Last call: 8th and 7th greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time.
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As we continue the countdown of the greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time, here’s one final plea for your votes. Please list your choice of the 12 greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time and e-mail it to houston.mitchell@latimes.com. Next Friday, the results of reader balloting will be announced. Right now, after about 600 ballots, Sandy Koufax and Mike Piazza are neck and neck for the greatest L.A. Dodger of all time. And please, make sure you choose only Dodgers who played in L.A. That makes Jackie Robinson, Zack Wheat and all other Dodgers who only played in Brooklyn ineligible.
And now, the 8th-greatest L.A. Dodger of all time is:
Steve Garvey
Garvey is obviously one of the most popular Dodgers of all time. He had 200 or more hits in a season six times, won the NL MVP award in 1974, won four Gold Gloves at first base, and was an eight-time All Star with the Dodgers. He ranks third on the all-time L.A. Dodger list with 211 homers. He also would have finished higher in the list of all-time greatest L.A. Dodgers except for two things: He never walked, giving him low on-base percentages, and he had perhaps the worst throwing arm of any infielder of the 1970s. He signed with the San Diego Padres after the 1982 season, and his career fell off a cliff four years later. But he was very good for a very long time.
The 7th-greatest L.A. Dodger of all time:
Maury Wills
Wills didn’t just lead off the Dodgers offense in the early 1960s, he was the Dodgers offense in the early 1960s. A bunt single, steal second, take third on a groundball, score on a sac fly. Koufax or Drysdale shuts out the opponent, Dodgers win, 1-0. Stealing bases is hard enough, but it’s even more difficult when everyone in the ballpark, including the other team, knows your stealing ahead of time. And he still set the season record (since broken) with 104 steals in his MVP season of 1962. Why isn’t Wills in the Hall of Fame?
Don’t forget to send in your ballots. Results will be announced next Friday, along with my choice for the 4th-, 5th- and 6th-greatest L.A. Dodgers of all time.
-- Houston Mitchell