The 1982 Dodgers

The 1982 season proved to be a rollercoaster of a season with the Los Angeles Dodgers finding themselves 10 games behind the Atlanta Braves in late July. Then, in a flurry never seen before by Dodger fans, the team won 12 of their next 13 and moved into first place on August 10. This led to a difficult, tough as nails pennant race with neither the Braves nor the Dodgers giving ground. The Dodgers took a 3 ½-game lead with 14 games to play, but a rough patch of eight straight losses, including six games by one run put the Dodgers down by one game with one game left to play in San Francisco. However, while the Braves were losing that final day in San Diego, the Giants upended the Dodgers, 5-3, but the ball club realized just how much character they had and they would use the lessons from 1982 to help them win the 1983 Western Division title.  Dodger pitching continued to be among the National League’s best as the team was 1st lowest in ERA, 1st in ERA after the All-Star break, 3rd highest in complete game, and third in wins by a starting pitcher. The Dodgers top starters were among the best in the National League as Fernando Valenzuela and Jerry Reuss won 18 games, and Bob Welch was not far behind with 16 wins. Valenzuela led the starting pitchers on the Dodgers with a 2.57 ERA and Reuss was not far behind with a 3.11 ERA. The closers in the bullpen were Steve Howe on the left hand side with 13 saves and Tom Niedenfuer on the right side with nine saves. The offense was effective in spots as they were fourth in the league in runs scored, second most in home runs, third in runs after the All-Star Game and fourth in walks overall. Pedro Guerrero led the offense with 32 home runs and 100 RBI. Ron Cey hit 24 home runs and Dusty Baker added 23 home runs and was second on the club in RBI with 88. The newest Dodger was second baseman Steve Sax, a new player assuming the position for the first time since 1973. Sax had 180 hits and was voted the N.L. Rookie of the Year. The team played fitfully in the first half of the season with their biggest problem was not being able to string wins together. After a loss to the San Francisco Giants on July 28, the Dodgers’ 52-49 record was a full 10 games behind the red-hot Atlanta Braves. Most clubs would have called it a year, thinking the margin was too difficult to overcome.  Not this club.  With singular purpose, they flew into Atlanta for a make or break four-game series on July 30 and won all four. The Dodgers then went on to win two of three in Cincinnati and the lead was down to 5 1/2.  Atlanta came into town the days of August 5-8 and the Dodgers won the first three games in a walk-off fashion, twice winning in the 10th inning and once in the 11th inning. After Bob Welch blanked the Braves on Sunday, August 8, the Dodgers were only 1 ½-games back and the baseball world was jolted awake. On August 10, Valenzuela defeated Tom Seaver and the Cincinnati Reds and the Dodgers moved into undisputed first place, 1/2 game ahead of the Braves. Nobody could recall a club so far out get into first place so quickly. The Dodger lead was as high as 3 1/2 games on September 17 before the wheels came off the wagon and the eight-game losing streak began September 21. Despite being two games back with four games to play, the Dodgers continued to fight valiantly, winning three of their final four games, one against Atlanta and two in San Francisco, before the season ran out of games and the Dodgers were left with disappointment but a renewed purpose that would serve them in 1983. Dodger fans admired the grit and determination of their team throughout the season and their attendance was the highest in Major League Baseball history for the season with 3,608,881 through the turnstiles. And every fan who supported the club, in the up and down season, felt they were the one in the total.