1998 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 1998 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 109th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 41st season in Los Angeles, California. It was the first season since the sale of the franchise from Peter O'Malley to the Fox Entertainment Group took effect. The new corporate executives would quickly anger Dodger fans when they bypassed General Manager Fred Claire and made one of the biggest trades in franchise history. They traded All-Star catcher Mike Piazza and starting third baseman Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins for a package that included Gary Sheffield.

1998 Los Angeles Dodgers
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Record	83–79 (.512)
Divisional place	3rd
Owners	Fox Entertainment Group
President	Bob Graziano
General managers	Fred Claire, Tommy Lasorda
Managers	Bill Russell, Glenn Hoffman
Television	Fox Sports West 2; KTLA (5)
Radio	XTRA Sports 1150 Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Rick Monday KWKW Jaime Jarrín, René Cárdenas, Pepe Yñiguez
Seasons

The team on the field performed poorly under all the stress and soon Fox fired Claire and manager Bill Russell, replacing them with former Manager Tommy Lasorda, who was appointed interim GM and Minor League manager Glenn Hoffman who took over for Russell. The team limped along to finish in third place in the National League West and more changes were in the offing for the following season.

Regular season

Don Sutton's number 20 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1998.

Season standings

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Diego Padres	98	64	.605	—	54‍–‍27	44‍–‍37
San Francisco Giants	89	74	.546	9½	49‍–‍32	40‍–‍42
Los Angeles Dodgers	83	79	.512	15	48‍–‍33	35‍–‍46
Colorado Rockies	77	85	.475	21	42‍–‍39	35‍–‍46
Arizona Diamondbacks	65	97	.401	33	34‍–‍47	31‍–‍50

Record vs. opponents

1998 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MIL	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	1–8	5–7	4–5	6–6	6–2	4–5	4–8	6–3	2–7	4–5	2–7	6–3	3–9	5–7	2–7	5–8
Atlanta	8–1	—	3–6	7–2	5–3	7–5	4–5	8–1	7–2	6–6	9–3	8–4	7–2	5–4	7–2	6–3	9–7
Chicago	7–5	6–3	—	6–5	7–2	7–2	4–7	4–5	6–6	7–2	4–5	3–6	8–3	5–4	7–3	4–7	5–8
Cincinnati	5–4	2–7	5–6	—	4–5	9–0	3–8	5–4	6–5	8–1	3–6	4–5	5–7	1–11	2–7	8–3	7-6
Colorado	6–6	3–5	2–7	5–4	—	6–3	6–5	6–6	4–7	7–2	3–6	5–4	5–4	5–7	7–5	3–6	4–8
Florida	2–6	5–7	2–7	0–9	3–6	—	3–6	4–5	0–9	5–7	5–7	6–6	3–6	4–5	0–9	4–5	8–8
Houston	5–4	5–4	7–4	8–3	5–6	6-3	—	3–6	9–2	7–2	5–4	7–2	9–2	5–4	6–3	5–7	10–4
Los Angeles	8–4	1–8	5–4	4–5	6–6	5–4	6–3	—	5–4	5–4	3–5	5–4	7–5	5–7	6–6	4–5	8–5
Milwaukee	3–6	2–7	6–6	5–6	7–4	9–0	2–9	4–5	—	6–3	1–8	4–5	6–5	3–6	5–4	3–8	8–6
Montreal	7–2	6–6	2–7	1–8	2–7	7–5	2–7	4–5	3–6	—	8–4	5–7	2–7	4–4	3–6	3–6	6–10
New York	5–4	3–9	5–4	6–3	6–3	7–5	4–5	5–3	8–1	4–8	—	8–4	4–5	4–5	4–5	6–3	9–7
Philadelphia	7-2	4–8	6–3	5–4	4–5	6–6	2–7	4–5	5–4	7–5	4–8	—	8–1	1–8	2–6	3–6	7–9
Pittsburgh	3–6	2–7	3–8	7–5	4–5	6–3	2–9	5–7	5–6	7–2	5–4	1–8	—	5–4	2–7	6–5	6–7
San Diego	9–3	4–5	4–5	11–1	7–5	5–4	4–5	7–5	6–3	4–4	5–4	8–1	4–5	—	8–4	6–3	6–7
San Francisco	7–5	2–7	3–7	7–2	5–7	9–0	3–6	6–6	4–5	6–3	5–4	6–2	7–2	4–8	—	7–5	8–5
St. Louis	7–2	3–6	7–4	3–8	6–3	5-4	7–5	5–4	8–3	6–3	3–6	6–3	5–6	3–6	5–7	—	4–9

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Eric Young	Second baseman
José Vizcaíno	Shortstop
Mike Piazza	Catcher
Todd Zeile	Third baseman
Raúl Mondesí	Right fielder
Paul Konerko	First baseman
Todd Hollandsworth	Left fielder
Trenidad Hubbard	Center fielder
Ramón Martínez	Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

• May 15, 1998: Acquired Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson, Gary Sheffield and Manuel Barrios from the Florida Marlins for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile
• June 4, 1998: Acquired Dave Mlicki and Greg McMichael from the New York Mets for Hideo Nomo and Brad Clontz
• July 4, 1998: Acquired Jeff Shaw from the Cincinnati Reds for Paul Konerko and Dennys Reyes
• July 10, 1998: Acquired Brian Bohanon from the New York Mets for Greg McMichael
• July 23, 1998: Acquired Widd Workman from the San Diego Padres for Jim Bruske
• July 31, 1998: Acquired Mark Grudzielanek, Carlos Perez and Hiram Bocachica from the Montreal Expos for Wilton Guerrero, Ted Lilly, Peter Bergeron and Jonathan Tucker

Roster

1998 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 27 Manuel Barrios 57 Brian Bohanon 46 Jim Bruske 50 Will Brunson 50 Brad Clontz 37 Darren Dreifort 44 Mark Guthrie 52 Darren Hall 60 Mike Judd 67 Jeff Kubenka 49 Frank Lankford 58 Sean Maloney 48 Ramón Martínez 35 Greg McMichael 38 Dave Mlicki 16 Hideo Nomo 13 Antonio Osuna 61 Chan Ho Park 33 Carlos Pérez 36 Scott Radinsky 49 Gary Rath 57 Dennys Reyes 41 Jeff Shaw 59 Ismael Valdes 56 Eric Weaver		Catchers 26 Charles Johnson 64,36 Paul Lo Duca 63 Ángel Peña 31 Mike Piazza 15 Tom Prince Infielders 29 Adrián Beltré 25 Bobby Bonilla 17,25 Juan Castro  3 Alex Cora 16 Mark Grudzielanek 30 Wilton Guerrero 23 Eric Karros  7 Paul Konerko 62 Mike Metcalfe 5,10 José Vizcaíno 21 Eric Young 27 Todd Zeile		Outfielders 45 Roger Cedeño 12 Mike Devereaux 12 Jim Eisenreich 28 Todd Hollandsworth 70 Damon Hollins 22 Thomas Howard 47 Trenidad Hubbard 40 Matt Luke 43 Raúl Mondesí 5,10 Gary Sheffield Other batters 41 Tripp Cromer		Manager 35 Glenn Hoffman 18 Bill Russell Coaches  8 Joey Amalfitano (third base) 58 Mark Cresse (bullpen) 33 Glenn Gregson (pitching)  9 Mickey Hatcher (hitting) 49 Charlie Hough (pitching) 11 Manny Mota 14 Mike Scioscia (bench) 31 John Shelby (1st base)  9 Reggie Smith (hitting/1st base)

Starting Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games

Name	G	GS	IP	W/L	ERA	BB	SO	CG
Chan Ho Park	34	34	220.2	15-9	3.71	97	191	2
Darren Dreifort	32	26	180.0	8-12	4.00	57	168	1
Ismael Valdez	27	27	174.0	11-10	3.98	66	122	2
Dave Mlicki	20	20	124.1	7-3	4.05	38	78	2
Ramón Martínez	15	15	101.2	7-3	2.83	41	91	1
Brian Bohanon	14	14	97.1	5-7	2.40	36	72	2
Carlos Perez	11	11	77.2	4-4	3.24	30	46	4
Hideo Nomo	12	12	67.2	2-7	5.05	38	73	2

Relief Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves

Name	G	GS	IP	W/L	ERA	BB	SO	SV
Jeff Shaw	34	0	35.1	1-4	2.55	7	26	25
Scott Radinsky	62	0	61.2	6-6	2.63	20	45	13
Antonio Osuna	54	0	64.2	7-1	3.06	32	72	6
Mark Guthrie	53	0	54.0	2-1	3.50	24	45	0
Jim Bruske	35	0	44.0	3-0	3.48	19	31	1
Dennys Reyes	11	3	28.2	0-4	4.71	20	33	0
Brad Clontz	18	0	20.2	2-0	5.66	10	14	0
Frank Lankford	12	0	19.2	0-2	5.95	7	7	1
Greg McMichael	12	0	14.1	0-1	4.40	6	11	1
Sean Maloney	11	0	12.2	0-1	4.97	5	11	0
Mike Judd	7	0	11.1	0-0	15.09	9	14	0
Darren Hall	11	0	11.1	0-3	10.32	5	8	0
Eric Weaver	7	0	9.2	2-0	0.93	6	5	0
Jeff Kubenka	6	0	9.1	1-0	0.96	8	10	0
Gary Rath	3	0	3.1	0-0	10.80	2	4	0
Will Brunson	2	0	2.1	0-1	11.57	2	1	0
Manuel Barrios	1	0	1.0	0-0	0.00	2	0	0

Batting Stats

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; Avg. = Batting average; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Name	Pos	G	AB	Avg.	R	H	HR	RBI	SB
Charles Johnson	C	102	346	.217	31	75	12	35	3
Mike Piazza	C	37	149	.282	20	42	9	30	0
Tom Prince	C	37	81	.185	7	115	0	5	0
Paul Lo Duca	C	6	14	.286	2	4	0	1	0
Ángel Peña	C	6	13	.231	1	3	0	0	0
Eric Karros	1B	139	507	.296	59	150	23	87	7
Eric Young	2B	117	452	.285	78	129	8	43	42
José Vizcaíno	SS	67	237	.262	30	62	3	29	7
Adrián Beltré	3B/SS	77	195	.215	18	42	7	22	3
Bobby Bonilla	3B/LF	72	236	.237	28	56	7	30	1
Juan Castro	2B/SS	89	220	.195	25	43	2	14	0
Mark Grudzielanek	SS	51	193	.264	11	51	2	21	7
Wilton Guerrero	2B/SS/LF/CF	64	180	.283	21	51	0	7	5
Todd Zeile	3B/1B	40	158	.253	22	40	7	27	1
Paul Konerko	1B/3B/LF	49	144	.215	14	31	0	2	0
Alex Cora	SS/2B	29	33	.121	1	4	0	0	0
Tripp Cromer	IF	6	6	.167	1	11	1	1	0
Mike Metcalfe	2B	4	1	.000	0	0	0	0	2
Gary Sheffield	RF	90	301	.316	52	95	16	57	18
Raúl Mondesí	CF/RF	148	580	.279	85	162	30	90	16
Todd Hollandsworth	LF/CF/RF	55	175	.269	23	47	3	20	4
Roger Cedeño	LF/CF/RF	105	240	.242	33	58	2	17	8
Trenidad Hubbard	CF/LF/RF/3B	94	208	.298	29	62	7	18	9
Matt Luke	LF/RF/1B	69	160	.213	24	34	9	23	2
Jim Eisenreich	LF/1B/RF	75	127	.197	12	25	0	6	4
Thomas Howard	CF/LF/RF	47	76	.184	9	14	2	4	1
Mike Devereaux	CF/LF/RF	9	13	.308	0	4	0	1	0
Damon Hollins	RF/LF	5	9	.222	1	2	0	2	0

1998 Awards

• 1998 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Gary Sheffield reserve
  • Jeff Shaw reserve (selected as a member of the Cincinnati Reds but was traded to the Dodgers during the break and made his first appearance in a Dodger uniform in the All-Star Game)
• Gold Glove Award
  • Charles Johnson
• NL Pitcher of the Month
  • Chan Ho Park (July 1998)
• NL Player of the Week
  • Mike Piazza (April 6–12)
  • Mike Piazza (April 20–26)
  • Raúl Mondesí (June 29 – July 5)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	Glenn Hoffman Ron Roenicke
AA	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	Ron Roenicke Lance Parrish
High A	San Bernardino Stampede	California League	Mickey Hatcher Joe Vavra Tim Wallach
High A	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	John Shoemaker
A-Short Season	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	Tony Harris
Rookie	Great Falls Dodgers	Pioneer League	Dino Ebel
Rookie	DSL Dodgers DSL Dodgers 2	Dominican Summer League

Major League Baseball draft

Main article: 1998 Major League Baseball draft

The Dodgers selected 50 players in this draft. Of those, only four of them would eventually play Major League baseball.

The first round pick was outfielder Bubba Crosby from Rice University. He played nine games for the Dodgers before he was traded to the New York Yankees, where he was a part-time player for three seasons. He hit .216 in 205 games in the Majors.

This draft also included pitcher Scott Proctor (5th round) from Florida State University and catcher David Ross (7th round) from the University of Florida. Proctor was a relief pitcher in the Majors, who played in seven seasons (two for the Dodgers) and was 18-16 with a 4.78 ERA in 307 games (most prominently with the New York Yankees). Ross was primarily a backup catcher during his two decade career which began in 2002 and ended in 2016.

1998 Draft Picks

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Bubba Crosby OF Rice University Yes 1998–2007 MLB 2 Mike Fischer RHP University of South Alabama Yes 1998–2002 AA 3 Alex Santos RHP University of Miami No Devil Rays-2000 2000–2006 AAA 4 Eric Riggs SS University of Central Florida Yes 1998–2007 AAA 5 Scott Proctor RHP Florida State University Yes 1998–2013 MLB 6 Ryan Moskau RHP University of Arizona Yes 1998–2001 AA 7 David Ross C University of Florida Yes 1998–2016 MLB 8 Thomari Story-Harden 1B El Cerrito High School Yes 1998–2006 A+ 9 Joel Williams RHP Yoncalla High School Yes 1998–1999 A- 10 Lance Caraccioli LHP University of Louisiana at Monroe Yes 1998–2005 AAA 11 Christian Bridenbaugh LHP Central High School Yes 1998–2001 A+ 12 J. K. Taylor RHP Louisa County High School Yes 1998 Rookie 13 C J Thomas OF McLane High School Yes 1998–2003 A+ 14 Robb Gorr 1B University of Southern California Yes 1998–2001 AAA 15 Paul Avery LHP Pepperdine University Yes 1998–2002 A+ 16 Jim Goelz SS New York City College of Technology Yes 1998–2006 AAA 17 Alex Piedra RHP Miami Southern High School Yes 1998–1999 Rookie 18 Tony Richards C North Dakota State University No 1999–2009 Ind 19 Jeremiah Meccage RHP University of Iowa No 20 Tim Harrell RHP Liberty University Yes 1998–2002 AA 21 Jacob Sampson SS Curtis High School Yes 1998–2000 A- 22 Tony Gomes RHP San Joaquin Delta College Yes 1998–2003 AA 23 Jason Moody LHP Spartanburg Methodist College Yes 1998–2012 A- 24 Allen Davis LHP Northwestern State University of Louisiana Yes 1998–2007 AAA 25 Scott Barnsby RHP University of Massachusetts Amherst Yes 1998–1999 A+ 26 Matt Greer C Louisiana Tech University Yes 1998 A- 27 Nick Theodorou 2B University of California, Los Angeles Yes 1998–2005 AAA 28 Corry Parrott OF Pasadena City College No Brewers-2001 2001 Rookie 29 David Baum LHP Martin County High School No Pirates-2000 2000 A- 30 Lloyd Turner SS Hephzibah High School No Athletics-2002 2002–2012 AAA 31 Paul Brown LHP Citrus College No Reds-1999 1999–2000 A 32 Darren Heal C Indian River Community College No Blue Jays-2001 2001 Rookie 33 Herman Dean OF Monrovia High School No Tigers-2001 2001–2003 A 34 Carlos Claudio SS Ora Wilma High School No 35 Rashad Parker SS Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences No Mets-2002 2002–2004 A+ 36 Curt Borland RHP Centaurus High School No 37 Joshua McMillen OF West Virginia University No Blue Jays-1998 1998–2001 AAA 38 Joshua Berndt LHP Oshkosh West High School No 39 Marc-Andre Lagace LHP Louis Riel High School No 40 Clint Hosford RHP Carson Graham High School Yes 1999–2006 A+ 41 Douglas Vandecaveye 3B Tilbury District High School No 42 Jahseam George LHP College of the Sequoias No Indians-2002 2002 A- 43 Jorge Roman RHP José de Diego High School No - 44 Edward Hart C Grayson County High School No 45 Brandon Smith 1B Cypress College No 46 Steve Andrade RHP American River High School No Angels-2001 2001–2009 MLB 47 Henry Arocho OF Benito Cerezo High School No 48 Chad Merchand RHP Lethbridge High School No 49 Wayne Stone 3B A. B. Miller High School No 50 Blake McGinley LHP Bakersfield High School No Mets-2001 2001–2007 AAA

External links

• 1998 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site Archived February 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page