Local radio KABCVin Scully, Ross Porter, Rick MondayKWKWJaime Jarrín, René Cárdenas |
The 1996 season saw the Dodgers remain atop the standings most of the season. However, longtime manager Tommy Lasorda suffered a heart attack in mid-season and had to step down. Bill Russell, Lasorda's bench coach and a former Dodger player, was chosen to manage the rest of the season.
Contents
- Offseason
- Notable Transactions
- 1996 National League Division Series
- Game 1 October 2
- Game 2 October 3
- Game 3 October 3
- 1996 Awards
- Farm system
- Major League Baseball draft
- References
The Dodgers went into the final weekend of the season with a two-game lead on the San Diego Padres, needing only to win one of the final three games with the Padres to clinch the National League Western Division crown. However, the Padres swept the Dodgers and they limped into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
Offseason
Notable Transactions
1996 National League Division Series
The 1996 National League Division Series was played between Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Atlanta ended up winning the series 3-0.
Game 1, October 2
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Game 2, October 3
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Game 3, October 3
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta
1996 Awards
Farm system
Teams in BOLD won League Championships
Major League Baseball draft
The Dodgers selected 79 players in this draft. Of those, seven of them would eventually play Major League baseball.
The top draft pick was third baseman Damian Rolls from Schlagel High School. He was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1999 Rule 5 draft and then traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he played parts of five seasons with a .248 batting average, 9 homers and 73 RBI.
Shortstop Alex Cora was drafted in the third round out of the University of Miami. He would play 14 seasons in the Majors (7 of them with the Dodgers), primarily as a utility infielder/defensive replacement. He hit .243 in 1,273 games
The most successful player in this draft class was left-handed pitcher Ted Lilly from Fresno City College, who was drafted in the 23rd round. A two-time All-Star, he would play 15 seasons in the Majors (the last 4 with the Dodgers) and had a 130-113 record and 4.14 ERA in 356 games (331 starts).