The 1967 Los Angeles Dodgers season marked the end of one of the franchise's most successful eras. One season after losing the World Series to the Baltimore Orioles, the Dodgers declined to a record of 73–89, and finished ahead of only the Houston Astros and the New York Mets in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

race, 28½ games behind the NL and World Champion

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. It was the Dodgers' worst record since the war-affected 1944 season, and their worst peacetime record since

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. The Dodgers would not return to the postseason until 1974.

Offseason

* November 21, 1966:

Wes Covington John Wesley Covington (March 27, 1932 – July 4, 2011) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the Milwaukee Braves, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia ...

was released by the Dodgers. * November 29, 1966: Tommy Davis and

Derrell Griffith Robert Derrell Griffith (born December 12, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player. The outfielder and third baseman appeared in 124 games played in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers over parts of four seasons (– ...

were traded by the Dodgers to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

for

Ron Hunt Ronald Kenneth Hunt (born February 23, 1941) is a former professional baseball second baseman. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and ...

and Jim Hickman. * December 1, 1966:

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for Bob Bailey and

Gene Michael Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...

. * December 15, 1966:

Nick Willhite Jon Nicholas Willhite (January 27, 1941 – December 14, 2008) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Willhite grew up in Denver, Colorado and graduated from South High School in 1959. He was ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for Bob Lee.Bob Lee page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

* April 3, 1967:

John Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

for

Jack Cullen John Patrick Cullen (born October 6, 1939 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American retired professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher appeared in 19 games in Major League Baseball as a member of the New York Yankees (1962, 1965–66). ...

, John Miller and cash. * May 10, 1967:

Johnny Werhas John Charles Werhas (born February 7, 1938 in Highland Park, Michigan) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman who was a pastor for The Rock Community Church in Anaheim Hills, California. He retired from this position on August 23, 2015 an ...

was traded by the Dodgers to the

for Len Gabrielson. * May 31, 1967: Bob Lee was purchased from the Dodgers by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. * June 28, 1967:

Von Joshua Von Everett Joshua (born May 1, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–71, 1973–74 and 1979), San Francisco Giants (1975–76), Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77) and San Diego Padres (1980) of Major Le ...

was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent.Von Joshua page at Baseball Reference
/ref>

Roster

Season Recap

The Dodgers were coming off back to back National League titles, but were mildly surprised by ace pitcher

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

's retirement after the 1966 season. Still, while not expected to be a contender in 1967, there was a solid nucleus that would have been expected to win in the neighborhood of 85 games. However, a couple of questionable trades (Tommy Davis for Ron Hunt, and Maury Wills for Bob Bailey and Gene Michael) further weakened an offense that was already considered below average. In April, leading hitter and team home run leader

Lou Johnson Louis Brown Johnson (September 22, 1934 – October 1, 2020), nicknamed Sweet Lou, was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Johnson's professional baseball career lasted for 17 seasons, and included 8 years in the majors: parts of 1960� ...

was injured sliding into home against the Braves and missed two months of the season. New shortstop

batted .202, a full 100 points less than the man he replaced, as Maury Wills batted .302 for the Pirates.

Ron Fairly Ronald Ray Fairly (July 12, 1938 – October 30, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. Combining playing and broadcasting appearances, Fairly was involved in over 7,000 major league games from 1958 through 2006. Ea ...

, Willie Davis, and Bob Bailey all slumped off from their 1966 production; but one of the few bright spots was rookie

Al Ferrara Alfred John "The Bull" Ferrara Jr. (born December 22, 1939) is a retired Major League Baseball player who played from to . Early life Alfred Ferrara Jr. was born on December 22, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York to Al Ferrara Sr. and his wife Adele. A ...

's .277 average and 16 home runs in just over half the season. Ultimately, the Dodgers scored fewer runs than any National League team except the last place Mets. Despite the loss of Koufax, the pitching was generally solid, but the starters' won-loss records suffered from lack of run support despite solid ERAs. Rookie

Bill Singer William Robert Singer (born April 24, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher with a 14-year career from 1964 to 1977. He played primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–72) and the California Angels (1973–75), spending hi ...

was 12–8 with a 2.64 ERA,

Don Drysdale Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, D ...

was 13–16 with a 2.74 ERA, and Claude Osteen was 17–17 with a 3.22 ERA.

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland ...

suffered from a "sophomore jinx", as he went 11–15 with a 3.95 ERA, nearly a full run higher than his 2.99 ERA in 1966. The bullpen was led by

Ron Perranoski Ronald Peter Perranoski (April 1, 1936 – October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed relief pitcher from to , most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodg ...

Jim Brewer Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, and Phil Regan, who combined for 23 saves and all had an ERA under 3. The Dodgers lost 10 of their first 16 games and never got closer than 7 games out of 1st place. They were never able to top the .500 mark, and while they were a respectable 42–39 at home, they were a dismal 31–50 on the road.

Batting

Starters by position

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

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

Wes Parker Maurice Wesley Parker III (born November 13, 1939) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from to . He also played one season in Japan for the Nankai Hawks in . As of 2009, Parker has been a me ...

, outfield

All-Stars

* 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game **

reserve **

Claude Osteen Claude Wilson Osteen (born August 9, 1939), nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to television character Gomer Pyle, is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cinci ...

reserve

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Albuquerque, Ogden

1967 Major League Baseball Draft

This was the third year of a

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. The Dodgers drafted 87 players in the June draft and 9 in the January draft. The top draft pick was

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Donnie Denbow from

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

. He played in the Dodgers farm system through 1970. In 177 games in the rookie leagues and Class-A, he hit .242. Of this years draft class, only catcher

Steve Yeager Stephen Wayne Yeager (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, 1986, h ...

, drafted in the fourth round, made any impact in the Majors. He played with the Dodgers from 1972–1985 and hit 102 home runs during his career.

Notes

References

Baseball-Reference season pageBaseball Almanac season page

External links

1967 Los Angeles Dodgers uniformLos Angeles Dodgers official web site
{{Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers seasons Los Angeles Dodgers season Los Angel