The 15 greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time, No. 6: Steve Garvey
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Continuing our countdown of the greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time, as chosen by our readers.
No. 6: Steve Garvey (236 first-place votes, 39,277 points)
Some voters thought he was overrated and left him off the ballot entirely; some thought he was the greatest L.A. Dodger of all time.
Steve Garvey was part of the legendary Garvey-Lopes-Russell-Cey infield, which stayed together for almost nine full seasons. Garvey was ‘Mr. Clean’ with the Dodgers, a person far more popular with the fans than with his teammates.
In 1974, Garvey became the first person to start an All-Star game as a write-in candidate. He also won the All-Star game and National League most valuable players awards that season.
Garvey had six 200-hit seasons with the Dodgers, was an eight-time All-Star and won four gold gloves. He left the team after the 1982 season and was signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres.
On the all-time L.A. Dodgers list, Garvey ranks third in games (1,727), second in hits (1,968), third in homers (211), first in doubles (333), first in RBIs (992), sixth in batting average (.301), third in runs (852), is tied for eighth in triples (35) and is 10th in slugging percentage (.459).
-- Houston Mitchell
Previously:
No. 7: Orel Hershiser
No. 8: Fernando Valenzuela
No. 9: Mike Piazza
No. 10: Don Sutton
No. 11: Walter Alston
No. 12: Ron Cey
No. 13: Walter O’Malley
No. 14: Tommy Davis
No. 15: Kirk Gibson