Easter greetings! In honor of the greatest comeback in history (rising from the dead kind of puts the 1978 Yankees in their place, doesn't it?), I've done a minimal amount of research on the Dodgers' greatest comeback players.
All of these players won the annual Comeback Player of the Year Award, which began in 1965. So take a moment between the ham -- or if you come from an Italian family like me, some amazing pasta -- and the chocolate bunnies and read about a few players who experienced their own rebirths. Their own little Easter on the ballfield.
Phil Regan, 1966 Comeback Player of the Year. Regan, after some pretty good years for the Tigers, had an awful 1965 season. He was 1-5 with a 5.02 ERA for Detroit and also spent a lot of time playing for the team's minor league affiliate in Syracuse.
The Tigers got rid of Regan in a trade with the Dodgers for infielder Dick Tracewski. That turned out to be a mistake because Regan had one of the most dominant seasons for a reliever up to that point in '66. He went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA with 21 saves and finished seventh in the MVP voting. He also acquired one of the greatest nicknames ever, "The Vulture."
Regan had another decent year for the Dodgers in 1967, then was traded to the Cubs for almost nothing. He pitched well for the Cubs in '68 and '69 and then kind of faded out after that until retiring in 1972.
Al Downing, 1971 Comeback Player of the Year. Downing was a promising young strikeout pitcher for the Yankees in the '60s, who had moments of brilliance, like when he struck out three batters on nine pitches in a game against the Indians.
But by the late '60s, Downing started bouncing around the league, and played for both Oakland and Milwaukee in 1970, going 5-13. The Dodgers traded their home run hitter, Andy Kosco -- who hit all of 19 in 1969 to lead the team -- to get Downing for the '71 season. Downing responded by going 20-9 and leading the league in shutouts with five. He took third in the Cy Young voting.
Downing never came close to that for the rest of his career, although he did hang on with the Dodgers for six more seasons. And, of course, he's the guy who made April 8, 1975 famous. You think it was Hammerin' Hank? Someone had to throw the ball first.
Jimmy Wynn, 1974 Comeback Player of the Year. The Dodgers had some smart people in their scouting department back in the '60s and '70s. Wynn was a slugger for the Astros and hit at least 26 homers for four straight years between 1967-70. But he started to fall off after that and hit only .220 in 1973.
But the Dodgers picked him up for Claude Osteen, who was just about finished anyway, and Wynn helped lead L.A. to the '74 World Series with 32 homers and 108 RBIs. The guy could also draw a walk (he had 148 in 1969), finishing with 108.
Wynn's output was cut in half the next season, and L.A. traded him to the Braves after the '75 season in a trade that yielded Dusty Baker, so that worked out all right. I love his '77 Topps card, by the way, but I don't have it. I must get it.
Tommy John, 1976 Comeback Player of the Year. John went 10-10 with 91 strikeouts and 61 walks. All you baseball neophytes may think that's not a big deal. Well, considering he missed part of the '74 season and all of the '75 season after tearing up his elbow, and a ton of people thought he'd never pitch again, that's a pretty amazing feat.
Of course, there is now a surgical procedure named after Tommy John. How many players can say that their name has been immortalized by something that happened off the field? Something non-criminal, that is. Dr. Frank Jobe repaired John's left elbow with a risky new procedure, taking a tendon from John's right forearm to help fix the damage.
If you ask me, John should have gotten another comeback award in 1977 after he went 20-7. Willie McCovey? Where did his season get the Giants that year? John went on to have a long and prosperous career, winning 20 games twice for the Yankees. I wasn't happy, though, when John left the Dodgers for the Yankees. But L.A. got its revenge, beating John and the Yankees to win the World Series in 1981. And John never did win a World Series. Should have stuck with the Dodgers, Tommy.
Jerry Reuss, 1980 Comeback Player of the Year. The Dodgers traded Rick Rhoden for Reuss in 1979, and for a while I thought the Pirates got the better end of the deal. Reuss was lousy in '79 (and so were the Dodgers), going 7-14. He even ended up in the bullpen.
But everything was different in 1980. He went 18-6 with a 2.52 ERA. He threw six shutouts. He NO-HIT THE GIANTS (June 27th was a fantastic day). He was second in the Cy Young voting. And the next year he helped L.A. win a World Series.
Reuss was one of my favorite pitchers for L.A., both because he was consistently effective until injuries hit in the mid-1980s, and because he was goofy as all-get-out. You've got to admire that.
Tim Leary, 1988 Comeback Player of the Year. I have this theory about Dodgers pitchers, which doesn't really apply to the organization now, but once did. The theory goes like this: there is no organization in baseball that knows how to develop pitchers like the Dodgers. And if you're with the Dodgers, you will be at your finest. But if you leave the Dodgers, and you're not a decent talent, then you will suck for whatever sorry team lands you.
This happened to Mike Morgan, Chan Ho Park, and a bunch of others I can't think of right now. Tim Leary is also an example. Leary started out with the Mets, didn't do much, went to the Brewers, was OK for a season, then stunk it up during his first season with the Dodgers in '87, going 3-11. But in 1988, he was one of L.A.'s best pitchers, finishing with an ERA under 3, striking out 180, pitching six shutouts and going 17-11. He also could hit, batting .269.
The Dodgers traded him to the Reds the next year in the Kal Daniels deal and Leary was back to his lousy ways. He almost lost 20 games for the Yankees in 1990 and eventually was banished to Seattle before retiring after playing for Texas in '94. Who knows what would have happened if he stayed with L.A.?
Tim Wallach, 1994 Comeback Player of the Year. By 1994, I was squeamish about the Dodgers acquiring big names (after Strawberry, Eric Davis, etc.), and Wallach was one of the major faces of the Expos. When Wallach batted .222 in his first year for the Dodgers in '93, I figured this was another brilliant free agent signing.
But Wallach had his moment in the sun with L.A. in 1994, hitting .280 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs. Not bad. And he helped fill a hole at third base, which has been a constant issue for L.A.
Even with the '94 season, Wallach was almost done with his career. He was retired two years later, but '94 was his last great season.
Nomar Garciaparra, 2006 Comeback Player of the Year. Even though he might have brought it upon himself, I always felt sorry for Nomar for what happened in 2004. He had a falling out with Boston that year, was sent to the Cubs, and Boston ends up winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years.
At least he bounced back enough to have a decent season with the Dodgers in 2006, driving in 93 runs and hitting .303. And he'll always be remembered in L.A. for hitting that extra-inning home run to cap off that astounding four-straight-home run comeback game against the Padres (now THERE's a comeback).
Because of that season and that home run, there's a fan in the Northeast rooting him on in Oakland.
All of these guys were able to celebrate a rebirth, their own little Easter, on the ballfield. And last year, Cliff Lee and Brad Lidge took home the Comeback Player of the Year Award. I love the Comeback Player of the Year Award, because the award is all about redemption, second chances and renewal. And so is this day.
Happy Easter.
All of these players won the annual Comeback Player of the Year Award, which began in 1965. So take a moment between the ham -- or if you come from an Italian family like me, some amazing pasta -- and the chocolate bunnies and read about a few players who experienced their own rebirths. Their own little Easter on the ballfield.
Phil Regan, 1966 Comeback Player of the Year. Regan, after some pretty good years for the Tigers, had an awful 1965 season. He was 1-5 with a 5.02 ERA for Detroit and also spent a lot of time playing for the team's minor league affiliate in Syracuse.The Tigers got rid of Regan in a trade with the Dodgers for infielder Dick Tracewski. That turned out to be a mistake because Regan had one of the most dominant seasons for a reliever up to that point in '66. He went 14-1 with a 1.62 ERA with 21 saves and finished seventh in the MVP voting. He also acquired one of the greatest nicknames ever, "The Vulture."
Regan had another decent year for the Dodgers in 1967, then was traded to the Cubs for almost nothing. He pitched well for the Cubs in '68 and '69 and then kind of faded out after that until retiring in 1972.
Al Downing, 1971 Comeback Player of the Year. Downing was a promising young strikeout pitcher for the Yankees in the '60s, who had moments of brilliance, like when he struck out three batters on nine pitches in a game against the Indians.But by the late '60s, Downing started bouncing around the league, and played for both Oakland and Milwaukee in 1970, going 5-13. The Dodgers traded their home run hitter, Andy Kosco -- who hit all of 19 in 1969 to lead the team -- to get Downing for the '71 season. Downing responded by going 20-9 and leading the league in shutouts with five. He took third in the Cy Young voting.
Downing never came close to that for the rest of his career, although he did hang on with the Dodgers for six more seasons. And, of course, he's the guy who made April 8, 1975 famous. You think it was Hammerin' Hank? Someone had to throw the ball first.
Jimmy Wynn, 1974 Comeback Player of the Year. The Dodgers had some smart people in their scouting department back in the '60s and '70s. Wynn was a slugger for the Astros and hit at least 26 homers for four straight years between 1967-70. But he started to fall off after that and hit only .220 in 1973.But the Dodgers picked him up for Claude Osteen, who was just about finished anyway, and Wynn helped lead L.A. to the '74 World Series with 32 homers and 108 RBIs. The guy could also draw a walk (he had 148 in 1969), finishing with 108.
Wynn's output was cut in half the next season, and L.A. traded him to the Braves after the '75 season in a trade that yielded Dusty Baker, so that worked out all right. I love his '77 Topps card, by the way, but I don't have it. I must get it.
Tommy John, 1976 Comeback Player of the Year. John went 10-10 with 91 strikeouts and 61 walks. All you baseball neophytes may think that's not a big deal. Well, considering he missed part of the '74 season and all of the '75 season after tearing up his elbow, and a ton of people thought he'd never pitch again, that's a pretty amazing feat.Of course, there is now a surgical procedure named after Tommy John. How many players can say that their name has been immortalized by something that happened off the field? Something non-criminal, that is. Dr. Frank Jobe repaired John's left elbow with a risky new procedure, taking a tendon from John's right forearm to help fix the damage.
If you ask me, John should have gotten another comeback award in 1977 after he went 20-7. Willie McCovey? Where did his season get the Giants that year? John went on to have a long and prosperous career, winning 20 games twice for the Yankees. I wasn't happy, though, when John left the Dodgers for the Yankees. But L.A. got its revenge, beating John and the Yankees to win the World Series in 1981. And John never did win a World Series. Should have stuck with the Dodgers, Tommy.
Jerry Reuss, 1980 Comeback Player of the Year. The Dodgers traded Rick Rhoden for Reuss in 1979, and for a while I thought the Pirates got the better end of the deal. Reuss was lousy in '79 (and so were the Dodgers), going 7-14. He even ended up in the bullpen.But everything was different in 1980. He went 18-6 with a 2.52 ERA. He threw six shutouts. He NO-HIT THE GIANTS (June 27th was a fantastic day). He was second in the Cy Young voting. And the next year he helped L.A. win a World Series.
Reuss was one of my favorite pitchers for L.A., both because he was consistently effective until injuries hit in the mid-1980s, and because he was goofy as all-get-out. You've got to admire that.
Tim Leary, 1988 Comeback Player of the Year. I have this theory about Dodgers pitchers, which doesn't really apply to the organization now, but once did. The theory goes like this: there is no organization in baseball that knows how to develop pitchers like the Dodgers. And if you're with the Dodgers, you will be at your finest. But if you leave the Dodgers, and you're not a decent talent, then you will suck for whatever sorry team lands you.This happened to Mike Morgan, Chan Ho Park, and a bunch of others I can't think of right now. Tim Leary is also an example. Leary started out with the Mets, didn't do much, went to the Brewers, was OK for a season, then stunk it up during his first season with the Dodgers in '87, going 3-11. But in 1988, he was one of L.A.'s best pitchers, finishing with an ERA under 3, striking out 180, pitching six shutouts and going 17-11. He also could hit, batting .269.
The Dodgers traded him to the Reds the next year in the Kal Daniels deal and Leary was back to his lousy ways. He almost lost 20 games for the Yankees in 1990 and eventually was banished to Seattle before retiring after playing for Texas in '94. Who knows what would have happened if he stayed with L.A.?
Tim Wallach, 1994 Comeback Player of the Year. By 1994, I was squeamish about the Dodgers acquiring big names (after Strawberry, Eric Davis, etc.), and Wallach was one of the major faces of the Expos. When Wallach batted .222 in his first year for the Dodgers in '93, I figured this was another brilliant free agent signing.But Wallach had his moment in the sun with L.A. in 1994, hitting .280 with 23 homers and 78 RBIs. Not bad. And he helped fill a hole at third base, which has been a constant issue for L.A.
Even with the '94 season, Wallach was almost done with his career. He was retired two years later, but '94 was his last great season.
Nomar Garciaparra, 2006 Comeback Player of the Year. Even though he might have brought it upon himself, I always felt sorry for Nomar for what happened in 2004. He had a falling out with Boston that year, was sent to the Cubs, and Boston ends up winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years.At least he bounced back enough to have a decent season with the Dodgers in 2006, driving in 93 runs and hitting .303. And he'll always be remembered in L.A. for hitting that extra-inning home run to cap off that astounding four-straight-home run comeback game against the Padres (now THERE's a comeback).
Because of that season and that home run, there's a fan in the Northeast rooting him on in Oakland.
All of these guys were able to celebrate a rebirth, their own little Easter, on the ballfield. And last year, Cliff Lee and Brad Lidge took home the Comeback Player of the Year Award. I love the Comeback Player of the Year Award, because the award is all about redemption, second chances and renewal. And so is this day.
Happy Easter.
Comments
It was almost a relief when he threw his pouty fit against the Yankees which sealed his ticket out of town. On one side you've got Jeter diving into the stands to make amazing plays while bloodying himself up and on the other side you've got Nomar sulking on the bench while the rest of the team is up on the dugout steps trying to will the team to victory.
While unfortunate for him, I don't think that Sox team wins without that trade. The team refocused and you can point to many instances in the playoffs where the improved defense paid dividends.