The Giants and the Dodgers; Four Cities, Two Teams, One Rivalry

By Andrew Goldblatt, Reviewed by James Floto

I love the subtitle, "Four cities, two teams, one rivalry." The rivalry is the key to the story, whether in the 1920s or the 21st century, in Ebbets Field or Pac Bell Park. Some Red Sox and Yankees insist that theirs is the more vibrant rivalry, but I have followed the Dodgers at the Coliseum and the Giants at the Stick and the rivalry continues to thrive. A Los Angeles friend of mine has his kids convinced that the correct name of San Francisco's team is "the Hated Giants."

It all started in New York in the 1880s, with the Dodgers as members of the American Association (then a major league) and the National League Giants, who started in 1883 at the first Polo Grounds. In 1889 the Giants moved to the new Polo Grounds, on a craggy hill called Coogan's Bluff, the same park where Bobby Thomson would hit his famous "Shot heard 'round the world" 62 years later. In 1889 the two teams played each other in the World Series, the first non-exhibition meeting between the clubs. The Brooklyn Bridge had opened in 1883, allowing easy access between New York and Brooklyn, "guaranteeing that partisans of both teams would mix in large numbers at each game... Old men, middle-aged men, beardless youth, small boys, and even members of the gentler sex have the fever, and when the champions of the two teams meet, heated arguments as to the merits of the nine are sure to follow." And so it began. In the many decades since, much history has been made, many arguments have been fought and many good times have been enjoyed. Soon after the turn of the last century, the two men who have come to symbolize the rivalry took over as managers of the two clubs. John McGraw became manager of the Giants, while Wilbert Robinson became the Dodgers' skipper. The two men had been teammates on the old Baltimore Orioles (with Wee Willie Keeler, Ned Hanlon and Kid Gleason, unfortunate future manager of the Black Sox) and had even run a pool parlor together in Baltimore. But by the time they assumed the roles for which they would be best known they had become bitter enemies, befitting the managers of the Dodgers and Giants. Dozens of famous players played for the two icons during their long stints as manager. Robinson, known as "Uncle Wilbert," because of his chubby build and avuncular temperament, piloted the Dodgers between 1914 and 1931, winning two pennants. So popular was he in Brooklyn that for a while the Dodgers changed their name to the Robins. McGraw, a.k.a. "the Little Napoleon," managed longer than anyone other than Connie Mack, leading the Giants from 1902 to 1931, winning 10 NL flags and five World Series, including four in a row from 1921 to 1924.

Some of the great Dodgers of the early era included Bill Dahlen, Nap Rucker (a nifty southpaw), Zack Wheat (a man who for some reason is nearly forgotten today but who in the teens and '20s hit .317 with 2,884 base hits and 1,248 RBI) Jake Daubert, Burleigh Grimes, last of the great spitballers, the fireballer Dazzy Vance and Babe Herman, while giants among the Giants included Christy Mathewson and Iron Joe McGinnity and their legendary batterymate, Roger Bresnahan. People talk about the tandem of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, and rightly so. But between 1903 and 1906 Matty went 116-46 (that averages out to 29-11 per year, and he won 30 games three times in that span), while Iron Joe was 114-55 (29-13 per year). Some of the other great "Gints" of that era included Larry "It's great to be young and a Giant" Doyle, Ross Youngs, Frankie Frisch, Bill Terry and Travis Jackson.

So much of the game's lore revolves around one or both teams: Fred Merkle and the famous missed base incident; Dodger Leon Cadore's 26-inning, 1-1 tie vs. Joe Oescheger of the Braves; Bill Terry, who replaced McGraw, starting a small war by wisecracking at the beginning of the 1934 season, "The Dodgers? Are they still in the league?"

While the Dodgers were a joke for much of the '30s, in their Casey Stengel phase, the Giants of the Depression were a strong team, with pitchers like Carl "The Meal Ticket" - a fitting name for a money maker in the Depression - Hubbell and Freddie Fitzsimmons, while Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Freddie Lindstrom led the offense.

World War II reversed their roles; the Giants would have to wait for the arrival of Willie Mays to become a winner again. But in the '40s the Dodgers began rebuilding with talented young players like Pete Reiser, Dolph Camili, Dixie Walker, Pee Wee Reese and Van Lingle Mungo. In 1947, of course, Jackie Robinson landed, as if from another world, and by 1950 most of the team that would dominate the National League through the '50s was in place: Campanella and Snider, Hodges and Furillo, Newcombe and Labine.

The Dodgers won the pennant in '47, '49, 50, '53, facing the Yanks each time and losing each one. Finally in '55 their turn came and the Brooklyn Dodgers won their first World Series. Just in time, as three years later they would be gone. In '51 and '54, the Giants, under the awesome skills of Willie Mays along with Bobby Thomson, Monte Irvin and Sal Maglie, won the pennant.

The Giants came west with the Dodgers in 1958. It was a package deal. NL owners were interested in West Coast ball, but if it was only going to be the Dodgers it would be too far to fly for just one series. To play the Dodgers in LA, then go up the Bay Area and battle the Giants would be cost effective and so, in April of 1958, for the first time in a half century, new cities joined the NL. The Dodgers lost Roy Campanella to a car crash in the winter before they arrived in LA and that combined with the aging of "the Boys of Summer" created a rocky first year for the Dodgers. In '59 they had to defeat Milwaukee in a playoff for the pennant and LA fans got to hear legendary broadcaster Vin Scully break the tension with "It's all over, we go to Chicago!" They went to Chicago and beat the White Sox in the World Series.

In the '60s the Dodgers had a team somewhat similar to the current one: excellent pitching with a weak offense. Koufax and Drysdale led the staff, Maury Wills at least got on base (and stole as many as 104 bags in 1962) and Tommy Davis and Frank Howard would drive in Wills and Willie Davis. After '59, they won World Series in '63 and '65 and lost the Series in '66 all-in-all a pretty good run.

The Giants had the core of a great team in the '60s - four of them (Mays, McCovey, Cepeda and Marichal) went to the Hall of Fame. The problem was they lacked the depth to escape second and third place, except for the pennant they won in '62. They did manage to post the highest winning percentage for the decade though.

And so it has gone and so it continues to go. I really enjoyed this book; it rekindled a lot of memories and there were lots of great players in the '70s, '80s and '90s, all the way up to Matt Williams, Will Clark, Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt, while the Dodgers have had stalwarts like Shawn Green, Eric Gagne, Kevin Brown and Paul Lo Duca. Word of mouth on the west coast is that the actors on these two clubs are going to continue their century old drama for the foreseeable future.

As for McFarland, they continue to improve in both quantity and quality. Their output in the past three or four years includes some of the best baseball books available. This one certainly ranks among the "division winners."