1962 Los Angeles Dodgers season

Major League Baseball team season

1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

League| National League
Ballpark| Dodger Stadium
City| Los Angeles
Owners| Walter O'Malley, James & Dearie Mulvey
President| Walter O'Malley
General managers| Buzzie Bavasi
Managers| Walter Alston
Television| KTTV (11)
Radio| KFI
Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett
KWKW
Jose Garcia, Jaime Jarrín
| <- 1961 | Seasons | 1963 ->

|
|

The 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the fifth for the team in Southern California, and the 73rd for the franchise in the National League. After spending the previous four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, they began the season by opening Dodger Stadium, the team's new ballpark. The stadium opened on April 10 with a game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers proceeded to win a Los Angeles record 102 games and tied the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League. The Giants won the ensuing tie-breaker series two games to one.

## Off-season

[edit]

* October 11, 1961: Gordie Windhorn and Bill Lajoie (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the Kansas City Athletics for Stan Johnson, Bobby Prescott, and Jay Ward.[1]
* December 15, 1961: Charlie Neal and a player to be named later were traded by the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Lee Walls and cash. The Dodgers completed the deal by sending Willard Hunter to the Mets on May 25, 1962.[2]
* Prior to 1962 season: Duke Carmel was acquired from the Dodgers by the St. Louis Cardinals.[3]
* March 24, 1962: Ramón Conde and Jim Koranda (minors) were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago White Sox for Andy Carey.[4]

## Regular season

[edit]

The Los Angeles Times described the Dodgers' season as a "gamut of sublime" and "ridiculous", noting their successes—such as Maury Wills' 100 stolen bases breaking Ty Cobb's single-season record, Don Drysdale's 25 wins, and Sandy Koufax's no-hitter on June 30—together with problems such as the 18 unearned runs the defense had allowed for the season behind Drysdale, and other fielding issues.[5]

The Dodgers spent most of the early part of the season trying to keep pace with the San Francisco Giants, who established an early lead in the standings and continued to hold at least a share of that lead continuously from April 28 to June 7.[6] At that point the Dodgers overtook the Giants, and for the next month the lead was traded between the two sides five times. The Giants held the lead for the last time on July 7.[6] The Dodgers went 20–6 in July while the Giants went 16–11, allowing the Dodgers to take the league lead on July 8 and hold it until season's last regular game.[7]

The Dodgers lost 10 of their final 13 games from September 16 to 30, while the Giants lost just 6 over the same span. While the schedule says the Dodgers lost the pennant in late September/early October, it was probably lost on July 17 in Cincinnati. That is when star left-hander Sandy Koufax left his start against the Reds in the first inning with a bruised tendon on his finger. Koufax would miss 58 games and approximately 13 starts due to the injury. At the time, Koufax was 14–5 with a league-best 2.15 ERA. The desperate Dodgers brought Koufax back on Sept. 21 when he was clearly not ready. He started three games, but lasted a total of 6+2⁄3 innings and gave up nine runs and went 0–2 along with a no-decision.[6][7] However, with seven games remaining the Dodgers were still ahead in the league by four games, and later held a two-game lead with three left to play.[7] They entered their final game with a one-game lead over the Giants, but fell 1–0 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the Giants won 2–1 over the Houston Colt .45's, after an eighth-inning home run by Willie Mays.[8] These results left the Dodgers and Giants tied in the league at 101–61, necessitating a tie-breaker to decide the NL pennant. The three-game tiebreaker series was considered part of the regular season for statistical purposes. The Giants won game one, while the Dodgers took game two. The Giants then took game three to capture the NL pennant.

## Records and achievements

[edit]

In 1962 two players set Los Angeles Dodgers team records that still stand. Tommy Davis, batting in the heart of the Dodgers' batting order, had a season that in another season might have earned him the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Davis set Dodger records with 230 hits and 153 runs batted in that have never been matched. In addition, Davis won the National League batting title with a .346 batting average, he scored 120 runs himself, and he also hit 27 doubles and 27 home runs. Davis finished third in the voting for the MVP trophy.

The winner of the MVP was Davis's teammate Maury Wills, who set the all-time Dodger record of 104 stolen bases. This was also a major league season record until it was broken in 1974 by Lou Brock. Wills also led the league in playing in all 165 of the Dodgers' games (including their three-game playoff with the Giants) and with 695 at-bats. The 165 games played in a single season remains an all-time major league record, and is unlikely to be broken under the current major league rules. Wills totaled 208 hits and 130 runs scored, and he also led the league with 10 triples. To top it off, Wills won the Gold Glove at shortstop. All of this impressed the voters for the MVP more than Davis's performance did.

Maury Wills (104) and Willie Davis (32) set an MLB record with the most stolen bases by 2 teammates with 136. The Dodgers OF consisting of Tommy Davis in LF, Willie Davis in CF and Frank Howard in RF provided most Of the Power for the Dodgers as Tommy Davis hit 27 HRs with 153 RBIs - Willie Davis (who was voted the NL Sophomore Of the year in 1962) hit 21 HRs with 85 RBIs and Big Frank Howard jacked 31 HRs with 118 RBIs.

Another Dodger, Don Drysdale, won the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. Drysdale led the league with 25 wins, 41 games started, 19 complete games, 314 innings pitched, and 232 strikeouts. He only suffered nine lost games, and he also finished fifth in the voting for the MVP trophy.

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

In addition, a young pitcher named Sandy Koufax had a breakthrough year of a kind for the Dodgers. Koufax led the league with an earned-run average (ERA) of 2.54, and this was first time that he had had an ERA nearly that low, and it was the first of five consecutive years in which he led the league in ERA in just 28 games pitched, Koufax has a won-loss record of 14–7, 11 complete games, and 216 strikeouts.

### Season standings

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

National League Team  | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

|
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San Francisco Giants | 103 | 62  | .624  | —  | 61‍–‍21  | 42‍–‍41
Los Angeles Dodgers | 102 | 63  | .618  | 1  | 54‍–‍29  | 48‍–‍34
Cincinnati Reds | 98 | 64  | .605  | 3½  | 58‍–‍23  | 40‍–‍41
Pittsburgh Pirates | 93 | 68  | .578  | 8  | 51‍–‍30  | 42‍–‍38
Milwaukee Braves | 86 | 76  | .531  | 15½  | 49‍–‍32  | 37‍–‍44
St. Louis Cardinals | 84 | 78  | .519  | 17½  | 44‍–‍37  | 40‍–‍41
Philadelphia Phillies | 81 | 80  | .503  | 20  | 46‍–‍34  | 35‍–‍46
Houston Colt .45s | 64 | 96  | .400  | 36½  | 32‍–‍48  | 32‍–‍48
Chicago Cubs | 59 | 103  | .364  | 42½  | 32‍–‍49  | 27‍–‍54
New York Mets | 40 | 120  | .250  | 60½  | 22‍–‍58  | 18‍–‍62

### Record vs. opponents

[edit]

1962 National League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Team  | CHC  | CIN  | HOU  | LAD  | MIL  | NYM  | PHI  | PIT  | SF  | STL
Chicago | — | 4–14 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 7–11
Cincinnati | 14–4 | — | 13–5 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 8–10
Houston | 11–7 | 5–13 | — | 6–12 | 7–11 | 13–3–1 | 1–17 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 9–9–1
Los Angeles | 14–4 | 9–9 | 12–6 | — | 10–8 | 16–2 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 10–11 | 7–11
Milwaukee | 10–8 | 5–13 | 11–7 | 8–10 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 12–6
New York | 9–9 | 5–13 | 3–13–1 | 2–16 | 6–12 | — | 4–14 | 2–16 | 4–14 | 5–13
Philadelphia | 8–10 | 10–8 | 17–1 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 14–4 | — | 7–10 | 5–13 | 9–9
Pittsburgh | 14–4 | 5–13 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 16–2 | 10–7 | — | 7–11 | 12–6
San Francisco | 12–6 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 11–10 | 11–7 | 14–4 | 13–5 | 11–7 | — | 9–9
St. Louis | 11–7 | 10–8 | 9–9–1 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 9–9 | —

### Opening Day lineup

[edit]

Opening Day starters

Name | Position
Maury Wills | Shortstop
Jim Gilliam | Second baseman
Wally Moon | Left fielder
Duke Snider | Right fielder
John Roseboro | Catcher
Ron Fairly | First baseman
Daryl Spencer | Third baseman
Willie Davis | Center fielder
Johnny Podres | Starting pitcher

### Roster

[edit]

1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

Roster
Pitchers

* 53 Don Drysdale
* 23 Willard Hunter
* 32 Sandy Koufax
* 38 Joe Moeller
* 17 Phil Ortega
* 16 Ron Perranoski
* 22 Johnny Podres
* 45 Pete Richert
* 37 Ed Roebuck
* 51 Larry Sherry
* 41 Jack Smith
* 40 Stan Williams

|  | Catchers

* 35 Doug Camilli
* 8 John Roseboro
* 34 Norm Sherry

Infielders

* 11 Larry Burright
* 21 Andy Carey
* 6 Ron Fairly
* 19 Jim Gilliam
* 15 Tim Harkness
* 20 Daryl Spencer
* 44 Dick Tracewski
* 30 Maury Wills

|  | Outfielders

* 12 Tommy Davis
* 3 Willie Davis
* 25 Frank Howard
* 14 Ken McMullen
* 9 Wally Moon
* 4 Duke Snider
* 7 Lee Walls

|  | Manager

* 24 Walter Alston

Coaches

* 33 Joe Becker
* 2 Leo Durocher
* 31 Greg Mulleavy
* 27 Pete Reiser

## Player stats

[edit]

| = Indicates team leader

|

### Batting

[edit]

#### Starters by position

[edit]

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

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|

C | John Roseboro | 128 | 389 | 97 | .249 | 7 | 55
1B | Ron Fairly | 147 | 460 | 128 | .278 | 14 | 71
2B | Jim Gilliam | 160 | 588 | 159 | .270 | 4 | 43
3B | Daryl Spencer | 77 | 157 | 37 | .236 | 2 | 12
SS | Maury Wills | 165 | 695 | 208 | .299 | 6 | 48
LF | Tommy Davis | 163 | 665 | 230 | .346 | 27 | 153
CF | Willie Davis | 157 | 600 | 171 | .285 | 21 | 85
RF | Frank Howard | 141 | 493 | 146 | .296 | 31 | 119

#### Other batters

[edit]

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

|
|
|
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|
|

Larry Burright | 115 | 249 | 51 | .205 | 4 | 30
Wally Moon | 95 | 244 | 59 | .242 | 4 | 31
Duke Snider | 80 | 158 | 44 | .278 | 5 | 30
Andy Carey | 53 | 111 | 26 | .234 | 2 | 13
Lee Walls | 60 | 109 | 29 | .266 | 0 | 17
Doug Camilli | 45 | 88 | 25 | .284 | 4 | 22
Norm Sherry | 35 | 88 | 16 | .182 | 3 | 16
Tim Harkness | 92 | 62 | 16 | .258 | 2 | 7
Ken McMullen | 6 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 0
Dick Tracewski | 15 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0

### Pitching

[edit]

#### Starting pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

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|
|
|
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|

Don Drysdale | 43 | 314.0 | 25 | 9 | 2.83 | 232
Johnny Podres | 43 | 255.0 | 15 | 13 | 3.81 | 178
Stan Williams | 40 | 185.2 | 14 | 12 | 4.46 | 108
Sandy Koufax | 28 | 184.0 | 14 | 7 | 2.54 | 216

#### Other pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

|
|
|
|
|
|

Joe Moeller | 19 | 85.2 | 6 | 5 | 5.25 | 46
Pete Richert | 19 | 81.1 | 5 | 4 | 3.87 | 75
Phil Ortega | 24 | 53.2 | 0 | 2 | 6.88 | 30

#### Relief pitchers

[edit]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

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|
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Ron Perranoski | 70 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 2.85 | 68
Ed Roebuck | 64 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 3.09 | 72
Larry Sherry | 58 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 3.20 | 71
Jack Smith | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.50 | 7
Willard Hunter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.50 | 1

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* National League Most Valuable Player
* Maury Wills
* Cy Young Award
* Don Drysdale
* Associated Press Athlete of the Year
* Maury Wills[9]
* Gold Glove Award
* Maury Wills
* NL Player of the Month
* Sandy Koufax (June 1962)
* Frank Howard (July 1962)

### Sporting News awards

[edit]

* TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
* Don Drysdale
* TSN Major League Player of the Year Award
* Maury Wills & Don Drysdale
* TSN National League Player of the Year Award
* Maury Wills

### All-Stars

[edit]

* 1962 Major League Baseball All-Star Game −1st Game
* Don Drysdale starter
* Tommy Davis starter
* Sandy Koufax reserve
* John Roseboro reserve
* Maury Wills reserve
* 1962 Major League Baseball All-Star Game – 2nd Game
* Johnny Podres starter
* Tommy Davis starter
* John Roseboro reserve
* Maury Wills reserve
* Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award – Game 1
* Maury Wills
* TSN National League All-Star
* Don Drysdale
* Tommy Davis
* Maury Wills

## Farm system

[edit]

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

|
|
|

AAA | Omaha Dodgers | American Association | Danny Ozark
AAA | Spokane Indians | Pacific Coast League | Preston Gómez
A | Greenville Spinners | South Atlantic League | Roy Hartsfield
B | Salem Dodgers | Northwest League | Stan Wasiak
C | Great Falls Electrics | Pioneer League | Al Ronning
C | Reno Silver Sox | California League | Roy Smalley
D | Keokuk Dodgers/Midwest Dodgers | Midwest League | Ed Serrano
D | Ozark Dodgers/Andalusia Dodgers | Alabama–Florida League | George Scherger
D | St. Petersburg Saints | Florida State League | Spider Jorgensen

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Stan Johnson at Baseball-Reference
2. ^ Charlie Neal at Baseball-Reference
3. ^ Duke Carmel at Baseball-Reference
4. ^ Ramón Conde at Baseball-Reference
5. ^ Finch, Frank (October 1, 1962). "Dodgers Ran Gamut of Sublime to Ridiculous in Pennant Quest". Los Angeles Times.
6. ^ a b c "1962 San Francisco Giants Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
7. ^ a b c "1962 Los Angeles Dodgers Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
8. ^ "Giants Win on Mays' Homer to Force Play-off Today". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 1, 1962.
9. ^ Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)

## References

[edit]

* Baseball-Reference season page
* Baseball Almanac season page
* [11]

## External links

[edit]

* 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
* Los Angeles Dodgers official web site

* v
* t
* e

1962 MLB season by team

American League|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Kansas City
* Los Angeles
* Minnesota
* New York
* Washington

National League|

* Chicago
* Cincinnati
* Houston
* Los Angeles
* Milwaukee
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis
* San Francisco

* 1961 All-Star Game (1st, 2nd)
* 1962 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Los Angeles Dodgers

* Established in 1884
* Formerly the Brooklyn Robins and the Brooklyn Dodgers
* Based in Los Angeles, California

Franchise|

* History
* in Brooklyn
* Seasons
* Award winners
* Records
* No-hitters
* Players
* First-round draft picks
* Managers
* Owners and executives
* Coaches
* Broadcasters
* Radio network
* SportsNet LA
* Hall of Famers
* Opening Day starting pitchers

Ballparks|

* Washington Park
* Eastern Park
* Ridgewood Park
* Washington Park
* Ebbets Field
* Roosevelt Stadium
* Proposed domed stadium
* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Dodger Stadium
* Spring training:
* Latta Park Baseball Field
* Whittington Park
* Majestic Park
* Barrs Field
* Tinker Field
* Clearwater Athletic Field
* City Island Ball Park
* Gran Stadium de La Habana
* Miami Stadium
* Payne Park
* Holman Stadium
* Camelback Ranch

Culture|

* Dodger Dog
* The Boys of Summer
* Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush
* Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
* The Last Innocents
* Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy
* "I Love L.A."
* It's Good to Be Alive
* "Kernkraft 400"
* The First
* Battle of Chavez Ravine
* Chavez Ravine
* Dodger blue
* Roy Campanella Award
* Historic Dodgertown
* SportsNet LA
* KLAC
* 2011 team ownership dispute
* It Happened in Flatbush
* The Jackie Robinson Story
* 42
* Dodgers infield
* The Sound of the Dodgers

| Notable figures|

* Nancy Bea Hefley
* Hilda Chester
* Gladys Goodding
* Nobe Kawano
* Robert Mitchell
* Allan Roth
* Dieter Ruehle

|

Lore|

* Chronicle-Telegraph Cup
* Brooklyn Dodgers 1, Boston Braves 1 (26 innings)‎
* Tri-Cornered Baseball Game
* "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
* 1955 World Series
* Relocation to Los Angeles
* "Battle of Candlestick"
* Sandy Koufax's perfect game
* Koufax–Drysdale holdout
* Fernandomania
* Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run
* Orel Hershiser's scoreless innings streak
* MLB China Series
* NL tie-breaker games/series
* 1946 NL tie-breaker series
* 1951 NL tie-breaker series
* 1959 NL tie-breaker series
* 1962 NL tie-breaker series
* 1980 NL West tie-breaker game
* 2018 NL West tie-breaker game

Rivalries|

* Arizona Diamondbacks
* Los Angeles Angels
* New York Yankees
* Subway Series (historically)
* San Diego Padres
* San Francisco Giants
* St. Louis Cardinals

Key personnel|

* Owner: Guggenheim Baseball Management
* President: Stan Kasten
* President of Baseball Operations: Andrew Friedman
* General Manager: Brandon Gomes
* Manager: Dave Roberts

World Series
Championships (7)|

* 1955
* 1959
* 1963
* 1965
* 1981
* 1988
* 2020

League pennants
(26)|

* American Association: 1889
* National League: 1890
* 1899
* 1900
* 1916
* 1920
* 1941
* 1947
* 1949
* 1952
* 1953
* 1955
* 1956
* 1959
* 1963
* 1965
* 1966
* 1974
* 1977
* 1978
* 1981
* 1988
* 2017
* 2018
* 2020
* 2024

Division titles (22)|

* 1974
* 1977
* 1978
* 1981 (first half)
* 1983
* 1985
* 1988
* 1995
* 2004
* 2008
* 2009
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

Wild card berths (3)|

* 1996
* 2006
* 2021

Minor league affiliates|

* Triple-A: Oklahoma City Comets
* Double-A: Tulsa Drillers
* High-A: Great Lakes Loons
* Single-A: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
* Rookie: Arizona Complex League Dodgers
* Dominican Summer League Dodgers
* Minor League Rosters

Seasons (141)

1880s|

* 1880 · 1881 · 1882 ·  1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889

1890s|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899

1900s|

* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909

1910s|

* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919

1920s|

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929

1930s|

* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
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* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

1940s|

* 1940
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* 1942
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* 1945
* 1946
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* 1948
* 1949

1950s|

* 1950
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1960s|

* 1960
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* 1962
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* 1966
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* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
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* 1973
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* 1975
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1980s|

* 1980
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* 1982
* 1983
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1990s|

* 1990
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2000s|

* 2000
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2010s|

* 2010
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2020s|

* 2020
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