Dodgers: Ranking the best Opening Day lineups in Los Angeles history

5) 1958: Where it all began

Ok, so I lied. This first lineup is a bit ceremonial, but important to remember in the context of Dodgers history in Los Angeles. Their first game as the “LA” Dodgers resulted in a loss to those horrible Giants, who also had relocated out west from New York.

The first Opening Day lineup card for the Los Angeles Dodgers is perhaps most memorable for the player missing from it. Roy Campanella, who had started at catcher the previous nine openers, was absent after he was partially paralyzed in a car accident during the offseason. Rube Walker took his place, an anemic hitter, who only ended up standing in for 44 at-bats during the ’58 season.

Even without Campanella, the ’58 lineup that served as the first of the Los Angeles era featured three Hall-of-Famers, more than any other Opening Day fielded by the Dodgers since. Duke Snider started in left field, his career coming toward an end, but still finishing the season with an impressive .312/.371/.505 slashline over 106 games. Don Drysdale took the hill, on the opposite end of the aging curve than Snider, just getting his career going. And Pee Wee Reese started his final Opening Day as a Major Leaguer.

It’s the 1958 lineup that sets the stage for the rest of my rankings of the best Opening Day lineups in Los Angeles history.