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Dodgers LAD

198894–67 (0.584)★ 1988 World Series Champions
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GM: Fred Claire

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1988, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$16M
Surplus $M
-3
Win %
0.584
TAB
+2.0
WAB
+8.7
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
39.7
Dead money %
42%
Depth Players
9.0
Dead WAR
-2.4

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1988 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

LMike Scioscia123
RRick Dempsey74
RGilberto Reyes5

1B

LFranklin Stubbs84
RMike Marshall53
RTracy Woodson25
RMickey Hatcher25
LDanny Heep12
RJeff Hamilton1

2B

RSteve Sax158
RMike Sharperson20
RDave Anderson11

3B

RJeff Hamilton105
RPedro Guerrero⇄45
RTracy Woodson41
RDave Anderson12
RMike Sharperson6
RMickey Hatcher3

SS

BAlfredo Griffin93
RDave Anderson82
RMike Sharperson4
RJeff Hamilton2

LF

LKirk Gibson148
LDanny Heep17
RJose Gonzalez9
RMickey Hatcher8
LFranklin Stubbs7
LChris Gwynn4
LMike Davis1

CF

BJohn Shelby140
LMike Davis23
RMike Devereaux18
RJose Gonzalez9
LFranklin Stubbs1
LKirk Gibson1

RF

RMike Marshall90
LMike Davis63
RMickey Hatcher21
LDanny Heep16
RJose Gonzalez9
RMike Devereaux8
LFranklin Stubbs6
RPedro Guerrero⇄1

DH

—

Starters

RTim Leary5.5 WAR
ROrel Hershiser4.0 WAR
RTim Belcher3.8 WAR
LJohn Tudor⇄0.5 WAR
RDon Sutton0.4 WAR
RRamon Martinez0.3 WAR
RKen Howell0.3 WAR
RShawn Hillegas⇄0.3 WAR
RWilliam Brennan0.1 WAR
LBill Krueger-0.0 WAR
LFernando Valenzuela0.0 WAR

Bullpen

★ RJay Howell21 sv
RAlejandro Pena0 h
LJesse Orosco0 h
RBrian Holton0 h
RTim Crews0 h
LRicky Horton⇄0 h
LBrad Havens⇄0 h
RWilliam Brennan0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1987)

PlayerfWAR
Kirk Gibson6.2
Jay Howell2.2
Rick Dempsey1.9
John Tudor0.5
Don Sutton0.4
Ramon Martinez0.3

Key subtractions (gone from 1987)

Player1987 fWAR
Bob Welch4.7
Rick Honeycutt2.0
Matt Young1.1
Ralph Bryant0.2
Orlando Mercado0.2
Alex Trevino0.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Dodgers. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1988; everyone else is shown as a 1988 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Tim Leary 1988 +5.5 +110.5 0.2 +110.3 $0.0M 2.50× –
Kirk Gibson 1988 +6.2 +101.0 1.8 +99.2 $0.3M 2.05× –
Orel Hershiser 1988 +4.0 +69.3 1.1 +68.2 $0.3M 2.19× –
Tim Belcher 1988 +3.8 +67.4 0.1 +67.4 $0.0M 2.19× –
Jay Howell 1988 +2.2 +33.8 0.6 +33.2 $0.3M 1.95× –
Mike Marshall 1988 +2.5 +32.2 0.8 +31.5 $0.3M 1.60× –
Alejandro Pena 1988 +1.6 +25.1 0.4 +24.7 $0.2M 1.95× –
John Shelby 1988 +2.4 +23.1 0.5 +22.6 $0.2M 1.22× –
Mike Scioscia 1988 +2.5 +20.0 1.0 +19.0 $0.4M 1.00× –
Steve Sax 1988 +2.2 +14.6 0.8 +13.8 $0.4M 0.82× –
Rick Dempsey 1988 +1.9 +11.8 0.2 +11.6 $0.1M 0.76× –
Dave Anderson 1988 +1.1 +5.4 0.3 +5.1 $0.2M 0.61× –
Brian Holton 1988 +0.8 +4.3 0.1 +4.2 $0.1M 0.67× –
Pedro Guerrero↔ 1988 +1.1 +5.1 1.0 +4.1 $0.9M 0.58× –
John Tudor↔ 1988 +0.5 +4.3 0.3 +4.0 $0.6M 1.02× –
Tim Crews 1988 +0.7 +3.8 0.1 +3.7 $0.1M 0.67× –
Don Sutton 1988 +0.4 +3.5 0.3 +3.2 $0.8M 1.02× –
Jeff Hamilton 1988 +0.6 +2.8 0.1 +2.7 $0.1M 0.58× –
Ramon Martinez 1988 +0.3 +2.5 0.1 +2.4 $0.2M 1.02× –
Shawn Hillegas↔ 1988 +0.3 +2.3 0.1 +2.3 $0.2M 1.02× –
Danny Heep 1988 +0.3 +2.1 0.3 +1.8 $0.9M 0.83× –
Ken Howell 1988 +0.3 +1.8 0.2 +1.6 $0.6M 0.67× –
Mickey Hatcher 1988 +0.3 +1.5 0.3 +1.2 $0.9M 0.56× –
Franklin Stubbs 1988 +0.2 +1.1 0.2 +0.8 $1.0M 0.56× –
William Brennan 1988 +0.1 +0.9 0.1 +0.8 $0.6M 1.02× –
Brad Havens↔ 1988 -0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.2 – 0.67× –
Tracy Woodson 1988 -0.1 -0.5 0.1 -0.5 – 0.58× –
Jose Gonzalez 1988 -0.1 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.83× –
Ricky Horton↔ 1988 -0.2 -0.8 0.1 -0.9 – 0.67× –
Fernando Valenzuela 1988 +0.0 +0.2 2.0 -1.9 $83.5M 1.02× –
Alfredo Griffin 1988 -0.3 -1.3 0.8 -2.1 – 0.61× –
Jesse Orosco 1988 -0.4 -4.0 1.0 -5.0 – 1.34× –
Mike Davis 1988 -0.7 -4.8 1.0 -5.8 – 0.83× –
Bill Krueger 1988 -0.0 -0.3 – – – 1.02× –
Chris Gwynn 1988 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.83× –
Gilberto Reyes 1988 -0.1 -0.4 – – – 0.52× –
Mike Devereaux 1988 -0.3 -2.1 – – – 0.83× –
Mike Sharperson 1988 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.56× –
Total—+39.4+534.316.1+522.1—

Trades

Every graded 1988 deal involving the Dodgers — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1988 · LAD / BAL
LAD · Fred Claire +$51.2M
Eddie Murray
BAL · Roland Hemond −$51.2M
Juan Bell, Brian Holton, Ken Howell
LAD came out ahead by $51.2M
1988 · LAD / NYM
LAD · Fred Claire +$0.8M
John Gibbons
NYM · Frank Cashen −$0.8M
Craig Shipley
LAD came out ahead by $0.8M
1988 · LAD / CLE
LAD · Fred Claire +$1.6M
Greg LaFever
CLE · Hank Peters −$1.6M
Reggie Williams
LAD came out ahead by $1.6M
1988 · LAD / PIT
LAD · Fred Claire +$11.2M
Jim Neidlinger
PIT · Larry Doughty −$11.2M
Bill Krueger
LAD came out ahead by $11.2M
1988 · CHW / LAD
CHW · Larry Himes +$10.4M
Shawn Hillegas
LAD · Fred Claire −$10.4M
Ricky Horton
CHW came out ahead by $10.4M
1988 · LAD / STL
LAD · Fred Claire +$10.4M
John Tudor
STL · Dal Maxvill −$10.4M
Pedro Guerrero
LAD came out ahead by $10.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1988 payroll
$16.0M

What the front office was committed to as of 1988, 1988–1994. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (19)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Fernando Valenzuela278.000$2.0M$1.9M$2.0MFREE AGENT
Kirk Gibson319.000$1.8M$1.3M$1.3MFREE AGENT
Mike Scioscia298.000$1.0M$1.1M$1.2M$2.2M$2.2MFREE AGENT
Jesse Orosco319.000$1.0MFREE AGENT
Mike Davis298.000$988k$988kFREE AGENT
Pedro Guerrero3210.000$985kFREE AGENT
Steve Sax287.000$838kFREE AGENT
Mike Marshall287.000$760k$1.1MFREE AGENT
Alfredo Griffin3012.000$750k$1.0M$1.0M$900kFREE AGENT
Jay Howell328.000$595k$925k$1.0M$1.1M$2.6MFREE AGENT
John Shelby307.000$465k$550k$379kFREE AGENT
Alejandro Pena297.000$400k$875kFREE AGENT
Don Sutton4322.000$350kFREE AGENT
John Tudor349.000$309k$1.3MFREE AGENT
Mickey Hatcher339.000$300k$450k$450kFREE AGENT
Danny Heep309.000$300kFREE AGENT
Rick Dempsey3819.000$250k$420k$500kFREE AGENT
Tim Leary297.000$190k$386kFREE AGENT
Brad Havens287.000$45kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (8)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Orel Hershiser295.000$1.1MFREE AGENT
Dave Anderson275.000$262kFREE AGENT
Franklin Stubbs274.000$235kARB 3FREE AGENT
Ken Howell274.000$215kARB 3FREE AGENT
Ricky Horton284.000$100kARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Holton283.000$90kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jose Gonzalez233.000$70kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bill Krueger305.000—FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (11)

PlayerAgeSvc1988198919901991199219931994
Jeff Hamilton242.000$82kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Belcher261.000$78kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tim Crews271.000$78kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Tracy Woodson251.000$68kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
William Brennan250.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ramon Martinez200.000$62kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Shawn Hillegas231.000$50kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Devereaux251.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Chris Gwynn231.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gilberto Reyes24–—
Mike Sharperson261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1988 acquisition stacked onto Dodgers's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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