Dodgers: Remembering the first great 30-homer club

The Dodgers’ first 30-homer club of Ron Cey, Dusty Baker, Reggie Smith, and Steve Garvey in 1977, has been replicated once since. That soon might change.

Justin Turner is only three home runs away from reaching the 30-home run plateau. He’s already set a career-high this season and he’s got a month of games remaining to get it done. Joc Pederson (32), Max Muncy (33), and of course Cody Bellinger (44), all have also hit their career-bests in home runs this season,

The stars have aligned for these Dodgers in the power department in 2019. And the last time LA had this much power concentrated amongst four players was all the way back in 1997, 20 years after the aforementioned four-member 30-home run club.

When I first heard someone mention Turner’s chance to reach 30 home runs, my first thought was of the bobblehead of the 30-homer club given away back in 2014.

As a young fan, that’s my only exposure to the great historical feat of the 1977 sluggers. So, for all of the other less seasoned fans out there, first I’d like to say I feel your pain in terms of never having watched the Dodgers win a World Series.

But more importantly for this article, I’d like to bring the stories of these four Dodgers back to the public, because while Garvey still makes plenty of appearances, many may not remember the days of Cey, Baker, and Smith. In this article, I’ll devote time to each member of the old guard of the 30-homer club and compare them to their counterparts of 2019’s own club.