Dodgers: The Top Five Right Fielders in LA Dodger History

The Dodgers have had no shortage of talent play for them over the course of their long and rich history.  In LA, they have had several great sluggers play right field for them.

When you think of the great franchises in Major League baseball history, you think of the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, and of course the Dodgers.  The Dodgers have a rich tradition from the days of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Brooklyn to the rise of a winning organization under the bright lights of Hollywood.

Right field, in particular, has been a position where the Dodgers have had no shortage of talent throughout their history.  For this article, I considered players who played for the Dodgers when they were in Los Angeles only and I went off the best players, not the players who piled up the best stats over a longer Dodger tenure.  Here are the top five right fielders in LA Dodger history.

4. Andre Ethier (2006-2017)

Andre Ethier was acquired in the winter of 2005 in the best deal that Ned Colletti ever made.  The Dodgers sent Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez to the Oakland A’s in return for Ethier.  Ethier is tied with Shawn Green for third all-time in Dodger history with 162 home runs.  He won one NL silver slugger award, one gold glove award, and made two NL all-star teams in his twelve seasons with the Dodgers.

Ethier’s best season was in 2009 when he garnered NL MVP consideration and hit 31 home runs with 106 RBI’s.  He was known for being clutch and in the 2006 season he delivered six walk-off hits and became known as “Captain Clutch”.  While his career ended on a sour note in 2017, Ethier had a very solid career in LA and along with Matt Kemp, helped Dodger fans through the miserable Frank McCourt era.

3. Raul Mondesi (1993-1999)

Before Yasiel Puig, there was another toolsy right fielder with a cannon for an arm and that was Raul Mondesi.  Mondesi is second all-time in Dodger history for right fielders with 163 home runs and first in LA Dodger history.  Mondesi had two 30-30 seasons with the Dodgers in 1997 and 1999 and won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1994.  He was also won two gold glove awards with the Dodgers in 1995 and 1997.

Mondesi was an all-star in 1995 and his best season with the Dodgers was 1997 when he hit .310 with 30 home runs and 32 stolen bases.  Mondesi later went on to play for the handful of teams but his longest tenure was with the Dodgers where he spent seven seasons.  Mondesi was a very talented player and the third-best right fielder in LA Dodger history.

2. Shawn Green (2000-2004)

The Dodgers acquired Shawn Green in 1999 in a trade that sent Raul Mondesi to the Toronto Blue Jays.  Green is tied for third all-time, second in LA Dodger history, in home runs by Dodger right fielders with 162; he finished tied with Andre Ethier.  Green set the single-season Dodger home run record in 2001 when he blasted 49 home runs.  That narrowly edges out Adrian Beltre who once hit 48 home runs with the Dodgers.

Green made one all-star appearance in five seasons with the Dodgers and he is best known for his four home run game in 2002 against the Milwaukee Brewers.  Not only did he hit four home runs, but Green also went six for six and drove in seven RBI’s.  It will forever go down as one of the best games in Dodger history.  Shawn’s best season in blue was his forty-nine home run season in 2001 when he also drove in 125 runs.

1. Gary Sheffield (1998-2001)

Although his time in Dodger blue was not the longest, it was prolific and earns him the title of being the best right fielder in LA Dodger history.  The Dodgers acquired Gary Sheffield on May 14, 1998, in a blockbuster trade that sent Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile to the Marlins in exchange for Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, and Sheffield.

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Despite a shorter stint than the other right fielders on this list, Sheffield finished sixth all-time in home runs by a right fielder in Dodger history with 129 home runs.  He hit over .300 every season with the Dodgers topping out at a .325 average in 2000.  That was his best season with the blue as he mashed 43 home runs and drove in 109 RBI’s putting together one of the best offensive seasons in Dodger history.

Gary made two all-star teams with the Dodgers in 1999 and 2000 and surprisingly he did not win any awards during his Dodger tenure although he did receive MVP votes in 2000.  Sheffield finished his Dodger career after the 2001 season a .312 average, .998 OPS, and a .424 OBP.  He also drove in 367 runs while hitting 129 home runs as a member of the LA Dodgers.

If you grew up watching Gary Sheffield there is no doubt that at one point you imitated his swing with that notorious bat wiggle that he is known for.  The LA Dodgers have had many good right fielders play for them that did not make this list and a few of those are Mike Marshall, Reggie Smith, and Carl Furrillo who spent the majority of his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers but leads Dodger right fielders all-time with 193 home runs.