Dodgers all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball history. Since its inception all the way back in 1890, the team has seven World Series titles and 24 National League Pennants, which are both impressive numbers.

From Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Duke Snider, Clayton Kershaw, Don Drysdale and everyone in between, the list of legends is seemingly endless when it comes to this organization.

But which players are the best of the best when it comes to the Dodgers? Who has the highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at every single position on the field? WAR is a powerful formula that helps determine a player's overall value to his squad. It takes offense, defense and even baserunning into account for position players.

Dodgers all-time best starting lineup based on WAR

With this in mind, we've put together the all-time best starting lineup in Dodgers' history sorted exclusively by their WAR per FanGraphs (which is also known as fWAR). Starting from the top, we kick things off at catcher with one of many ex-Dodgers who made it into the Hall of Fame at the end of his career.

Catcher: Roy Campanella, 38.2 fWAR

I mean, what in the world did this guy not do for the Dodgers? Campanella played a total of 18 years, starting with eight seasons in the Negro leagues and the final 10 of them coming for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers. During his career in the Negro leagues, he was a big-time gap power hitter with high batting averages but not a whole lot of home run power to speak of.

Then he joined the Dodgers and things took off for him.

In his decade-long tenure on the Dodgers, Campanella made the All-Star Game eight (consecutive) times while earning MVP votes seven times and winning the award an unprecedented three times in 1951, 1953 and 1955.

In over 1,200 MLB games, he emerged as one of the best hitting catchers of his time and is still to this day viewed as one of the best offensive backstops in the game's history. Campanella ended his storied career with 260 home runs, 1,019 RBI, a .283 average, .859 OPS and 125 OPS+.

Campanella's final game for the Dodgers came in 1957. After the year, the club was in the process of relocating to Los Angeles when he was injured in an automobile accident that effectively ended his playing career. However, he had already made his mark, and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1969, becoming only the second black player to earn the honor alongside Jackie Robinson.

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First base: Gil Hodges, 41.6 fWAR

Another Hall of Famer, Gil Hodges is far and away the most successful first baseman in Dodgers history, leading the second-highest player, Steve Garvey by nearly 5 whole Wins Above Replacement.

For Hodges, he spent nearly his entire 18-year big league career on the Dodgers, playing in Brooklyn from 1943-1957 and then Los Angeles from 1958-1961. Even after missing both the 1944 and 1945 seasons due to his time in the military, he still managed to be one of the best hitters of his time.

In a total of 2,006 games for the Dodgers, Hodges hit 361 home runs, drove in 1,254 runs, and recorded a .274 average, .847 OPS and 120 OPS+. In that time, he had one of the very best eyes in the game, walking 925 times while striking out just over 1,100 times. He made a total of eight All-Star Games, won two World Series with the club, and even captured three Gold Glove Awards despite his defensive metrics being consistently below average throughout his career.

In the end, Hodges had his number retired by both the Dodgers and Mets (whom he only played for two seasons before managing for four more), which speaks volumes about his presence.

Hodges passed away in 1972 at the age of 47 after having a sudden heart attack. He was eventually elected into the Hall of Fame in 2022 thanks to the Golden Days Era Committee.

Second base: Jackie Robinson, 57.2 fWAR

As if there could really be anybody else at this spot. Robinson, one of the most recognizable names in the history of baseball, is a legend in multiple respects both on and off the field.

After debuting in the Negro leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, Robinson made his way to the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first ever African-American player to appear in an MLB game. Naturally, he pretty much instantly became a must-see talent, leading the NL in stolen bases in his rookie year en route to a fifth-place finish in the MVP voting and a Rookie of the Year trophy.

In a brief but legendary career, Robinson spent just 10 years on the Dodgers, but cemented his name into the all-time record books in more than one way. In 1,382 games for the club, he hit 137 home runs, drove in 734, stole 197 bases, and posted a career .311 batting average. He was an absolute on-base machine as well, posting a career .409 OBP, .883 OPS and 132 OPS+. A stat that doesn't get talked about enough when it comes to Robinson is the fact that he walked 740 times in his career while striking out only 291 times. Absolutely unreal.

Unfortunately, Robinson passed away in 1972 at the age of 53 and was not alive to see himself get elected into the MLB Hall of Fame, which came in 1962 after he received 77.5% of the votes his first time on the ballot.

Today, Robinson's number is the only one retired by every single MLB team and his legacy continues to live on. His story of reaching the majors is an all-time great one, and it's only fitting that he's statistically the best second baseman to ever do it for the Dodgers.

Shortstop: Pee Wee Reese, 61.2 fWAR

Whenever one thinks of "shortstop" and "Dodgers," Pee Wee Reese is almost 100% going to be the first name to come to mind, and rightfully so. His entire 16-year career was on the Dodgers and he very easily made his way into the Hall of Fame like so many before him on this list.

In 2,166 career games, Reese was never a league leader in any major offensive category (hits, home runs, RBI, etc.), but he was as consistent a player as you could find and was always a lock to get on base, steal bases, score runs, and play incredible defense at short.

After missing three straight seasons due to his time in the military, it's a wonder how much Reese could've padded his stats if he didn't miss those games. He ended his career with 2,170 hits and was an All-Star Game participant a whopping 10 times along the way. With only 126 career home runs, he was never one of the more prolific power hitters in the game, but his 232 steals, 80 triples and 1,338 runs scored tell much more of a story of his value to the club.

Reese was ultimately elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984 thanks to the Veterans Committee. He passed away in 1999 at the age of 81, but was thankfully around to see his number retired by the Dodgers too.

Left field: Zack Wheat, 62.6 fWAR

One of the first "stars" to ever play for the Dodgers, Zack Wheat has a pretty sizable advantage over second place Jimmy Sheckard, who sits at 28.6 career WAR.

Wheat spent the first 18 seasons of his 19-year career as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers and was yet another player in the franchise's history that just found a way to beat the opposition no matter what. Never much of a power hitter (132 HR in 2,400+ games), Wheat had nearly 3,000 hits and 200 triples in his career while stealing over 200 bases and drawing more walks (650) than strikeouts (572) along the way. With his annual low walk and strikeout totals, he was essentially Willians Astudillo and Luis Arraez before it was cool.

A career 129 OPS+ hitter with a .317 batting average, Wheat almost never led the league in anything and he feels a bit more like a product of longevity padding his stats, but he's still the best left fielder to ever do it for the Dodgers. To be kept around for 18 years says a lot, even if the player isn't consistently in the MVP discussion and hitting 30 home runs a year.

After all was said and done for Wheat, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1959 via the Veterans Committee.

Center field: Duke Snider, 63.4 fWAR

We finally arrive to Duke Snider, the position player with the highest fWAR in Dodgers franchise history. After playing 16 of his 18 seasons with the club, he is easily atop the conversation when it comes to the best hitter the team has ever had.

After breaking into the league as a 20-year-old in 1947, Snider didn't begin to rack up the accolades until 1950, when he made his first All-Star Game, finished ninth in NL MVP voting, and led the league in hits with 199. After this season, he wound up making six more All-Star Game appearances for the club (before making a final one in 1963 on the Mets) and earning top-10 finishes in the MVP voting five more times.

Snider was essentially the first prolific slugger the Dodgers had. He hit over 30 home runs six times for the club, including a stretch of five years that he topped the 40 mark, highlighted by a league-leading 43 bombs in 1956. He was also an RBI machine, leading the majors with 136 in 1955 and driving in a total of 1,271 for the Dodgers in over 1,900 games played.

All told, Snider hit 389 home runs for the club all while posting a .300 batting average, .936 OPS and 142 OPS+. He was no wizard on defense, but his offensive play was strong enough to carry his WAR numbers to the promised land. He made the Hall of Fame in 1980 after earning 86% of the vote in his 11th year on the ballot (back when you could remain on the ballot that long).

Right field: Dixie Walker, 33.1 fWAR

For reasons beyond me, right field has just been a historically weak position for the Dodgers in terms of all-time greats. Dixie Walker spent nine years on the club and is easily the best right fielder to wear the uniform, making five All-Star teams and finishing as high as second in the NL MVP voting in 1946.

Walker represents yet another low power, high contact, high speed player that the Dodgers have loved over the years. He hit double-digit home run totals twice in his 18-year career (one of them being with the Dodgers), but he was a triples machine who scored a ton of runs, drove in a ton of runs and got on base at an alarming rate. In 1945, he led the majors with 124 RBI after hitting just eight home runs, which says a lot about where his production came from and how efficient he was at manufacturing runs.

In his Dodgers career, Walker finished with 274 doubles, 56 triples, 67 home runs, 725 RBI, a .311 average and an OPS+ of 129. He walked 539 times and struck out 185 times, which, again, is absolutely absurd and is a tool rarely seen in today's game.

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