Dodgers Way Top Ten Dodgers of All-Time: Number Eight

Just eight days remain until opening day in Los Angeles. With that said, DodgersWay will continue our list of the ten greatest Dodgers of all-time. Coming in at number eight is our first position player to appear on the list, Roy Campanella.

Roy Campanella played ten seasons in the major leagues. All of which was with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Campanella made his debut in Brooklyn just one season after Jackie Robinson’s groundbreaking rookie season. After spending years in the Negro and Mexican leagues, Campanella was given the shot he deserved with the Dodgers in 1948 at the age of 26.

His rookie season was not as noteworthy as the rest of his career would be when it comes to on the field production. He played in just 83 games, hit 9 home runs, and 45 RBI’s which would all be career lows for the future Hall-of-Famer.

After his rather underwhelming welcome to the bigs, Campanella went on to make eight consecutive all-star appearances. He also added three National League MVP awards during that eight-year stretch. Campanella was a big part of the Dodgers team. He was able to lead them to five National League pennants in his ten seasons.

Unfortunately for him, he was matched up against the Yankees in all five of those bouts and Campanella ended with just one World Series ring under his belt. Nonetheless, Campanella had some of those most remarkable seasons ever, for a catcher.

His most productive season came in 1953. He slashed an unreal .312/.395/.611. Campanella also hit 41 home runs and an astounding 142 RBI’s. A truly unforgettable season. He set the single-season record for home runs by a catcher. His home run count sits at 40 because one of those home runs came while he was not catching, thus making the record 40 and not 41 which was his actual home run total.

That record would stand for over forty years. In 1996 Todd Hundley broke the record hitting 41 from the catcher position, and another Dodger catcher Mike Piazza tied him twice with 40 bombs in 1997 and 1999. His 142 RBI’s still stand as the second most in franchise history for a single season.

His offense was not the only thing Campanella provided to this team. He was one of the leaders of this team. Roy was also a stout defender and one of the most feared catchers to run against because of that cannon of an arm.

He led the NL in caught stealing just twice and led in caught stealing percentage five times in his ten years with the Dodgers. To this day Roy Campanella holds the record for caught stealing percentage by a catcher for a career (min. 200 attempts).

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He threw out 57.4% of would-be base runners. To put that into perspective; Yadier Molina, who is this generations most feared catcher to run against boasts a career 41.19% caught stealing percentage. Campanella is more than 15 points higher than him which shows just how special he was behind the plate.

As great as he was in his ten seasons with the Dodgers there will always be a “what if?” attached to him for two reasons.  The first and perhaps the most obvious would be what if he came into the league a little bit younger than 26, would he have accumulated even more hardware and pad his already very good stats.

The second of these is what if his career had not been cut short? His final season came in 1957, just one season before the team would move to the city of angels. Campanella was involved in a car crash that ended with him being paralyzed from the neck down and effectively ending any chance of him ever playing baseball again.

Fans in Los Angeles never got the opportunity to see the all-star catcher, but Campanella did more than enough to carve his name into not only Dodgers but all of baseball history forever. Campanella was inducted into the Baseball Hall-of-Fame in 1969. A few years later he had his jersey number 39 retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Campanella exemplifies so much to this Dodgers organization, and there is a reason he is one of only ten Dodgers to have his number retired. His legacy still lasts today in the Dodgers clubhouse. The Roy Campanella award is given to the Dodger who best represents his spirit and leadership on and off the field. This award is voted on by the staff and players every year.

Next: Dodgers Way top ten Dodgers of all time: Number Nine

Roy Campanella will always be a big part of history for the Dodgers. He is the greatest Dodger catcher of all-time, and while Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, Campanella kicked down the doors with his performance on the field. Campanella was truly great.