1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season

1988  Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Champions National League Champions National League West Champions
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Record	94–67 (.584)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Peter O'Malley
General managers	Fred Claire
Managers	Tommy Lasorda
Television	KTTV–TV 11 (Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Don Drysdale) Z Channel (Rick Monday, Tony Hernandez)
Radio	KABC–AM 790 (Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Don Drysdale) KWKW–AM 1330 (Jaime Jarrín, René Cárdenas)
←  1987 Seasons 1989  →

The 1988 season was a memorable one for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a squad that was picked to finish fourth wound up winning the World Series, beating the heavily favored New York Mets and Oakland Athletics along the way. Kirk Gibson carried the Dodger offense, winning the National League Most Valuable Player Award. Orel Hershiser dominated on the mound, throwing a record 59 consecutive scoreless innings on his way to winning the Cy Young Award.

Offseason

• December 11, 1987: Acquired Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco in a three-team deal with the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets for Bob Welch, Jack Savage and Matt Young
• January 29, 1988: Kirk Gibson was signed as a free agent. ^[1]
• April 1, 1988: Acquired John Gibbons from the New York Mets for Craig Shipley

With the sub-par 1987 performance fresh in their minds, General Manager Fred Claire and Field Manager Tom Lasorda knew what needed to be fixed. They started the off-season by allowing poor performers such as Glenn Hoffman, Ken Landreaux and Phil Garner explore the free agent market. On December 11, 1987, Claire pulled the trigger on a trade that helped solidify the Dodgers' defense and bullpen, despite giving up one of the top pitchers of the National League in 1987 in Bob Welch. The Dodgers acquired shortstop Alfredo Griffin and relief pitchers Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco in a three-team trade ironically with the Athletics and Mets, the two teams they would eventually defeat in the '88 postseason. In an attempt to boost the offense for the upcoming season, the Dodgers signed Mike Davis on December 15, 1987. The biggest move of the off-season was still to come.

On January 29, 1988, the Dodgers signed free agent slugger Kirk Gibson from the Detroit Tigers. Gibson, who was a 9-year veteran at the time of the signing, was known for his power at the plate and speed on the basepaths, but was also brought in to be a clubhouse leader. To help solidify their roster the Dodgers went on to sign 21-year veteran pitcher Don Sutton and 20-year veteran catcher Rick Dempsey. Dempsey, known for his fiery personality, joined Gibson as the veteran clubhouse leaders.

It was Gibson, however, who would make the biggest impact. Preparing for his first spring training game as a Dodger on March 3, 1988, Gibson began his pregame warm-ups in the outfield. Taking off his hat to wipe sweat from his head, Gibson noticed people laughing. He soon realized that someone (it turned out to be reliever Jesse Orosco) had greased the inside of his cap with eyeblack and he had unknowingly wiped it all over himself in full view of the fans who were in attendance. Gibson immediately left the field in anger and left the Dodgers' spring training complex, missing the game. The next day, manager Tommy Lasorda held a team meeting where Orosco apologized. The message was made clear, however: Gibson came to the Dodgers to win and was serious about it. ^[2]

Key players from the 1987 team were also brought back. These players included right fielder Mike Marshall, center fielder John Shelby, catcher Mike Scioscia, Second Baseman Steve Sax, Utilityman Mickey Hatcher, and pitchers Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, and Tim Leary.

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	94	67	.584	—	45‍–‍36	49‍–‍31
Cincinnati Reds	87	74	.540	7	45‍–‍35	42‍–‍39
San Diego Padres	83	78	.516	11	47‍–‍34	36‍–‍44
San Francisco Giants	83	79	.512	11½	45‍–‍36	38‍–‍43
Houston Astros	82	80	.506	12½	44‍–‍37	38‍–‍43
Atlanta Braves	54	106	.338	39½	28‍–‍51	26‍–‍55

Record vs. opponents

1988 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7	5–13	5–13	4–14	4–8	4–8	6–6	5–5	8–10	5–13	3–9
Chicago	7–5	—	6–6	7–5	4–8–1	9–9	9–9	8–10	7–11	8–4	5–7	7–11
Cincinnati	13–5	6–6	—	9–9	7–11	5–7	4–7	9–3	7–5	10–8	11–7	6–6
Houston	13–5	5–7	9–9	—	9–9	6–6	5–7	8–4	8–4	6–12	7–11	6–6
Los Angeles	14–4	8–4–1	11–7	9–9	—	8–4	1–10	11–1	6–6	7–11	12–6	7–5
Montreal	8–4	9–9	7–5	6–6	4–8	—	6–12	9–9–1	8–10	4–8	7–5	13–5
New York	8–4	9–9	7–4	7–5	10–1	12–6	—	10–8	12–6	7–5	4–8	14–4
Philadelphia	6-6	10–8	3–9	4–8	1–11	9–9–1	8–10	—	7–11	4–7	7–5	6–12
Pittsburgh	5–5	11–7	5–7	4–8	6–6	10–8	6–12	11–7	—	8–4	8–4	11–7
San Diego	10–8	4–8	8–10	12–6	11–7	8–4	5–7	7–4	4–8	—	8–10	6–6
San Francisco	13–5	7–5	7–11	11–7	6–12	5–7	8–4	5–7	4–8	10–8	—	7–5
St. Louis	9–3	11–7	6–6	6–6	5–7	5–13	4–14	12–6	7–11	6–6	5–7	—

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
#	Name	Position
3	Steve Sax	2B
7	Alfredo Griffin	SS
23	Kirk Gibson	LF
28	Pedro Guerrero	3B
5	Mike Marshall	1B
31	John Shelby	CF
37	Mike Davis	RF
14	Mike Scioscia	C
34	Fernando Valenzuela	P

^[3]

Roster

1988 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 49 Tim Belcher 46 William Brennan 52 Tim Crews 41 Brad Havens 55 Orel Hershiser 57 Shawn Hillegas 51 Brian Holton 29 Ricky Horton 50 Jay Howell 43 Ken Howell 41 Bill Krueger 54 Tim Leary 48 Ramón Martínez 47 Jesse Orosco 26 Alejandro Peña 20 Don Sutton 30 John Tudor 34 Fernando Valenzuela		Catchers 17 Rick Dempsey 15 Gilberto Reyes 14 Mike Scioscia Infielders 10 Dave Anderson  7 Alfredo Griffin 28 Pedro Guerrero 33 Jeff Hamilton  3 Steve Sax 27 Mike Sharperson 22 Franklin Stubbs 21 Tracy Woodson		Outfielders 37 Mike Davis 40 Mike Devereaux 23 Kirk Gibson 38 José González 45 Chris Gwynn  9 Mickey Hatcher 12 Danny Heep  5 Mike Marshall 31 John Shelby		Manager  2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches  8 Joey Amalfitano (third base) 58 Mark Cresse (bullpen) 13 Joe Ferguson (first base) 35 Ben Hines (hitting) 11 Manny Mota 16 Ron Perranoski (pitching) 18 Bill Russell (bench)

Starting 9

Hershiser

Scioscia

Stubbs

Sax

Hamilton

Griffin

Gibson

Shelby

Marshall

Notable transactions

• June 6, 1988: Raúl Mondesí was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers. ^[4]
• June 27, 1988: Mario Soto was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers. ^[5]
• August 10, 1988: Don Sutton was released by the Dodgers. ^[6]
• August 16, 1988: Acquired John Tudor from the St. Louis Cardinals for Pedro Guerrero
• August 30, 1988: Shawn Hillegas was traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Ricky Horton. ^[7]
• October 3, 1988: Acquired Jim Neidlinger from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Bill Krueger

Season summary

April

The Dodgers started the 1988 season at home against the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers opening day pitcher was Valenzuela. The opening day lineup featured Sax, Griffin, Gibson, Marshall, Shelby, Davis, Scioscia and third baseman Pedro Guerrero. The first pitch of the season, to Sax by Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky, was hit into the left field seats at Dodger Stadium. However, Valenzuela would then give up the lead and the Dodgers would eventually lose the game 5–1. The team would go on to win their next five games and finish April with a 13–7 record which included a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Hershiser finished the month of April with a 5–0 record.

May

The Dodgers went 14-13 during the month of May. As it had always been, May was one of the toughest months for the Dodgers. On May 21, 1988, Griffin was hit by a pitch from Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden on the hand. Griffin would miss over two months with a broken hand. This heated up the Dodger-Met rivalry which would last the remainder of the season. In fact, the next day, May 22, 1988, Mets starting pitcher David Cone hit Pedro Guerrero in the head in the 6th inning. As a show of disgust at what the Dodgers felt was headhunting by the Mets pitchers, Guerrero proceeded to stand up, throw his bat in Cone's direction and charge the mound. A benches clearing mêlée ensued and Guerrero and Lasorda were ejected from the game. Because Griffin had to be placed on the disabled list with a broken hand the Dodgers were left with a hole at shortstop, though they had a solid replacement in the form of veteran Dave Anderson. At times during May, the lead over the Astros neared five games. By the end of the month the Dodgers' lead in the NL West Division was only a half of a game over the Houston Astros.

June

The Dodgers had a solid month of June compiling a record of 17–9 over the month. Hershiser continued his successful year by finishing the month of June with a record of 12–3. Much of the Dodgers' success to this point in the season could be attributed to solid starting pitching from Hershiser, Leary and the emerging rookie Tim Belcher. However, the best pitchers of the Dodgers' pitching staff were those who came out of the bullpen. Orosco, Howell, Brian Holton and Alejandro Peña were all enjoying successful seasons. After a slow start in April, Gibson was now hitting .288 with 15 HR's, 40 RBI, 53 runs scored and 15 SB's.

August

The summer success continued for the Dodgers as they completed August with a 17–12 record. Don Sutton was released August 10 after GM Fred Claire discovered Sutton had informally discussed a possible front office job with the Houston Astros. Sutton was 3–6 with a 3.92 ERA at the time. Sutton did not sign with another team. His 233 career wins with the Dodgers remains the team record.

Dramatic summer moments

Many who have followed the Dodgers have pointed to a few moments during the months of July and August that got the season going in the right direction, keep the successes going and exemplified what the 1988 Dodgers were all about.

• July 6, 1988: Down 3–0 in the bottom of the 8th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers scored three runs then Anderson, Mike Sharperson and Sax loaded the bases. The Cardinals would bring in closer Todd Worrell in an attempt to snuff out the rally. However, first baseman Franklin Stubbs would drive a Worrell offering into the right field seats for a game winning grand slam.
• August 13, 1988: The Dodgers and Giants take the Dodger Stadium fans to the 11th inning with a tie. Guerrero starts the Dodgers side of the 11th inning with a fly ball to right that Giants outfielder Candy Maldonado loses in the lights. A passed ball allows Guerrero to go to second. However, Guerrero and Lasorda are then ejected from the game arguing that the Giants' pitcher had balked. Because of this, Stubbs had to pinch run for Guerrero leaving the Dodgers with no additional pinch hitters on their bench. When pitcher Alejandro Peña's batting spot comes around in the lineup they are forced to pinch hit for him with another pitcher, Tim Leary. Amazingly, Leary singled back up the middle and Stubbs scored giving the Dodgers the extra inning walk off win.
• A week after Leary's dramatic game-winning hit, the Dodgers had another walk off win. The Dodgers entered the bottom of the 9th inning at Dodger Stadium trailing the Montreal Expos 3–2. The Expos brought in Joe Hesketh to close out the game. After getting Sax out, Hesketh allowed Mickey Hatcher to double. Anderson ran for Hatcher and Kirk Gibson singled home Anderson. One out later with John Shelby at the plate, Gibson stole second base. With Shelby still at the plate, Hesketh threw a wild pitch through catcher Nelson Santovenia. Gibson advanced to third but did not stop there; the former linebacker kept going, charging toward the plate that was being covered by pitcher Hesketh. Santovenia threw back to Hesketh but Gibson beat the throw to the plate giving the Dodgers the win. Gibson later revealed that part of his reasoning for attempting to take home was that he knew Hesketh had suffered a broken leg earlier in his career and Gibson felt he would not be willing to risk a collision by stepping into the basepath to block off the plate.

September/October

Hershiser would begin a scoreless inning streak in September that he would eventually take to over 59 innings and pass Dodger legend Don Drysdale for the record for most consecutive scoreless innings. Hershiser would throw complete game shutouts against the Braves on September 5, the Reds on September 10, the Braves again on September 14, the Astros on September 19 and the Giants on September 23 to take him within 9 innings of Drysdale's record. Before Hershiser would get a chance to break the record the Dodgers needed to clinch the National League West Championship. Their chance came in San Diego on September 26. The San Diego Padres would take a 2–0 lead in the first inning, but the Dodgers would score 3 runs and win the game 3–2, clinching the division. Hershiser would get his next start on September 28 and he would pitch 10 scoreless innings against the Padres to break Drysdale's record.

Game log

Regular season Game log

1988 regular season game log: 94–67–1 (Home: 45–36; Away: 49–31–1) [8]
April: 13–7 (Home: 6–5; Away: 7–2) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 1 April 4 1:13 p.m. PDT Giants L 1–5 Dravecky (1–0) Valenzuela (0–1) – 2:24 48,484 0–1 L1 2 April 5 7:05 p.m. PDT Giants W 5–0 Hershiser (1–0) Downs (0–1) – 2:29 37,472 1–1 W1 3 April 7 4:41 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 5–2 Peña (1–0) Assenmaacher (0–1) Orosco (1) 3:11 5,257 2–1 W2 4 April 8 4:41 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 6–3 Leary (1–0) Coffman (0–1) Belcher (1) 2:27 10,723 3–1 W3 5 April 9 4:41 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 11–3 Valenzuela (1–1) Glavine (0–1) – 2:37 16,603 4–1 W4 6 April 10 11:07 a.m. PDT @ Braves W 3–1 Hershiser (2–0) Mahler (0–1) Orosco (2) 2:24 14,171 5–1 W5 7 April 12 7:25 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 3–5 Hawkins (1–1) Sutton (0–1) Davis (1) 3:02 52,395 5–2 L1 8 April 13 7:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres W 4–3 Howell (1–0) Show (0–2) Orosco (3) 2:51 16,838 6–2 W1 9 April 14 1:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 0–2 Jones (1–1) Valenzuela (1–2) McCullers (2) 2:45 24,096 6–3 L1 10 April 15 7:08 pm PDT Braves W 3–2 Hershiser (3–0) Glavine (0–2) – 2:27 41,222 7–3 W1 11 April 16 1:05 pm PDT Braves W 7–4 Belcher (1–0) Mahler (0–2) Peña (2) 2:40 27,114 8–3 W2 12 April 17 1:05 pm PDT Braves L 1–3 Smith (1–2) Sutton (0–2) – 2:21 46,484 8–4 L1 13 April 18 7:08 p.m. PDT Padres W 6–0 Leary (2–0) Show (0–3) – 3:00 24,357 9–4 W1 – April 19 Padres Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: June 17) – April 20 Padres Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: June 19) – April 21 Padres Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: September 21) – April 22 @ Giants Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: July 26) 14 April 23 12:25 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 10–3 Hershiser (4–0) Krukow (1–1) – 2:57 33,271 10–4 W2 15 April 24 1:05 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 4–0 Valenzuela (2–2) LaCoss (1–2) Howell (1) 2:50 39,092 11–4 W3 16 April 26 7:07 p.m. PDT Cubs L 3–7 Maddux (4–1) Leary (2–1) – 2:39 34,279 11–5 L1 17 April 27 7:07 p.m. PDT Cubs W 4–0 Sutton (1–2) Moyer (1–2) Peña (3) 2:42 29,462 12–5 W1 18 April 28 7:05 p.m. PDT Cubs L 1–5 Schiraldi (1–2) Belcher (1–1) DiPino (1) 3:05 29,509 12–6 L1 19 April 29 7:05 p.m. PDT Cardinals W 6–4 Hershiser (5–0) Cox (2–3) Howell (2) 2:40 44,301 13–6 W1 20 April 30 7:05 p.m. PDT Cardinals L 2–5 O'Neal (2–1) Valenzuela (2–3) McWilliams (1) 2:42 47,425 13–7 L1
May: 14–13 (Home: 6–7; Away: 8–6) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 21 May 1 1:05 p.m. PDT Cardinals L 0–9 Tudor (1–0) Leary (2–2) Terry (1) 2:47 46,176 13–8 L2 22 May 2 7:08 p.m. PDT Pirates W 6–3 Orosco (1–0) Drabek (3–2) – 3:16 26,821 14–8 W1 23 May 3 7:05 p.m. PDT Pirates W 14–6 Belcher (2–1) Dunne (1–1) – 3:03 26,943 15–8 W2 24 May 4 7:05 p.m. PDT Pirates W 8–5 Hershiser (6–0) Palacios (0–2) – 3:12 30,423 16–8 W3 25 May 6 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Cardinals W 10–2 Valenzuela (3–3) O'Neal (2–2) – 2:25 49,194 17–8 W4 26 May 7 5:05 p.m. PDT @ Cardinals L 1–2 Worrell (1–2) Orosco (1–1) – 2:28 46,159 17–9 L1 27 May 8 11:15 a.m. PDT @ Cardinals W 12–6 Sutton (2–2) DeLeón (2–3) – 2:46 40,098 18–9 W1 – May 9 @ Cubs Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: July 14) 28 May 10 11:20 a.m. PDT @ Cubs W 6–5 (14) Holton (1–0) Lancaster (1–3) Hershiser (1) 4:27 12,985 19–9 W2 29 May 11 4:05 p.m. PDT @ Pirates L 1–2 (11) Medvin (1–0) Peña (1–1) – 3:46 26,367 19–10 L1 30 May 12 4:05 p.m. PDT @ Pirates L 4–7 Smiley (3–2) Hershiser (6–1) – 2:29 11,072 19–11 L2 31 May 13 7:05 p.m. PDT Phillies L 1–2 Gross (3–1) Leary (2–3) Tekulve (2) 2:56 38,015 19–12 L3 32 May 14 7:05 p.m. PDT Phillies W 3–2 Sutton (3–2) Ruffin (3–3) Howell (3) 2:58 47,379 20–12 W1 33 May 15 1:05 p.m. PDT Phillies W 9–2 Belcher (3–1) Palmer (0–3) – 3:07 41,045 21–12 W2 34 May 17 7:10 p.m. PDT Expos L 5–6 Heaton (1–2) Valenzuela (3–4) Burke (5) 2:50 34,309 21–13 L1 35 May 18 7:05 p.m. PDT Expos L 0–3 Dopson (1–1) Hershiser (6–2) Burke (6) 2:55 27,775 21–14 L2 36 May 19 7:05 p.m. PDT Expos W 2–0 Leary (3–3) Martínez (3–6) – 2:36 25,283 22–14 W1 37 May 20 7:05 p.m. PDT Mets L 2–5 Fernandez (2–3) Sutton (3–3) Myers (6) 3:28 44,867 22–15 L1 38 May 21 7:05 p.m. PDT Mets L 0–4 Gooden (8–0) Belcher (3–12) 2:48 47,017 22–16 L2 39 May 22 1:08 p.m. PDT Mets L 2–5 Cone (6–0) Valenzuela (3–5) McDowell (5) 3:16 44,826 22–17 L3 40 May 24 2:55 p.m. PDT @ Phillies W 2–1 (12) Peña (2–1) Harris (0–1) Orosco (4) 3:46 17,759 23–17 W1 41 May 25 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Phillies W 4–0 Leary (4–3) Palmer (0–4) – 2:28 24,444 24–17 W2 42 May 26 4:37 p.m. PDT @ Phillies W 10–8 Howell (2–0) Bedrosian (0–1) – 3:14 19,361 25–17 W3 43 May 27 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Expos W 5–2 Orosco (2–1) McClure (1–2) Peña (3) 3:16 18,113 26–17 W4 44 May 28 10:35 a.m. PDT @ Expos L 2–3 (10) Parrett (4–1) Howell (2–1) – 2:58 15,320 26–18 L1 45 May 29 10:35 a.m. PDT @ Expos W 2–1 Hershiser (7–2) Dopson (1–2) – 2:24 35,311 27–18 W1 46 May 30 5:05 p.m. PDT @ Mets L 2–3 Darling (6–3) Leary (4–4) Myers (8) 2:50 42,096 27–19 L1 47 May 31 4:40 p.m. PDT @ Mets L 4–5 (11) Myers (3–0) Peña (2–2) 3:34 35,564 27–20 L2
June: 17–11 (Home: 9–6; Away: 8–5) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 48 June 1 5:02 p.m. PDT @ Mets W 4–3 Holton (2–0) Fernandez (2–5) Howell (4) 3:29 29,659 28–20 W1 49 June 3 7:35 p.m. PDT Reds W 13–5 Crews (1–0) Rasmussen (2–6) – 3:28 45,242 29–20 W2 50 June 4 12:28 p.m. PDT Reds L 2–5 Rijo (6–1) Hershiser (7–3) – 3:10 32,550 29–21 L1 51 June 5 1:06 p.m. PDT Reds W 5–4 Leary (5–4) Soto (3–5) Howell (5) 2:47 38,982 30–21 W1 52 June 6 5:13 p.m. PDT Astros L 4–10 Knepper (7–1) Peña (2–3) Andersen (2) 3:32 19,327 30–22 L1 53 June 7 7:35 p.m. PDT Astros L 2–5 Darwin (3–4) Belcher (3–3) – 3:01 25,509 30–23 L2 54 June 8 7:40 p.m. PDT Astros W 11–1 Valenzuela (4–5) Scott (6–2) 2:23 33,737 31–23 W1 55 June 9 1:05 p.m. PDT Astros W 4–2 Hershiser (8–3) Ryan (5–4) Howell (6) 2:53 25,959 32–23 W2 56 June 10 7:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 3–4 McCullers (1–4) Howell (2–2) – 2:46 19,859 32–24 L1 57 June 11 7:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 1–2 Rasmussen (3–6) Sutton (3–4) – 2:07 26,068 32–25 L2 58 June 12 1:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 2–5 Whitson (6–5) Belcher (3–4) Davis (9) 2:14 21,533 32–26 L3 59 June 14 4:40 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 5–4 Valenzuela (5–5) Smith (1–7) Howell (7) 2:46 11,136 33–26 W1 60 June 15 4:40 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 7–5 Hershiser (9–3) Glavine (3–7) Peña (4) 2:50 10,154 34–26 W2 61 June 16 2:40 p.m. PDT @ Braves L 2–9 Smith (3–3) K. Howell (0–1) – 2:27 9,666 34–27 L1 62 (1) June 17 4:08 p.m. PDT Padres L 4–7 Whitson (7–5) Leary (5–5) Davis (11) 2:36 – 34–28 L2 63 (2) June 17 7:20 p.m. PDT Padres L 3–4 Rasmussen (4–6) Holton (2–1) McCullers (6) 3:07 33,649 34–29 L3 64 June 18 1:09 p.m. PDT Padres W 3–0 Belcher (4–4) Show (5–7) Howell (8) 2:44 37,743 35–29 W1 65 (1) June 19 1:06 p.m. PDT Padres W 12–2 Hershiser (10–3) Jones (5–6) – 2:17 – 36–29 W2 66 (2) June 19 3:59 p.m. PDT Padres W 5–4 (1) Crews (2–0) Davis (2–4) – 3:28 37,045 37–29 W3 67 June 20 7:38 p.m. PDT Braves W 7–3 Hillegas (1–0) Glavine (3–8) Peña (5) 2:43 43,268 38–29 W4 68 June 21 7:35 p.m. PDT Braves W 2–1 Leary (6–5) Smith (3–4) – 2:09 18,485 39–29 W5 69 June 22 7:35 p.m. PDT Braves L 1–4 Mahler (8–6) Sutton (3–5) – 2:29 27,878 39–30 L1 70 June 24 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Reds W 5–3 Hershiser (11–3) Robinson (3–6) Belcher (2) 2:52 33,781 40–30 W1 71 June 25 4:06 p.m. PDT @ Reds W 6–4 Holton (3–1) Rijo (8–3) Orosco (5) 2:59 35,470 41–30 W2 72 June 26 11:15 a.m. PDT @ Reds W 9–6 Belcher (5–4) Franco (1–5) Holton (1) 3:05 29,520 42–30 W3 73 June 27 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros W 4–0 Hillegas (2–0) Andújar (0–3) Peña (6) 2:47 27,185 43–30 W4 74 June 28 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros L 3–4 Knepper (8–1) Holton (3–2) Agosto (1) 2:34 28,838 43–31 L1 75 June 29 11:35 a.m. PDT @ Astros W 2–0 Hershiser (12–3) Ryan (5–6) – 2:32 27,678 44–31 W1
July: 16–12–1 (Home: 5–7; Away: 11–5–1) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 76 July 1 7:37 p.m. PDT Cubs L 2–9 Moyer (5–7) Valenzuela (5–6) – 3:09 42,763 44–32 L1 77 July 2 7:07 p.m. PDT Cubs W 8–1 Leary (7–5) Pico (3–3) – 2:55 44,166 45–32 W1 78 July 3 1:05 p.m. PDT Cubs L 1–2 Sufcliffe (7–5) Hillegas (2–1) Lancaster (4) 2:44 43,209 45–33 L1 79 July 4 5:10 p.m. PDT Cardinals W 5–3 Peña (3–3) Tudor (4–3) Belcher (3) 2:48 44,855 46–33 W1 80 July 5 7:35 p.m. PDT Cardinals W 6–3 Hershiser (13–3) Cox (2–4) Belcher (4) 2:24 32,495 47–33 W2 81 July 6 7:37 p.m. PDT Cardinals W 7–3 Crews (3–0) Worrell (4–5) – 2:45 37,210 48–33 W3 82 July 8 7:35 p.m. PDT Pirates L 3–4 Drabek (6–5) Leary (7–6) Gott (11) 3:15 40,690 48–34 L1 83 July 9 7:05 p.m. PDT Pirates L 2–8 Dunne (6–7) Hillegas (2–2) – 3:14 46,662 48–35 L2 84 July 10 1:08 p.m. PDT Pirates L 2–7 Walk (10–4) Hershiser (13–4) – 2:24 43,014 48–36 L3 59th All-Star Game in Cincinnati, OH 85 (1) July 14 10:05 a.m. PDT @ Cubs W 1–0 Leary (8–6) Sufcliffe (7–7) Peña (7) 2:49 – 49–36 W1 86 (2) July 14 1:59 p.m. PDT @ Cubs W 6–3 Holton (4–2) Schiraldi (4–8) Howell (9) 2:49 34,031 50–36 W2 87 July 15 1:05 p.m. PDT @ Cubs W 3–2 (10) Peña (4–3) Nipper (1–3) Orosco (6) 2:49 32,179 51–36 W3 88 July 16 10:20 a.m. PDT @ Cubs T 2–2 (9) – – – 2:22 32,843 51–36–1 T1 89 (1) July 17 10:20 a.m. PDT @ Cubs W 4–1 Belcher (6–4) Pico (3–5) Peña (8) 2:52 – 52–36–1 W1 90 (2) July 17 1:47 p.m. PDT @ Cubs W 5–2 Holton (5–2) Lancaster (4–5) Howell (10) 2:42 35,138 53–36–1 W2 91 July 18 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Cardinals W 1–0 Leary (9–6) Worrell (4–7) – 2:34 29,358 54–36–1 W3 92 July 19 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Cardinals L 2–3 DeLeón (6–7) Brennan (0–1) Worrell (17) 2:47 34,606 54–37–1 L1 93 July 20 10:35 a.m. PDT @ Cardinals L 7–8 Costello (3–0) Valenzuela (5–7) Worrell (18) 3:20 31,845 54–38–1 L2 94 July 21 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Pirates L 2–3 Drabek (8–5) Hershiser (13–5) Gott (15) 2:42 27,510 54–39–1 L3 95 July 22 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Pirates W 4–2 Belcher (7–4) Dunne (6–8) Howell (11) 3:06 44,888 55–39–1 W1 96 July 23 4:37 p.m. PDT @ Pirates W 6–2 Leary (10–6) Smiley (9–6) – 2:46 35,817 56–39–1 W2 97 July 24 10:36 a.m. PDT @ Pirates W 2–1 Hillegas (3–2) Fisher (6–7) Howell (12) 3:00 35,677 57–39–1 W3 98 July 25 5:17 p.m. PDT @ Giants L 1–3 Downs (10–8) Valenzuela (5–8) – 2:50 29,947 57–40–1 L1 99 (1) July 26 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 7–3 Hershiser (14–5) Mulholland (2–1) Howell (13) 2:57 – 58–40–1 W1 100 (2) July 26 9:10 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 6–5 (11) Holton (6–2) Garrelts (2–1) – 4:13 49,209 59–40–1 W2 101 July 27 7:35 p.m. PDT @ Giants L 1–2 (10) Price (1–4) Leary (10–7) – 2:51 34,168 59–41–1 L1 102 July 29 7:37 p.m. PDT Astros L 1–3 Scott (10–3) Hillegas (3–3) – 2:17 48,268 59–42–1 L2 103 July 30 12:22 p.m. PDT Astros L 6–14 Darwin (4–9) Holton (6–3) – 3:12 35,835 59–43–1 L3 104 July 31 1:05 p.m. PDT Astros W 6–1 Hershiser (15–5) Deshaies (7–8) – 2:28 44,811 60–43–1 W1
August: 17–12 (Home: 10–6; Away: 7–6) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 105 August 1 5:14 p.m. PDT Reds L 3–4 Jackson (14–5) Peña (4–4) Murphy (2) 2:58 45,498 60–44–1 L1 106 August 2 7:00 p.m. PDT Reds W 2–0 Leary (11–7) Rijo (11–6) – 2:20 44,091 61–44–1 W1 107 August 3 7:36 p.m. PDT Reds L 4–7 (11) Franco (3–5) Peña (4–5) Murphy (3) 3:12 41,535 61–45–1 L1 108 August 5 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros L 4–6 Deshaies (8–8) Hershiser (15–6) Smith (20) 2:59 43,426 61–46–1 L1 109 August 6 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros W 5–3 Belcher (8–4) Ryan (8–9) Howell (14) 2:48 43,521 62–46–1 W1 110 August 7 11:35 a.m. PDT @ Astros L 2–4 Knepper (12–3) Leary (11–8) Agosto (3) 2:48 40,339 62–47–1 L1 111 August 8 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros L 0–10 Scott (12–3) Hillegas (3–4) – 2:53 39,786 62–48–1 L2 112 August 9 5:09 p.m. PDT @ Reds L 0–6 Jackson (15–5) Sutton (3–6) – 2:17 32,824 62–49–1 L3 113 August 10 4:36 p.m. PDT @ Reds W 8–5 Hershiser (16–6) Rijo (11–8) – 3:06 30,809 63–49–1 W1 114 August 11 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Reds L 8–9 (10) Franco (4–5) Howell (2–3) – 3:51 30,695 63–50–1 L1 115 August 12 7:38 p.m. PDT Giants W 7–3 Leary (12–8) Reuschel (15–6) Peña (9) 3:19 48,744 64–50–1 W1 116 August 13 7:10 p.m. PDT Giants W 2–1 (11) Peña (5–5) Price (1–5) – 4:12 47,649 65–50–1 W2 117 August 14 1:08 p.m. PDT Giants L 4–15 Downs (12–9) Hershiser (16–7) Brantley (1) 3:17 45,502 65–51–1 L1 118 August 15 7:35 p.m. PDT Giants W 1–0 Belcher (9–4) Robinson (4–3) Orosco (7) 2:37 49,306 66–51–1 W1 119 August 16 7:30 p.m. PDT Phillies W 7–5 Leary (13–8) Carman (9–7) Howell (15) 2:50 32,482 67–51–1 W2 120 August 17 7:38 pm PDT Phillies W 7–2 Tudor (7–5) Maddux (3–3) – 2:36 42,701 68–51–1 W3 121 August 18 1:05 pm PDT Phillies W 2–1 Howell (3–3) Gross (11–9) Orosco (8) 3:23 34,467 69–51–1 W4 122 August 19 7:37 p.m. PDT Expos W 2–0 Hershiser (17–7) Martínez (14–9) – 2:15 36,217 70–51–1 W5 123 August 20 7:35 p.m. PDT Expos W 4–3 Howell (4–3) Hesketh (3–2) – 2:41 46,743 71–51–1 W6 124 August 21 1:05 p.m. PDT Expos W 4–0 Leary (14–8) Heaton (3–9) – 2:18 39,505 72–51–1 W7 125 August 22 7:35 p.m. PDT Mets L 1–7 Gooden (15–6) Tudur (7–6) – 2:43 49,342 72–52–1 L1 126 August 23 7:38 p.m. PDT Mets L 1–5 Cone (13–3) Martínez (0–1) Myers (18) 3:07 45,512 72–53–1 L2 127 August 24 7:38 p.m. PDT Mets L 1–2 Leach (6–1) Hershiser (17–8) McDowell (14) 2:40 47,115 72–54–1 L3 128 August 26 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Phillies W 7–2 Belcher (10–4) Freeman (0–2) – 2:53 27,533 73–54–1 W1 129 August 27 4:06 p.m. PDT @ Phillies W 4–2 Leary (15–8) Carman (9–9) Howell (16) 3:03 27,324 74–54–1 W2 130 August 28 10:35 a.m. PDT @ Phillies W 5–0 Tudor (8–6) Gross (11–11) – 2:54 28,570 75–54–1 W3 131 August 29 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Expos W 2–1 Martínez (1–1) Martínez (15–10) Howell (17) 2:37 16,002 76–54–1 W4 132 August 30 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Expos W 4–2 Hershiser (18–8) Holman (2–6) – 2:23 21,454 77–54–1 W5 133 August 31 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Expos L 3–4 Parrett (11–3) Peña (5–6) – 2:41 12,068 77–55–1 L1
September: 16–11 (Home: 6–5; Away: 7–2) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 134 September 2 4:35 p.m. PDT @ Mets L 0–8 Darling (15–9) Leary (14–9) – 2:28 44,889 77–56–1 L2 135 September 3 11:30 a.m. PDT @ Mets L 1–2 Gooden (16–6) Tudor (8–7) Myers (21) 2:42 43,896 77–57–1 L3 – September 4 @ Mets Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: No rescheduling) 136 September 5 4:40 p.m. PDT @ Braves W 3–0 Hershiser (19–8) Mahler (9–13) – 2:24 10,768 78–57–1 W1 137 September 6 11:42 a.m. PDT @ Braves L 1–2 Assenmaacher (7–6) Orosco (2–2) Sutter (13) 2:46 7,245 78–58–1 L1 138 September 7 7:38 p.m. PDT Astros W 4–1 Leary (15–9) Scott (13–6) Howell (18) 3:03 35,874 79–58–1 W1 139 September 8 7:38 p.m. PDT Astros L 1–2 Ryan (11–11) Tudor (8–8) – 2:40 36,504 79–59–1 L1 140 September 9 7:39 p.m. PDT Reds L 2–5 Jackson (21–6) Martínez (1–2) – 2:53 42,557 79–60–1 L2 141 September 10 7:05 p.m. PDT Reds W 5–0 Hershiser (20–8) Charlton (1–4) – 2:31 42,393 80–60–1 W1 142 September 11 1:05 p.m. PDT Reds W 5–3 Crews (4–0) Franco (5–6) – 2:55 40,635 81–60–1 W2 143 September 12 7:35 p.m. PDT Braves W 5–4 Leary (17–9) Glavine (6–16) Peña (10) 2:24 24,578 82–60–1 W3 144 September 13 7:38 p.m. PDT Braves W 2–0 Tudor (9–8) Smoltz (2–5) Howell (19) 2:37 22,758 83–60–1 W4 145 September 14 7:37 p.m. PDT Braves W 1–0 Hershiser (21–8) Mahler (9–15) – 2:15 42,434 84–60–1 W5 146 September 16 7:02 p.m. PDT @ Reds L 0–1 Browning (16–5) Belcher (10–5) – 1:51 16,591 84–61–1 L1 147 September 17 4:06 p.m. PDT @ Reds W 4–3 Orosco (3–2) Murphy (0–6) Howell (20) 3:09 31,328 85–61–1 W1 148 September 18 10:00 a.m. PDT @ Reds W 2–0 Tudor (10–8) Williams (3–2) Peña (11) 2:39 24,156 86–61–1 W2 149 September 19 5:35 p.m. PDT @ Astros W 1–0 Hershiser (22–8) Darwin (7–12) – 2:20 16,173 87–61–1 W3 150 September 20 2:00 p.m. PDT @ Astros W 6–0 Belcher (11–5) Forsch (10–6) – 2:28 12,291 88–61–1 W4 151 (1) September 21 5:05 p.m. PDT Padres L 3–9 Rasmussen (15–9) Martínez (1–3) – 2:44 – 88–62–1 L1 152 (2) September 21 8:25 p.m. PDT Padres W 6–5 (10) Howell (5–3) Davis (5–10) – 3:29 31,120 89–62–1 W1 153 September 22 7:35 p.m. PDT Padres L 4–5 Show (15–11) Peña (5–7) – 2:45 30,074 89–63–1 L1 154 September 23 7:39 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 3–0 Hershiser (23–8) Hammaker (8–9) – 2:38 22,341 90–63–1 W1 155 September 24 1:05 p.m. PDT @ Giants W 7–3 Horton (1–0) Wilson (0–2) Orosco (9) 3:03 34,214 91–63–1 W2 156 September 25 1:00 p.m. PDT @ Giants L 0–2 Cook (2–0) Belcher (11–6) – 2:25 40,743 91–64–1 L1 157 September 26 7:07 p.m PDT @ Padres W 3–2 Peña (6–7) Rasmussen (15–10) Howell (21) 2:53 18,552 92–64–1 W1 158 September 27 7:05 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 4–8 Show (16–11) Leary (17–10) – 2:39 13,325 92–65–1 L1 159 September 28 7:10 p.m. PDT @ Padres L 1–2 (16) Leiper (3–0) Horton (1–1) – 4:24 22,596 92–66–1 L2 160 September 30 7:35 p.m. PDT Giants W 6–4 Holton (7–3) Cook (2–1) Peña (12) 2:56 42,580 93–66–1 W1
October: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Away: 0–0) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Record Box Streak 161 October 1 1:07 p.m. PDT Giants W 2–1 Belcher (12–6) Reuschel (19–11) Valenzuela (1) 2:09 33,951 94–66–1 W2 162 October 2 1:09 p.m. PDT Giants L 0–1 Robinson (10–5) Leary (17–11) – 2:31 44,055 94–67–1 L1
Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Dodgers team member

Postseason Game log

1988 Postseason Game Log: 8–4 (Home: 4–2; Away: 4–2)
NL Championship Series: vs. New York Mets 4–3 (Home: 2–2; Away: 2–1) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box Streak 1 October 4 5:28 p.m. PDT Mets L 2–3 Myers (1–0) Howell (0–1) – 2:45 55,582 NY 1–0 L1 2 October 5 7:08 p.m. PDT Mets W 6–3 Belcher (1–0) Cone (0–1) Peña (1) 3:10 55,780 Tied 1–1 W1 – October 7 @ Mets Postponed (Rain)(Makeup date: October 8) 3 October 8 9:20 a.m. PDT @ Mets L 4–8 Myers (2–0) Peña (0–1) – 3:44 44,672 NY 2–1 L1 4 October 9 5:22 p.m. PDT @ Mets W 5–4 (12) Peña (1–1) McDowell (0-1) Hershiser (1) 4:29 54,014 Tied 2–2 W1 5 October 10 9:00 a.m. PDT @ Mets W 7–4 Belcher (2–0) Fernandez (0–1) Holton (1) 3:07 52,069 LA 3–2 W2 6 October 11 5:22 p.m. PDT Mets L 1–5 Cone (1–1) Leary (0–1) – 3:16 55,885 Tied 3–3 L1 7 October 12 5:22 p.m. PDT Mets W 6–0 Hershiser (1–0) Darling (0–1) – 2:51 55,693 LA 4–3 W1
World Series: vs. Oakland Athletics 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Away: 2–1) # Date Time (PT) Opponent Score Win Loss Save Time of Game Attendance Series Box Streak 1 October 15 5:30 p.m. PDT Athletics W 5–4 Peña (1–0) Eckersley (0–1) – 3:04 55,983 LA 1–0 W1 2 October 16 5:25 p.m. PDT Athletics W 6–0 Hershiser (1–0) Davis (0–1) – 2:30 56,051 LA 2–0 W2 3 October 18 5:30 p.m. PDT @ Athletics L 1–2 Honeycutt (1–0) Howell (0–1) – 3:21 49,316 LA 2–1 L1 4 October 19 5:25 p.m. PDT @ Athletics W 4–3 Belcher (1–0) Stewart (0–1) Howell (1) 3:05 49,317 LA 3–1 W1 5 October 20 5:39 p.m. PDT @ Athletics W 5–2 Hershiser (2–0) Davis (0–2) – 2:51 49,317 LA 4–1 W2
Legend:       = Win       = Loss       = Postponement Bold = Dodgers team member

Player stats

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	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Mike Scioscia	130	408	29	105	.257	3	35	0
1B	Franklin Stubbs	115	242	30	54	.223	8	34	11
2B	Steve Sax	160	632	70	175	.277	5	57	42
3B	Jeff Hamilton	111	309	34	73	.236	6	33	0
SS	Alfredo Griffin	95	316	39	63	.199	1	27	7
LF	Kirk Gibson	150	542	106	157	.290	25	76	31
CF	John Shelby	140	494	65	130	.263	10	64	16
RF	Mike Marshall	144	542	63	150	.277	20	82	4

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Dave Anderson	116	285	31	71	.249	2	20	4
Mike Davis	108	281	29	55	.196	2	17	7
Pedro Guerrero	59	215	24	64	.298	5	35	2
Mickey Hatcher	88	191	22	56	.293	1	25	0
Tracy Woodson	65	173	15	43	.249	3	15	1
Rick Dempsey	77	167	25	42	.251	7	30	1
Danny Heep	95	149	14	36	.242	0	11	2
Mike Sharperson	46	59	8	16	.271	0	4	0
Mike Devereaux	30	43	4	5	.116	0	2	0
José González	37	24	7	2	.083	0	0	3
Chris Gwynn	12	11	1	2	.182	0	0	0
Gilberto Reyes	5	9	1	1	.111	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO	CG
Orel Hershiser	35	34	267.0	23	8	2.26	73	178	15
Tim Leary	35	35	228.2	17	11	2.91	56	180	9
Tim Belcher	36	27	179.2	12	6	2.91	51	152	4
Fernando Valenzuela	23	22	142.1	5	8	4.24	76	64	3
Don Sutton	16	16	87.1	3	6	3.92	30	44	0
Shawn Hillegas	11	10	56.2	3	4	4.13	17	30	0
John Tudor	9	9	52.1	4	3	2.41	10	32	1
Bill Krueger	1	1	2.1	0	0	11.57	2	1	0

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
Ramón Martínez	9	35.2	1	3	3.79	23
Ken Howell	4	12.2	0	1	6.39	12
William Brennan	4	9.1	0	1	6.75	7

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	BB	SO
Jay Howell	50	65.0	5	3	21	2.08	21	70
Alejandro Peña	60	94.1	6	7	12	1.91	27	83
Jesse Orosco	55	53.0	3	2	9	2.72	30	43
Brian Holton	45	84.2	7	3	1	1.70	26	49
Tim Crews	42	71.2	4	0	0	3.14	16	45
Brad Havens	9	9.2	0	0	0	4.66	4	8
Ricky Horton	12	9.0	1	1	0	5.00	2	8

Playoffs

National League Championship Series

Main article: 1988 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers faced the New York Mets in the LCS. The Mets had dominated the Dodgers during the regular season, winning 10 out of 11 meetings and were heavy favorites going into the series. But the Dodgers, led by series MVP Orel Hershiser (who pitched a complete game shutout in game 7) won the series 4 games to 3.

World Series

Main article: 1988 World Series

The Dodgers were again heavy underdogs in the World Series against the Oakland Athletics, led by sluggers Mark McGwire and José Canseco. However, the Dodgers won the series in five games thanks to Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit game winning homer in the first game off of Dennis Eckersley and the continued mastery of series MVP Orel Hershiser.

Awards

• 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Orel Hershiser reserve
• National League Most Valuable Player Award
  • Kirk Gibson
• Cy Young Award
  • Orel Hershiser
• Manager of the Year Award
  • Tommy Lasorda
• National League Championship MVP
  • Orel Hershiser
• World Series Most Valuable Player
  • Orel Hershiser
• Gold Glove Award
  • Orel Hershiser
• Comeback Player of the Year Award
  • Tim Leary
• Baseball Digest Rookie All-Star
  • Tim Belcher
• TSN Manager of the Year Award
  • Tommy Lasorda
• TSN Executive of the Year Award
  • Fred Claire
• TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award
  • Tim Belcher
• TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
  • Orel Hershiser
• Silver Slugger Award
  • Tim Leary
  • Kirk Gibson
• TSN Major League Player of the Year Award
  • Orel Hershiser
• TSN National League All-Star
  • Orel Hershiser
• NL Pitcher of the Month
  • Orel Hershiser (April 1988)
  • Orel Hershiser (September 1988)
• NL Player of the Week
  • Tim Leary (July 18–24)
  • Orel Hershiser (Sep. 26-Oct.2)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	Terry Collins
AA	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	Kevin Kennedy
High A	Bakersfield Dodgers	California League	Gary LaRocque
High A	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	John Shoemaker
A-Short Season	Salem Dodgers	Northwest League	Tom Beyers
Rookie	Great Falls Dodgers	Pioneer League	Tim Johnson
Rookie	Gulf Coast Dodgers	Gulf Coast League	Joe Alvarez

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball Draft

Main article: 1988 Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers drafted 62 players in this draft. Of those, 11 of them would eventually play Major League baseball. The Dodgers lost their second round pick to the Oakland Athletics as compensation for their signing free agent outfielder Mike Davis.

The top pick in the draft was Pitcher Bill Bene out of California State University, Los Angeles. In nine seasons in the Minors he had a record of 18–34 with a 5.45 ERA in 252 games (49 starts). In 2012, he was arrested and sentenced to six months in prison for operating a counterfeit karaoke business and failing to pay federal taxes. ^[9]

This draft produced two of the Dodgers top players of the 1990s. In the sixth round they selected first baseman Eric Karros from UCLA. The 1992 Rookie of the Year and a 1995 Silver Slugger Award winner, Karros hit .268 with 284 homers and 1,027 RBI in 14 seasons (12 of them with the Dodgers) and is the L.A. Dodgers all-time home run leader.

In the 62nd round with their last pick of the draft the Dodgers selected Mike Piazza from Miami Dade College as a favor to his god-father, manager Tommy Lasorda. Piazza would win the 1993 Rookie of the Year Award and was a 12 time All-Star and 10 time Silver Slugger Award winner in his 16 seasons (mostly with the Dodgers and New York Mets). He hit .308 with 427 home runs and 1,335 RBI.

1988 Draft Picks

[10] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Bill Bene RHP California State University, Los Angeles Yes 1988–1997 AAA 3 Billy Ashley OF Belleville High School Yes 1988–2001 MLB 4 Anthony Collier OF Muir High School Yes 1988–1993 AA 5 Paul Branconier RHP Covina High School Yes 1988–1991 A 6 Eric Karros 1B University of California, Los Angeles Yes 1988–2004 MLB 7 Jeff Hartsock RHP North Carolina State University Yes 1988–1994 MLB 8 Scott Erwin RHP Georgia Institute of Technology No Athletics-1989 1989–1994 AA 9 Jim Poole LHP Georgia Institute of Technology Yes 1988–2000 MLB 10 Eddie Pye SS Middle Tennessee State University Yes 1988–1997 MLB 11 Brock McMurray OF Southeastern Louisiana University Yes 1988–1992 A+ 12 Jerry Brooks OF Clemson University Yes 1988–1990 MLB 13 Christian Morrow OF Skyline Junior College Yes 1988–1995 AAA 14 Dana Allison LHP James Madison University No Athletics-1989 1989–1994 MLB 15 Larry Rice C Oregon State University Yes 1988–1996 AAA 16 Brian Traxler 1B University of New Orleans Yes 1988–2000 MLB 17 Michael Chiusano C Nazareth High School Yes 1988–1989 Rookie 18 Coleman Smith OF Conestoga Valley High School No Cubs-1992 1992–1994 A 19 James Wray LHP Troy University Yes 1988–1996 AA 20 Sean McKamie SS St. Paul Central High School Yes 1989–1997 AA 21 Steven Finken SS University of Michigan Yes 1988–1992 AAA 22 Michael St. Esteben LHP Chino High School No 23 William Wengert RHP Iowa State University Yes 1988–1995 AAA 24 Roderick Harvell OF Fairfield High School Yes 1988–1989 Rookie 25 Michael Sampson RHP Holyoke Community College Yes 1988–1991 A+ 26 Ernest Carr 3B Jacksonville University Yes 1988–1990 A 27 Mike Munson RHP University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign No 28 Eric Ganino C Fontana High School Yes 1988–1989 Rookie 29 John Braase RHP College of Idaho Yes 1988–1990 A+ 30 Sean Snedeker RHP Texas A&M University Yes 1988–1993 AA 31 Clayton Enno LHP Des Moines Area Community College Yes 1988–1990 A+ 32 Bryan Beals 2B Chapman University Yes 1988–1990 A+ 33 Cameron Biberdorf RHP Mayville State University Yes 1988–1991 AA 34 Napoleon Robinson RHP Columbus State University Yes 1988–1993 AAA 35 Héctor Ortiz C Ranger College Yes 1988–2005 MLB 36 Jeff Castillo RHP Mesa State College Yes 1988 Rookie 37 Bradley Boggetto RHP Parkland College Yes 1989–1991 A- 38 Wendell Zink 3B Dixie State College of Utah Yes 1988 A- 39 K. G. White OF Georgia Institute of Technology Yes 1988–1989 A 40 Felix Rios 3B George Fox University No 41 Todd Reische C Minooka High School No 42 Eric Blackwell OF Spartanburg Methodist College Yes 1989–1991 A+ 43 Garey Ingram C Columbus High School No Dodgers-1989 1990–2002 MLB 44 Brent Miller 3B Jordan High School No Orioles-1990 1990–1994 AAA 45 Bradley Cohen OF Starkville High School No 46 Wilfred Brown SS Lurleen B. Wallace Community College No 47 Garrett Beard OF Spartanburg Methodist College Yes 1989–1995 AAA 48 Terry Miller OF Compton Community College No 49 Deon Montgomery SS Compton Community College No 50 Jose Fernandez OF City College of San Francisco No 51 Daniel Hancock RHP Bremen High School No 52 Gaither Bagsby RHP Dickson County High School No 53 Michael Emmons RHP Pensacola Junior College No 54 Shannon Zerlang OF College of the Redwoods No 55 Craig Thomas OF Northside High School No 56 Dan Frye SS Logansport High School No Reds-1992 1992–1995 A+ 57 Dennis Frye 1B Logansport High School No 58 Mike Vdovkin RHP Merced High School No 59 Chris Harding OF Louisburg College No 60 Robert Hoffman C J. F. Kennedy High School No Dodgers-1989 1990 Rookie 61 Eric Boddie OF Creighton University Yes 1988–1990 A+ 62 Mike Piazza 1B Miami Dade College Yes 1989–2007 MLB

See also

• Orel Hershiser's scoreless innings streak

References

1. "Kirk Gibson Stats".
2. "Gibson Returns, Isn't Amused : Orosco Apologizes After Admitting He Blackened Cap". Los Angeles Times . March 5, 1988.
3. 1988 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
4. Raúl Mondesí page at Baseball Reference
5. Mario Soto page at Baseball Reference
6. Don Sutton page at Baseball Reference
7. Shawn Hillegas page at Baseball Reference
8. "1988 Los Angeles Dodgers schedule and results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
9. "Ex-Dodgers pitcher Bill Bene gets 6 months in jail for dodging taxes". LA Daily News. September 23, 2012. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
10. 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft

External links

• 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site
• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page