-05)
Dodger stats: .247/.338/.426 .764 23 hr 90 rbi
WAR: 3.1
Manny Ramirez (157 games, 2008-09)
Dodger stats: .327/.442/.605 1.047 36 hr 116 rbi
WAR: 6.6
Luis Gonzalez (139 games, 2007)
Dodger stats: .278/.359/.433 .793 15 hr 68 rbi
WAR: 0.0
Top three seasons
6.7 WAR Sheffield, 2000
4.9 WAR Sheffield, 2001
3.6 WAR Ramirez, 2008
This is going to be an interesting vote, I think. Manny is immensely popular and had a historic 2008 in Los Angeles, but he’s yet to play a full season with the Dodgers. Sheffield was reviled and since he played here so long ago casual and younger fans may forget him, but there’s no denying his production while he was a Dodger. Also, Luis Gonzalez!
Which enigmatic yet talented left fielder was the best the Dodgers saw this decade?
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Wow, tough call here. I went with Manny on the strength of his immediate impact on the team in 2008. Also, Sheffield was an unlikable jerk. Manny is a likable jerk.
Comment by Shmolnick — December 31, 2009 #
Looks like it is going to be Shef, Kemp, Green.
Comment by Table — December 31, 2009 #
I wonder how far this will go, will we vote for the best Manager or GM of the 2000′s? Pinch hitter?
Comment by Table — December 31, 2009 #
Pinch hitter no… but you better believe I wrote up a GM piece. That one will be fun.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — December 31, 2009 #
Better have a spot for “None of the Above”
Comment by Babe Herman — December 31, 2009 #
I didn’t vote for Sheffield for the same reason I won’t vote for Bradley. I want to forget both of them ever were dodgers, and I gotta agree with the poster above, I’d rather have the likeable jerk then the unlikeable jerk. Also, Sheffield never got us to the NLCS. Advantage Manny.
Comment by Bryan — December 31, 2009 #
Gotta go with Shef. yeah, he was a jerk, but he performed on the field. In spite of his threats, I don’t recall him dogging it, quite the opposite, I remember him playing hurt. Manny’s numbers are marginally better, but he hasn’t been here quite as long, and I’m not going to let him off the hook for letting us down last year.
Comment by Babe Herman — December 31, 2009 #
What has been really interesting, throughout this retrospective process, is how little stability the Dodgers have had over the years. It’s been a revolving door of players coming and going. A sad result of these free-agency times in sports.
Comment by mk — December 31, 2009 #
No kidding….few have been here as long as 3 full seasons, I don’t know that anybody has made it for 5.
Comment by Babe Herman — December 31, 2009 #
Green & Beltre, I guess. 2000-04?
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — December 31, 2009 #
I’m surprised Sheffield is beating Manny by this much.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — December 31, 2009 #
Manny, with his approch to baseball, and being the anti Kent, did more for this team and it’s young players. stats dont show everything.
Comment by bluetrain — December 31, 2009 #
I’m with you MSTI. I hated Sheffield from when he whined and cried his way out of Milwaukee way back in ’91. The fact that we traded team favorite Mike Piazza to get such a clubhouse cancer only makes it worse. I need to stop writing now, I’m getting upset all over again.
Comment by Mike Sharperson Lives! — December 31, 2009 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Center Field « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 1, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Right Field « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 2, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Starter « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 4, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Starter « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 5, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 6, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 7, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Closer « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 8, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: General Manager « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 11, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Manager « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 13, 2010 #
[...] 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin [...]
Pingback by Your Dodgers of the Decade Team « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 14, 2010 #