A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers | ||
|---|---|---|
| National League West Champions | ||
| League | National League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Dodger Stadium | |
| City | Los Angeles, California | |
| Record | 92–70 (.568) | |
| Divisional place | 1st | |
| Owners | Guggenheim Baseball Management | |
| President | Stan Kasten | |
| General managers | Ned Colletti | |
| Managers | Don Mattingly | |
| Television | Prime Ticket KCAL-TV (Vin Scully, Eric Collins, Steve Lyons) | |
| Radio | KLAC (Vin Scully, Charley Steiner, Rick Monday) KTNQ (Jaime Jarrín, Pepe Yñiguez, Fernando Valenzuela) | |
| ||
The 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 124th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 56th season in Los Angeles. The Dodgers dealt with a series of injuries to key players during the first half of the season and on June 21 were 31–42, 9+1⁄2 games back in last place in the NL West. Beginning with a 6–1 win over the San Diego Padres on June 22, the return of the injured players, and the emergence of rookie Yasiel Puig, they went 46–10 through August 23 as the rest of the division collapsed. On September 19, they clinched the National League West title. This was the earliest the Dodgers had ever clinched a title and the largest deficit they had ever overcome to win the division. They opened the playoffs by defeating the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and advanced to the NLCS. In the NLCS, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.
The season also marked the end of the Dodgers games on Fox Sports West/Prime Ticket, as they signed a lucrative contract with Spectrum to have an exclusive Dodgers-only channel called SportsNet LA.
Offseason
Coaching staff
The Dodgers fired hitting coach Dave Hansen after the 2012 season but retained the rest of their coaching staff for 2013.[1] On November 7, the Dodgers hired Mark McGwire (pictured at right) to be the new hitting coach.[2] On November 13, the Dodgers promoted bullpen coach Ken Howell to assistant pitching coach and named Chuck Crim as the new bullpen coach. They also named John Valentin as assistant hitting coach.[3]
Departing players
After the 2012 season several Dodgers players became free agents: pitchers Joe Blanton, Randy Choate, Brandon League and Jamey Wright, infielder Adam Kennedy and outfielders Shane Victorino and Bobby Abreu.[4] The Dodgers also declined the 2013 contract options for pitcher Todd Coffey, backup catcher Matt Treanor and outfielder/first baseman Juan Rivera, making them free agents.[5]
Player signings
The Dodgers began their offseason by re-signing closer Brandon League to a three-year, $22.5 million contract.[6] On December 9, the Dodgers signed pitcher Hyun-jin Ryu to a six-year, $36 million contract after winning his rights from the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization.[7] The Dodgers, on December 10, signed the top free agent pitcher, Zack Greinke, to a six-year, $147 million contract, the largest ever awarded to a right-handed pitcher.[8] They signed left-handed relief pitcher J. P. Howell to a one-year, $2.75 million contract on January 8.[9]
Trades
On December 12, the Dodgers acquired utility player Skip Schumaker from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league shortstop Jake Lemmerman.[10] On December 19, they traded RHP John Ely to the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league LHP Rob Rasmussen.[11]
Spring training
Spring training began for the Dodgers on February 12, when pitchers and catchers reported to the team's spring training facility at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers went into spring training with the lineup fairly set but a few issues remained to be worked out. The Dodgers had eight pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Zach Greinke, Josh Beckett, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, Ted Lilly and Hyun-jin Ryu vying for five spots in the starting rotation.[12]
Several Dodgers players participated in the 2013 World Baseball Classic held during spring training. Kenley Jansen played for the Netherlands, Ronald Belisario for Venezuela, Nick Punto for Italy, Luis Cruz and Adrián González for Mexico, and Hanley Ramírez for the Dominican Republic, as well as minor leaguers Andres Santiago and Mario Santiago for Puerto Rico and Felipe Burin for Brazil.
In the WBC Championship game, Ramírez injured his hand while diving for a ball. An MRI the next day revealed a torn thumb ligament that required surgery. The Dodgers announced that he would miss the first two months of the season while recovering.[13]
One of the big stories of spring training was the play of Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. He hit .526 in Cactus League games and there was talk that he might be able to make the opening day roster, despite being a "very raw" talent who had only briefly played in Class-A the year before. However, the club sent him to AA Chattanooga to start the season.[14]
Regular season
Season standings
National League West
| NL West | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | — | 47–34 | 45–36 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 81 | 81 | 0.500 | 11 | 45–36 | 36–45 |
| San Diego Padres | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 16 | 45–36 | 31–50 |
| San Francisco Giants | 76 | 86 | 0.469 | 16 | 42–40 | 34–46 |
| Colorado Rockies | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 18 | 45–36 | 29–52 |