Where Have All The Shea Stadium Players Gone?

Since late July, the Mets have parted ways with several players.  First, it was Carlos Beltran leaving his heart in New York to go to San Francisco.  Then Jose Reyes decided to take the money and run the basepaths in Miami.  Soon after, Angel Pagan flapped his wings to the Bay Area.  Even Nick Evans took the job security by signing in Pittsburgh.

What do all these players have in common, including the too-good-for-Triple-A, too-blah-for-the-major-leagues Nick Evans?  All four of them played for the Mets at Shea Stadium.

With the departure of Beltran, Reyes, Pagan and Evans, the Mets are now left with only six players who played home games at Shea Stadium.  The current longest tenured Met, David Wright, played his first five seasons at Shea.  Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey came aboard for cups of coffee in 2006 and 2007, followed by his first full season during Shea's last year.

The short list of Shea players also includes Johan Santana, Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell.  All four made it just in time for Shea's farewell season, but only Santana was on the team for the entire season.  Murphy played his first game at Shea in August 2008, while Niese waited until mid-September and Parnell almost didn't make it in time, not appearing in a game at Shea until the ballpark's final homestand.

There was once another New York team whose stadium was razed.  You might have heard about them.  They played their home games at 55 Sullivan Place.  Still doesn't ring a bell?  Well, I'm sure the patriarch of the Wilpon family will be more than happy to tell you about them in great detail.

Forget "Where's Waldo?".  Let's play "Where's Wilpon?".  You know he's somewhere in this photo.

In 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers left Kings County to move to Los Angeles.  As late as 1966, there were still five players who played home games at Ebbets Field toiling for the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Those players (Jim Gilliam, John Roseboro, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres and some guy named Koufax) all remained with the team long after they switched coasts, with Roseboro remaining a Dodger until 1967 and Drysdale playing his final game in Los Angeles in 1969.

In addition, one former Brooklyn Dodger was still playing in the major leagues into the 1970s, finishing his career as a New York Met.  Bob Aspromonte played one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, then returned to the Dodgers for parts of two seasons in 1960 and 1961.  In 1971, he became the last former Brooklyn Dodger to play in the major leagues, playing 104 games at third base for the Mets.

Although Bob Aspromonte might be the answer to the trivia question, "who was the final Brooklyn Dodger to play in the major leagues?", to Mets fans, he's known as one of the reasons the team felt the need to trade away Nolan Ryan.

Aspromonte's poor season at the plate in 1971 (.225, 5 HR, 33 RBI), along with the lack of development by third-year player Wayne Garrett, led the Mets to search elsewhere for a third baseman who could hit for average and power.  Their search ended with shortstop (not third baseman) Jim Fregosi, at the cost of Nolan Ryan.  Fregosi's time as a productive hitter pretty much ended there as well, as did the career of the last Brooklyn Dodger.

Johan Santana was the last Mets pitcher to record a win at Shea Stadium.  Now he's left to wonder if he'll also be the final current Met to have played his home games there.

With his recent injury history, Johan Santana is doubtful to be a Met after his current contract expires in 2013 (although there is a club option for 2014).  Similarly, David Wright is only under team control until next year.  If Mike Pelfrey doesn't return to form, he might be writing his ticket out of New York as well.

Do you see where this is going?  There is a real possibility that within six or seven years of Shea Stadium's final game, there might be no one left on the Mets who could say they were there when we all Shea'd Goodbye.

Nearly a decade after Ebbets Field closed for good, several former Brooklyn players still had "Dodgers" emblazoned on their chests.  Less than half a decade after Shea shut down, the number of players who could call it home is dwindling to a precious few.

Where have all the Shea Stadium players gone?  If things don't change, there will be none left very soon.

Joey's Small Bites: Dodgers & Padres & Bears, Oh My! (Part One: Dodger Stadium Tour)

Greetings, my fellow Mets fans!  It's your fav'rit blogger/culinary expert/tour guide, Joey Beartran, here with another edition of Joey's Small Bites, although today's bites might be slightly larger than normal because I'll be discussing my recent tour to the National League ballparks in Southern California, focusing on Dodger Stadium in this post and Petco Park in a separate post.

That's right, Mets fans!  The cast and crew of Studious Metsimus was California Dreamin', and we've got the pictures to prove it.  So sit back, grab yourself a Pink's hot dog or a California roll (I'll pass on the roll, as I'm not big on sushi), and enjoy our tour recap!

 It might never rain in Southern California, but it sure gets cloudy sometimes.

The tour of Dodger Stadium began in the upper level, where they have their own parking lot and entrance.  It's the only stadium in the majors where a fan can enter through the upper deck.  My sister and tour companion, Iggy Beartran, enjoyed the view of Chavez Ravine from up here, but what we loved the most was the proximity of the entrance to the nearest Dodger Dogs stand, even if was closed for business.  (Hey, didn't they get the memo that we were coming?)

Did they close the Dodger Dogs stand because we added a little orange to the Dodger blue?

Our Dodger Stadium tour guide took us to many parts of the stadium, and asked us Dodgers trivia questions along the way, such as which players' numbers have been retired by the Dodgers.  It surprised me that my Studious Metsimus colleague correctly matched all of the retired numbers to the players who wore them.

Of course, Fred Wilpon could have named them all as well, but he would have chimed in and said that No. 32 should also be retired in perpetuity by major league baseball in addition to Jackie Robinson's No. 42.  Not only would he want No. 32 retired for BFF Sandy Koufax, but by taking that number off the table, he wouldn't have to give it to a one-and-done player like safe school-seeker Mike Hampton again.

One went to shul, the other seeked schools.  One of them also had a far better career than the other.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have plenty of tributes to their history in Brooklyn.  Although they do not have a gargantuan No. 42 inside a Jackie Robinson rotunda like Citi Field does, they do have awards and various rare photos of their time in Kings County.

On the way to those awards and photos, we passed through a hallway that has the names of all the players who played at least one game for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers painted on the walls.  We had a tough time locating Mike Piazza (we were assured that he was up there) and had fun trying to find other former Mets on the wall.  Among the names we found were Gil Hodges, Darryl Strawberry, Eddie Murray, Pedro Astacio (yes, he was a Met), Bobby Valentine, Roger Cedeño, Bob Ojeda, Gary Carter and a certain pitcher who recorded the final out of the 1986 World Series.  It was an original tribute to the team's long history, one that I wouldn't mind having the Mets copy.

I love Jesse Orosco, but hate that he won a World Series ring with the 1988 Dodgers.

From there, we saw the tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers, which was done quite tastefully without going over the top, the way a tribute should be done (I hope you're reading this, Mr. Wilpon).  There were photos of the Boys of Summer, including the 1953 Dodgers who won a franchise record 105 games (but lost the World Series to the Yankees for the millionth time), the actual home plate used at Ebbets Field from 1913 to 1957, and many (and I mean MANY) photos of Gil Hodges.

It's a shame that the Mets only have an entrance at Citi Field named after Gil Hodges, when he's just as instrumental in Mets history as a manager as he was to the Dodgers as a player.  Although the Dodgers have never retired his number (that honor is bestowed to players in the Hall of Fame), they have many tributes to Hodges inside the ballpark.  Among them are old photos, buttons and his No. 14 jersey.

The Dodgers show more love for Gil Hodges in L.A. than the Mets do in N.Y.

There is one piece of Brooklyn Dodger history that takes precedence over all other items and memorabilia found in Dodger Stadium.  Earlier I mentioned the Brooklyn Dodgers' loss to the New York Yankees in the 1953 World Series after they had established a franchise record with 105 regular season victories.  Two years later, the Dodgers and Yankees squared off again in the World Series, but this time the results were different.

In 1955, the Dodgers won their only World Series championship in Brooklyn, defeating the Yankees in seven games to take the title.  The Los Angeles Dodgers have an entire section devoted to that team, one that includes pennants and photos and would have included a World Series trophy had one existed at the time (World Series trophies weren't handed out until 1967).

Of course, no trip to a major league ballpark would be complete without the obligatory trip to the dugout and the field.  So let's not dilly dally with words here.  How about I just show you the pictures, including one of our tour guide's special Dodgers footwear and one of my Studious Metsimus colleague wearing his "Shea" shirt in the Dodger Stadium dugout.  Hey, if Fred Wilpon can show his love of Ebbets Field in New York, then we can show our love of Shea Stadium in Los Angeles.  Enjoy!

That'll do it for Part One of "Dodgers & Padres & Bears, Oh My!".  Please join me for Part Two, where I'll talk about our trip to Petco Park in San Diego.  The Padres don't have nearly the history of the Dodgers, but they do have a history and they're quite proud of it.

Until then, keep counting down the days to pitchers and catchers, don't buy any Brooklyn Dodgers merchandise from a vendor whose nametag says F. Wilpon, and let's go Mets!

"B" is for Beartran, that's good enough for me!

"B" is for Beartran, that's good enough for me!

"B" is for Beartran, that's good enough for me-e-e-e!

Oh, Beartran, Beartran, Beartran starts with "B"!

An Open Letter To Brooklyn Dodger Lover Fred Wilpon

Dear Mr. Wilpon,

I was recently at the Mets Team Store on the Field Level at Citi Field looking for some Mets T-shirts. After being pleasantly surprised to finally see R.A. Dickey and Angel Pagan number shirts for sale, my jaw dropped when I saw yet another piece of Brooklyn Dodgers merchandise.

This wasn't yet another tribute to Jackie Robinson or Ebbets Field. This was something else entirely. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you photo documentation of the latest shirt for sale at the Mets Team Store.


A Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers shirt? Really? Let's look up a few things about Mr. Koufax to share with our readers.

Sandy Koufax had a great career in the major leagues. He finished his career with a .655 winning percentage (165 wins, 87 losses), pitched four no-hitters (a record at the time), struck out 382 batters in a single season (also a record at the time), won three Cy Young Awards and was the National League MVP in 1963. He also was a member of four pennant winners and three World Series champions. As a result of his outstanding career, Koufax was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, his first year of eligibility.


That's a lot of accomplishments for a pitcher whose career was cut short because of arthritis. But that's not what stands out most for me on his Hall of Fame plaque. Let's focus on Sandy himself, or rather, let's focus on the cap he's wearing in the plaque. What's that on his cap? Oh, yeah...

It's a LOS ANGELES DODGERS cap!

Now why is he wearing an LA on his cap rather than a "B" for Brooklyn? That's because Koufax did very little in Brooklyn as a Dodger.

From 1955-1957, the last three seasons the Dodgers played at Ebbets Field, Sandy Koufax's record was 9-10, or the same record compiled by Jonathon Niese in 2010. He was also very wild, walking 108 batters in 204.2 innings and posted a 4.00 ERA.

Once the Dodgers packed their bags and left Brooklyn for LA, Koufax blossomed into one of the all-time greats in baseball.

So why on Earth is Citi Field selling Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers shirts when he did practically nothing as one of Dem Bums? It surely can't be because the Mets appreciate pitchers who go 9-10 while pitching in one of the outer boroughs. If that were the case, then the store would also have a full stock of Jonathon Niese T-shirts (which they don't; what's up with that?).

No, Mr. Wilpon. You know the reason as well as I do. Sandy Koufax was a childhood friend of yours. The two of you went to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn together. Sandy comes to spring training as a favor to you to talk to your pitchers.

We get it. You're BFFs. Fine.

But please. Sandy Koufax wasn't a Met. He was barely a Brooklyn Dodger. Stop trying to make it seem like he was. The Mets don't play at Ebbets Field. They don't have a "B" on their hats. Therefore, if you could, we'd like you to stop trying to shove the Brooklyn Dodgers down our throats. We know this is probably hard for you to do, so perhaps we can reach a compromise.

Do you remember which two players led the major leagues in home runs and RBI during the 1950s? Maybe the photos below will help.



The man in the photo on the left is Duke Snider, who played in Brooklyn for 11 seasons (1947-1957). The man on the right is Gil Hodges, who came up to the Brooklyn Dodgers for good in 1947 after playing in one game for the team in 1943.

Both men played the majority of their major league careers as Brooklyn Dodgers, winning six pennants and one World Series in Brooklyn. They also have one other thing in common. Let's roll out the photo album one more time to assist you.



Your eyes are not deceiving you, Mr. Wilpon. They were indeed both members of your New York Mets.

Duke Snider played one season for the Mets, making the All-Star team in 1963. Gil Hodges played parts of two seasons for the Mets (1962-63), hitting the first home run in franchise history on April 11, 1962. He also did something on a grander scale seven years later. It may or may not have involved winning a championship. I'll have to look that up.

Do you see what I'm getting at, Mr. Wilpon? Why are you selling Sandy Koufax merchandise when you can sell Duke Snider or Gil Hodges gear? They were both Brooklyn Dodgers far longer than Koufax was and contributed to more success in Brooklyn than your boyhood buddy did. Plus, they have the added appeal to Mets fans because they both donned the orange and blue at some point.

As of right now, there is nothing for Duke Snider at Citi Field and only a first base entrance named after Gil Hodges. I know I'm not the only fan who's appalled that you're trying to sell Sandy Koufax as a Brooklyn Dodger to Mets fans. In fact, my wife (you might know her as "The Coop") also has an opinion on the lovefest between you and the Brooklyn Dodgers, which she will share with you now:


Speaking of both teams for whom to pay homage, you also discredit the origins of the “orange” from the term “orange and blue” in your child-like fascination with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and that’s the New York Giants.

While the Dodgers were quick to embrace their new identity on the west coast with winning a championship in two years, the now-San Francisco Giants had to do nothing BUT embrace their New York roots. And why was that? Because prior to 2010, they had not won a championship in their 50 year old home and a lot of their rich history was based in New York. Even when the team won, they visited the old site of the Polo Grounds (where both the New York Giants and…oh some other team…oh yes, the New York Mets once upon a time played) with the Commissioner’s Trophy to pay homage to where their history originated. I don’t believe that the Dodgers visited the old site of Ebbets Field after winning a championship so quickly after switching coasts. The Giants embrace New York and the Mets need to embrace the Giants history as well.

It’s not so much the Koufax jersey or this blatant “to the victor go the spoils” attitude at Citi Field that is troublesome -- there is also no mention of New York Giants history. You’d like to be fair, then how about this? In addition to selling Brooklyn memorabilia, why not include the Giants as well in a nostalgia store? Not to mention, one of the most storied baseball players in history, Willie Mays, played for both New York and San Francisco Giants AND ended his career with the Mets. Wouldn’t it be great to not only acknowledge those teams but to also have an actual connection to the Mets? There’s no limitation to having Giants or Dodgers jerseys either in the nostalgia store – you can sell old Mets jerseys as well and even other items such as collectible yearbooks and souvenir cups.


My wife and I are just two people, Mr. Wilpon. But we're not the only ones who feel that you have overdone it with your homage to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Citi Field.

You're the owner of the New York Mets. You also love the Brooklyn Dodgers. If you absolutely must share that Dodger love with the fans who pay their way into your homage to Ebbets Field to see the Mets play, at least share it with players who have ties to both teams. Is that so hard to do, Mr. Wilpon?

Peace, love, Mets, y'all,
Ed Leyro and Taryn Cooper

Regarding Terry Collins And Long Layoffs Between Managerial Jobs

On Tuesday, the Mets introduced Terry Collins as the 20th manager in franchise history. When Collins takes the field on Opening Day 2011, it will mark the first time he has done so as a manager in the major leagues since 1999.

If the 12-year gap between managerial gigs seems long to you, that's because it is. In fact, Collins has become only the fourth manager since 1900 to go at least 12 seasons between managerial jobs (not including interim managers or player/managers). The other managers prior to Collins to achieve this feat were:

• Chuck Dressen (1937 Reds, 1951 Dodgers)
• Burt Shotton (1933 Phillies, 1947 Dodgers)
• Paul Richards (1961 Orioles, 1976 White Sox)

Note: Shotton managed two games for the 1934 Reds.

So how did the long layoffs affect the previous three managers' ability to lead their teams? The results are mixed.

After managing the Cincinnati Reds for four seasons (1934-1937), never finishing higher than fifth place in the eight team National League, Chuck Dressen did not manage again until 1951, when he took over the reins of the Brooklyn Dodgers. That year, the Dodgers missed winning the National League pennant when the Giants' Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round The World". However, in each of the following two seasons (1952 and 1953), Dressen led the Dodgers to the World Series.

When Dressen (see photo, right) became manager of the Dodgers in 1951, he replaced Burt Shotton, who had served as the Dodgers' skipper from 1947-1950.

Shotton had previously managed the Philadelphia Phillies for six years (1928-1933). He coached the Cincinnati Reds during the 1934 season and served as their manager for two games.

Later on, Shotton became was a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was perfectly content to serve in that capacity. However, when then-Dodger manager Leo Durocher was suspended for the entire 1947 season by Commissioner Happy Chandler, Shotton was asked to manage once again.

Prior to Shotton's arrival in 1947, the Dodgers had won only one National League pennant in 26 years, losing the 1941 World Series to the crosstown Yankees. Under Shotton's guidance, the Dodgers won the pennant in 1947 before succumbing to the Yankees again in seven games.

Leo Durocher returned from his suspenstion in 1948 and Shotton was moved into the Dodgers' front office. However, the players did not respond well to Durocher's return, as the defending National League champions began the season with a 35-37 record.

At the same time, New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham was looking to replace manager Mel Ott and contacted the Dodgers to ask for Shotton's services. Instead of Shotton moving over to the Polo Grounds, the Dodgers surprisingly sent Durocher to the Giants, replacing Leo once again with Shotton.

The Dodgers recovered nicely once Shotton was back in the dugout. Although they did not win the pennant, they went 48-33 under Shotton's tutelage. Their strong finish carried over into the 1949 season, as they won their second pennant in three years with Shotton as their manager. Of course, the Yankees defeated them for the umpteenth time in that year's Fall Classic.

Burt Shotton and Chuck Dressen each won two National League pennants with the Brooklyn Dodgers after not managing in the major leagues for 14 years. Only one manager went longer between managerial jobs. He didn't fare quite as well as Shotton and Dressen.

Paul Richards had managed in the major leagues for 11 seasons from 1951-1961, serving as the White Sox skipper from 1951-1954, followed by a seven-year stint as the manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1955-1961.

It was Richards who took the Orioles from the bottom of the American League standings to contention. The Orioles franchise had not finished with a winning record since 1945, when they were the St. Louis Browns. However, in 1960, Richards guided them to an 89-65 record, good enough for second place in the American League.

The following season, the Orioles were once again a winning team. However, with a 78-57 record, Richards abruptly resigned as Orioles' manager to become the GM of the expansion Houston Colt .45s. Five years later, he became the general manager of the Atlanta Braves and put together the team that won the first National League West division title in 1969 before losing to the Miracle Mets in the inaugural National League Championship Series.

After the Braves faltered in 1970 and 1971, Richards was fired midway through the 1972 season. He did not work in baseball again until 1976, when he was offered his first managerial position in 15 years by the Chicago White Sox, the team he had previously managed in the 1950s. Unfortunately, his long layoff did not lead to brighter days for the White Sox during the bicentennial season.

Chicago finished in last place in the American League West in 1976 with a 64-97 record, leading the 67-year-old Richards to retire from managing at the end of the season. However, the following season, the White Sox rebounded from their last place finish to win 90 games.

Now it's Terry Collins' turn to return to the dugout after an absence of 12 years. The Mets are coming off consecutive fourth place finishes in the National League East. For some teams, a change in the dugout leads to a resurgence in the standings. But when that change brings in a manager who hasn't held that position in the major leagues for an extended period of time, how does that affect that team's ability to return to contention?

For the Brooklyn Dodgers, a long period of National League dormancy ended at the same time that Burt Shotton and Chuck Dressen returned from 14-year breaks as managers. However, for the Chicago White Sox, Paul Richards' return to the dugout did not help the White Sox in his one season there, but he did plant the seeds that blossomed into contention the year after his arrival and departure.

Terry Collins will have a difficult job ahead of him if he wants to bring the Mets back from the depths of the National League. However, if the past were to dictate what happens in the present, then perhaps it won't be as difficult as it seems.


Editor's note: Hey, guess what, kids? Thanks to the keen eye of the always amazin' Greg Prince (of Faith and Fear in Flushing fame), a fourth manager other than Terry Collins has been discovered (kinda like Columbus "discovering" a country that had already been discovered by Native Americans).

Larry Bowa managed the San Diego Padres in 1987 and 1988. His stay there was short-lived, primarily due to his awful 81-127 record. After leaving the dugout in the stadium formerly known as Bob Murphy's Brother Stadium, he did not manage again in the major leagues until 2001, when he took over for Terry Francona in Philadelphia.

Francona's Phillies finished in the National League East's cellar in 2000 (a year that should be quite familiar to Mets fans) with a 65-97 record. Bowa then took over the Phailin' Phils and led them to an incredible turnaround. The 2001 Phillies finished the season with an 86-76 record, only two games behind the division champion Atlanta Braves. For his efforts, Bowa was named National League Manager of the Year.

Bowa remained on board through 2004, at which time Charles Fuqua Manuel took over the team and turned them into perennial favorites to represent the National League in the World Series. The Mets have been Fuqua-ed ever since.

Gil Hodges: A Mets Legend, But Not A Dodger Great

I was watching the Mets-Dodgers game on Friday night and something caught my eye when Jamey Carroll came up to bat. Something about the red number on his white Dodger jersey stood out for me. Jamey Carroll was wearing #14.

Instantly, my thoughts turned to former Mets manager and Dodger great Gil Hodges, whose #14 has been retired by the Mets. Then I wondered, "wait a minute, does that mean Gil Hodges' number hasn't been retired by the Dodgers?"

At first, I thought Hodges might have worn another number when he played for the Dodgers, so I did some research and found out that he did wear #4 as a teenager for the Dodgers in 1943. However, that uniform only saw game action one time.

Hodges made his major league debut as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in the Dodgers' regular season finale on October 3, 1943. Starting at third base (a position he didn't play again until 1957), he made three plate appearances in the game, going 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. After the game, he did not return to the major leagues until 1947 due to military service for the United States Marine Corps.

When he returned to the major leagues in 1947, he came back as a catcher. He was Bruce Edwards' backup during the season most known for Jackie Robinson's major league debut. Hodges was still not at his customary first base position because Robinson was the team's first baseman during his rookie season.

In 1948, Hodges began his second full season with the Dodgers, this time as their primary catcher. However, future Hall-of-Famer Roy Campanella was waiting in the wings, potentially leaving Hodges without a position. However, by that time, Jackie Robinson had already been playing some games at second base, shifting back and forth between first and second base as needed. So in one of his final moves before being let out of his contract to manage the New York Giants, manager Leo Durocher moved Gil Hodges to first base and Jackie Robinson to second base on a permanent basis on June 29. Three days later, Campanella became the Dodgers' #1 catcher.

The move to first base launched what should have been a Hall-of-Fame career for Hodges. His first full season as a first baseman in 1949 produced the first of seven consecutive seasons in which Hodges drove in 100 or more runs. Prior to Hodges' seven year stretch of 100 RBI seasons, the only National League player to have a longer streak of consecutive years with 100 or more RBI was Mel Ott, who accomplished the feat eight straight years for the Giants from 1929-1936.

The 1950s were owned by the Dodger duo of Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. Only two players in the major leagues hit as many as 300 home runs and drove in at least 1,000 runs over the decade. Those two players were Snider and Hodges. Snider was the decade's top power hitter, collecting 326 HR and 1,031 RBI, but Hodges was not far behind, hitting 310 HR and driving in 1,001 runs in the 1950s.

For a time, Gil Hodges was the National League's all-time career home run leader for right-handed batters. When he retired as a player following the 1963 season, his career total of 370 home runs was the tenth highest total in major league history. Only Jimmie Foxx had more home runs as a right-handed batter at the time.

Hodges' exploits for the Dodgers were not limited to his performance at the plate. He was also an outstanding defensive player. From 1949-1961, Hodges finished in the top five in fielding percentage every year, leading all first basemen in fielding percentage in 1949, 1950, 1960 and 1961. For his defensive prowess, he was awarded with three Gold Glove Awards in 1957, 1958 and 1959. He could have won more Gold Gloves, but the prestigious award did not exist before 1957, meaning Hodges was the initial recipient of the award at the first base position.

It is clear from the information above that Hodges was not just a good player, he was a great player, one of the best in the 1950s. He was one of the premier sluggers of his era and was not one-dimensional, as evidenced by his defensive numbers and awards. Yet somehow, despite all his talent, the Dodgers have failed to retire his number.

The Dodgers have retired ten numbers over their long and storied history. Nine of the ten men who wore those numbers are in the Hall of Fame. The only man whose number has been retired by the Dodgers and has not been enshrined into Cooperstown is Jim Gilliam.

Gilliam, a teammate of Hodges from 1953-1961, had a good, but not great career in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. The 1953 National League Rookie of the Year started off strongly, scoring 100 or more runs in each of his first four seasons in the major leagues. However, in his final ten years in the majors, he was mediocre at best, never scoring 100 runs again, and only hitting .259 after 1956. He was even worse in the postseason.

In 39 career World Series games (there were no divisional playoff series or league championship series prior to 1969), Gilliam hit a mere .211 with only 15 runs scored, despite the fact that he was counted on to be a tablesetter in the powerful Dodger lineup.

After the 1964 season, Gilliam became a player-coach for the Dodgers and became a full-time coach after his retirement as a player in 1966. He continued to coach the Dodgers, helping them to two National League pennants in 1974 and 1977, and was a part of the coaching staff on the 1978 team that eventually repeated as National League Champions. Sadly, Gilliam did not live to see the Dodgers return to the World Series that year. On September 15, he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and lapsed into a coma from which he did not awaken. Gilliam passed away on October 8, one day after the Dodgers won the National League pennant. On October 10, right before the Dodgers played the opening game of the World Series, Gilliam's #19 was retired by the team to honor his services as a player and a coach.

It is possible that Gilliam's number might never have been retired had he not passed away when he did. He played 14 seasons for the Dodgers and was great in the first four years of his playing career, but only good over the final ten years. He only coached for the team, never managing them. Yet his number has been elevated to a level that Gil Hodges' number has not.

Meanwhile, the Mets have retired Gil Hodges' number. He played for the team in 1962 and 1963, but was already on the downside of his great career. He only played in 65 games for the Mets over those two seasons, compiling a .248 average with 9 HR and 20 RBI over 167 at-bats. His legacy for the Mets was cemented when he became their manager after he was traded by the Washington Senators to New York in November 1967.

In his initial campaign as Mets' skipper in 1968, he led the franchise to their best season at the time, finishing in ninth place in the ten-team National League with a 73-89 record. He shocked the baseball world the following season when he led the Mets to their first 100-win season and the World Series championship.

Although the team didn't revert to its losing ways after their title, they were only mediocre in Hodges' next two seasons as manager, finishing with identical 83-79 records in 1970 and 1971. Sadly, just before beginning his fifth season as manager of the Mets, Hodges died of a heart attack while playing golf with members of his coaching staff in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Despite the memorable 1969 season, Hodges' record in his other three seasons as Mets manager was eight games below .500 (239 wins, 247 losses). Yet, he is regarded as the man who brought the Mets from lovable losers to confident contenders during his tenure as manager. For being an original Met and for leading the team out of the cellar in the National League, the Mets retired his number in 1973.

Since Hodges' death in 1972, no Met has worn his #14 jersey. However, the Dodgers have given his number to journeyman players like Jamey Carroll. Other than Jim Gilliam, do the Dodgers only care about their great players, coaches and managers AFTER they get elected into the Hall of Fame?

Gary Carter's number hasn't been officially retired by the Mets, but ever since he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2003, no Met has worn his #8. The Dodgers don't have to retire Gil Hodges' number if they don't want to. They can choose to retire it if the Veterans Committee decides to enshrine Hodges into the Hall of Fame (he fell one vote short in 1993). But for the love of Tommy Lasorda, don't give Hodges' number to guys like Jamey Carroll.

Gil Hodges was a leader, both offensively and defensively, for a Dodger team that won seven National League pennants during his tenure with the team. He should be treated like one by the Dodgers. The Mets have honored their field general by respectfully retiring his number. Shouldn't the Dodgers do the same?