Editorials

Dodgers: Best 50 Game Starts in Franchise History

The 2019 Dodgers are off to a hot start. Through 50 games, the team sits atop the National League with a 32-18 record and only trails the Houston Astros by one win for the most in baseball.

Rather different to the first two months of their 2018 campaign, there appears to be no World Series hangover. One must look no further than Cody Bellinger, who leads the league in almost every imaginable offensive category, and Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is currently boasting a 31 scoreless inning streak, to see the focus and determination the Dodgers entered the season with.



Below we’ll take a look at where these Dodgers stack up through 50 games with the best 50 game starts in franchise and MLB history.

Best 50 Game Start for Dodgers Over the Past 10 Seasons: 2009 Dodgers

Over the past 10 seasons, the Dodgers have surpassed 30 wins through 50 games four separate times. In 2012 they went 32-18, and in both 2015 and 2017, they played their way to a 30-20 mark. However, their best 50 game start over the past 10 seasons came in 2009 with a 34-16 record.

The Dodgers finished that season at 95-67, the best record in the NL and the third best in the MLB. They’d beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS before falling to the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games in the NLCS. As we all know, the World Series appearance drought would continue until the Dodgers finally advanced past the NLCS in 2017.


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Best 50 Game Start in Franchise History

(Original Caption) Roy Campanella of the Brooklyn Dodgers is shown here.

The Dodgers as a franchise performed their best through 50 games in 1955 when they were still the Brooklyn Dodgers. That year, they went 38-12 through 50. They’ve yet to reach that mark since then but have come close with multiple 34, 35, and 36 win starts.

They’d go on to win a total of 98 games in 1955 and ran away with the NL pennant with a lead of over 13 games. In the World Series, they’d beat the New York Yankees to win their first World Series in franchise history.

Notably, Jackie Robinson was 36 years old and still contributing to the team. Dodgers’ catcher Roy Campanella took home his third NL MVP in 5 years.

Best 50 Game Start in MLB History

While the 1955 Dodgers record through 50 games is impressive, they do not hold the record for most wins in MLB history at that checkpoint.

Both the 1946 Boston Red Sox and the 1928 Yankees each won 40 games through 50 in those respective seasons. Technically, the 1946 Red Sox hold the record at 40-9-1 while the Yankees were 40-10 in the standings in 1928.

The Red Sox, led by Ted Williams, won 97 games before losing in the World Series that season, while the 1928 Yankees won 101 games and eventually the World Series, boasting one of the most talented squads in MLB history with both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

What’s in store for the 2019 Dodgers after 50 games?

While the 2019 Dodgers did not win as many games through 50 as they did in 1955—or as the 1928 Yankees and 1946 Red Sox did—this team is still on track to post one of the best records in the league when the season is all said and done.

If the first 50 games are any indication, even if the Dodgers don’t address their early-season issues, which is very unlikely, this team is set up to make another run at their first World Series title since 1988.

Kellan Grant

I’m currently a junior at Pomona College in Claremont, CA, and I have a passion for sports journalism. I grew up in the LA area and am a diehard fan of the Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, UCLA, Kings. My favorite Dodgers memory was watching Kershaw tear up after the team won the 2017 NLCS and advanced to the World Series for the first time in his career. After college, I plan on either pursuing a career as a sports journalist or working in sports law.

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