Dodgers: 1988 Dodgers vs. 2017 Dodgers

The 2017 Dodgers are arguably the best Dodger team since the last Dodger team that won the World Series in 1988. Stacking up pitching versus hitting, which team is better?

It might seem like the 1988 team is superior since they won the World Series but that may not necessarily be the case. The Mets were the best team in the National League and were the favorite to win the championship in 1988. This year, the Dodgers are on pace to have the best record in the entire league, let alone the National League and are the clear favorites to win the championship.

While the current team has an assortment of young stars with the best starting pitcher of the generation, the 1988 team had several solid pitchers of their own including the “bulldog” Orel Hershiser. The ’88 squad also featured several tested veterans like Mike Scioscia, Kirk Gibson and Steve Sax.

This year’s Dodgers team has a few veterans like Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez, but it’s a young team, for the most part, sprinkled in with savvy veterans like Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe. While it may be difficult to consider this Dodger team as better than the team that won the last championship for LA, it’s worth having a discussion.

Starting Pitching

Despite the 2017 Dodgers having one of the best pitchers ever to play the game, the 1988 Dodgers had an excellent rotation that stacks up well compared to the 2017 Dodgers.

The 1988 Dodger rotation:

Orel Hershiser – 23-8, 2.26 ERA, 3.18 FIP

Tim Leary – 17-11, 2.91 ERA, 2.75 FIP

Tim Belcher – 2.91 ERA, 2.54 FIP

Fernando Valenzuela – 4.24 ERA, 4.48 FIP

Don Sutton – 3.92 ERA,  3.87 FIP

The 2017 Dodger rotation (for the most part):

Clayton Kershaw – 15-2, 2.04 ERA, 2.93 FIP

Alex Wood – 13-1, 2.33 ERA, 2.56 FIP

Rich Hill – 8-4, 3.47 ERA, 3.98 FIP

Brandon McCarthy – 6-4, 3.84 ERA, 3.34 FIP

Yu Darvish – 7-9, 3.81 ERA, 3.81 FIP

While the 1988 Dodger rotation had three starting pitchers with an ERA under three, the 2017 Dodger rotation has all five starting pitchers with an ERA under four.  As good as the “bulldog” Orel Hershiser was in 1988, Clayton Kershaw has been even better this year when he is healthy.  Alex Wood has also been better than any of the 1988 rotation members except for Hershiser.

Yu Darvish also throws in a new wrinkle to the 2017 Dodger rotation.  While he is having a sub-par season by his standards, Darvish is still one of the most filthy pitchers in baseball when healthy.  His stuff looks like a created player on MLB the show; it is truly wipeout stuff.  It’s hard to swap ERA’s but the league is putting up way higher offensive numbers in today’s game than 1988 so most of the 1988 rotation members would likely struggle in today’s game except for Hershiser.

Edge: The 2017 starting rotation gets the nod due to the fact like guys like Kershaw, Darvish, and even Alex Wood, would likely dominate the offensively challenged league of 1988.

Bullpen

The 1988 and 2017 Dodger bullpens are both very good.  The 2017 Dodgers are first in the National League, and second in all of baseball with a 2.94 ERA. The two ERA’s are also entirely different because today’s game features more specialized roles where back in 1988 it was more of the relief pitchers just trying to get as many outs as they could no matter which kind of batter came to the plate.

The 1988 bullpen main stays were:

Jay Howell – 2.08 ERA, 21 saves, 1.83 FIP, 9 K/9IP

Alejandro Pena – 1.91 ERA, 12 saves, 2.45 FIP, 7 K/9IP

Brian Holton – 1.70 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 5 K/9IP

Tim Crews – 3.14 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 5 K/9IP

Jesse Orosco – 2.72 ERA,  3.94 FIP, 7 K/9IP

The 2017 Dodger bullpen features:

Kenley Jansen – 1.33 ERA, 28 saves, 1.24 FIP, 13 K/9IP

Pedro Baez – 1.74 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 8 K/9IP

Brandon Morrow – 1.82 ERA, 1.23 FIP, 11 K/9IP

Josh Fields – 2.75 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 10 K/9IP

Luis Avilan – 3.09 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 11 K/9IP

As good as Jay Howell was in 1988 the 2017 Dodgers closer is even better as Kenley Jansen is having one of the best seasons a closer has ever had.  The 1988 bullpen had lower ERA’s than the core of 2017 relievers do, but the 2017 squad has relievers that strikeout a ton of batters which can be crucial in late inning situations.  The 2017 Dodgers have a handful of relievers that average double digit strikeouts per nine innings.

Edge: The better bullpen narrowly goes to the 1988 Dodgers by the slimmest of margins.  Although Jansen seems to be from another world, the 1988 Dodgers featured more dependable relievers.  Most Dodger fans still cringe when Pedro Baez or Josh Fields enter a game, and Luis Avilan has been beaten around by right-handed batters.

Offense

When it comes to comparing the offense, this is where the 2017 Dodgers have a considerable advantage.  If you are a fan of high scoring offense, then you would not have like the 1988 Dodgers.  The 1988 Dodgers had only two hitters belt more than 20 home runs as eventual world series hero Kirk Gibson knocked 25 homers out, and Mike Marshall hit 20 home runs.  Gibson was also the 1988 Dodgers leading hitter with a .290 average.

This year the 2017 Dodgers have Bellinger with 32 home runs already, Puig has 21, and Seager is about to pass the 20 home run plateau as he has 19 home runs.  That’s not to mention Chris Taylor who has 15 and could end up with twenty home runs at his current another worldly pace.  That doesn’t account for Joc Pederson or Justin Turner who both missed time with injuries. Otherwise, they are both usually a lock for twenty or more home runs.  The 2017 squad definitely has the edge in the power department.

The one big advantage the 1988 Dodgers had was the ability to steal bases.  Steve Sax finished 1988 with 42 stolen bases, and to the surprise of many, Kirk Gibson stole 31 bases.  Franklin Stubbs and John Shelby also finished with double digit steals.  On this year’s team, Chris Taylor leads the club with 13 stolen bases, and Yasiel Puig is second with 12 steals.  The 2017 Dodgers are not burners on the base path, but yet they still have ways to manifacture runs.

Edge: The 2017 Dodgers clearly have the edge offensively.  With three hitters batting over .300 and several prolific power hitters, the 2017 Dodgers look like a juggernaut compared to the 1988 team that relied on small ball and scratching runs across.  The 2017 offense could finish with a batting title from Justin Turner, and will most likely have the rookie of the year in Cody Bellinger.

Next: Greatest NL Team... Ever?

Conclusion: The 2017 Dodgers appear to be better overall on paper than the 1988 Dodgers.  As we all know that is why the game is played on the field, so it will be up to the 2017 Dodgers to finish their regular season strong and finish October with a World Series championship. If not, this season will go down as one of the most disappointing Dodger teams in recent memory, maybe ever. Orel Hershiser was known for playoff magic which is something Clayton Kershaw will look to flip the script on this year and lead the Dodgers to their first World Series championship since 1988. With all that said, this is a nice debate to have for Dodger fans.