Opening acts for Dodger rookies
by Mark Langill
The Dodgers begin the 2023 season with four rookies, an influx of youth that usually is the exception when crafting an Opening Day roster.
Each member of the Los Angeles quartet — pitchers Michael Grove and Andre Jackson; infielder Miguel Vargas and outfielder James Outman — has previous Major League experience from their limited auditions in 2022. Vargas will be the first Dodger rookie second baseman to start Opening Day since Wilton Guerrero in 1997.
Here is a look at some past Opening Day rosters with notable groups of Dodger rookies:
1958 — The Dodgers’ first season on the West Coast featured six rookies on the Opening Day roster: pitchers Larry Sherry and Fred Kipp; infielders Dick Gray and Norm Larker; catcher John Roseboro and outfielder Don Demeter.
Roseboro saw the most playing time after replacing Roy Campanella, the three-time NL MVP who in January 1958 was paralyzed in an automobile accident. Roseboro batted .271 in 114 games while sharing the catching duties with Rube Walker and Joe Pignatano.
Gray made history by hitting the first home run in Los Angeles history on April 16 at San Francisco. He also hit the team’s first home run at home when the Dodgers beat the Giants, 6–5, on April 18 in front of more than 78,000 fans at the Coliseum.
Sherry was back at Triple-A Spokane by early May after posting a 12.46 ERA in five appearances. The Fairfax High product returned in July 1959 and became a catalyst to the team’s championship season, including World Series MVP honors with two wins and two saves against the Chicago White Sox.
1962 — The team’s first year at Dodger Stadium included seven rookies on the Opening Day roster: infielders Larry Burright and Tim Harkness; pitchers Joe Moeller, Phil Ortega, Willard Hunter, and Pete Richert; and catcher Doug Camilli.
Richert made history on April 12 by striking out the first six batters he faced in his MLB debut in relief against the Cincinnati Reds. Burright batted .205 in 115 games in his only season with the Dodgers. Hunter pitched in one game in relief with the Dodgers — a 19–8 loss at San Francisco on April 16. He was sent to the minors and traded a month later to the expansion New York Mets.
1970 — The Dodgers began the season with three rookies — infielder Steve Garvey, outfielder Bill Buckner and relief pitcher Ray Lamb.
“When I was called up in September of 1969, it was the first time going to Dodger Stadium and all the dreams coming true of making the big team,” Garvey said. “I was only planning to be in Spring Training for a couple of weeks in 1969 before returning to Michigan State to finish my degree. I got a few hits in some early games and (traveling secretary) Lee Scott tells me the skipper (manager Walter Alston) wanted me to make a road trip to Orlando. I drove in a run with a pinch-hit and I took another road trip to Orlando.
“All of a sudden, I won the third-base job and I’m going to begin the season with the Dodgers as the starting third baseman. (Public relations director) Red Patterson came up to me and asked if I wanted to be in a Vitalis commercial because they were looking for a rookie. Everything happened so fast.
“By the third week of the season, Buckner and I were in and out of the lineup. I later went to Triple-A Spokane and was part of one of the best minor league teams in history. Everything worked out in the long run.”
Lamb made history as the last Dodger to wear uniform 42 before it was retired in 1972 to honor Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
1973 — With the departures of such veterans as Wes Parker, Jim Lefebvre, and Maury Wills, the Dodgers began with rookie third baseman Ron Cey, second baseman Davey Lopes, pitcher Doug Rau and catcher Steve Yeager. Cey and Lopes joined Garvey and Bill Russell as baseball’s longest-tenured infield, playing a record 8 1/2 seasons together from June 23, 1973 through the 1981 World Series.
Yeager’s Dodger career spanned from 1972 to 1986. In his first 24 starts behind the plate in 1974, the Dodgers went 24–0. Rau posted double-digits in five consecutive seasons until a shoulder injury in 1979 derailed his career.
1980 — Three rookies made the Opening Day roster — center fielder Rudy Law, right fielder Pedro Guerrero and reliever Steve Howe. Law set a then-Dodger rookie record with 40 stolen bases. He was the team’s primary center fielder until early August. Guerrero took over center field from Law and became a fixture in the Dodger lineup for most of the decade. Howe won Rookie of the Year honors and was on the pitcher’s mound for the final out when the Dodgers won the World Series in 1981.
1982 — Fresh off a championship, the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster featured four rookies: second baseman Steve Sax; pitchers Tom Niedenfuer and Alejandro Peña; and outfielder Ron Roenicke. Sax won NL Rookie of the Year honors, batting .282 in 150 games with 49 stolen bases. Niedenfuer became the team’s top right-handed closer. Peña was both a starter and reliever in his nine-year Dodger career. He led the league with a 2.48 ERA in 1984 and was a member of the 1988 World Series champion, earning the victory in Game 1 after Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit home run against Oakland.
1983 — Garvey’s free-agent departure after the 1982 season opened the door for rookie first baseman Greg Brock, who made the Opening Day roster along with outfielder Mike Marshall and outfielder Candy Maldonado. Marshall had the longest Dodger tenure of the trio. He hit 137 home runs in nine seasons with Los Angeles, including a career-high 28 in 1985.
1984 — The departure of Ron Cey led the Dodgers to start rookie German Rivera at third base. Other rookies included relief pitcher Orel Hershiser and Dave Anderson, the team’s №1 draft pick in 1981 and the heir apparent to veteran shortstop Bill Russell. Hershiser moved to the starting rotation in June and gave a sneak preview of things to come with four shutouts in July.
1995 — The Dodgers began with three rookies — pitchers Greg Hansell, Antonio Osuna, and outfielder Reggie Williams. But the most notable “rookie” made his Dodger debut in the team’s first week after a minor league dress rehearsal start at Single-A Bakersfield. Hideo Nomo, the first Japanese player in 30 years to play in the Majors after beginning in Japan’s professional leagues, won NL Rookie of the Year honors with a 13–6 record and 2.54 ERA in 28 starts and a league-leading 236 strikeouts.
