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Dodgers Rookie of the Year winners, all 18 of them

By Bobby Mueller

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 29: Cody Bellinger
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 29: Cody Bellinger /
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JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Baseballs and a bat sit on the field of the Miami Marlins during a team workout on February 23, 2016 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Baseballs and a bat sit on the field of the Miami Marlins during a team workout on February 23, 2016 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /

Dodgers Rookie of the Year #10

  • 2B Steve Sax, 1982
  • 14 seasons with four teams (8 seasons with Dodgers)
  • .281/.335/.338, 97 wRC+, 7632 PA
  • 22.6 fWAR, 25.3 bWAR

When Sax won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1982, he was one of three rookie second basemen who had good seasons. Consider the trio:

  • 699 PA, 88 R, 4 HR, 47 RBI, 49 SB, .282/.335/.359—Steve Sax
  • 702 PA, 79 R, 7 HR, 63 RBI, 16 SB, .281/.318/.382—Johnny Ray
  • 687 PA, 103 R, 7 HR, 54 RBI, 32 SB, .271/.312/.372—Ryne Sandberg

Sandberg led the three in runs scored and tied with Ray in home runs. Ray had the most RBI and the highest slugging percentage. Sax stole the most bases and had the best on-base percentage. When it comes to WAR, there was disagreement between Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference:

It could be argued that Ray had the best year, then Sax, then Sandberg. Ray also had very close to the same career value as Sax. Of course, Sandberg ended up being much better than the other two and is in the Hall of Fame.

Sax was an All-Star in his rookie year and again the next year. In his eight seasons with the Dodgers, he stole 40 or more bases four times. He also once led the league in caught stealing, when he was nabbed 30 times in 1983. Incredibly, he made 30 errors that year, many of them throwing errors. This was the beginning of Steve Sax Syndrome.

It started on a relay play at the plate when Sax short-hopped a throw home that allowed the runner to score. It was replayed on the news that night and got in Sax’s head.

Soon he was throwing balls into the first base stands on easy grounders to second. Opposing fans taunted him by wearing batting helmets and holding bed sheets decorated with bullseyes.

Sax credits a visit with his ailing father in the hospital for curing his throwing ills. His father confessed he had once had the same problem and one day it just went away. Shortly after their visit, Sax’s father died.

Sax struggled with his throws for much of the rest of the season but finished the year with 36 straight errorless games and his Steve Sax Syndrome was gone. His mother later revealed that Sax’s father had never had a throwing problem.

After eight seasons with the Dodgers that included two World Series titles, Sax played for the Yankees, White Sox, and A’s over the last six years of his career. In the 1990s, he appeared on a handful of television shows, including the famous “Homer at the Bat” episode of The Simpsons.

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