6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Mike Garman LAN b. 1949, played 1977-1978. Boston's first-round pick in the 1967 draft, he pitched for the Red Sox, Cards, and Cubs before joining the Dodgers. He relieved Tommy John in 1977 NLCS Game 1 following Bill Russell's second error of the game that ultimately allowed two unearned runs to score, and saved the crucial Game 3 facing the Phillies' 2-3-4 batters after Philadelphia had their own dramatic defensive implosion. (Incidentally, a big Bronx cheer to Blogspot for wasting an hour out of my life trying to find a post their software had eaten on the monthly archive page.) He also pitched scoreless frames in Game 1 and Game 4 of that year's World Series, both lost causes.

Orel Hershiser LAN b. 1958, played 1983-1994, 2000, All-Star: 1987-1989. The hero of the 1988 season and postseason, non-Kirk Gibson division, Hershiser was the unanimous winner of the 1988 Cy Young, placing in the top five four other years besides. He also won 1988's Pitcher of the Year from The Sporting News, was Major League Player of the Year, NLCS and World Series MVP, and picked up a Babe Ruth Award besides. He is in the franchise top ten for wins (135, 10th), losses (107, 9th), games started (309, 9th), innings pitched (2,180.2, 10th), hits allowed (1,976, 10th), strikeouts (1,456, 6th), and shutouts (9th, 24), and also in the Los Angeles top ten for complete games (65, 6th), walks (667, 6th), and ERA for pitchers with 900+ innings (3.12, 8th). With Fernando Valenzuela's 1986 season, he is one of the Dodgers' only two 20-game winners in the 1980's. His 59 consecutive scoreless innings, earned down the stretch in the 1988 campaign, remains an unbroken major league record.

Off the field, with glasses on, he resembled nothing so much as Harry Potter; on the field, he was a ferocious competitor who, despite his awkward, gangly appearance, lived up to his Tommy Lasorda-invented nickname of Bulldog. His excellence on the field masked a number of flaws in the late-80's Dodgers, notably a palpable lack of offense beyond Kirk Gibson and Pedro Guerrero. Shoulder surgery in 1990 slowed him down, and by 1994, he was just barely better than league average. He eventually moved to Cleveland, where he pitched surprisingly well for three years. Stints with the Giants and Mets led to less successful seasons; he signed on for one last shot with the Dodgers in 2000, but he couldn't hold on to even a semblance of his former glory, retiring after his June 27 release. He has been in the Rangers front office, worked as their pitching coach, and contracts broadcasting and public speaking engagements.

Chris Knapp CAL b. 1953, played 1978-1980

Buster Mills BRO b. 1908, played 1935, d. 1991-12-01

Gary Ross CAL b. 1947, played 1975-1977

Paul Shuey LAN b. 1970, played 2002-2003. The Dodgers got him for an absolute steal from Cleveland, sending perpetual left-handed hanger-on Terry Mulholland and two other players to the Indians. The Indians had their own reasons for moving him, though, as he'd had six significant trips to the DL in his first five years with Cleveland. With the Dodgers, he was one of several nasty weapons out of the bullpen in their ill-fated 2003 campaign; the team was essentially a pitching machine from top to bottom. Since 1900, no other club with a winning record rested so heavily upon their pitching staff; the .507 win share percentage coming from pitching remains tops in that span. The top ten in that list:

+--------+-------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+
| yearID | franchName                    | pws   | pct   | w-l   |
+--------+-------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+
|   2003 | Los Angeles Dodgers           | 128.4 | 0.507 | 85-77 |
|   1919 | Chicago Cubs                  |  91.0 | 0.502 | 75-65 |
|   1913 | Chicago White Sox             | 104.8 | 0.487 | 78-74 |
|   1902 | Baltimore Orioles             |  98.6 | 0.479 | 78-58 |
|   1945 | Baltimore Orioles             | 107.9 | 0.471 | 81-70 |
|   1935 | Boston Red Sox                | 104.1 | 0.471 | 78-75 |
|   1985 | Kansas City Royals            | 122.2 | 0.471 | 91-71 |
|   1991 | Toronto Blue Jays             | 114.8 | 0.465 | 91-71 |
|   1993 | Kansas City Royals            | 110.8 | 0.464 | 84-78 |
|   1964 | Los Angeles Angels            | 102.1 | 0.463 | 82-80 |
+--------+-------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+