2014 Los Angeles Dodgers Season-In-Review Notes & Final
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2014 Los Angeles Dodgers Season-in-Review Notes & Final Stat Pack 2014 SEASON NOTES FROM DOWN UNDER TO THE TOP: The Dodgers went 94-68 as the club clinched its second consecutive and 13th National League West title, qualifying for the postseason for the th th SNAPSHOT 19 time since moving to Los Angeles and the 28 time in franchise history. Los Angeles 94-68 (45-36 Home, 49-32 Road) won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 2008-09 and for the 3rd time since the ALL-STARS Dee Gordon (1), Zack Greinke (2), advent of divisional play in 1969 (also: 1977-78). It marks the seventh time in franchise Clayton Kershaw (4), Yasiel Puig (1) history that the club has reached the postseason in consecutive years (Source: Stats, LLC). NL Pitcher/Player of the Month Yasiel Puig (May), Clayton Kershaw (June), Los Angeles’ 94 wins were its most since going 95-67 in 2009. Clayton Kershaw (July), Matt Kemp (September) NL Player of the Week Don Mattingly has guided the club to two division titles and to a winning record in Yasiel Puig (May 12-18), Josh Beckett (May 19-25), each of his four seasons as manager, with a 354-293 (.547) combined record. Clayton Kershaw (June 16-22), Matt Kemp (July 28-Aug. 3), Clayton Kershaw (Sept. 8-14) This will be the Dodgers’ fifth time playing October baseball in nine seasons under NO-HITTERS Josh Beckett (5/25 at PHI), General Manager Ned Colletti, with division titles in 2008, 2009, 2013 and 2014 Clayton Kershaw (6/18 vs. COL) and a Wild Card berth in 2006 (tied for division title). Colletti has been to the postseason in nine of 18 years as a general manager and assistant general manager, while suffering a few close calls with his teams eliminated twice on the final day of the season and on the second to last day on two occasions. Since Colletti took the reins as Dodger general manager prior to the 2006 season, the club has the third-best record in the National League (783-674, .537), behind St. Louis (789-668, .542) and Atlanta (785-673, .537). The Dodgers remained over the .500 mark all year and finished the season without a losing streak longer than three games, joining the 1988 (161 games) and 1924 clubs (154 games) as the only teams in franchise history to go the entire season without a four- game slide (Source: Stats, LLC). For the second consecutive year, the Dodgers stormed back after a slow start to claim the division title after trailing the Giants by a season-high 9.5 games on June 8. The 9.5-game deficit ties for the largest deficit that the club has ever overcome to win a division title (also: 2013, 9.5 GB Arizona on June 22). The Dodgers posted the Majors’ best road record at 49-32 (.605). Los Angeles went 50-26 (.658) against NL West opponents, its second-best all-time divisional record behind only the club’s 63-27 mark (.700) in 1974. The Dodgers had a winning record against every NL West rival – Arizona (15-4), Colorado (13-6), San Diego (12-7) and San Francisco (10-9). HILLTOPPERS: The Dodgers led the National League and established a franchise record with 1,373 strikeouts this season, which rank as the ninth-highest all-time single-season total by an MLB club. Los Angeles finished the regular season ranked fourth in the National League with a 3.40 team ERA, including a 3.20 mark by the club’s starters (347 ER/975.0 IP), which ranked second in the Majors, and a 3.80 ERA by Dodger relievers. Los Angeles starters established a modern record by walking two or fewer batters in 39 consecutive games from May 26-July 5, combining to walk only 38 and strike out 243 in 252.2 innings in that span. The longest previous such streak was held by the 2005 Twins (36, April 13-May 23). Source: Elias. Since Rick Honeycutt became the Dodger pitching coach in 2006, the team leads the Majors with a 3.67 ERA, a .247 opponents’ batting average and 11,209 strikeouts. The Dodgers had four starters with 13 or more wins (Greinke, Haren, Kershaw, Ryu), marking the first time the club did so since 1985 (Orel Hershiser, Jerry Reuss, Fernando Valenzuela, Bob Welch). GETTING OFFENSIVE: Los Angeles led the Majors with a .333 team on-base percentage and ranked among the National League’s best in batting average (.265, 2nd), runs (718, 2nd), hits (1,476, 2nd), doubles (302, 2nd), RBI (686, 2nd), walks (519, 2nd) and slugging percentage (.406, 2nd). The 2014 season, the Dodgers’ second under hitting coach Mark McGwire, marked the first time that the club led the Majors in OBP since moving west in 1958, last doing so in 1955. The Dodgers led the Majors with a .286 batting average with runners in scoring position (420-for-1469), but hit an MLB-worst .191 with the bases loaded (22-for-115). Los Angeles finished the season without a grand slam for the first time since 1981. The club became the first in franchise history to have four players with at least 35 doubles in a season (Gonzalez-40, Puig-37, Kemp-36, Ramirez-35). Los Angeles enters the postseason coming off a September in which it went 17-8 and led the Majors in batting average (.295), runs (156), hits (268), home runs (35, T-1st) and on-base percentage (.355) in 25 games. PACKED HOUSE: The Dodgers welcomed 3,782,337 to Dodger Stadium in 81 home dates this season, the highest cumulative attendance in the Majors this year and the second-highest total in team history behind only 2007 (3,857,036). Los Angeles played host to the largest single-game crowd in the Majors this year with 53,500 attending its Sept. 22 game against the Giants and also topped the National League in total road attendance with 2,740,259. Los Angeles’ 46,696 average attendance also led the Majors. The Dodgers surpassed three million fans in attendance for the 28th time in club history and for the 18th time in the last 19 years. ALL-STARS, AWARDS, ACCOLADES: The Dodgers were represented in the 85th All-Star Game at Target Field in Minnesota by four players: second baseman Dee Gordon, right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke, left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw and outfielder Yasiel Puig. Puig was a fan-elected starter, Gordon and Kershaw were selected to the team as a result of player balloting, while Greinke was chosen by NL manager Mike Matheny. Los Angeles’ four All-Stars were its most since 2010, when the club also had four players selected to the Midsummer Classic: Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton, Rafael Furcal and Hong-Chih Kuo. The four All-Stars tied for the most among NL clubs along with the Brewers, Cardinals and Reds. At 23 years, 220 days, Puig became the Dodgers’ fourth-youngest first-time All-Star position player, behind Pete Reiser (1941, 22 years, 113 days), Steve Sax (1982, 22 years, 165 days) and Tommy Davis (1962, 23 years, 111 days). Dodger players were honored four times during the season with the National League’s Pitcher or Player of the Month Award: Yasiel Puig (May), Clayton Kershaw (June & July) and Matt Kemp (September). Kershaw became the first Dodger hurler to collect back-to-back monthly honors since Hall of Famer Don Sutton (April-May 1975). Los Angeles players also picked up National League Player of the Week honors on five occasions: Yasiel Puig (May 12-18), Josh Beckett (May 19-25), Clayton Kershaw (June 16-22 & Sept. 8-14) and Matt Kemp (July 28-Aug. 3). NO-NO: Dodger pitchers tossed two no-hitters with Josh Beckett’s on May 25 at Philadelphia and Clayton Kershaw’s on June 18 vs. Colorado. It was only the second time that the Dodger franchise recorded multiple no-hitters in the same season, with the other coming in 1956; Carl Erskine vs. NY Giants (May 12, 1956) and Sal Maglie vs. Philadelphia (Sept. 25, 1956). Kershaw's no-hitter came 24 days after Beckett’s, the shortest span between no-hitters by a team since Cincinnati's Johnny Vander Meer did it in consecutive starts on June 11 and June 15 in 1938 (Source: Elias Sports Bureau). The last team in the Majors to have two pitchers throw complete game no-hitters in the same season was the 1972 Cubs (Hooton and Pappas). The no-hitters were the 21st and 22nd in Dodger franchise history. Beckett threw a career-high 128 pitches, walked three and struck out six in his first-career no-hitter. Beckett’s first career no-hitter came in his 321st start, the fifth-most starts before a pitcher's first no-hitter in the last 40 years behind Dennis Martinez (1991, 401st GS), Tom Seaver (1978, 396th GS), Dave Stieb (1990, 376th GS) and David Cone (1999, 348th GS). (Source: ESPN Stats & Info). o He joined Randy Johnson, Dave Stewart, Jack Morris, Bret Saberhagen, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Lew Burdette and Don Larsen as the only pitchers in MLB history to be selected World Series MVP and throw a no-hitter. o Beckett's no-hitter was the first in a regular-season game at Citizens Bank Park, where Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter against the Reds in the opening game of their 2010 NL Division Series. Kershaw took a perfect game bid into the seventh inning, retiring the game’s first 18 hitters before Corey Dickerson reached on a Hanley Ramirez throwing error, and struck out a career-high 15 batters on 107 pitches in the Dodgers’ 8-0 win in his first-career no-hitter.