1977 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers season saw Tommy Lasorda in his first full season at the helm of the Dodgers, replacing longtime manager Walter Alston as manager of the team near the end of the previous season. The Dodgers won the National League West by 10 games and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the NLCS, then lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. This edition of the Dodgers featured the first quartet of teammates that hit 30 or more home runs: Steve Garvey with 33, Reggie Smith with 32, and Dusty Baker and Ron Cey, who both hit 30. The Dodgers duplicated this feat again 20 years later in 1997.

1977 Los Angeles Dodgers
National League champions National League West champions
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Record	98–64 (.605)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Walter O'Malley
President	Peter O'Malley
General managers	Al Campanis
Managers	Tommy Lasorda
Television	KTTV (11)
Radio	KABC Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter XEGM Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos
← 1976 Seasons 1978 →

Offseason

• December 20, 1976: Ted Sizemore was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Johnny Oates and a player to be named later. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Quincy Hill (minors) to the Dodgers on January 4, 1977.^[1]
• January 11, 1977: Bill Buckner, Iván DeJesús and Jeff Albert (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Rick Monday and Mike Garman.^[2]
• February 7, 1977: Rick Auerbach was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Hank Webb and Richard Sander (minors).^[3]

Regular season

Walter Alston's number 24 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Los Angeles Dodgers	98	64	.605	—	51‍–‍30	47‍–‍34
Cincinnati Reds	88	74	.543	10	48‍–‍33	40‍–‍41
Houston Astros	81	81	.500	17	46‍–‍35	35‍–‍46
San Francisco Giants	75	87	.463	23	38‍–‍43	37‍–‍44
San Diego Padres	69	93	.426	29	35‍–‍46	34‍–‍47
Atlanta Braves	61	101	.377	37	40‍–‍41	21‍–‍60

Record vs. opponents

1977 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	5–7	4–14	9–9	5–13	6–6	7–5	2–10	3–9	11–7	8–10	1–11
Chicago	7–5	—	7–5	6–6	6–6	10–8	9–9	6–12	7–11	7–5	9–3	7–11
Cincinnati	14–4	5–7	—	5–13	10–8	7–5	10–2	8–4	3–9	11–7	10–8	5–7
Houston	9–9	6–6	13–5	—	9–9	8–4	6–6	4–8	4–8	8–10	9–9	5–7
Los Angeles	13–5	6–6	8–10	9–9	—	7–5	8–4	6–6	9–3	12–6	14–4	6–6
Montreal	6–6	8–10	5–7	4–8	5–7	—	10–8	7–11	7–11	5–7	6–6	12–6
New York	5–7	9–9	2–10	6–6	4–8	8–10	—	5–13	4–14	6–6	7–5	8–10
Philadelphia	10-2	12–6	4–8	8–4	6–6	11–7	13–5	—	8–10	9–3	9–3	11–7
Pittsburgh	9–3	11–7	9–3	8–4	3–9	11–7	14–4	10–8	—	10–2	2–10	9–9
San Diego	7–11	5–7	7–11	10–8	6–12	7–5	6–6	3–9	2–10	—	8–10	8–4
San Francisco	10–8	3–9	8–10	9–9	4–14	6–6	5–7	3–9	10–2	10–8	—	7–5
St. Louis	11–1	11–7	7–5	7–5	6–6	6–12	10–8	7–11	9–9	4–8	5–7	—

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day starters
#	Name	Position
15	Davey Lopes	2B
18	Bill Russell	SS
8	Reggie Smith	RF
10	Ron Cey	3B
6	Steve Garvey	1B
16	Rick Monday	CF
12	Dusty Baker	LF
7	Steve Yeager	C
20	Don Sutton	P

^[4]

Notable transactions

• September 2, 1977: John Hale was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Toronto Blue Jays.^[5]
• September 2, 1977: Henry Cruz was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.^[6]
• September 8, 1977: Kevin Pasley was sold by the Dodgers to the Seattle Mariners.^[7]

Roster

1977 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 41 Bobby Castillo 44 Al Downing 29 Mike Garman 46 Burt Hooton 49 Charlie Hough 25 Tommy John 35 Dennis Lewallyn 31 Doug Rau 38 Lance Rautzhan 36 Rick Rhoden 27 Elías Sosa 20 Don Sutton 45 Stan Wall 37 Hank Webb		Catchers  9 Jerry Grote  5 Johnny Oates  4 Kevin Pasley  7 Steve Yeager Infielders 10 Ron Cey  6 Steve Garvey 21 Ed Goodson 56 Rafael Landestoy 15 Davey Lopes 23 Ted Martínez 22 Boog Powell 18 Bill Russell 44 Ron Washington		Outfielders 12 Dusty Baker  3 Glenn Burke 33 Vic Davalillo 43 John Hale 34 Lee Lacy 51 Jeffrey Leonard 16 Rick Monday 11 Manny Mota 17 Joe Simpson  8 Reggie Smith		Manager  2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches 26 Red Adams 54 Monty Basgall 58 Mark Cresse 19 Jim Gilliam 28 Preston Gómez

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	125	387	99	.256	16	55
1B	Steve Garvey	162	696	192	.297	33	115
2B	Davey Lopes	134	502	142	.283	11	53
3B	Ron Cey	153	564	136	.241	30	110
SS	Bill Russell	153	634	176	.278	4	51
LF	Dusty Baker	153	533	155	.291	30	86
CF	Rick Monday	118	392	90	.230	15	48
RF	Reggie Smith	148	488	150	.307	32	87

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
Lee Lacy	75	169	45	.266	6	21
Glenn Burke	83	169	43	.254	1	13
Johnny Oates	60	156	42	.269	3	11
Ted Martinez	67	137	41	.299	1	10
John Hale	79	108	26	.241	2	11
Ed Goodson	61	66	11	.167	1	5
Vic Davalillo	24	48	15	.313	0	4
Boog Powell	50	41	10	.244	0	5
Manny Mota	50	38	15	.395	1	4
Jerry Grote	18	27	7	.259	0	4
Joe Simpson	29	23	4	.174	0	1
Ron Washington	10	19	7	.368	0	1
Rafael Landestoy	15	18	5	.278	0	0
Jeffrey Leonard	11	10	3	.300	0	2
Kevin Pasley	2	3	1	.333	0	0

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
Don Sutton	33	240.1	14	8	3.18	150
Burt Hooton	32	223.1	12	7	2.62	153
Tommy John	31	220.1	20	7	2.78	123
Rick Rhoden	31	216.1	16	10	3.74	122
Doug Rau	32	212.1	14	8	3.43	126

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
Al Downing	12	20.0	0	1	6.75	23
Dennis Lewallyn	5	17.0	3	1	4.24	8
Bobby Castillo	6	11.1	0	0	3.97	7
Hank Webb	5	8.0	0	0	2.25	2

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
Charlie Hough	70	6	12	22	3.32	105
Mike Garman	49	4	4	12	2.73	29
Elias Sosa	44	2	2	1	1.98	47
Stan Wall	25	2	3	0	5.34	22
Lance Rautzhan	25	4	1	2	4.35	13

Postseason

1977 National League Championship Series

Main article: 1977 National League Championship Series

Game One

October 4, Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Philadelphia	2	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	2	7	9	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	5	9	2
W: Gene Garber (1–0)  L: Elías Sosa (0–1)  SV: Tug McGraw (1)
HRs: PHI – Greg Luzinski (1); LAD – Ron Cey (1)

Game Two

October 5, Dodger Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Philadelphia	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	1
Los Angeles	0	0	1	4	0	1	1	0	X	7	9	1
W: Don Sutton (1–0)  L: Jim Lonborg (0–1)
HRs: PHI – Bake McBride (1); LAD – Dusty Baker (1)

Game Three

October 7, Veterans Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	6	12	2
Philadelphia	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	5	6	2
W: Lance Rautzhan (1–0)  L: Gene Garber (1–1)  SV: Mike Garman (1)
HRs: None

Game Four

October 8, Veterans Stadium

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	5	0
Philadelphia	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
W: Tommy John (1–0)  L: Steve Carlton (0–1)
HRs: LAD – Dusty Baker (2)

1977 World Series

Main article: 1977 World Series

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Dodgers – 3, Yankees – 4 (12 inns)	October 11	Yankee Stadium	56,668	3:24
2	Dodgers – 6, Yankees – 1	October 12	Yankee Stadium	56,691	2:27
3	Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 3	October 14	Dodger Stadium	55,992	2:31
4	Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 2	October 15	Dodger Stadium	55,995	2:07
5	Yankees – 4, Dodgers – 10	October 16	Dodger Stadium	55,995	2:29
6	Dodgers – 4, Yankees – 8	October 18	Yankee Stadium	56,407	2:18

Awards and honors

• 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Steve Garvey starter
  • Don Sutton starter
  • Ron Cey starter
  • Reggie Smith reserve
• Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award
  • Don Sutton
• NLCS Most Valuable Player
  • Dusty Baker
• Gold Glove Award
  • Steve Garvey
• TSN National League All-Star
  • Steve Garvey
• NL Player of the Month
  • Ron Cey (April 1977)
• NL Player of the Week
  • Ron Cey (Apr. 18–24)
  • Steve Garvey (June 20–26)
  • Tommy John (Aug. 8–14)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	James B. Williams
AA	San Antonio Dodgers	Texas League	Don LeJohn
A	Lodi Dodgers	California League	Stan Wasiak
A	Clinton Dodgers	Midwest League	Dick McLaughlin
Rookie	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	Gail Henley

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball draft

Main article: 1977 Major League Baseball draft

The Dodgers drafted 40 players in the June draft and eight in the January draft. Of those, eight players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.

The first round draft pick in the June draft was pitcher Bob Welch from Eastern Michigan University. In 17 years with the Dodgers and Oakland Athletics he started 462 games with a 211–146 record and a 3.47 ERA. He became a two time All-Star, a two time World Series Champion and won the 1990 American League Cy Young Award.

The draft also included Mickey Hatcher, who hit .280 in 1130 games, mostly as an outfielder and was a part of two Dodgers World Series champions; outfielder/utility player Ron Roenicke who played eight seasons in the Majors before becoming a coach and manager; and relief pitcher Tom Niedenfuer, who was picked in the 36th round but would play 10 seasons in the Majors and save 97 games.

1977 draft picks

January draft [8] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Timothy Gloyd SS Sacramento City College No Dodgers-1979 1979–1981 A 2 Jessie Daniels 2B Louisburg College Yes 1977–1980 A 3 Rocky Cordova RHP Sacramento City College Yes 1977–1981 A 4 Daniel Forer LHP Iowa Western Community College No Dodgers-1981 1981 A 5 Larry Wright RHP Georgia Perimeter College Yes 1977–1980 A 6 Ronald Grout 1B Wingate University No Twins-1978 1978–1982 AA 7 Randall May RHP Yakima Valley Community College No January secondary phase [9] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Mark Wychopen RHP San Jacinto College No June draft [10] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Bob Welch RHP Eastern Michigan University Yes 1977–1994 MLB 2 Joe Beckwith RHP Auburn University Yes 1977–1986 MLB 3 Doug Harrison RHP Central Michigan University Yes 1977–1980 AAA 4 John Bush SS Ogden High School Yes 1977–1979 A- 5 Mickey Hatcher OF University of Oklahoma Yes 1977–1991 MLB 6 Mark Elliott 1B Silver Lake High School Yes 1977–1979 A 7 Bobby Mitchell OF University of Southern California Yes 1977–1986 MLB 8 James Nobles LHP Kentucky Wesleyan College Yes 1977–1982 AA 9 Henry Noble SS McIntosh County Academy Yes 1977 A- 10 Danny Coulon RHP College of the Sequoias Yes 1977–1978 A 11 Jack Littrell RHP Oldham County High School Yes 1977–1980 A 12 Kenneth Likewise LHP Chaparral High School Yes 1977–1978 Rookie 13 Dennis Delaney C University of California, Los Angeles No Cardinals-1978 1978–1984 AA 14 Jerry Bass RHP Georgia Institute of Technology Yes 1977–1982 AAA 15 Joseph Purpura LHP West Leyden High School Yes 1977–1978 A 16 Jesse Baez C Cerritos College Yes 1977–1983 AA 17 Edward Reilly RHP Fanwood High School No Astros-1981 1981–1985 AA 18 Salvatore Favata 2B Edgewood High School No Brewers-1980 1980–1982 A 19 Richard Ross OF Santa Teresa High School No 20 Steven Green RHP Pepperell High School No 21 Mike Ledna SS Buffalo Grove High School No White Sox-1981 1981 Rookie 22 Bobby Brown OF John Brown University Yes 1977–1979 AA 23 Mitch Webster OF Larned High School Yes 1977–1995 MLB 24 Victor Woods OF El Cerrito High School No Indians-1979 1979–1982 A 25 Michael Zouras 3B California State University, Long Beach Yes 1977–1981 AAA 26 Michael Holt RHP East Forsyth High School Yes 1977–1978 A 27 Mark Jakway OF Hemet High School No 28 Douglas Hogan RHP Mineral Area College Yes 1977–1978 A 29 Melvin Freeman 3B Easley High School No Brewers-1979 1979 A 30 Tony Bolla C Crestmoor High School No Giants-1979 1979 A 31 Scott Hadley RHP Central High School No 32 Ronald Kiene RHP Stuyvesant High School No 33 Jeffrey Jordan RHP Orangeville High School No 34 Ken Duckett OF Richard J. Reynolds High School No 35 John Shoemaker SS Miami University of Ohio Yes 1977–1980 AAA 36 Tom Niedenfuer RHP Redmond High School No Dodgers-1981 1981–1990 MLB 37 Todd Roddy IF Bellevue High School No June secondary phase [11] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Ron Roenicke OF University of California, Los Angeles Yes 1977–1989 MLB 2 Rick Kranitz RHP Yavapai College No Brewers-1979 1979–1985 AAA 3 Kevin Williams OF Edmonds Community College No Twins-1980 1980–1983 AA