Thought this would be a fun topic. Players who were briefly Dodgers. So briefly we might not even remember them. There are, of course, many of these. And a couple I wish had never worn the uni because I felt they were totally useless. But that is just me.
As Jeff will attest, one of these was Tyler White. White had a totally undistinguished stint in Dodger blue. 12 games, 1 hit in 22 at bats. 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. Now, the Dodgers did not give up much for him, RHRP Andre Scrubb, but to me even that guy was too much to pay for White. Appropriately, his career in MLB was over after his stint with the Dodgers.
Scrubb on the other hand, went 2-0 in his two seasons with the Astros with 1 save. He is still in baseball as a member of the Mets farm system. White retired in 23 after failing to catch on with the Mets.
But that of course is the worst example I have. There have been many others over the years. Jim Baxes in 1959 played in 11 games for the Dodgers and hit .303. He also had 2 homers and 5 runs driven in. He was traded to Cleveland for Fred Hatfield and $10,000 . He finished the year with the Tribe and never played in the majors again. Hatfield never played for the Dodgers.
Chuck Essegian was traded by the Cardinals to the Dodgers along with Lloyd Merritt for third baseman Dick Gray. Merritt would never play for LA, but Essegian played well down the stretch for the Dodgers with a .304 BA in 46 at bats. He had a homer and 5 driven in. But he clubbed 2 pinch hit homers in the World Series against the White Sox, tying Dusty Rhodes MLB mark. He would play in 52 games for LA in 1960. He was picked up on waivers by the Orioles in 61.
Ted Savage, one of the players received for Phil Regan in ’68, played 61 games for the Dodgers hitting .206. He had 2 homers and 7 driven in. The other player in that trade, Jim Ellis, was used to acquire Pete Mikkelsen in 1969. Mikkelsen pitched for LA for four full seasons compiling a 24-17 record with 20 saves and a 3.27 ERA. Not a bad return.
Bill North, the center fielder who had been such a huge part of the A’s World Series wins in 73-74, came to LA from Oakland for Glenn Burke in May 1978. North did steal 27 bases in LA, but he hit .234 in 110 games. He had no homers and 10 driven in. He left after the season as a free agent.
Jerry Grote, the catcher who had been part of the 69 miracle Mets, spent parts of 3 seasons totaling 61 games with the Dodgers as mainly the backup catcher. He hit .263 in that time with no homers. He was a member of the 77-78 NL Champion Dodgers.
Jack Perconte, a second baseman, played in 22 games in his two years with the Dodgers. He was part of the Rick Sutcliffe trade with Cleveland which brought Jorge, don’t call me George, Orta, Jack Fimple and Larry White to LA. I still consider this one of the worst trades in LA history.
Sutcliffe went on to earn a Cy Young with the Cubs after being traded by Cleveland, Perconte was a .270 hitter in his 7-year MLB career. No power, but he was a decent second baseman.
Fimple played in 79 games over three seasons in LA. White pitched in 11 games for LA over 2 seasons, winning none and losing one. Orta was with LA for 86 games and hit only .217. The Dodgers traded him to the Mets for Pat Zachry who went 11-7 with 2 saves in his two year stay.
In September of 1980, the Dodgers traded RHP Dennis Lewallyn to the Rangers for infielder Pepe Frias. Frias was known more for his glove than his bat, he appeared in 39 games for LA in 80-81. He hit .244. Lewallyn pitched in 4 games for the Rangers, and only 11 more with Cleveland.
In the winter of 1979, the Dodgers signed free agent RH starting pitcher, Dave Goltz. Goltz had won in double figures six years in a row, including 20 in 1977 for the Twins. Not so fast, he was horrible with the Dodgers.
In 1980 he was 7-11 in 35 games with a 4.11 ERA. One of those losses came in the extra game played because the Dodgers and Astros had tied for the NL West lead.
In 1981 he pitched in 26 games during the strike shortened season and was 2-7 with a 4.06 ERA. In 82, he pitched in 2 games, losing 1 and was released in April. Along with Jason Schmidt and Andruw Jones, one of the worst free agent signings in Dodger history.
The last guy in this segment I am going to profile is Rafael Landestoy (pictured). Landestoy was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1972. He had a cup of coffee with the Dodgers in 1977, playing in 15 games, and hitting .278. None of his 5 hits were for extra bases.
In July of 1978, he was sent to the Astros to complete the trade that brought Joe Ferguson back to Los Angeles. In June of 81, the Astro’s sent him to the Reds for Harry Spillman.
Then in May of 83, he returned to the Dodgers in the trade that sent Brent Wise and John Franco to the Reds. Landestoy spent parts of 83 and 84 with LA hitting below .200 both years. His cumulative BA in LA was .191 in 146 games. He had 2 homers and 3 runs batted in over that time.
John Franco? He went on to record 424 saves at the major league level. He led the league in saves 3 times and recorded 30 or more 8 times. He failed to get enough votes to stay on the Hall of Fame ballot for more than one year. His 424 ranks fifth on the All-Time list. He belongs in the Hall.
Another really bad trade.
I remember those players all too well! The first one you mentioned, Tyler White, was interesting to me, and he is the poster child of why a week in the majors does not make a career. The Astros invited White to Spring Training in 2016 and included him on the Opening Day roster.
In his first six Major League games, he hit .556 (10 for 18) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, a .597 on-base percentage, and a 1.167 slugging percentage, and was awarded American League Player of the Week. He would play 85 games for the Astros in 2016, finishing with a .217 average, eight home runs, and 28 RBI.
He would never fulfill the promise he showed the first week. His diabetes may have caused some of that, but the Dodgers had high hopes for him as when he came to the Dodgers, he changed his thyroid medication and lost a considerable amount of weight. It didn’t work, and after struggling his entire career (except for the first week), he retired from baseball last year.
A dozen-plus years ago, on my old blog, I once wrote a piece where I called Jason Repko a bum. His father responded and told me that I had no idea how hard Jason had to work and how much he and his family had to sacrifice to be a “bum in Major League Baseball.” Freak Accidents, Multiple Surgeries, and Years of Rehabilitation derailed the career of a great athlete. His father reminded me I had “no clue” what it took to be an MLB player. I apologized, and that interaction gave me a deep appreciation of what it takes to be a player in MLB.
It’s fun to go back and remember the players who were never good for the Dodgers… after all… it is part of the Dodgers’ History, but ultimately, I have a deep respect for them… because they did reach their dream… even if they were not very good… they were Dodgers!
Matt Luke is my favorite random Dodger. Danny Heep second.
Much of the staff of Sports Illustrated, and possibly all remaining writers and editors, received layoff notices today.
Too bad, had a subscription as a kid. It was where I first heard of how popular baseball was in Japan. Finally got to see a game there and was not disappointed.
Josh Hader to Houston for 5years/95mil.
The best high school baseball player I ever saw as an opposing coach was a kid out of Moses Lake Washington named BJ Garbe. As a 9th grader, I started calling him Roy Hobbs. He just hit bullets, even off 2 of my pitchers who also signed out of high school. I never saw a kid who was scouted as intensely as a high schooler. He was the 5th overall pick in 1999.
And he never got passed AA. He was done at 25 after 8 minor league seasons where he hit .235 / .638. He hit .193 / .548 in his 3 AA seasons. To me, that’s still impossible to believe, as it wasn’t due to injuries. I’ve heard lots of reasons; social anxiety disorder but no career ending injuries. The story I believe is that the Twins just destroyed the kid’s ability to hit and his confidence by wanting to change everything, right off the bat (pun intended). It never ceases to amaze me that teams seek out the best prospects, pay lots of money and then try to change everything. Those were the days when the Walt Hriniak and Charlie Lau hitting styles were all the rage and the Twins tried to get Garbe to hit those little one-handed stride and glide, off-field flares. It was a sin to pull the ball. I know a bunch of dead pull hitters who were great professional hitters so the change for BJ never made sense to me. Last I saw BJ, he was running a casino in Moses Lake. A can’t miss kid who the Twins ruined. He was too good of a listener.
The 1999 Moses Lake High School had Garbe drafted 5th overall and 2 other players drafted high. Both were recipients for the extensive scouting of Garbe. Jason Cooper was drafted in round 2 by the Phillies. He got criticized for not signing, opting to attend Stanford instead. A kind of a perceived sin in those days. He punted and played baseball eventually signing with the Indians in the 3rd round of 2002. He got a Stanford education then 10 professional seasons in MiLB.
The 3rd kid off that 1999 Moses Lake team was the biggest recipient of all the attention to Garbe. He was a catcher whose stock rose the more the scouts watched Garbe and Cooper. He ended up a 2nd rounder, signed by the Pirates. Ryan Doumit had a 15 year pro career, 10 in the Show.
So the Can’t Miss 5th pick never got past AA, one teammate got to AAA and the sleeper had 10 years in the Big Leagues.
Between scouting being an inexact science and an organization completely screwing with a player, one word describes the situation – “You-Never-Know”.
Sports Illustrated fired all employees today and LA Times had walkout of employees, including Bill Plaschke. Hopefully Plaschke keeps walking! The regional sports network contracts with half of MLB teams are in limbo with bankruptcy and possibly transfer to Amazon. A NFL playoff game is only available on Peacock network.
The media landscape is rapidly changing, and uncertainty with most of the MLB teams appears to be impacting the remaining free agents. The Dodgers are fortunate to have a lucrative, long term TV contract in a huge market that has enabled them to spend lavishly this year, while others are pulling back.
The story I remember is of reliever Don Stanhouse (not a great fit here because I think he was with the Dodgers for 4 years). This was one of the first free agents the Dodgers signed. Stanhouse was previously with Baltimore and Earl Weaver called him “Full Pack” because whenever he pitched Weaver would smoke a full pack of lung darts. Weaver was a character.
Derrel Thomas would give Lasorda fits when making basket catches in the outfield.
Dave Sax was Steve’s brother who spent time at catcher for the Dodgers
Jack Fimple a journeyman catcher who was called up and had some big hits.
Gilberto Reyes another young catching prospect who was very athletic and highly touted, just never made the big leap in the bigs.
Jose Morales, a veteran pinch hitter who didn’t have a natural position. Tommy penciled him in at first base in a game Fernando was starting (I think against the Padres), and Fernando, when he saw the lineup, exclaimed, “MORALES!!??”
Hey Bear, the man comma package arrived today.
A thousand thanks brother. Very thoughtful.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/angels-to-sign-robert-stephenson.html
Cross Stephenson off your wish list.
Good to reconnect with some of the old LADT crowd! Been wondering how I was going to get through the 2024 season on my own. Looking forward to being part of LA Dodger Chronicles….