Dodgers: The links between Jackie Robinson and Clayton Kershaw

Apr 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view of statue of Jackie Robinson (42) at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; A general overall view of statue of Jackie Robinson (42) at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Jackie Robinson, foreground, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are at spring training in this photo taken in Ciudad Trujillo (present day Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, March 1948. (Photo Reproduction by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
Jackie Robinson, foreground, and the Brooklyn Dodgers are at spring training in this photo taken in Ciudad Trujillo (present day Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic, March 1948. (Photo Reproduction by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images) /

There have been plenty of great players who have suited up for the Dodgers in their illustrious history spanning both the years in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. There are also some interesting connections that bring not only those two cities together, but also different generations of players together as well.

For this exercise, we went to the Oracle of Baseball within Baseball-Reference.com, an exercise that connects baseball players in the same way that “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” finds converging timelines between Hollywood stars. So, in this article, we will look at MLB and Negro League players that overlap to form a chain between two of the most iconic names in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

What MLB players connect Dodgers legends Jackie Robinson and Clayton Kershaw?

Let’s start our exercise in the 1945 season for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, where Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige were on the same roster for a team that finished second in the Negro American League with a 43-32-3 record.

Interestingly, while Paige and Robinson were star names on the team, it was Booker McDaniel who would lead the Monarchs that season in bWAR at 3.7, thanks in part to pitching stats that included 13 complete games in 14 starts (25 games) as well as five saves.

Of course, both Robinson and Paige would Major League Baseball as well, and it’s with an MLB team that our chain continues.

CLEVELAND – 1949: Bob Feller, left, and Satchel Paige, pitchers for the Cleveland Indians in 1949 pose for a photo in the Indians dugout. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND – 1949: Bob Feller, left, and Satchel Paige, pitchers for the Cleveland Indians in 1949 pose for a photo in the Indians dugout. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images) /

How Minnie Minoso helps connect Dodgers legends Jackie Robinson and Clayton Kershaw

In 1949, the Cleveland Indians had a roster filled with future Hall of Famers. In fact, eight future members of Cooperstown would play a role for the Indians that year (Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby, Bob Feller, Joe Gordon, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Satchel Paige, and Minnie Minoso). After winning the World Series the season before, however, the Indians finished in third place in the American League in 1949. Despite the talent on the roster, Cleveland finished eight games behind the New York Yankees.

The 1949 season was the first MLB season for Minoso, who was recently inducted into Cooperstown by the Golden Days Era Committee. He would play in just 17 games over two seasons for Cleveland before finding a home with the Chicago White Sox, a franchise he would have at least two at-bats for in four different decades.

Minoso’s long MLB tenure spread out over multiple decades make him the ultimate MLB player connector. It’s a mind-bender to think that he played with both Satchel Paige and Rich “Goose” Gossage, but he did, sitting next to Paige with the 1949 Indians and Gossage with the 1976 White Sox.

That year would mark Gossage’s second consecutive All-Star berth and a rarity in his career. The man with 310 career saves would start a career-high 29 games that season and log 15 complete games, posting a 3.94 ERA.

His steadiness as a starter in 1976 was bookended by seasons where he posted 26 saves in 1975 (with the White Sox) and 1977 (with the Pittsburgh Pirates).

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Greg Maddux of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California on September 30, 2006. The Dodgers defeated the Giants 4-2. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – SEPTEMBER 30: Greg Maddux of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California on September 30, 2006. The Dodgers defeated the Giants 4-2. (Photo by Brad Mangin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

Greg Maddux with the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers is a key link between Jackie Robinson and Clayton Kershaw

Do you remember when the Chicago Cubs traded Greg Maddux to the Los Angeles Dodgers? That moment just before the 2006 trade deadline would not only mark the end of Chicago’s second time having the Hall of Famer on the roster, but also help our keep the Robinson-to-Kershaw connection going.

But let’s back up for just a moment. It was during Maddux’s first time with the Cubs that he suited up with Rich “Goose” Gossage during the 1988 season. That would be the first All-Star appearance for a then-22-year-old Maddux while the 36-year-old Gossage would post his last year with double-digit saves, nailing down 13 saves.

Twenty seasons later, Maddux would be in Dodger blue, taking the mound alongside a rookie named Clayton Kershaw. With that, the connection between Jackie Robinson and Kershaw would be complete.

Next. Dodgers now face decisions this offseason with Kershaw. dark

Once again, here’s the connection between Jackie Robinson and Clayton Kershaw.

Jackie Robinson played with Satchel Paige for the 1945 Kansas City Monarchs

Satchel Paige played with Minnie Minoso for the 1949 Cleveland Indians

Minnie Minoso played with Rich Gossage for the 1976 Chicago White Sox

Rich Gossage played with Greg Maddux for the 1988 Chicago Cubs

Greg Maddux played with Clayton Kershaw for the 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers

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