Brooklyn's debut into the National League in 1890 began on a positive note as the team nicknamed the "Bridegrooms" won the championship with an 86-43 record. It was the first of 21 National League pennants that the Dodgers would win during the next 100 years.
The moniker "Bridegrooms" was attached to Manager William "Gunner" McGunnigle's 1890 ballclub because seven of the players got married around the same time in 1888. Despite the success of the Bridegrooms, McGunnigle didn't last past the initial year and the team paraded through six different managers before the end of the decade. The skippers included John Montgomery Ward (1891-92), Dave Foutz (1893-96), William Barnie (1897-98), Mike Griffin (1898), Charles H. Ebbets (1898) and Ned Hanlon (1899-1905).
The term "Trolley Dodgers" was attached to the Brooklyn ballclub due to the complex maze of trolley cars that weaved its way through the borough of Brooklyn. The name was then shortened to just "Dodgers." During the 1890s, other popular nicknames were Ward's Wonders, Foutz's Fillies and Hanlon's Superbas.
Baseball was not new to Brooklyn, which had fielded a team as early as 1849. Charles Byrne, president of the Brooklyn club which started in the Interstate League and moved into the American Association, built Washington Park on the approximate site where George Washington's Continental Army had fought the battle of Long Island. The Dodgers of 1890 transferred to the National League from the American Association, where they had won the 1889 pennant.
Under Hanlon, who joined the Dodgers from Baltimore, the team brought stars to Brooklyn including "Wee" Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings and Joe Kelley. Sportswriters dubbed the team "Hanlon's Superbas" because of a popular Broadway troupe of the same name. Brooklyn won the 1899 title under Hanlon, the first of two consecutive pennant winners.
Brooklyn-born Keeler, famous for saying "I hit 'em where they ain't," had great bat control and was an adroit bunter. He compiled a .345 career batting average, fifth best all-time in baseball. The 5-foot-4 Hall of Famer had a league-leading 140 runs scored in 1899. First decade stars also included pitcher William "Brickyard" Kennedy, who won 176 games; pitcher Tom Lovett, who won 30 games in 1890 (the only Dodger pitcher to record 30 wins in one season); outfielder Tommy "Oyster" Burns, who batted .300 from 1890-95 and led the league with 128 RBI in 1890; Mike Griffin, who batted over .300 in an eight-year period (1891-98) before managing; first baseman Dan Brouthers, who was the club's first batting champion with a .335 average in 1892; shortstop Tommy Corcoran, who batted .300 with 173 hits in 1894; and first baseman Candy LaChance, who hit .290 for six seasons (1893-98).
1890 - April 19, 1890: Brooklyn plays its first game in the National League, a 15-9 loss to the Boston Beaneaters, and went on to capture the National League pennant.
April 28, 1890: The Bridegrooms beat Boston, 5-2, in front of 1,222 fans at Washington Park, the first National League game in Brooklyn.
May 1, 1890: Third baseman George Pinckney brought his streak of 570 consecutive games-played streak with him to the National League, but it ended with an injury in a game that rain prevented from even making it to the books. Pinckney had played every inning since Sept. 21, 1885, a record that would last nearly a century.
May 3, 1890: The Bridegrooms win the first National League contest between Brooklyn and the Giants, 7-3.
June 12, 1890: Brooklyn beats the Giants, 12-6, at Washington Park in the first game to feature a passionate dispute between the two clubs in the National League, ignited by Brooklyn third-base coach Darby O'Brien, who pretended to be a baserunner and drew a throw over to third.
June 14, 1890: Tom Lovett tosses the first Brooklyn shutout over the Giants, a whopping 16-0 victory.
Aug. 1, 1890: Oyster Burns is the first player in franchise history to hit for the cycle.
Sept. 1, 1890: Let's play three? Brooklyn dispatches Pittsburgh three times in one day.
1891 - April 27, 1891: The Bridegrooms play their first game at Eastern Park, dropping the contest, 6-5, to the Giants.
June 22, 1891: Thomas Lovett issues three walks, but no-hits the Giants for a 4-0 win.
1892 - May 29, 1892: Eight days after losing 28-year-old outfielder George "Hub" Collins to typhoid fever, the Bridegrooms and St. Louis Browns put on a benefit All-Star Game to raise money for his widow.
Nov. 1, 1982: Dan Brouthers' .335 batting average is good enough for the title.
1893 - May 30, 1893: William "Brickyard" Kennedy beats Louisville, 3-0 and 6-2, in both games of a twin bill, allowing just eight hits all day. He's the first Major Leaguer to pitch and win two games on the same day since the mound was moved to 60 feet, six inches from the plate.
1894 - June 2, 1894: Ed Stein tosses a 1-0 no-hitter over the Cubs in a six-inning game.
1896 - May 20, 1896: Brooklyn sets a franchise record by scoring more than a score in a 25-6 win over Pittsburgh.
1897 - May 29, 1897: Mike Griffin starts a triple play in a 9-7 loss to Pittsburgh.
Sept. 21, 1897: Twelve Brooklyn runners cross the plate in the opening frame of a 22-5 win in Boston.
1898 - Jan. 4, 1898: Owner Charles Byrne dies and Charles Ebbets later becomes president of the ballclub.
April 30, 1898: "New" Washington Park opens.
May 3, 1898: Jimmy Sheckard racks up 11 total bases, including a homer, two triples and a single.
1899 - Feb. 7, 1899: After the Bridegrooms and Orioles merge, with Baltimore owner Harry Von der Horst and Ned Hanlon taking a stake in the Brooklyn franchise, "Wee" Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Hughie Jennings and other players head to Brooklyn which will take on the name "Superbas."
May 15, 1899: "Wee" Willie Keeler smacks an inside-the-park grand slam to get past the Phillies, 8-5.
Oct. 7, 1899: Jim Hughes and the Superbas beat the Giants, 13-2, to capture the National League pennant.
Manager Jim Tracy has called winning a process and through the first four seasons of the new decade and century, the Dodgers steadily improved, culminating in a National League West Division crown in 2004.
The 2000 season saw the Dodgers win 86 games with some explosive offense. The Dodgers set a club record for home runs with 211, led by Gary Sheffield who tied Duke Snider 1s single-season club mark of 43 home runs. For the second straight season, Sheffield hit better than .300, with at least 30 home runs, 100 RBI, 100 walks and 100 runs becoming the first Dodger ever to do so twice.
Eric Karros became the L.A. Dodger all-time leader with his 229th home run and Dave Hansen set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs and breaking a club mark set in 1932 by Johnny Frederick.
On the mound, pitcher Kevin Brown became the first Dodger since 1984 to lead the league in ERA with a 2.58 ERA. Rookie Matt Herges who spent eight years in the minors, started the season 8-0, making him the first pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela to open the season with eight straight victories.
In 2001, the Dodgers turned over the managerial reins to Tracy, who had served as the bench coach the previous two seasons. Under Tracy, the Dodgers once again won 86 games but finished just six games behind the eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks.
Shawn Green had his finest season as a Major Leaguer, belting a Dodger-record 49 home runs while also setting L.A. club marks for extra-base hits (84) and total bases (358). He became only the fifth left-hander in Major League history to hit at least 49 home runs in a season and only the fifth player to hit 40 or more home runs in both leagues.
Paul Lo Duca earned the starting spot as catcher for the first time in his career and didn't disappoint as he led the club with a .320 batting average to go along with 28 doubles, 25 home runs and 90 RBI.
On the mound, the Dodgers had to use 12 different starting pitchers over the course of the season. Jeff Shaw became the club's all-time leader in saves finishing with 129.
The 2002 season saw Dan Evans take over as the general manager of the club and in his first season, Evans saw his team win 92 games and not get officially eliminated from postseason play until the next to the last day of the season.
Green hit 42 home runs to become the first L.A. Dodger to have back-to-back seasons of 40 or more. Four of those home runs came in one game, May 23 at Milwaukee, tying a Major League record. In that game, Green set a Major League mark for total bases (19).
Eric Gagne who had shuttled back and forth from the bullpen to the starting rotation during his first three seasons in the Majors, found his niche as the closer in 2002 setting a club mark with 52 saves and earning a trip to the All-Star Game joining teammates Green and Odalis Perez and manager Tracy, who served as coach. Gagne, who was named National League Pitcher of the Month in June, became just the eighth reliever to record 50 or more saves.
Dodger fans continued to show their tremendous support as more than three million fans attended games in each of the first three seasons of the decade, extending their Major League record to a total of 17. In addition, the Dodgers recorded their 9,000th victory in the National League during the 2002 season.
The 2003 season saw the Dodgers make another run for a postseason berth as the Wild Card team, but they fell short, winning 85 games. It was the year of pitching as the Dodgers led baseball in numerous categories, including earned run average. Gagne became the first Dodger to earn the NL Cy Young Award since 1988 and only the ninth reliever in Major League history. The right-hander converted all 55 of his save opportunities and entered 2004 with 63 consecutive saves over a two-year period. Gagne had a 1.20 ERA in 77 games and struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings.
In addition, Shawn Green set a new L.A. Dodger single-season record with 49 doubles and Paul Lo Duca had a 25-game hitting streak, the longest by a Dodger since 1986.
On Jan. 29, 2004, Major League Baseball unanimously approved the sale of the Dodgers to Frank and Jamie McCourt, opening up a new chapter in the history of the Dodgers. Paul DePodesta was named general manager, replacing Dan Evans, and quickly acquired center fielder Milton Bradley, just in time for Opening Day.
The Dodgers were led offensively by Adrian Beltre, who won a Silver Slugger Award for leading the Major Leagues with 48 home runs, which tied Mike Schmidt for the most by any third baseman in history and set the mark for most by any right-handed Dodger. Beltre's 376 total bases also surpassed the Los Angeles mark set by Green in 2001.
Gagne won his second consecutive National League Rolaids Relief Man championship after establishing the all-time Major League record with 84 consecutive saves. He set a big league record for saves over a three-year period, eclipsing the mark of 142 set by Dennis Eckersley (1990-92). Gagne also became the third MLB pitcher to notch 45 or more saves in three seasons and the only one to do it in consecutive campaigns.
Gold Gloves went to shortstop Cesar Izturis and center fielder Steve Finley as the Dodgers finished with the best fielding percentage in the Major Leagues.
The 2004 Dodgers won 93 games and captured the National League West Division title for the first time since 1995. Finley's walk-off grand slam to beat the Giants and clinch the division was the exclamation mark on a season that saw the Dodgers set a club record with 53 come-from-behind wins.
Non-roster invitee Jose Lima had the highlight of the postseason for Los Angeles by pitching a complete-game shutout against St. Louis at Dodger Stadium. The victory was the first postseason win for Los Angeles since they captured the World Series championship in 1988.
2000 - April 11, 2000: Kevin Elster smacks three home runs to spoil the Giants first game at Pacific Bell Park with a 6-5 Dodgers victory.
June 13, 2000: Eric Karros belts his 229th home run to eclipse Ron Cey as the Los Angeles all-time home run king.
Sept. 12, 2000: Dave Hansen belts a pinch-hit home run off Arizona's Curt Schilling, setting a Major League record with his seventh of the season.
Nov. 1, 2000: Jim Tracy is named manager, replacing Davey Johnson, fired Oct. 6.
2001 - April 20, 2001: Kevin Malone resigns as general manager and is replace on an interim basis by assistant GM Dave Wallace.
May 28, 2001: Paul Lo Duca gets six hits, including a three-run blast, in an 11-10 win over the Rockies.
Aug. 15, 2001: Shawn Green hits three home runs and drives home seven in a 13-1 win over the Expos at Dodger Stadium.
Sept. 7, 2001: Shawn Green's two homers in a 7-1 win over the Cardinals gives him 45 for the season and a new franchise record. He would finish the season with 49.
Oct. 3, 2001: Dan Evans is named the eighth general manager of the Dodgers.
2002 - April 6, 2002: Kazuhisa Ishii makes his Major League debut and fans 10 in 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the Dodgers beat the Rockies, 9-2.
May 23, 2002: Shawn Green smacks four home runs in a 16-3 win over the Brewers at Miller Park. Green went 6-for-6 (a club record), scored six runs (a club record), drove in seven run and set a Major League record with 19 total bases. His five extra-base hits are a National League record and no player who had six hits in a game ever had four leave the yard.
May 24, 2002: Shawn Green's fifth homer in two games ties a Major League record and his two singles gives him 25 total bases in two games, tying a Major League record, but Arizona wins, 14-3.
May 25, 2002: Shawn Green belts another two home runs, driving in six, and establishing a new Major League record with seven homers in three games as the Dodgers beat Arizona, 10-5.
June 25, 2002: Odalis Perez tosses his second one-hitter of the season, a 4-0 win over the Rockies. Perez nearly had a perfect game in the other one-hitter, a 10-0 win at Wrigley Field on May 26.
Sept. 2, 2002: The Dodgers tie a franchise record with 24 hits in a crushing 19-1 win over the Diamondbacks. David Ross belts his first home run and it comes at the expense of first baseman Mark Grace, in to pitch the ninth inning.
2003 - May 22, 2003: Darren Dreifort strikes out seven batters in the first two innings.
June 18, 2003: Paul Lo Duca ties Willie Davis and Steve Sax for the Los Angeles record by hitting safely in 25 consecutive games.
Sept. 2, 2003: Eric Gagne sets an MLB record with his 55th straight save and 47 of the season.
Sept. 9, 2003: Edwin Jackson outduels Randy Johnson in his Major League debut on his 20th birthday. Eric Gagne becomes the first closer in history with two 50-save seasons.
Nov. 23, 2003: Eric Gagne becomes the seventh Dodger to win the Cy Young Award after recording 55 saves in 55 chances in 2003.
2004 - Jan. 29, 2004: Frank and Jamie McCourt purchase a controlling interest of the Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group and Robert Daly.
Feb. 16, 2004: Paul DePodesta replaces Dan Evans as general manager.
April 9, 2004: Leadoff hitter Dave Roberts reaches base four times and steals a career-high four bases off the Rockies, the most for a Dodger in one game since Rudy Law stole four May 12, 1980.
May 12, 2004: Alex Cora fouls off 14 consecutive pitches in an 18-pitch at-bat that ends with a two-run homer to chase an angry Matt Clement as the Dodgers beat the Cubs, 4-0, at Dodger Stadium.
July 3, 2004: Eric Gagne pitches a perfect ninth in Anaheim to notch his 21st save of the season and MLB-record 84th consecutive save dating back to August 2002. It is the final save of Gagne's streak.
July 11, 2004: Paul Lo Duca heads to the All-Star Game after belting his first grand slam, a walk-off blast to beat the Astros and send the Dodgers to the break in sole possession of first place in the NL West.
Aug. 15, 2004: Adrian Beltre slugs his 33rd homer, most by a Dodgers third baseman, as the Dodgers rally to beat the Cubs in Chicago.
Sept. 8, 2004: Olmedo Saenz hits a pinch-hit grand slam to follow Robin Ventura's the night before, marking the first time in Major League history that a club has hit pinch-slams in consecutive games. The Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5.
Sept. 27, 2004: Adrian Beltre connects for his 48th homer, tying Mike Schmidt (1980) for the most by a Major League third baseman.
Oct. 2, 2004: Steve Finley's walk-off grand slam seals the Dodgers' club-record 53rd come-from-behind win and clinches the division for Los Angeles.
Oct. 9, 2004: Jose Lima, who arrived at Dodgers Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, shuts down the powerful St. Louis lineup for a 4-0, complete-game victory, the Dodgers' first postseason win since 1988.
Nov. 22, 2004: Charley Steiner is introduced as a new member of the Dodgers' broadcasting team, replacing Ross Porter.
2005 - April 30, 2005: The Dodgers win their final eight games in April, compiling a 15-8 record that is their best in the opening month of the season since 1984.
May 30, 2005: Jeff Kent drives in 20 runs in May, and Cesar Izturis finishes the month with the third-highest batting average in the league.
June 12, 2005: Eric Gagne re-injures his elbow and misses the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.
July 12, 2005: Jeff Kent makes his fifth appearance in the All-Star Game, going 0-for-1 at the plate. Izturis, also named to the National League squad, is unable to participate due to injury.
Aug. 28, 2005: Willie Aybar, the 10th rookie on the Dodgers' roster, is called up to replace the ailing Izturis. He makes his debut on Aug. 31, and goes on to lead all first-year Major Leaguers with a .448 on-base percentage (minimum 100 plate appearances). That .448 mark, with a minimum of 100 plate appearances, is the third best in the Major Leagues since 1900 behind Frank Thomas (.454 in 1990) of the White Sox and Boston's Olaf Henriksen (.449 in 1911).
Sept. 30, 2005: Jose Cruz Jr., acquired from Boston in August, hits .302 in the month of September, with six homers and 15 RBIs.
Oct. 2, 2005: The Dodgers finish the season in fourth place in the National League West, 11 games behind the Padres.
Nov. 16, 2005: Ned Colletti is named to replace general manager Paul DePodesta.
Dec. 6, 2005: Grady Little is named manager, replacing Jim Tracy. |
