Dodgers: 3 players who resurrected their careers in Los Angeles

Los Angeles has turned out to be a place of resurrection for several Dodgers players who proved their careers had second life.

Whether you celebrate Easter Sunday, or not, it is a good day to think about second chances, redemption, resurrection. Which is to say, if you’re a baseball fan, it is a good day to think about players who were once counted out, only to return, and prove they still could get the job done.

The Dodgers have been blessed with a long history of players who have rejuvenated their careers in Los Angeles. Ten players have won Comeback Player of the Year for the Boys in Blue. From Phil Regan in 1966 to Jerry Reuss in 1980 to Orel Hershiser in 1991, comeback stories span all decades.

Perhaps the most famous return being from Tommy John, whose name has become synonymous with elbow surgery. After winning 29 games in 1973 and 1974 for the Dodgers, the left-hander underwent a revolutionary surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm.

After missing the entire 1975 season, he proved the surgical technique to be successful when he returned to the mound in 1976, winning ten games over 31 starts, with a 3.09 ERA. He would go on to pitch 14 more seasons in the Majors. In 1977, he won 20 games for the Dodgers, finishing second in Cy Young voting.

In thinking about the list of players to include in this article, I wanted to focus on players who had made their careers somewhere else, lost their mojo, before arriving in Los Angeles, where things suddenly returned to form, as if there is something special in the water at Chavez Ravine.

Let’s breakdown three players who found second life in Los Angeles.