The 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 90th season for the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), their 22nd season in Los Angeles, California, and their 18th season playing their home games at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles California. The team finished the season in third place in the National League West. Near the end of the season, owner Walter O'Malley died, and the ownership of the team went to his son, Peter.
Offseason February 15, 1979: Brad Gulden was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Gary Thomasson.Brad Gulden page at Baseball Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup +Opening Day startersName Position Davey Lopes Second basemanBill Russell ShortstopReggie Smith Right fielderSteve Garvey First basemanRon Cey Third basemanDusty Baker Left fielderRick Monday Center fielderSteve Yeager CatcherBurt Hooton Starting pitcher
Notable transactions April 7, 1979: Rick Rhoden was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jerry Reuss.Rick Rhoden page at Baseball Reference May 11, 1979: Lance Rautzhan was purchased from the Dodgers by the Milwaukee Brewers.Lance Rautzhan page at Baseball Reference May 11, 1979: Lerrin LaGrow was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago White Sox.Lerrin LaGrow page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers Roster Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders Outfielders Manager
Coaches
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C Steve Yeager 105 310 67 .216 13 41 1B Steve Garvey 162 648 204 .315 28 110 2B 153 582 154 .265 28 73 SS Bill Russell 153 627 170 .271 7 56 3B Ron Cey 150 487 137 .281 28 81 LF Dusty Baker 151 554 152 .274 23 88 CF Derrel Thomas 141 406 104 .256 5 44 RF Reggie Smith 68 234 64 .274 10 32
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI Joe Ferguson 122 363 95 .262 20 69 115 315 78 .248 14 45 Von Joshua 94 142 40 .282 3 14 Ted Martínez 81 112 30 .268 0 2 Mickey Hatcher 33 93 25 .269 1 5 Pedro Guerrero 25 62 15 .242 2 9 Johnny Oates 26 46 6 .130 0 2 Manny Mota 47 42 15 .357 0 3 Rick Monday 12 33 10 .303 0 2 Vic Davalillo 29 27 7 .259 0 2
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Rick Sutcliffe 39 242.0 17 10 3.46 117 Don Sutton 33 226.0 12 15 3.82 146 Burt Hooton 29 212.0 11 10 2.97 129 Andy Messersmith 11 62.1 2 4 4.91 26 Doug Rau 11 56.0 1 5 5.30 28
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Jerry Reuss 39 160.0 7 14 3.54 83 Charlie Hough 42 151.1 7 5 4.76 76 Bob Welch 25 81.1 5 6 3.98 64 Gerry Hannahs 4 16.0 0 2 3.38 6
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO Dave Patterson 36 4 1 6 5.26 34 Lerrin LaGrow 31 5 1 4 3.41 22 Ken Brett 30 4 3 2 3.45 13 Bobby Castillo 19 2 0 7 1.11 25 17 1 2 2 4.34 28 Terry Forster 17 1 2 2 5.51 8 Lance Rautzhan 12 0 2 1 7.45 5 Dennis Lewallyn 7 0 1 0 5.11 1
Awards and honors National League Rookie of the Year Rick Sutcliffe TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award Rick Sutcliffe NL Player of the Week Dusty Baker (May 22–28) Manny Mota (Aug. 27 – Sep. 3)
All-Stars 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Steve Garvey, starter, first base Davey Lopes, starter, second base Ron Cey, reserve TSN National League All-Star Davey Lopes Baseball Digest Rookie All-Star Rick Sutcliffe
Farm system
Teams in BOLD won League Championships
Major League Baseball draft
The Dodgers drafted 36 players in the June draft and 11 in the January draft. Of those, five players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.
The Dodgers lost their first round pick in the June draft to the San Diego Padres because they signed free agent Derrel Thomas but they gained the first round picks of the Pittsburgh Pirates (compensation for Lee Lacy) and New York Yankees (for Tommy John). With those picks they drafted two players from the University of Michigan, left-handed pitcher Steve Howe and right-handed pitcher Steve Perry. Howe was the 1980 NL Rookie of the Year, a 1981 World Series Champion and a 1982 All-Star. He played in 12 seasons and saved 91 games before a drug addiction forced him out of the game. Perry pitched six seasons in the minors, the last two with the AAA Albuquerque Dukes, and finished 28-40 with a 5.34 ERA before the Dodgers released him.
This year's draft class also included pitcher Orel Hershiser from Bowling Green University, who was picked in the 17th round. He pitched 18 seasons (13 with the Dodgers), winning 204 games. He set a Major League record with a 59 consecutive scoreless inning streak in 1988 en route to winning the Cy Young Award and the World Series MVP. He was also a three-time All-Star. 1979 draft picksJanuary draft 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Regular Phase
RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Robert Silicani3B College of San MateoYes 1979 Rookie2Jim TellerOF Sacramento City CollegeNoRed Sox-19791979–1982 A3Kyle DunningRHP Linn-Benton Community CollegeNo 4Joseph SiersRHP Palm Beach Community CollegeNo 5Phillip SmithSS Georgia Perimeter CollegeNo 6Eric StackRHP Lane Community CollegeNo 7James GleissnerC Mount San Antonio CollegeNoRoyals-1980 1980–1984 AA
January secondary phase 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase
RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Rick Misuraca3B Rose State College Yes 1979 Rookie2John MillhollandSS Louisburg College NoYankees-1980 1980–1981 A3Richard RossOF San Jose City College No 4Tommy BlackmonRHP Spartanburg Methodist College NoIndians-1980 19980-1984 AA
June draft 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Steve HoweLHPUniversity of MichiganYes1979–1997MLB1Steve PerryRHPUniversity of MichiganYes1979–1984AAA2David Lanning3BUniversity of GeorgiaYes1979–1981AA3Don CrowCWashington State UniversityYes1979–1982MLB4Leo MannSSUniversity of MissouriYes1979–1981A5Terry SutcliffeRHPUniversity of KansasYes 1979–1981A6Dale HolmanOFLouisiana Tech UniversityYes1979–1987AAA7Timothy GloydSSPepperdine UniversityYes 1979–1981 A8Jeff DietrichLHPSerramonte High SchoolNo 9Felix OrozLHPUniversity of WyomingYes1979–1984 AAA10John HoustonCJohn F. Kennedy High SchoolYes1979–1980 Rookie11Mark Sheehy2BUniversity of California, RiversideYes 1979–1987AAA12Kerwin DanleyOFSusan Miller Dorsey High SchoolNo 13Greg Brock1BUniversity of WyomingYes1979–1991 MLB14Franklin BryantRHP North Carolina State UniversityYes1979–1982 A15Tom BeyersOFCalifornia Polytechnic State University, San Luis ObispoYes 1979–1983 AAA16Kenneth BullockLHPUniversity of San FranciscoYes1980 A17Orel HershiserRHPBowling Green State UniversityYes 1979–2000 MLB18Stanley MohlerOFUniversity of South AlabamaYes 1979–1980A19Wayne KellamRHPIndian River High SchoolYes 1979 Rookie20William SobbeCNorthwest Missouri State UniversityYes 1979–1981 AA21Clint WickenscheimerRHPBall State UniversityYes 1979-1982 AA22Glenn TerryLHPKimball High SchoolYes1979–1982 A23David DanielRHPAntelope Valley High SchoolYes 1979–1982 A24Morris MaddenLHP Spartanburg Methodist CollegeYes 1979–1990 MLB25Leonard CollinsSSHiram Johnson High SchoolNo 26Brian DillardOFBloom High SchoolNo 27Harry KazanjianCWashington High SchoolNo 28Kevin RoddyIFBellevue West High SchoolNo 29P. J. SchranzSSBloom High SchoolNo 30Ted SalcidoSSWilson High SchoolYes 1980 A31James GarciaRHPBell High SchoolNo 32George PageOFKennedy High SchoolNoOrioles-1982 1982–1983 Rookie
June secondary phase 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Draft-Secondary Phase RoundNamePositionSchoolSignedCareer spanHighest level 1Alfredo MejíaC Oral Roberts UniversityYes 1979–1981 AAA2Thomas McLaughlinRHP University of Nebraska–LincolnNoGiants-1980 1980–1981A3Kyle DunningRHP Linn–Benton Community CollegeNo 4Bill WordenC Mission Hills JCNoAngels-1981 1981–1986AA
Notes
References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page
External links 1979 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform Los Angeles Dodgers official web site