# 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 114th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 46th season in Los Angeles, California. It was a turbulent season as News Corporation (Fox) was seeking to sell the team. Nevertheless, the Dodgers fell just short of a Wild Card berth, winning 85 games while finishing second in the National League West. The Dodgers pitching staff led baseball in earned run average (3.16), Éric Gagné became the first Dodger to earn the NL Cy Young Award since 1988 as he converted all 55 of his save opportunities. Shawn Green set a new Dodger single season record with 49 doubles and Paul Lo Duca had a 25-game hitting streak.

## Offseason

* December 4, 2002: Acquired Todd Hundley and Chad Hermansen from the Chicago Cubs for Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros.
* December 16, 2002: Acquired Derek Thompson from the Chicago Cubs for cash.
* January 25, 2003: Acquired Daryle Ward from the Houston Astros for Ruddy Lugo.
* January 27, 2003: Acquired Jason Romano from the Colorado Rockies for Luke Allen.
* January 30, 2003: Ron Coomer was signed as a free agent.

## Regular season
### Season standings
#### National League West

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| San Francisco Giants | 100 | 61 | .621 | — | 57‍–‍24 | 43‍–‍37 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 15½ | 46‍–‍35 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 84 | 78 | .519 | 16½ | 45‍–‍36 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Colorado Rockies | 74 | 88 | .457 | 26½ | 49‍–‍32 | 25‍–‍56 |
| San Diego Padres | 64 | 98 | .395 | 36½ | 35‍–‍46 | 29‍–‍52 |

#### Record vs. opponents

2003 National League recordvte Source: :
| Team | AZ | ATL | CHC | CIN | COL | FLA | HOU | LA | MIL | MTL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL | AL |
| Arizona | — | 2–5 | 2–4 | 7–2 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 10–9 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 5–14 | 3–3 | 11–4 |
| Atlanta | 5–2 | — | 4–2 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 9–10 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 12–7 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 7–2 | 6–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 10–5 |
| Chicago | 4–2 | 2–4 | — | 10–7 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 9–7 | 2–4 | 10–6 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 10–8 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 8–9 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati | 2–7 | 3–3 | 7–10 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 5–12 | 2–4 | 8–10 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 5–4 | 5–11 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 9–7 | 7–5 |
| Colorado | 9–10 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 7–12 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 3–6 | 12–7 | 7–12 | 4–2 | 9–6 |
| Florida | 5–2 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–4 | — | 1–5 | 2–5 | 7–2 | 13–6 | 12–7 | 13–6 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 9–6 |
| Houston | 1–5 | 1–5 | 7–9 | 12–5 | 4–2 | 5–1 | — | 4–2 | 9–8 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 10–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 11–7 | 11–7 |
| Los Angeles | 9–10 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 12–7 | 5–2 | 2–4 | — | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 5–1 | 8–11 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 11–7 |
| Milwaukee | 3–3 | 2–4 | 6–10 | 10–8 | 1–5 | 2–7 | 8–9 | 2–4 | — | 0–6 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 10–7 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 3–13 | 5–7 |
| Montreal | 2–4 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 6–13 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 6–0 | — | 14–5 | 8–11 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 7–0 | 1–5 | 9–9 |
| New York | 2–4 | 8–11 | 1–5 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 7–12 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 3–6 | 5–14 | — | 7–12 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 5–10 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4 | 10–9 | 5–1 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 6–13 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 11–8 | 12–7 | — | 2–4 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 8–7 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–3 | 2–7 | 8–10 | 11–5 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 6–10 | 1–5 | 7–10 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–2 | — | 4–2 | 2–4 | 7–10 | 5–7 |
| San Diego | 10–9 | 1–6 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–12 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 11–8 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 2–4 | — | 5–14 | 2–4 | 8–10 |
| San Francisco | 14–5 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 12–7 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 13–6 | 5–1 | 0–7 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 14–5 | — | 5–1 | 10–8 |
| St. Louis | 3–3 | 2–4 | 9–8 | 7–9 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 2–4 | 13–3 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 10–7 | 4–2 | 1–5 | — | 10–8 |

### Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters :
| Name | Position |
| Dave Roberts | Center fielder |
| Paul Lo Duca | Catcher |
| Shawn Green | Right fielder |
| Brian Jordan | Left fielder |
| Fred McGriff | First baseman |
| Adrián Beltré | Third baseman |
| Jolbert Cabrera | Second baseman |
| César Izturis | Shortstop |
| Hideo Nomo | Starting pitcher |

### Notable transactions

* July 14, 2003: Acquired Jeromy Burnitz from the New York Mets for Jose S. Diaz, Victor Diaz and Kole Strayhorn
* July 31, 2003: Acquired Robin Ventura from the New York Yankees for Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor

### Roster
## Starting Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games
| Name | G | GS | IP | W/L | ERA | BB | SO | CG |
| Hideo Nomo | 33 | 33 | 218.1 | 16-13 | 3.09 | 98 | 177 | 2 |
| Kevin Brown | 32 | 32 | 211.0 | 14-9 | 2.39 | 56 | 185 | 0 |
| Odalis Pérez | 30 | 30 | 185.1 | 12-12 | 4.52 | 46 | 141 | 0 |
| Kazuhisa Ishii | 27 | 27 | 147.0 | 9-7 | 3.86 | 101 | 140 | 0 |
| Wilson Álvarez | 21 | 12 | 95.0 | 6-2 | 2.37 | 23 | 82 | 1 |
| Andy Ashby | 21 | 12 | 73.0 | 3-10 | 5.18 | 17 | 41 | 0 |
| Darren Dreifort | 10 | 10 | 60.1 | 4-4 | 4.03 | 25 | 67 | 0 |
| Edwin Jackson | 4 | 3 | 22.0 | 2-1 | 2.45 | 11 | 19 | 0 |
| Masao Kida | 3 | 2 | 12.0 | 0-1 | 3.00 | 3 | 8 | 0 |

## Relief Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
| Name | G | GS | IP | W/L | ERA | BB | SO | SV |
| Éric Gagné | 77 | 0 | 82.1 | 2-3 | 1.20 | 20 | 137 | 55 |
| Paul Quantrill | 89 | 0 | 77.1 | 2-5 | 1.75 | 15 | 44 | 1 |
| Tom Martin | 80 | 0 | 51.0 | 1-2 | 3.53 | 24 | 51 | 0 |
| Guillermo Mota | 76 | 0 | 105.0 | 6-3 | 1.97 | 26 | 99 | 1 |
| Paul Shuey | 62 | 0 | 69.0 | 6-4 | 3.00 | 33 | 60 | 0 |
| Steve Colyer | 13 | 0 | 19.2 | 0-0 | 2.75 | 9 | 16 | 0 |
| Troy Brohawn | 12 | 0 | 11.2 | 2-0 | 3.86 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| Rodney Myers | 4 | 0 | 9.0 | 0-0 | 6.00 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Víctor Alvarez | 5 | 0 | 5.2 | 0-1 | 12.71 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Scott Mullen | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 0-0 | 9.00 | 5 | 1 | 0 |

## Batting Stats

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games; AB = At bats; Avg. = Batting average; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Name | Pos | G | AB | Avg. | R | H | HR | RBI | SB |
| Paul Lo Duca | C/1B | 147 | 568 | .273 | 64 | 155 | 7 | 52 | 0 |
| David Ross | C | 40 | 124 | .258 | 19 | 32 | 10 | 18 | 0 |
| Todd Hundley | C | 21 | 33 | .182 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Koyie Hill | C | 3 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred McGriff | 1B | 86 | 297 | .249 | 32 | 74 | 13 | 40 | 0 |
| Alex Cora | 2B/SS | 148 | 477 | .249 | 39 | 119 | 4 | 34 | 4 |
| César Izturis | SS | 158 | 558 | .251 | 47 | 140 | 1 | 40 | 10 |
| Adrián Beltré | 3B | 158 | 559 | .240 | 50 | 134 | 23 | 80 | 2 |
| Ron Coomer | 1B/3B | 69 | 125 | .240 | 11 | 30 | 4 | 15 | 0 |
| Robin Ventura | 1B/3B | 49 | 109 | .220 | 11 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| Joe Thurston | 2B | 12 | 10 | .200 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shawn Green | RF | 160 | 611 | .280 | 84 | 171 | 19 | 85 | 6 |
| Dave Roberts | CF | 107 | 388 | .250 | 56 | 97 | 2 | 16 | 40 |
| Jeromy Burnitz | LF | 61 | 230 | .204 | 25 | 47 | 13 | 4 |
| Jolbert Cabrera | OF/IF | 128 | 347 | .282 | 43 | 98 | 6 | 37 | 6 |
| Brian Jordan | LF/CF/RF | 66 | 224 | .299 | 28 | 67 | 6 | 28 | 1 |
| Mike Kinkade | LF/RF/1B/3B | 88 | 162 | .216 | 25 | 35 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| Daryle Ward | LF/1B | 52 | 109 | .183 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Rickey Henderson | LF | 30 | 72 | .208 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Wilkin Ruan | CF | 21 | 41 | .220 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Larry Barnes | LF | 30 | 38 | .211 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jason Romano | LF/RF/CF/2B | 37 | 36 | .083 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Chad Hermansen | LF | 11 | 25 | .160 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bubba Crosby | LF | 9 | 12 | .083 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chin-Feng Chen | OF | 1 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## 2003 Awards

* 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
** Éric Gagné reserve
** Paul Lo Duca reserve
** Kevin Brown did not play due to injury
* National League Cy Young Award
** Éric Gagné
* Rolaids Relief Man of the Year
** Éric Gagné
* TSN National League All-Star
** Éric Gagné
* TSN NL Pitcher of the Year
** Éric Gagné
* TSN NL Reliever of the Year Award
** Éric Gagné
* Players choice: NL Outstanding Pitcher
** Éric Gagné
* NL Pitcher of the Month
** Kevin Brown (May 2003)
* NL Player of the Week
** Éric Gagné (Aug. 4–10)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Las Vegas 51s | Pacific Coast League | John Shoemaker |
| AA | Jacksonville Suns | Southern League | Dino Ebel |
| High A | Vero Beach Dodgers | Florida State League | Scott Little |
| A | South Georgia Waves | South Atlantic League | Dann Bilardello |
| Rookie | Ogden Raptors | Pioneer League | Travis Barbary |
| Rookie | Gulf Coast Dodgers | Gulf Coast League | Luis Salazar |
| Rookie | DSL Dodgers DSL Dodgers 2 | Dominican Summer League | |

## Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers selected 50 players in this draft. Of those, 12 of them would eventually play Major League baseball.
The first round pick was right handed pitcher Chad Billingsley from Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio. He was a 2009 All-Star and pitched eight seasons with the Dodgers with an 81–61 record and 3.65 ERA in 219 games (190 starts) before missing most of 2013 and all of 2014 with serious arm injuries.
The sixth round pick, outfielder Matt Kemp from Midwest City High School would lead the National League in Home Runs and RBIs in 2011 as well as finishing second in the MVP vote that year.
The draft class also included catcher A. J. Ellis (18th round), who would become the Dodgers starting catcher in 2012.
2003 Draft Picks :
| Round | Name | Position | School | Signed | Career span | Highest level |
| 1 | Chad Billingsley | RHP | Defiance High School | Yes | 2003–2015 | MLB |
| 2 | Chuck Tiffany | LHP | Charter Oak High School | Yes | 2003–2011 | AA |
| 3 | Cory VanAllen | LHP | Clements High School | No Nationals-2006 | 2006–2015 | AAA |
| 4 | Xavier Paul | OF | Slidell High School | Yes | 2003–2018 | MLB |
| 5 | Jordan Pratt | RHP | Central High School | Yes | 2003–2010 | AAA |
| 6 | Matt Kemp | OF | Midwest City High School | Yes | 2003–2020 | MLB |
| 7 | Wesley Wright | LHP | Goshen High School | Yes | 2003–2017 | MLB |
| 8 | Lucas May | 3B | Parkway West High School | Yes | 2003–2014 | MLB |
| 9 | Brett Dowdy | 2B | University of Florida | No Orioles-2004 | 2003–2012 | AAA |
| 10 | Phil Sobkow | RHP | University of Central Missouri | Yes | 2003–2009 | A |
| 11 | Anthony Harper | C | Oak Creek High School | Yes | 2004–2007 | A+ |
| 12 | Cody White | LHP | Pleasant Grove High School | Yes | 2004–2012 | AAA |
| 13 | Derik Olvey | RHP | Pelham High School | No | | |
| 14 | David Pfeiffer | LHP | Lincoln Park Academy | Yes | 2004–2011 | AAA |
| 15 | Russ Mitchell | SS | Cartersville High School | Yes | 2003–2013 | MLB |
| 16 | James Peterson | 1B | Indian Hills Community College | Yes | 2004–2007 | A |
| 17 | Steven Sapp | OF | West High School | Yes | 2003–2005 | A |
| 18 | A. J. Ellis | C | Austin Peay State University | Yes | 2003–2018 | MLB |
| 19 | Matt Antonelli | SS | St. John's Preparatory School | No Padres-2006 | 2006–2013 | MLB |
| 20 | Chad Barben | 3B | Taylorsville High School | No | | |
| 21 | Travis Denker | 2B | Brea Olinda High School | Yes | 2003–2017 | MLB |
| 22 | Douglas Frame | LHP | Tomball High School | No | | |
| 23 | Taylor Slimak | C | California Lutheran University | Yes | 2003 | Rookie |
| 24 | Ben Snyder | LHP | Bellevue High School | No Giants-2006 | 2006–2012 | AAA |
| 25 | Kevin Skogley | LHP | Hermiston Senior High School | No White Sox | 2007–2009 | A |
| 26 | Thomas Piazza | C | Palm Beach Atlantic University | Yes | 2003–2005 | Rookie |
| 27 | Jesús Castillo | RHP | Tucson High School | Yes | 2004–2022 | AAA |
| 28 | Adam Moore | C | Northeast Texas Community College | No Mariners-2006 | 2006–2019 | MLB |
| 29 | Adam Parliament | OF | Penticton Secondary School | No Braves-2005 | 2005–2007 | A+ |
| 30 | Mark Melancon | RHP | Golden High School | No Yankees-2006 | 2006–present | MLB |
| 31 | Garrett Kohler | RHP | Cimarron-Memorial High School | No | | |
| 32 | Kyle Reichert | RHP | Porterville College | No | | |
| 33 | Ryan Zaft | RHP | Yuba Community College | No | | |
| 34 | James Lawler | 1B | A&M Consolidated High School | No | | |
| 35 | Antonio Anderson | OF | Greene County High School | No | | |
| 36 | Andrew Jeffcoat | LHP | James W. Martin High School | No | | |
| 37 | Mike Ludwig | 1B | St. Olaf College | Yes | 2003–2004 | Rookie |
| 38 | Justin Ferreira | OF | Stoneman–Douglas High School | No | | |
| 39 | Andy LaRoche | SS | Grayson County College | Yes | 2003–2016 | MLB |
| 40 | D. J. Lewis | 1B | San Fernando High School | No Cubs-2005 | 2005–2007 | A |
| 41 | Matthew Votaw | 3B | Brea Olinda High School | No | | |
| 42 | Cory Vanderhook | C | Golden West College | No Cubs-2006 | 2006–2007 | Rookie |
| 43 | Clayton Van Hook | SS | Brenham High School | No | | |
| 44 | Travis Check | C | Logan High School | No | 2007 | Ind |
| 45 | Cass Rhynes | C | Bluefield High School | No | | |
| 46 | Steven Paddock | OF | Milford High School | No | | |
| 47 | Matthew Chase | RHP | Florin High School | No | | |
| 48 | Kyle Rapp | OF | Milford High School | No | | |
| 49 | Clarence Farmer | OF | University of Arizona | No | | |
| 50 | Curtis Hudson | C | Yuba Community College | No | | |