On July 31, 2008, the Dodgers acquired one of the most-feared hitters in baseball, Manny Ramirez, in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. The deal proved to be one of the most impactful short-term acquisitions in franchise history and ignited the fanbase. Ramirez went 2-for-4 in his first game with the Dodgers, and had another 2-for-4 effort the following day while slugging his first home run with the team. In his first month with the Dodgers, Ramirez was named National League Player of the Month after hitting .444 (44-for-106) with seven doubles, nine home runs, 25 RBI and 21 runs scored. Ramirez, who had long been known for his on-field antics and elite bat, quickly endeared himself to Dodgers fans, and the area in left field became known as "Mannywood."
The Dodgers originally acquired Gary Sheffield, along with Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Charles Johnson, in the blockbuster trade that sent Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins on May 14, 1998. Sheffield helped mitigate some of the sting that came with the Dodgers trading a fan-favorite in Piazza as he immediately became one of the team's most productive bats.
I think that was the way the Yankees were. When I was growing up, the Yankees were the best team, in the World Series and winning all those. But I think that's good for baseball. I really do. Having a team that you either love, because that's your team, or you hate because they keep winning, that's good for baseball.
I think it's easy to talk about the guys that we have sort of slotted in as far as starters, but guys like River, Gavin, two years ago Gavin threw the most innings as a starter for a championship team. River is very talented. And then you layer in Wrobo and what he did for us, and Emmet Sheehan. So we've got guys that are on the come, guys that have done it.
As the legend goes, famed Dodgers scout Mike Brito discovered Yasiel Puig during an exhibition game in Canada 2008, when he was a member of Cuban National Series' Elefantes de Cienfuegos. Brito was immediately impressed by Puig's athleticism and knew he had a future in the Major Leagues. The Dodgers ultimately signed Puig on the same 2012 trip to Mexico that produced Julio Urías. Puig went on to make his MLB debut in 2013 as the Dodgers were in mired in a summer swoon.
Major League Baseball revealed its 2025 post-season bonus pool for players on Thursday, with the back-to-back World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers earning 36 per cent ($46.15 million) of the total $128.2 million pool, per Sportico's report. The Toronto Blue Jays, who were dealt a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre last month, received 24 per cent ($30.76 million) of the post-season bonus pool.
The team, which moved to the American Association and the National League throughout the late 1800s, earned the nickname "the Bridegrooms" after several players got married around the same time. The "Dodgers" nickname dates back to as early as 1896, when electric trolley tracks were constructed in front of Eastern Park, forcing fans to dodge trolley cars on their way to games.
Hopefully I'll be in a spot where I can play both. That's kind of the goal, just to get back to a spot where I'm fully 100% and can do everything. Even stealing bases. I haven't stolen any bases the last two years because my ankle would flare up any time I tried to do that. So that's the goal, to get back to 100% of what I typically am as a baseball player.
Kuroda's tenure with the Dodgers included a strong 2011 campaign in which he delivered a career-best 3.07 ERA in 202 innings. Earlier in his time with Los Angeles, Kuroda was a bright spot for the rotation in their 2008 playoff run, as he made two successful starts in both the National League Division Series against the Chicago Cubs. Kuroda logged 6.1 shutout innings in Game 3,