The 15 greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time, No. 7: Orel Hershiser
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Continuing our countdown of the 15 greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time as chosen by our readers.
No. 7: Orel Hershiser (29,929 points)
Hershiser is on this list for one big reason: Almost single-handedly carrying the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series title.
Hershiser ended the regular season by pitching 59 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking the record held by Dodger legend Don Drysdale. Hershiser led the league in wins (23), innings (267), and complete games (15) and was unanimously selected as the Cy Young Award winner after finishing 23-8 with a 2.26 ERA.
In the 1988 NLCS, Hershiser was named the MVP after starting Games 1 and 3, saving Game 4 and pitching a shutout in the decisive Game 7. He then went on to shut down the Oakland A’s in the World Series, winning Games 2 and 5 and being named World Series MVP. He is the only player to win the Cy Young Award, the championship series MVP award, and the World Series MVP award in the same season.
On the all-time Dodgers list, Hershiser is sixth in wins (135), fifth in losses (107), sixth in games pitched (353), fifth in games started (309), fifth in strikeouts (1,456), sixth in complete games (65), fifth in innings pitched (2,180.2), sixth in walks allowed (667), sixth in shutouts (24) and ninth in ERA (3.12).
-- Houston Mitchell
Previously:
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