Why I like the Dodgers

The other day, veteran Dodgers prospect Keibert Ruiz hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.

My first thought was: "This is why I like the Dodgers."

My thought wasn't specific to the home run on his first at-bat. The Dodgers haven't done that more than any other team. They're tied for fourth overall with seven times. The Cardinals have hit the most homers in a first at-bat with 11.

No, Ruiz's feat made me proud of my Dodgers' fanship because he was a prospect that I had known for several years as being a good player, who then made an immediate impact when his number was called. And I like that because it's another sign that the Dodgers don't screw around.

They're not screw-ups and that's a big point in their favor. You'd think that every team could say the same thing about themselves, but they can't. There are obvious examples of teams that screw up all the time, year-after-year. It's amazing how they can't get out of their own way and it happens repeatedly.

The Dodgers don't do that. And I love them for it.

I've mentioned here and there over the years why I like the Dodgers. But I haven't placed all those reasons in one handy space. You know, there could be a point when senility hits and I'm wondering why I like this team. Someone can just point me to this post.

Anyway, I'm going to list all those reasons now.

I've already mentioned one of them over and over again: The first baseball card I pulled from a pack of cards was a 1974 Topps Tommy John card. And I remember declaring the Dodgers my favorite team because of that card. But a declaration like that won't stick all on its own.

There are too many outside influences and the Dodgers had to work to earn my faithfulness, and from 3,000 miles away to boot. Here is how they did it:

1. THEY WERE GOOD ALMOST FROM THE START

I don't know how people can root for teams that are poor decade after decade. That's no fun to me. I don't have to be a front-runner, but my team at least has to show that they're smarter than the other guys at least some of the time.

The year I pulled that Tommy John, the Dodgers went to the World Series. I didn't know that then. But that team led to more World Series appearances by the Dodgers in 1977 and 1978. I was 12 and 13 years old when that happened, and it really did make an impression. Just about everything does when you're that age. It helped, too, that they played the Yankees each year, I was surrounded by Yankees fans, and most of them were obnoxious. The Dodgers were my armor.

Kill joys will bring up the Dodgers' problems winning a World Series title, but I'd rather they get there repeatedly than root for a team like the Mariners who still doesn't know what it's like to play in one.

2. THEY TRANSCEND SPORTS

No matter what sports does, it is going to be lost on some people (for the record, I don't get those people). But the Dodgers managed to break through that wall of indifference by suiting up Jackie Robinson, the first black man to appear in a major league game.

Granted, it was 1947 and somebody should have done what the Dodgers did many years before, but at least the Dodgers stuck their neck out. No matter what kind of problems the Dodgers may have in the future, I know I can always point to this moment as something the Dodgers did right, and it is one of the greatest moments the sport has ever known.

3. THEY KNOW HOW TO GROW THEIR OWN PLAYERS

Sure, there have been periods when the Dodgers' farm system was a wasteland -- think the McCourt years -- but overall, Dodgers fans always have prospects that generate hope.

The Dodgers have produced more Rookies of the Year than any other major league team. The above six now current major league players all competed on the same Dodgers Triple A team a few years ago (although Muncy isn't homegrown).

Developing your own talent means you can succeed on your own. It shows self-sufficiency. It's something that I value as an individual and try to develop in myself. It shows reliability, dependability. You know all that stuff about "don't wait for an opportunity"? That's a successful farm system. You're not waiting. You're creating.

Along those same lines, I didn't rely on someone else for my favorite team. No one in my family is a Dodger fan, nor were any of my friends, and I live far away from an area where the majority of people are Dodger fans. I picked a team for my own reasons and I had to formulate those reasons. I created my rooting opportunity.

4. THEY PITCH LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS

Dominating pitching is my favorite aspect of baseball. It's really how the Dodgers have earned my devotion. They always have at least one terrific starting pitcher.

You could compile a five-man starting rotation of all-time Dodger greats and still have way too many players left over:

Sandy Koufax
Clayton Kershaw
Don Drysdale
Don Sutton
Orel Hershiser

OK, where is Fernando Valenzuela? Where is Don Newcombe? Johnny Podres? Carl Erskine? Dazzy Vance? Zack Greinke?

Also, the Dodgers have pitched the most no-hitters in history. The teams with the second-most (Red Sox and White Sox) are eight no-hitters behind.

If you own solid pitching, it's pretty much a given, you are going to be a good team. If your pitching is trash, even if your hitting is extraordinary, it's going to be a long year. The Dodgers know you can't get by only with hitting and they've known that for a long time.

5. THEY HAVE AN ALL-TIME STAR IN WHATEVER BASEBALL CATEGORY YOU WANT TO MENTION

Part of this is because the Dodgers have been around for a very long time. But that's another reason why I like them. How can you root for the Diamondbacks when they aren't even as old as Happy Gilmore?

But pick a category and the Dodgers have one of the best:

Base Stealing? Maury Wills
Home Run Blasting? Duke Snider
Starting Pitching? Sandy Koufax
Relief Pitching? Eric Gagne
Bunting? Brett Butler
Outfield Arm? Raul Mondesi
Hitting Catcher? Mike Piazza or is it Roy Campanella?
Epic Homer in the World Series? Kirk Gibson

6. THEY AREN'T CHANGING THEIR MANAGER EVERY TWO YEARS

This was more the case about 20 years ago before the boys from Fox took over, but I'm hoping that Dave Roberts will continue the long, long, loooooong tradition started by Wilbert Robinson, Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda.

Those three men managed the Dodgers for a combined 62 years. I don't know if there's a trio for another team that can match that (maybe Connie Mack and a couple random A's managers?).

Swapping your managers in and out is a step above changing your uniform color scheme every 10 years. Neither instills me with confidence in your team. The Dodgers gave their managers a chance to fail -- both Alston and Lasorda presided over some dismal Dodgers teams. Yanking a manager after a couple of subpar years smacks of panicking. And, yes, George Steinbrenner panicked a lot in his time.

7. THEY AREN'T AFRAID TO SPEND MONEY

There is no more unreasonable accusation than when a fan blames a team for "buying a championship".

We are living in reality and reality says that you need to spend money to win. That's been proven over and over. Teams that don't, won't. I often wonder what people who cry about teams buying championships think should happen: Should championships be decided by the food at each team's concession stands? 

When the Yankees threw money at every star that moved back in the late '70s and through the '80s, I wasn't crazy about that. But lots of teams did that, the Dodgers did, too. And it was proven that money alone won't win a title.

Being smart with your purchases is what helps build winning teams, and right now I'm loving that the Dodgers spent a lot of money on Mookie Betts recently because he's been quite good. (Also if you look at the contract, the money isn't that "outrageous").

You can not spend money and, I don't know, be more upstanding that way, I guess is what some people are thinking in their warped way? But all you're going to see is 5th or 6th place.

I prefer a team with a strong farm system and who will spend cash in key situations.

8. THEY MAKE THE WORLD WORK FOR THEM

It's taken years for many other teams to catch on to what the Dodgers knew: there are excellent players outside of the United States.

The Dodgers were among the first to recruit players from Latin America and their signing of Japan's Hideo Nomo began the journey of Asian players to the majors.

The Dodgers have fielded players from the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, Taiwan and probably lots of other places. Two years ago, the Dodgers fielded a roster with more nationalities than any other team in baseball. I'm sure they have been able to say the same thing many other years.

Not only have the Dodgers provided new opportunities for players outside of the U.S., but they have shown that they will explore ways to keep competing that maybe, just maybe, some of the screw-ups have thought of yet.

9. DEM BUMS

Even though I'm praising the Dodgers ability to succeed, they do have a history of ineptness. For a period through the 1920s and 1930s, the Dodgers were one of the screw-ups. But doesn't it feel good to know they got out of that situation instead of crying for years and years about other teams spending money?

The Dodgers' own a colorful history that is one of my favorite parts of being a fan of the team. The characters on the team, and in the stands, are legendary and part of the organization's lore. Pee Wee, Skoonj and Shot Gun. Fat Freddie, The Lip and Gomer. The Penguin, Bulldog and The Wild Horse.

The Dodgers are one of the flagship organizations in baseball and have been for decades. Their history is a main reason for that. People are drawn to a team that seems human, and not a machine. As much as people try to stick the Dodgers with the Hollywood label, their history as every man is on record for all to see.

10. THEY WRITE GREAT BOOKS

I just counted the number of books I own that are about the Dodgers. I have 20.

I don't know if the Dodgers have had more books written about them than any other baseball team. My guess is teams like the Yankees and Cubs are up there. Probably the Mets and Red Sox, too. But I do know the Dodgers have to be in the top three or four.

The reason the Dodgers have such a colorful history is because so many authors wrote about it. But I'm thinking the writers gravitated to the team because of what they saw.

The Dodgers are a literary team, that's for sure. And as a literary guy, I appreciate that very much.

11. THEY ARE THE RIGHT KIND OF BLUE

Blue is my favorite color.

This may seem kind of a silly reason, but the Dodgers wear the right kind of blue. The most pleasing kind of blue.

No other team in baseball wears that color. There are a lot of teams in MLB that wear blue. But the vast majority of those teams wear navy blue. That includes the Braves, Red Sox, Brewers, Astros, Mariners, Indians, Twins and Angels. The Yankees and Tigers wear midnight navy blue, and the Royals, Blue Jays and Rangers wear royal blue.

The two teams with blue that come the closest to the Dodgers are the Mets and the Cubs.

The Mets' blue (which is taken from the Dodgers' blue, by the way), is not as blue as the Dodgers' pantone 294 shade when you look at the RGB chart for each team. The Cubs' blue, which is a deeper blue than the Dodgers' blue, is saturated with red on the RGB chart, which is why it looks darker.

And for me, that is not as pleasing, because I don't want red in my blue. I just want blue. The Dodger blue is the most pleasing of colors, I could look at it all day.

(For the record, I do like teams that wear red, and the A's colors are always great. But any of the other blue teams just don't stand up to the Dodgers).

There is nothing like Dodger blue accenting a crisp white uniform. It speaks to my baseball childhood, and it is one of the very few teams that can say it looks the same today as it did back in the '70s when I was first forming my devotion to the team.

So, those are the reasons I like the Dodgers. (There are probably others I missed).

I think it's safe to say I'm not changing my favorite team.