Dodgers: Ranking the Top 5 third basemen in franchise history

Who played the hot corner the best for the Los Angeles Dodgers?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have gone through a total of 69 different Opening Day third baseman, more than any other position except for left field, which creates a rich history of players to sort through in trying to identify the five best to play the position in franchise history.

I should point out that Jim Gilliam and Pedro Guerrero didn’t spend enough time manning the hot corner to be considered for this list. It’s not that their versatility is being counted against them; Gilliam appears on our all-time Dodger second baseman list, and Guerrero was the everyday third baseman only in 1983. They’re both Dodger legends, just not at third base.

The Dodgers also have a history of acquiring big-name third basemen at the end of their careers, such as Bill Madlock, Tim Wallach, and Casey Blake. That said, this list will focus on players who made a name for themselves donning Dodger Blue.

We begin with the fifth best and count our way down to the best third baseman in franchise history.

5. Joe Stripp

“Jersey” Joe Stripp wasn’t a star, but he was a steady contributor for the Dodgers in the mid-thirties. Very much the product of his time, Stripp was a spray hitter who made a lot of contact, but lacked power. His career high in homers for a season was only six, but he hit .295 over his six-year Dodger career, and he walked more than he struck out.

Jersey Joe’s best season in Brooklyn came in 1934, when he hit .315 with 19 doubles, six triples, and a homer. His biggest claim to fame also took place in 1934, as he became the last batter to legally be thrown a spitball. The league started phasing it out in 1920, and spitballer and future Dodger manager Burleigh Grimes, who was the last pitcher allowed to throw it, retired at season’s end.

Best Dodgers third baseman: Justin Turner and Ron Cey

2. Justin Turner

Justin Turner has been the Dodgers’ best signing of the 21st century. A relative unknown, the Dodgers inked Turner to a minor league deal before the 2014 season. He’d only played 100 games in a season once at that point, but had demonstrated versatility and some solid contact skills in New York. Injuries to Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez opened the door, and the rest is history.

JT has arguably been the Dodgers’ most consistent bat since joining the club. A .302 hitter over his six years in LA, Turner was named to the All-Star team in 2017 as the final vote candidate, and holds the franchise record for postseason RBIs with 35.

Turner’s presence both in the lineup and the clubhouse have been invaluable to the Dodgers’ recent success. If he departs in free agency after 2020, he will do so as a franchise great.

1.Ron Cey

The Penguin is the longest tenured third baseman in Dodger history, with ten seasons as the regular and twelve in total. Part of the legendary homegrown Dodger infield of the ‘70’s, Cey took over the starting job in 1974, and burst onto the scene in 1975 driving in 97 runs and being named to his first All-Star team.

He would be named to the All-Star team the next five seasons, driving in over 100 runs twice and hitting as many as 30 homers in that span. Cey was also an MVP finalist from 1974-1977.

Perhaps the former Washington State product’s finest Dodger moment, Cey delivered the go-ahead RBI in game 6 of the 1981 World Series, just three days after being concussed by a Goose Gossage fastball. Cey was named co-MVP of the series along with Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager after hitting .350 with a homer and driving in six runs.

Dodgers: Top 5 shortstops in franchise history

Who are the best shortstops in Dodgers history? We rank the top five.

He also holds the record for RBIs in the month of April with 29, and holds the distinction of having the 17th best mustache in MLB history, according to Bleacher Report.