96 Fun Facts About Dodgers

The Dodgers' name comes from Brooklyn pedestrians who dodged what?

Streetcars: Brooklyn's crisscrossing trolley lines made its residents 'trolley dodgers', an 1890s press nickname that was shortened to Dodgers and became the club's official name in 1932.

In which year did the Dodgers play their first game in Los Angeles?

1958: the Dodgers' first Los Angeles game was a 6-5 win over the Giants at the Coliseum on 18 April 1958, their first season after leaving Brooklyn.

Where did the Dodgers play their first four seasons in Los Angeles before Dodger Stadium opened?

The LA Memorial Coliseum, a football stadium with a 251-foot left-field line, hosted the Dodgers from 1958 to 1961; a 1959 exhibition there honouring Roy Campanella drew 93,103 fans.

Jackie Robinson broke baseball's colour line at Ebbets Field on 15 April of which year?

1947: on 15 April 1947 Robinson played first base for Brooklyn against the Boston Braves before 26,623 fans, and that season he won the first-ever Rookie of the Year award.

Which Dodgers executive signed Jackie Robinson, wanting a player 'with guts enough not to fight back'?

Branch Rickey, Brooklyn's president and general manager, signed Robinson in October 1945 and promoted him to the Dodgers in April 1947 after one season with the club's top farm team.

Which Dodgers catcher won three NL MVP awards in the 1950s before a car accident ended his career?

Roy Campanella won NL MVP in 1951, 1953 and 1955; his car skidded on ice in January 1958, leaving him paralysed, and he entered the Hall of Fame in 1969.

The Dodgers won their first World Series in 1955 by beating which team?

The Yankees: Brooklyn beat New York in seven games in 1955, clinching with a 2-0 shutout at Yankee Stadium, after losing Series to the Yankees in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953.

Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1913 to 1957, was replaced on its site by what?

Demolition began in February 1960 and the Ebbets Field Apartments opened in 1962.

Dodger Stadium was built in which Los Angeles neighbourhood, controversially cleared of residents?

Chavez Ravine: the city traded the ravine land to Walter O'Malley and the last holdout families were evicted in May 1959; the $23 million stadium opened in April 1962.

With about 56,000 seats, the Dodgers' home ground holds what distinction?

Largest MLB park by seating: Dodger Stadium's roughly 56,000 capacity tops every other major league ballpark, ahead of second-place Coors Field at roughly 50,000.

Which other major league team shared Dodger Stadium from 1962 to 1965?

The Angels, an expansion club born in 1961, rented Dodger Stadium (which they called Chavez Ravine) from 1962 to 1965 before moving to Anaheim Stadium in 1966.

Sandy Koufax pitched his perfect game against which team on 9 September 1965?

The Cubs: Koufax retired all 27 Chicago batters at Dodger Stadium on 9 September 1965, striking out 14, in a 1-0 game in which Cubs starter Bob Hendley allowed a single hit.

Why did Sandy Koufax decline to start Game 1 of the 1965 World Series?

Game 1 fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, so Koufax sat out and Don Drysdale started; Koufax returned to win Games 5 and 7, the clincher a three-hit shutout.

How many Cy Young Awards did Sandy Koufax win, each by unanimous vote?

In 1963, 1965 and 1966 only one award was given for both leagues, which makes the sweep more remarkable.

Don Drysdale set a modern National League record for what?

He plunked 154 hitters in his career; he also threw six straight shutouts and 58 2/3 scoreless innings in 1968.

Vin Scully called Dodgers games for how many seasons?

67 seasons: Scully broadcast Dodgers games from 1950 to 2016, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with one team, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in his final year.

Which broadcasting legend mentored the young Vin Scully in Brooklyn?

Barber taught him to stay impartial rather than root openly for the home team.

Walter Alston managed the Dodgers from 1954 to 1976 on how many consecutive one-year contracts?

Twenty-three: Alston signed a new one-year deal every season from 1954 to 1976, winning four World Series; as a player he had exactly one big-league at-bat, a strikeout.

Fernando Valenzuela became the only player to win which two awards in the same season, in 1981?

Rookie of the Year and Cy Young: Valenzuela won both in 1981 after opening the season 8-0 with five shutouts and a 0.50 ERA, riding a screwball taught by teammate Bobby Castillo.

Fernando Valenzuela was named the 1981 Opening Day starter as a rookie because which pitcher was injured?

Jerry Reuss pulled a calf muscle the day before the 1981 opener, so rookie Valenzuela started and shut out Houston 2-0; the Dodgers retired his number 34 in 2023.

Kirk Gibson's famous 1988 World Series homer came off which Oakland closer?

Dennis Eckersley, Oakland's Hall of Fame closer, threw the 3-2 backdoor slider that the hobbled Gibson hit for a walk-off two-run homer in Game 1, his only at-bat of the Series.

Before baseball, Kirk Gibson was an All-American in which sport at Michigan State?

He set receiving records as a wide receiver and joined the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Which manager gave Orel Hershiser the nickname 'Bulldog'?

Lasorda thought he was too timid on the mound and showed hitters too much respect.

The Dodgers' 1976-96 manager, who 'bled Dodger blue', led which country to Olympic baseball gold in 2000?

The United States: Tommy Lasorda's team of minor leaguers beat Cuba 4-0 in the Sydney 2000 final, with Ben Sheets pitching a three-hit shutout.

Which uniform number did the Dodgers retire in 1997 for their manager of 1976 to 1996?

Number 2: the Dodgers retired Tommy Lasorda's 2 in 1997, the year the Veterans Committee elected him to the Hall of Fame; 24 is Walter Alston's retired number.

Clayton Kershaw was drafted by the Dodgers with which overall pick in 2006?

7th: the Dodgers took Kershaw seventh overall out of Highland Park High School in Dallas in 2006; he spent all 18 seasons in Los Angeles and retired after 2025 with three rings.

Shohei Ohtani's record 2023 contract with the Dodgers was worth how much over ten years?

$700 million over ten years, signed in December 2023 with $680 million deferred, the biggest contract in sports history at the time; Ohtani was unanimous NL MVP in 2024.

In 2024 Shohei Ohtani founded the 50-50 club with how many home runs and stolen bases?

54 home runs and 59 stolen bases: Ohtani reached 50-50 on 19 September 2024 in Miami with a three-homer, two-steal game, playing only as designated hitter while his elbow healed.

Which group bought the Dodgers in 2012 for a North American record price of about $2 billion?

Guggenheim Baseball Management, fronted by Mark Walter with Magic Johnson as a partner, paid about $2.15 billion in May 2012, then a record for a North American sports franchise.

Through the 2025 season, how many World Series titles have the Dodgers won?

Nine: 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2020, 2024 and 2025, to go with a record 26 National League pennants through 2025.

Through 2025, which honour had Dodgers pitchers won 12 times, more than any other franchise?

The Cy Young Award: eight different Dodgers won it between 1956 and 2014, from Don Newcombe's first-ever award to Clayton Kershaw's three, with Sandy Koufax also winning three.

Through 2025, the Dodgers had a record 18 winners of which award?

Rookie of the Year: Jackie Robinson won the first-ever award in 1947, and 18 Dodgers claimed it through 2025, twice as many as the next club, the Yankees.

Which team did the Dodgers beat in the pandemic-shortened 2020 World Series?

The Rays: Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay four games to two in October 2020, ending a 32-year title drought stretching back to 1988, with Corey Seager named Series MVP.

The Dodgers and Giants first met in a postseason series in which year?

Their 1951 and 1962 pennant tiebreakers were regular-season playoffs; the 2021 NLDS was the first true postseason meeting, won by LA 3-2.

Which Giants pitcher struck Dodgers catcher John Roseboro with a bat in 1965?

Juan Marichal clubbed Roseboro over the head with his bat at Candlestick Park on 22 August 1965, after Roseboro's return throws to Koufax buzzed Marichal's ear; Marichal was suspended eight games.

Bobby Thomson's 1951 'Shot Heard 'Round the World' came off which Dodgers pitcher?

Ralph Branca, wearing number 13, gave up Thomson's three-run homer in the ninth inning at the Polo Grounds on 3 October 1951, in the deciding third game of the playoff.

Which team did the Dodgers beat in seven games in the 1965 World Series?

The Twins: Koufax's three-hit shutout in Game 7 at Metropolitan Stadium on 14 October 1965 beat Minnesota, two years after the Dodgers swept the Yankees in 1963.

Which South Korean pitcher was the first Korean-born player to start for the Dodgers?

Chan Ho Park, signed out of Hanyang University, debuted for the Dodgers in April 1994 as the first Korean-born major leaguer; Hyun-jin Ryu followed as a Dodgers starter in 2013.

Number 39 was retired by the Dodgers in 1972 alongside the numbers of which two players?

Robinson's 42 and Koufax's 32 went up the same day, 4 June 1972, beside Campanella's 39.

Sandy Koufax became the youngest player elected to the Hall of Fame at what age?

36: Koufax was elected in January 1972 aged 36, the youngest Hall of Famer ever, six years after elbow arthritis forced him to retire at 30.

Vin Scully's Ford C. Frick Award from the Hall of Fame came in which year?

1982: Scully received the Ford C. Frick Award at 54, after 33 seasons in the booth, the same summer Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson were inducted as players.

Which Hall of Fame manager led Brooklyn to pennants in 1916 and 1920?

Wilbert Robinson, 'Uncle Robbie', managed Brooklyn from 1914 to 1931, winning pennants in 1916 and 1920, and the press called the team the Robins in his honour.

Which cartoonist created the unshaven 'Brooklyn Bum' that came to symbolise the Dodgers?

Willard Mullin of the New York World-Telegram created the unshaven, cigar-chomping Brooklyn Bum in the late 1930s after a cab driver asked him how 'our bums' had done.

Roosevelt Stadium, where Brooklyn played some 1956 and 1957 home games, was in which city?

Jersey City: Walter O'Malley moved a handful of Brooklyn home games across the Hudson to Roosevelt Stadium in 1956 and 1957 as leverage in his push for a new ballpark.

Where did the Dodgers hold spring training from 1948 to 2008 at a complex known as Dodgertown?

Vero Beach, Florida: Dodgertown, on a former naval air station, hosted Dodgers spring training from 1948 to 2008 before the club moved to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, in 2009.

Who was the first Taiwanese player to start for the Dodgers?

Chin-Feng Chen, an outfielder signed in 1999, debuted on 14 September 2002 as the first Taiwanese-born player in the major leagues; Hong-Chih Kuo followed for the Dodgers in 2005.

Which pitcher won the first-ever World Series MVP award, for Brooklyn in 1955?

Johnny Podres pitched a 2-0 shutout in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium on 4 October 1955, after a complete-game win in Game 3 on his 23rd birthday; Sport magazine gave him a Corvette.

The first televised major league game, in 1939, saw Brooklyn host which team at Ebbets Field?

Cincinnati Reds: NBC's experimental station W2XBS televised a Reds-Dodgers doubleheader at Ebbets Field on 26 August 1939, with Red Barber announcing; the teams split the two games.

Pee Wee Reese's nickname came from his childhood prowess at what?

A 'pee wee' is a small marble. As Brooklyn's captain from 1950, he rather than the manager carried out the line-up card.

In 1950 Gil Hodges matched which Yankee's feat of four homers in a nine-inning game?

Lou Gehrig hit four homers in nine innings for the Yankees on 3 June 1932 at Philadelphia; Hodges matched him on 31 August 1950 against the Braves, the first off Warren Spahn.

Don Newcombe became the first Black pitcher to do what, in 1949?

Start a World Series game: Newcombe started Game 1 of the 1949 Series at Yankee Stadium, losing 1-0 on Tommy Henrich's ninth-inning homer; he came from the Newark Eagles of the Negro leagues.

The franchise won its first championship in 1889 as a member of which league?

It jumped to the National League the next year and won that pennant too, the first club to take titles in two leagues in consecutive seasons.

Ebbets Field was built on a former garbage dump known by what name?

Pigtown: Charles Ebbets quietly bought up parcels in the Flatbush shanty district nicknamed for its pigs and garbage pits, and the park opened on 9 April 1913.

Which Giants player-manager sneered "Is Brooklyn still in the league?" in 1934?

Bill Terry, the Giants' first baseman-manager, made the crack in January 1934; Casey Stengel's Dodgers answered by beating the Giants twice at the Polo Grounds on the final weekend, knocking them out of the race.

Brooklyn's 1920s "Daffiness Boys" once left three runners standing on which base?

Third base: on 15 August 1926 Babe Herman doubled into a double play as Dazzy Vance, Chick Fewster and Herman all ended up standing on third base.

Dazzy Vance led the National League in strikeouts for how many consecutive seasons?

Seven: Vance topped the NL in strikeouts every season from 1922 to 1928, a late bloomer who did not pitch a full year until 31; he won the 1924 pitching Triple Crown and MVP.

Which Dead Ball era outfielder set Dodgers franchise records for games, hits, doubles and triples?

Zack Wheat played 18 seasons in Brooklyn (1909-26), setting franchise marks for games, hits, doubles and triples; he won the 1918 batting title and hit .317 for his career.

Which 1953 rookie award winner had his number retired two days after his death in 1978?

Jim Gilliam, 'Junior', died of a brain haemorrhage on 8 October 1978 while a Dodgers coach, and the club retired his number 19 two days later, before Game 1 of the World Series.

Duke Snider was nicknamed "the Duke of" which Brooklyn neighbourhood?

Flatbush, the Brooklyn neighbourhood around Ebbets Field: Snider's father called him 'Duke' at five for his swagger, and Brooklyn fans made him the Duke of Flatbush; he reached the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Which reliever was MVP of the 1959 World Series, the fifth straight pitcher to take the award?

Larry Sherry went 2-0 with two saves and a 0.71 ERA against the White Sox, finishing all four Dodger wins; second baseman Charlie Neal hit .370 but was passed over.

Maury Wills' record 104 steals in 1962 broke a modern-era mark set by whom in 1915?

Ty Cobb stole 96 bases for the Tigers in 1915; Wills passed him with 104 in 1962 despite Giants manager Alvin Dark having the Candlestick basepaths watered into mud, and won the MVP.

Who holds the Dodgers franchise record for pitching wins, with 233?

Don Sutton won 233 games for the Dodgers between 1966 and 1988, ahead of Don Drysdale's 209; he won 324 in all, threw 58 shutouts and later broadcast for the Braves.

How many consecutive games did Steve Garvey play to set the National League record?

1,207: Garvey played every game from September 1975 until he dislocated his thumb in July 1983 with the Padres, a National League record; he was 1974 NL MVP.

Ron Cey's nickname "the Penguin" referred to what?

His waddling running gait: Washington State coach Chuck 'Bobo' Brayton hung 'the Penguin' on the short-legged Cey for the way he ran; the Dodgers traded him to the Cubs after 1982.

Which Dodgers catcher was one of three co-MVPs of the 1981 World Series?

Steve Yeager shared the 1981 World Series MVP with Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero, the first three-way award; his Game 5 homer off Ron Guidry backed Jerry Reuss's 2-1 win.

Which Dodger with one homer all season hit a two-run shot in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series?

Mickey Hatcher, who hit one regular-season homer in 1988, sprinted around the bases after his first-inning two-run shot off Dave Stewart in Game 1; Kirk Gibson's walk-off that night overshadowed it.

The manager who led the Dodgers to the 1981 and 1988 titles was born in which Pennsylvania town?

Norristown: Tommy Lasorda was born there, outside Philadelphia, in September 1927; he compiled 1,599 wins, four pennants and two World Series titles in two decades running the club.

Which minor-league club's winningest pitcher, at 107-57, went on to manage the Dodgers for 20 years?

Montreal Royals: Lasorda won 107 games for Brooklyn's top farm club between 1950 and 1960, earning a place in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006; he pitched for Brooklyn in 1954-55.

Dodger Stadium's terraced parking lot was designed so that fans could do what?

Park near the level of their seats: the lot was built on terraces so fans could park at the elevation of their seating level and walk in without climbing stairs.

Dodger Stadium was originally designed to be expandable to how many seats?

85,000: engineer Emil Praeger's design allowed the upper decks to be extended over the outfield pavilions, but the Dodgers never pursued it and capacity stayed at 56,000.

Which pope celebrated Mass at Dodger Stadium during a visit to Los Angeles?

John Paul II celebrated Mass at Dodger Stadium in September 1987 during a two-day Los Angeles stop on his second US tour; the park also hosted the Three Tenors in 1994.

Which singer's two sold-out 1975 shows at Dodger Stadium are among his most famous concerts?

Elton John played two sold-out shows at Dodger Stadium on 25 and 26 October 1975 in a sequinned Dodgers uniform, the first concerts at the park since the Beatles in 1966.

Which Pirates slugger twice hit home runs completely out of Dodger Stadium?

Willie Stargell cleared the right-field pavilion off Alan Foster on 5 August 1969, the first ball ever hit out of Dodger Stadium, and did it again off Andy Messersmith in 1973.

The classic Dodger Dog is a 10-inch wiener made from which meat?

Pork: the Dodger Dog, created by concessions manager Thomas Arthur in 1962, is a 10-inch pork wiener first sold as a 'Foot Long' before honesty prevailed; Farmer John supplied it for decades.

As a player, Dave Roberts' famous 2004 postseason stolen base came for which team?

The steal in the ALCS extended Boston's postseason, which ended in a championship weeks later.

Which catcher did the Dodgers draft in the 62nd round as a favour to his father?

Mike Piazza went 1,390th overall in 1988 at the urging of Tommy Lasorda, a friend of his father Vince and godfather to his brother; he became a 12-time All-Star and 2016 Hall of Famer.

Hideo Nomo threw the only no-hitter in the history of which notoriously hitter-friendly ballpark?

Coors Field: Nomo no-hit the Rockies 9-0 in Denver on 17 September 1996, the only no-hitter ever thrown at the hitter-friendly park; he threw another for Boston in 2001.

For how many straight seasons from 1992 did a Dodger win the NL's top rookie award?

Five: Eric Karros (1992), Mike Piazza (1993), Raul Mondesi (1994), Hideo Nomo (1995) and Todd Hollandsworth (1996) went back to back; an earlier run of four came in 1979-82.

Éric Gagné's record streak of consecutive saves converted, set in 2002-04, reached what number?

84: Gagne converted 84 straight save chances from August 2002 to July 2004, including all 55 in his 2003 Cy Young season, when more than half his outs came by strikeout.

Which Cuban outfielder did Vin Scully nickname "the Wild Horse"?

Yasiel Puig, who signed a seven-year, $42 million deal after defecting from Cuba in 2012, debuted in June 2013 and earned the 'Wild Horse' tag from Scully for his all-out style.

Mookie Betts has competed in professional events in which second sport?

He rolled a perfect game at the 2017 World Series of Bowling and was Tennessee's Boys Bowler of the Year in 2010.

Freddie Freeman's 2024 Game 1 walk-off was a World Series first of what kind?

A grand slam: Freeman's 10th-inning walk-off off Nestor Cortes on 25 October 2024 was the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history; he homered in the first four games and was MVP.

Dave Roberts, who managed the Dodgers to the 2020 title, was born on which island?

The son of a US Marine and an Okinawan mother, he became the first manager of Asian heritage to win a World Series.

After winning 2020 World Series MVP with LA, Corey Seager won it again in 2023 with which team?

Texas Rangers: Seager signed a 10-year, $325 million deal in December 2021 and led Texas past Arizona in 2023, becoming the first player to win World Series MVP in both leagues.

Two years after his 2017 rookie award, Cody Bellinger won which major honour?

NL MVP: Bellinger hit 47 homers with a 1.035 OPS in 2019 to win the award, adding a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, a year after his 13th-inning walk-off single made him NLCS MVP.

Who was MVP of the 2025 World Series, with three wins and a 1.02 ERA?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto won Games 2 and 6 as a starter, then got the final eight outs of Game 7 in relief a day after throwing 96 pitches, finishing 3-0 with a 1.02 ERA.

The Dodgers won the 2025 World Series in seven games against which team?

Toronto Blue Jays: the Dodgers won Game 7 5-4 in 11 innings at Rogers Centre on Will Smith's homer, becoming the first back-to-back champions since the 2000 Yankees.

The entire 2020 World Series was played at which neutral-site ballpark?

Globe Life Field, the Rangers' new park in Arlington, Texas, hosted all six games with crowds capped at about 11,500; it was the first Series since 1944 held in a single ballpark.

The Dodgers' 2017 World Series defeat came against which team, later exposed for stealing signs?

Houston Astros: George Springer hit five homers to tie a Series record as Houston won in seven; MLB's January 2020 report confirmed the Astros' 2017 trash-can sign-stealing scheme.

Jaime Jarrín, the Dodgers' Spanish-language voice from 1959 to 2022, was born in which country?

Ecuador: Jarrin was born in Cayambe, near Quito, in 1935 and had never seen a baseball game when he reached Los Angeles in 1955; he later interpreted for Fernando Valenzuela.

Which phrase became Brooklyn's unofficial slogan after five straight World Series defeats?

'Wait 'til next year!' became Brooklyn's refrain after losing the 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953 Series to the Yankees; next year finally arrived in 1955, when the Dodgers won in seven.

After his playing days, Gil Hodges managed which team to a shock 1969 World Series title?

New York Mets: Hodges managed the 'Miracle Mets' from 1968 until his death in April 1972, beating the 109-win Orioles in five games in 1969; the Dodgers retired his 14 in 2022.

The only unassisted triple play in postseason history was turned against Brooklyn in 1920 by whom?

Bill Wambsganss, Cleveland's second baseman, caught Clarence Mitchell's liner and doubled off both runners in Game 5 on 10 October 1920, in a best-of-nine Series the Indians won five games to two.

Which Dodgers manager was suspended for the whole 1947 season by Commissioner Happy Chandler?

Leo Durocher was suspended for 1947 by Commissioner Happy Chandler for 'conduct detrimental to baseball', including associations with gamblers; Brooklyn won the pennant anyway under interim skipper Burt Shotton.

Jackie Robinson stayed away from Dodgers events for years over a feud with which executive?

Walter O'Malley, who forced out Robinson's patron Branch Rickey in 1950 and traded Robinson to the Giants in 1956; the feud thawed only after Peter O'Malley took over, and Robinson's 42 was retired in June 1972.

Kenley Jansen was signed by the Dodgers in 2004 to play which position?

Catcher: Jansen, from Curacao, was signed as a catcher in 2004 and caught for the Netherlands at the 2009 World Baseball Classic before converting to relief pitching that year; he passed 450 saves in 2025.