the evolution of my favorite dodger

in honor of post #500, i figured i would pay tribute to my favorite dodgers over the years.  i have favored many, but there can only be one favorite at a time.  we'll count backwards, although there can hardly be any suspense as to who will be the first favorite.

here we go - from 2007 until now, my favorite dodger has been matt kemp.

.342 in 2007 and a 2009 season to confirm my beliefs!  the bison is my baseball salvation!

in 2006, my favorite dodger was nomar garciaparra. 

the harmonious conversion of my favorite non-dodger becoming a dodger.  his 2006 was just what i hoped for - a return to glory for nomar, along with some huge hits.  remember 4+1?  simply awesome.

in 2005, believe it or not, my favorite dodger was milton bradley. 

2005 was a tough year.  shawn green was gone. eric gagne was injured.  jim tracy was flailing with strange habits of playing folks like oscar robles and mike edwards and jason grabowski.  it's not like i could really get behind jd drew or jeff kent.  seriously, though, i did want bradley to succeed.  i was cheering for the name on the back of the jersey almost harder than i cheered for the name on the front.  i still wish him success, although i am not as optimistic as i was 5 years ago.

from 2000 to 2004, shawn green sat atop my dodger pedestal

even before seeing his 4-homer game in person.  having lived in orange county, i cheered for shawn as a blue jay, so, as with nomar, this was a time when my favorite dodger had previously been my favorite non-dodger.  and, it just so happens green was traded for one of my other favorite dodgers which made switching to him all the easier.

from mid 1994 to 1999, raul mondesi was the man.

even though he was moody and sometimes frustrating, i preferred him to mike piazza, eric karros, hideo nomo and the rest.  his 11th inning walk off on opening day in 1999 was unforgettable.  and he hit the game tying 3 run homer in the 9th with two outs to send the game to extras in the first place!
from 1989 until mondesi's 1994 debut, orel hershiser reigned supreme,

he had just done so much in 1988 that i had to stick with him through the injuries and down times, although i had a soft spot in 1992 for mike sharperson.

he was a super utility guy who represented the dodgers in the all star game that year.  1992 was one of the worst dodger seasons ever, and mike was an easy guy to cheer for.

from his sophomore season in 1983 until he left after the 1988 season, my favorite dodger was steve sax.

he led off the dodgers' 1988 season with a home run!  he almost made me forget about losing davey lopes, too.  i know jody reed gets the blame, but if sax had stayed, maybe there would not have been a revolving door at second, and maybe fred claire doesn't need to trade pedro for delino deshields because he could have protected eric young from the expansion draft as the heir apparent.  not sure if this theory holds water, but it makes me feel good.

steve garvey was my first favorite dodger,

and he held that title from it's 1977 inception until the dark day he signed with the padres after the 1982 season.  so, there you have it.  apologies to many great and even marginal players that i have cheered for over the years. 

here's to the next 500 posts (if i make it that far)!