# 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.

## 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.
* 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.
* February 7, 1977: Rick Auerbach was traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Hank Webb and Richard Sander (minors).

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNL 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 recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | 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 |

### Notable transactions

* September 2, 1977: John Hale was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Toronto Blue Jays.
* September 2, 1977: Henry Cruz was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.
* September 8, 1977: Kevin Pasley was sold by the Dodgers to the Seattle Mariners.

### 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 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
#### 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

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

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
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
Round
Name
Position
School
Signed
Career span
Highest level
1
Mark Wychopen
RHP
San Jacinto College
No
June draft
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
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 :