1977 Los Angeles Dodgers season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 88th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 20th season in Los Angeles, California, and their 16th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California.
| 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| National League champions National League West champions | |
| League | National League |
| Division | West |
| Ballpark | Dodger Stadium |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Record | 98–64 (.605) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Owners | Walter O'Malley |
| President | Peter O'Malley |
| General managers | Al Campanis |
| Managers | Tommy Lasorda |
| Television | KTTV (11) |
| Radio | KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter XEGM Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos |
Tommy Lasorda started his first full season at the helm of the Dodgers, replacing longtime manager Walter Alston as manager of the team near the end of the previous season. The Dodgers won the National League West by 10 games and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the NLCS, then lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. This edition of the Dodgers featured the first quartet of teammates that hit 30 or more home runs: Steve Garvey with 33, Reggie Smith with 32, and Dusty Baker and Ron Cey, who both hit 30. The Dodgers duplicated this feat again 20 years later in 1997.
Offseason
- December 20, 1976: Ted Sizemore was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Johnny Oates and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Quincy Hill (minors) to the Dodgers on January 4, 1977.[1]
- January 11, 1977: Bill Buckner, Iván DeJesús and Jeff Albert (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Monday and Mike Garman.[2]
- February 7, 1977: Rick Auerbach was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Hank Webb and Richard Sander (minors).[3]
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 51–30 | 47–34 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 88 | 74 | .543 | 10 | 48–33 | 40–41 |
| Houston Astros | 81 | 81 | .500 | 17 | 46–35 | 35–46 |
| San Francisco Giants | 75 | 87 | .463 | 23 | 38–43 | 37–44 |
| San Diego Padres | 69 | 93 | .426 | 29 | 35–46 | 34–47 |
| Atlanta Braves | 61 | 101 | .377 | 37 | 40–41 | 21–60 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
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| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | |||||
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 1–11 | |||||
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–11 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 14–4 | 5–7 | — | 5–13 | 10–8 | 7–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 5–7 | |||||
| Houston | 9–9 | 6–6 | 13–5 | — | 9–9 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 5–7 | |||||
| Los Angeles | 13–5 | 6–6 | 8–10 | 9–9 | — | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 6–6 | |||||
| Montreal | 6–6 | 8–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 10–8 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 12–6 | |||||
| New York | 5–7 | 9–9 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 8–10 | — | 5–13 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–10 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10-2 | 12–6 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 11–7 | 13–5 | — | 8–10 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 11–7 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 9–3 | 11–7 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 11–7 | 14–4 | 10–8 | — | 10–2 | 2–10 | 9–9 | |||||
| San Diego | 7–11 | 5–7 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 2–10 | — | 8–10 | 8–4 | |||||
| San Francisco | 10–8 | 3–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 4–14 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 10–2 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 | |||||
| St. Louis | 11–1 | 11–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–12 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
| Opening Day starters | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position |
| 15 | Davey Lopes | 2B |
| 18 | Bill Russell | SS |
| 8 | Reggie Smith | RF |
| 10 | Ron Cey | 3B |
| 6 | Steve Garvey | 1B |
| 16 | Rick Monday | CF |
| 12 | Dusty Baker | LF |
| 7 | Steve Yeager | C |
| 20 | Don Sutton | P |
Notable transactions
- September 2, 1977: John Hale was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Toronto Blue Jays.[5]
- September 2, 1977: Henry Cruz was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.[6]
- September 8, 1977: Kevin Pasley was sold by the Dodgers to the Seattle Mariners.[7]
Roster
| 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
Regular season
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Dodgers win | |
| Dodgers loss | |
| Postponement | |
| Clinched division | |
| Bold | Dodgers team member |
| 1977 regular season game log: 98–64 (Home: 51–30; Away: 47–34)[8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 17–3 (Home: 6–2; Away: 11–1)
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May: 16–12 (Home: 8–5; Away: 8–7)
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June: 17–11 (Home: 9–3; Away: 8–8)
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July: 16–12 (Home: 6–9; Away: 10–3)
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August: 14–15 (Home: 11–5; Away: 3–10)
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September: 17–10 (Home: 10–5; Away: 5–5)
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October: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–0)
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Postseason Game log
| 1977 Postseason game log: 5–5 (Home: 2–3; Away: 3–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NL Championship Series: vs. Philadelphia Phillies 3–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 2–0)
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World Series: vs. New York Yankees 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Away: 1–2)
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Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Steve Yeager | 125 | 387 | 99 | .256 | 16 | 55 |
| 1B | Steve Garvey | 162* | 696 | 192 | .297 | 33 | 115 |
| 2B | Davey Lopes | 134 | 502 | 142 | .283 | 11 | 53 |
| 3B | Ron Cey | 153 | 564 | 136 | .241 | 30 | 110 |
| SS | Bill Russell | 153 | 634 | 176 | .278 | 4 | 51 |
| LF | Dusty Baker | 153 | 533 | 155 | .291 | 30 | 86 |
| CF | Rick Monday | 118 | 392 | 90 | .230 | 15 | 48 |
| RF | Reggie Smith | 148 | 488 | 150 | .307 | 32 | 87 |
- Tied with Pete Rose for league lead.
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Lacy | 75 | 169 | 45 | .266 | 6 | 21 |
| Glenn Burke | 83 | 169 | 43 | .254 | 1 | 13 |
| Johnny Oates | 60 | 156 | 42 | .269 | 3 | 11 |
| Ted Martinez | 67 | 137 | 41 | .299 | 1 | 10 |
| John Hale | 79 | 108 | 26 | .241 | 2 | 11 |
| Ed Goodson | 61 | 66 | 11 | .167 | 1 | 5 |
| Vic Davalillo | 24 | 48 | 15 | .313 | 0 | 4 |
| Boog Powell | 50 | 41 | 10 | .244 | 0 | 5 |
| Manny Mota | 50 | 38 | 15 | .395 | 1 | 4 |
| Jerry Grote | 18 | 27 | 7 | .259 | 0 | 4 |
| Joe Simpson | 29 | 23 | 4 | .174 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Washington | 10 | 19 | 7 | .368 | 0 | 1 |
| Rafael Landestoy | 15 | 18 | 5 | .278 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 11 | 10 | 3 | .300 | 0 | 2 |
| Kevin Pasley | 2 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Sutton | 33 | 240.1 | 14 | 8 | 3.18 | 150 |
| Burt Hooton | 32 | 223.1 | 12 | 7 | 2.62 | 153 |
| Tommy John | 31 | 220.1 | 20 | 7 | 2.78 | 123 |
| Rick Rhoden | 31 | 216.1 | 16 | 10 | 3.74 | 122 |
| Doug Rau | 32 | 212.1 | 14 | 8 | 3.43 | 126 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Downing | 12 | 20.0 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 23 |
| Dennis Lewallyn | 5 | 17.0 | 3 | 1 | 4.24 | 8 |
| Bobby Castillo | 6 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | 3.97 | 7 |
| Hank Webb | 5 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | 2 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Hough | 70 | 6 | 12 | 22 | 3.32 | 105 |
| Mike Garman | 49 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 2.73 | 29 |
| Elias Sosa | 44 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1.98 | 47 |
| Stan Wall | 25 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5.34 | 22 |
| Lance Rautzhan | 25 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4.35 | 13 |
Postseason
1977 National League Championship Series
Game One
October 4, Dodger Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| W: Gene Garber (1–0) L: Elías Sosa (0–1) SV: Tug McGraw (1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – Greg Luzinski (1); LAD – Ron Cey (1) | ||||||||||||
Game Two
October 5, Dodger Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 9 | 1 |
| W: Don Sutton (1–0) L: Jim Lonborg (0–1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: PHI – Bake McBride (1); LAD – Dusty Baker (1) | ||||||||||||
Game Three
October 7, Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| W: Lance Rautzhan (1–0) L: Gene Garber (1–1) SV: Mike Garman (1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: None | ||||||||||||
Game Four
October 8, Veterans Stadium
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Tommy John (1–0) L: Steve Carlton (0–1) | ||||||||||||
| HRs: LAD – Dusty Baker (2) | ||||||||||||
1977 World Series
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 4 (12 inns) | October 11 | Yankee Stadium | 56,668 | 3:24 |
| 2 | Dodgers – 6, Yankees – 1 | October 12 | Yankee Stadium | 56,691 | 2:27 |
| 3 | Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 3 | October 14 | Dodger Stadium | 55,992 | 2:31 |
| 4 | Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 2 | October 15 | Dodger Stadium | 55,995 | 2:07 |
| 5 | Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 10 | October 16 | Dodger Stadium | 55,995 | 2:29 |
| 6 | Dodgers – 4, Yankees – 8 | October 18 | Yankee Stadium | 56,407 | 2:18 |
Awards and honors
- 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Steve Garvey starter
- Don Sutton starter
- Ron Cey starter
- Reggie Smith reserve
- Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award
- NLCS Most Valuable Player
- Gold Glove Award
- TSN National League All-Star
- NL Player of the Month
- Ron Cey (April 1977)
- NL Player of the Week
- Ron Cey (Apr. 18–24)
- Steve Garvey (June 20–26)
- Tommy John (Aug. 8–14)
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Albuquerque Dukes | Pacific Coast League | James B. Williams |
| AA | San Antonio Dodgers | Texas League | Don LeJohn |
| A | Lodi Dodgers | California League | Stan Wasiak |
| A | Clinton Dodgers | Midwest League | Dick McLaughlin |
| Rookie | Lethbridge Dodgers | Pioneer League | Gail Henley |
Teams in BOLD won League Championships
Major League Baseball draft
The Dodgers drafted 40 players in the June draft and eight in the January draft. Of those, eight players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.
The first round draft pick in the June draft was pitcher Bob Welch from Eastern Michigan University. In 17 years with the Dodgers and Oakland Athletics he started 462 games with a 211–146 record and a 3.47 ERA. He became a two time All-Star, a two time World Series Champion and won the 1990 American League Cy Young Award.
The draft also included Mickey Hatcher, who hit .280 in 1130 games, mostly as an outfielder and was a part of two Dodgers World Series champions; outfielder/utility player Ron Roenicke who played eight seasons in the Majors before becoming a coach and manager; and relief pitcher Tom Niedenfuer, who was picked in the 36th round but would play 10 seasons in the Majors and save 97 games.
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January draft
January secondary phase
June draft
June secondary phase
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