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As I’ve said before, I’m not a baseball expert. I’m just a cartoonist who has been a lifelong Dodgers fan. One of the coolest things about contributing to ThinkBlueLA is that I’m now sort of a baseball writer. This is important to me because it’s the baseball writers who determine who goes to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Maybe I’ll have a vote one day! Technically, I guess I’d have to be a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and then I’d probably have to pay dues or something. So that might not happen.  But I’ll be ready with my HOF picks just in case anyone asks. 

As we all know, there are many great players in the Hall of Fame who wore Dodger Uniforms: Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Roy Campanella, Juan Marichal (I just threw that in to annoy any Giants fans who might be spying on us. His final year in the Big leagues was as a Dodger). Admittedly, some of my picks for Cooperstown might seem unconventional, and it’s purely a coincidence that they’re all Dodgers. Like I said, I’m just a cartoonist. 

1. STEVE GARVEY: The Dodgers Iron man for 10 seasons. Career .294 BA, 272 HR, 1308 RBI. I wrote him a fan letter in 1974, and he sent me his autograph! I don’t even think I asked him for it. I just told him he was my favorite player, and I stuffed the All-Star ballot box for him. He also won the MVP that year (without my help).

2. LOPES, RUSSELL, CEY: I would never break up that infield!

3. RICK MONDAY: Saved Old Glory. He was on the Cubs when he did it (at Dodger Stadium), but he was destined to become a Dodger.  A solid, all-around player. I still remember his ninth-inning home run in game 5 of the 1981 NLCS in Montreal that put the Dodgers into the World Series. He later became a fixture in the Dodger broadcast booth, replacing the late Don Drysdale. I think he’s been outstanding at both careers!

4. DIETER RUEHLE: OK, he’s not a baseball player, but he plays the organ like a Hall of Famer! I never liked canned music. To me, a talented and clever organist makes the stadium feel alive in the moment. For a while, It seemed like stadium organ music was on the way out. Then along came Dieter! 

5. ROGER OWENS: The peanut man! Roger is as much a part of Dodger Stadium as the San Gabriel mountains. He has walked the aisles with his big box of peanuts since 1959. If Roger can see you, he can throw a bag of peanuts right at you, often from behind his back! He’s so amazing; he has even been on TV. I remember seeing him on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson throwing bags of peanuts to the audience. It is a joy to see someone who loves what they do. If there’s a peanut vendors’ wing in the Hall of Fame, Roger is a first-ballot inductee.

6. JERRY DOGGETT: Jerry called Dodger games alongside Vin Scully for over 30 years, beginning in Brooklyn in 1956. I don’t think Jerry ever got the recognition he deserved, probably because Vin was around. It must have been like being Roy Disney. He was great in his own right, but his brother Walt got all the attention. I read somewhere that Jerry turned down opportunities to be the number one announcer for other teams. So glad he did!

7. FARMER JOHN: I feel like I know him personally after all these years. I can’t think of the name without hearing Vin’s voice.

8. JOHN RAMSEY: The  Dodgers’ long-time PA announcer. Actually, he was everybody’s long-time PA announcer! The Rams, Lakers, Kings, Trojans, Raiders, and the Angels (when they played at Dodger Stadium). As a kid, I wondered “Is he the only guy in southern California who can do this job?” His style was deliberate and no-nonsense. I think he spoke that way because of the echo in the stadium. I can still hear him. “Batting fourth….number nine…right fielder…Andy…Kosko.” 

9. MIKE BRITO: We’ve read all about Mike here at ThinkBlue LA. For years he stood behind home plate in a fancy suit, with a Panama hat and a radar gun. You could tell he was someone special, and he certainly is; a scout for the Dodgers who was instrumental in signing many future major-leaguers, including Fernando. Hey, speaking of Fernando…

10. FERNANDO VALENZUELA: A charismatic pitcher who could even hit! He reminded some people of Babe Ruth. The game seemed to come so easy for him. I’ll never forget his first full season pitching for the Dodgers, throwing shutout after shutout! He also fielded his position very well. I remember Vin talking about how he always threw to the right base with runners on. One time, with a man on second, Fernando fielded a comebacker and instead of getting the out at first, he immediately ran at the runner on second until he committed one way or the other. Then he threw him out, cutting down the lead runner. Scully marveled at how such a young pitcher instinctively knew to do this. And who can forget Vin’s joyous call of Fernando’s no-hitter? “If you have a sombrero, throw it to the sky!”

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