1966 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 1966 Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League championship with a 95–67 record, but were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.
Regular season
became the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards in a career.Season recap
The defending World Series champion Dodgers relied upon the same model that brought them the championship in 1965; great pitching, tight defense, and speed. However, ace pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale held out nearly all of spring training in a celebrated contract dispute, finally signing just before the start of the regular season. The hold out did not seem to affect Koufax, who went 27–9 with a 1.73 E.R.A. However, Drysdale had a sub par season going 13–16 with a 3.42 E.R.A. More than making up for that, Claude Osteen had his best season to date, winning 17 games with a 2.85 E.R.A., and rookie Don Sutton replaced aging Johnny Podres in the rotation, chipping in with 12 wins and a 2.99 E.R.A. Finally, reliever Phil Regan had a remarkable year, going 14–1 with 21 saves.The National League race was a 4 team affair between the Dodgers, Giants, Pirates, and Phillies, with all but the Phillies taking their turn in 1st place during the summer. The Dodgers vaulted to the top with an 8-game win streak in mid-September. However, the pennant was still not decided until the final day of the season. The Giants, who had eliminated the Pirates by beating them on the next to last day, needed to beat the Pirates again in the season's final game, and then hope the Dodgers would lose both games of a double header in Philadelphia to the Phillies. If that happened, the Giants would have trailed the Dodgers by 1/2 game, and would still have had to fly to Cincinnati to play the Reds in a make-up game, needing a win to tie for 1st. The Giants defeated the Pirates in extra innings, and the Dodgers lost the first game of the double header, blowing a lead in the 8th inning. However, while the Giants were waiting at the Pittsburgh airport, Koufax beat the Phillies in the second game of the double header. While they were waiting, a reporter asked Giants pitcher Ron Herbel "you guys don't know where you're going yet, do you?" Herbel replied "we know where we're going. No way superman loses the second game."
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- April 26, 1966: signed Jim Gilliam out of retirement.
- May 10, 1966: Johnny Podres was acquired from the Dodgers by the Detroit Tigers.
- May 27, 1966: Howie Reed was traded by the Dodgers to the California Angels for Dick Egan and a player to be named later. The Angels completed the deal by sending John Butler to the Dodgers on December 7.
- May 28, 1966: Wes Covington was signed as a free agent by the Dodgers.
- July 5, 1966: Signed 1B Dick Stuart as a free agent.
- September 10, 1966: Thad Tillotson and cash were traded by the Dodgers to the New York Yankees for Dick Schofield.
Roster
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 inPos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
C | 142 | 445 | 123 | .276 | 9 | 53 | |
1B | 156 | 475 | 120 | .253 | 12 | 51 | |
2B | 152 | 544 | 149 | .274 | 24 | 74 | |
SS | 143 | 594 | 162 | .273 | 1 | 39 | |
3B | 125 | 274 | 55 | .201 | 3 | 24 | |
LF | 152 | 526 | 143 | .272 | 17 | 73 | |
CF | 153 | 624 | 177 | .284 | 11 | 61 | |
RF | 117 | 351 | 101 | .288 | 14 | 61 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted inPlayer | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
100 | 313 | 98 | .313 | 3 | 27 | |
88 | 235 | 51 | .217 | 1 | 16 | |
80 | 119 | 23 | .193 | 0 | 3 | |
46 | 120 | 27 | .225 | 1 | 13 | |
63 | 115 | 31 | .270 | 5 | 23 | |
38 | 91 | 24 | .264 | 3 | 9 | |
39 | 82 | 23 | .280 | 0 | 3 | |
20 | 70 | 18 | .257 | 0 | 4 | |
37 | 33 | 4 | .121 | 1 | 6 | |
23 | 15 | 1 | .067 | 0 | 2 | |
12 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
1 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | 0 | 0 | --- | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = StrikeoutsPlayer | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
41 | 323 | 27 | 9 | 1.73 | 317 | |
40 | 273.2 | 13 | 16 | 3.42 | 177 | |
39 | 240.1 | 17 | 14 | 2.85 | 137 | |
37 | 225.2 | 12 | 12 | 2.99 | 209 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = StrikeoutsPlayer | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
29 | 78.2 | 2 | 4 | 2.52 | 31 | |
6 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 4 | |
3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = StrikeoutsPlayer | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
46 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2.77 | 58 | |
55 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 3.18 | 50 | |
65 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 1.62 | 88 | |
13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3.68 | 8 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
1966 World Series
Game 1
October 5, 1966, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Attendance: 55,941Game 2
October 6, 1966, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Attendance: 55,947Game 3
October 8, 1966, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 54,445Game 4
October 9, 1966, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendance: 54,458Awards and honors
- Cy Young Award
- *Sandy Koufax
- Gold Glove Award
- *Johnny Roseboro, catcher
- Comeback Player of the Year Award
- *Phil Regan
All-Stars
- 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- *Sandy Koufax, starter, pitcher
- *Jim Lefebvre, starter, second base
- *Phil Regan, reserve
- *Maury Wills, reserve
The Sporting News awards
- TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award
- *Don Sutton
- TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
- *Sandy Koufax
- TSN Fireman of the Year Award
- *Phil Regan
- TSN National League All-Star
- *Sandy Koufax
- Hutch Award
- *Sandy Koufax
Farm system
1966 Major League Baseball Draft
This was the second Major League Baseball Draft. The Dodgers drafted 67 players in the June draft and 9 in the January draft. The top draft pick was pitcher Lawrence Hutton from Greenfield High School in Greenfield, Indiana. He played in the Dodgers farm system through 1971 and finished with a 22–28 record and 4.33 ERA in 117 games, never advancing past AA.The most successful picks from this draft class were Bill Russell and Charlie Hough. Russell, the ninth round pick out of Pittsburg High School played with the Dodgers through 1986, mostly as a shortstop and later managed the team from 1996–1998. Hough was drafted in the eighth round out of Hialeah High School as an infielder but quickly converted to pitcher. He played with the Dodgers through 1980 and then with three other teams until he retired in 1994. He later became a coach for the Dodgers organization.
January draft
This was the first year that a January draft was held for college and high school players who graduated in the winter.Round | Name | Position | School | Signed | Career span | Highest level |
1 | James Roberts | RHP | University of Alabama | Yes | 1966–1967 | AA |
2 | Ivey Armstrong | 2B | Miami-Dade College | Yes | 1966–1969 | A |
3 | Robert Childress | 3B | Methacton High School | No | ||
4 | Albert Choate | RHP | Sam Houston State University | Yes | 1966–1967 | A |
5 | Jorge Benitez | 1B | Miami-Dade College | No |
January Secondary phase
Round | Name | Position | School | Signed | Career span | Highest level |
1 | John Herbst | LHP | University of Southern California | No Twins – 1967 | 1968–1969 | A |
2 | Hank Tenney | OF | Vista High School | Yes | 1966–1969 | A |
3 | Jim Hibbs | C | Stanford University | Yes | 1966–1973 | MLB |
4 | Mike Garrett | OF | University of Southern California | No |
June draft
Round | Name | Position | School | Signed | Career span | Highest level |
1 | Lawrence Hutton | RHP | Greenfield High School | Yes | 1966–1971 | AA |
2 | John Gamble | SS | Carson City High School | Yes | 1966–1976 | MLB |
3 | Rich Thompson | 2B | University of North Carolina | Yes | 1966–1970 | A |
4 | Jerry Bagwell | SS | Wren High School | Yes | 1966–1967 | A |
5 | Gordon Allen | OF | Ludlow High School | No Astros – 1967 | 1967–1970 | A |
6 | Dennis James | LHP | Albany High School | Yes | 1966–1974 | AAA |
7 | James Doran | OF | Madison Township High School | Yes | 1967–1968 | A- |
8 | Charlie Hough | INF | Hialeah High School | Yes | 1966–1994 | MLB |
9 | Bill Russell | OF | Pittsburg High School | Yes | 1966–1986 | MLB |
10 | Dennis Thornton | 1B | Eisenhower High School | Yes | 1966–1967 | Rookie |
11 | Kenneth Burrow | C | De Anza High School | No | ||
12 | Billy Grabarkewitz | 3B | St. Mary's University | Yes | 1966–1975 | MLB |
13 | Romel Canada | OF | Chester High School | Yes | 1966–1979 | AAA |
14 | James Raynor | RHP | East Carolina University | Yes | 1967–1972 | AA |
15 | Ted Sizemore | C | University of Michigan | Yes | 1966–1980 | MLB |
16 | Allen Siflet | C | McCallum High School | No | ||
17 | Kenneth Raab | RHP | Northview High School | Yes | 1966–1967 | A |
18 | Craig Menzl | 1B | Islip High School | No | ||
19 | Martin Parker | RHP | King High School | Yes | 1966–1969 | A |
20 | Loyd Colson | RHP | Gould High School | No Yankees – 1967 | 1967–1973 | MLB |
21 | John Jiles | OF | North Cobb High School | Yes | 1966 | Rookie |
22 | Charles Sutton | RHP | Tate High School | Yes | 1967 | Rookie |
23 | James Frye | RHP | Northern High School | Yes | 1966–1970 | A |
24 | Bill Ralston | 2B | California Polytechnic State University | Yes | 1966–1975 | AAA |
25 | Bob Perruchon | OF | Vallejo Junior College | No Angels – 1967 | 1967–1968 | A |
26 | Kenneth Danson | C | Forrest High School | No Indians – 1968 | 1968–1970 | A |
27 | Lawrence Land | RHP | Bamberg High School | No | ||
28 | Tom Alger | LHP | Hudson High School | Yes | 1966–1973 | A |
29 | Michael Pierce | LHP | Rincon High School | No Indians – 1967 | 1967–1970 | A |
30 | Stephen Howder | OF | City College of San Francisco | Yes | 1966–1970 | A- |
31 | Radford Mawhinney | OF | Santa Maria High School | No | ||
32 | James Arkell | OF | Claremont College | Yes | 1966 | A- |
33 | Ronald Reece | RHP | Campbell High School | Yes | 1966 | Rookie |
34 | James McCray | OF | San Diego State University | Yes | 1966 | Rookie |
35 | David Nitchke | C | California State University Fresno | No | ||
36 | Mark Harris | RHP | University of Maryland | No | ||
37 | Robert Johnson | LHP | Trenton High School | Yes | 1966–1970 | A |
38 | Stephen Hockensmith | 1B | Florida Southern College | Yes | 1966 | A- |
39 | Billy Carthel | OF | Sul Ross State University | No Indians – 1967 | 1968–1974 | AAA |
40 | Ray Lamb | RHP | University of Southern California | Yes | 1966–1973 | MLB |
41 | Donald Spain | RHP | Eisenhower High School | Yes | 1966–1971 | AA |
42 | Donny Tidwell | RHP | New Diana High School | Yes | 1966 | Rookie |
43 | Julio Guerrero | SS | Centralia High School | Yes | 1966–1967 | A |
44 | John Shulock | 3B | Vero Beach High School | Yes | 1967–1969 | A |
45 | Dicky Shaw | SS | Central State University | Yes | 1966 | A |
46 | Jeffrey King | RHP | Mainland High School | Yes | 1966–1970 | AA |
47 | Richard LeBlanc | LHP | Forrest High School | Yes | 1966–1967 | Rookie |
48 | Lamar Haynes | LHP | Chipola College | Yes | 1967 | A |
49 | Jody Gioffoni | RHP | Santa Monica High School | No | ||
50 | Kenneth Wiedemann | 2B | West Covina High School | No | ||
51 | Mark Johnson | OF | University of New Mexico | No | ||
52 | Walter Pierce | OF | William Carey College | Yes | 1966–1967 | A |
53 | Jack Butorac | RHP | Montebello High School | No Cardinals – 1969 | 1969–1970 | A- |
54 | David Lindsey | LHP | Fremont High School | No Pilots – 1969 | 1969–1979 | AAA |
55 | Bob Randall | SS | Gove High School | No Dodgers −1969 | 1969–1980 | MLB |
56 | Francis Staab | RHP | Hays High School | Yes | 1966–1968 | A |
57 | John Turston | C | Archbishop Molloy High School | No | ||
58 | Adrian Zabala | RHP | University of Florida | No Indians – 1967 | 1967 | Rookie |
59 | William Scott | SS | Germantown Academy | No | ||
60 | Tom Smith | RHP | Foley High School | No Athletics – 1968 | 1969–1972 | AA |
61 | James Raynor | RHP | Hamilton High School | Yes | 1966–1972 | AA |
62 | Robert Chandler | 2B | Rollins College | No |
June secondary phase
Round | Name | Position | School | Signed | Career span | Highest level |
1 | Bob Stinson | C | Miami-Dade College | Yes | 1966–1980 | MLB |
2 | Richard Schryer | OF | University of Michigan | Yes | 1966–1968 | A |
3 | James Carter | 3B | Trinity University | Yes | 1966–1967 | A- |
4 | John Green | RHP | Gulf Coast Community College | No | ||
5 | John Herbst | LHP | University of Southern California | No Twins – 1967 | 1968–1969 | A |