Dodger Way (Dodgers’ Way)
“The Dodger Way” (or “The Dodgers’ Way”) refers to the philosophies of the Brooklyn Dodgers (later the Los Angeles Dodgers) baseball team. Elements of the “Dodger Way” include a strong farm system, player loyalty to the franchise, strong pitching, good defense and team speed.
Brooklyn Dodgers scouting director Al Campanis (1916-1998) wrote the book The Dodgers’ Way to Play Baseball (1954), popularizing the “Dodgers’ Way” name. The Dodger philosophy had been put into place by Branch Rickey (1881-1965), general manager from 1943 to 1950. However, the Brooklyn Eagle online does not show any relevant “Dodgers’ Way” citations before 1954.
Wikipedia: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team located in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of the National League West division of Major League Baseball (MLB). Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming the Brooklyn Dodgers definitively by 1932. The team moved to Los Angeles before the 1958 season.
OCLC WorldCat record
The Dodgers’ way to play baseball
Author: Al Campanis
Publisher: New York, Dutton, 1954.
Edition/Format: Book : English : [1st ed.]
OCLC WorldCat record
Training the Dodger way
Author: Tommy Lasorda; Mike Piazza
Publisher: [Los Angeles?] : Los Angeles Dodgers, ©1994.
Series: Dodger grand slam jam, 4.
Edition/Format: VHS video : VHS tape : Juvenile audience Visual material : English
Los Angeles (CA) Times
Shelf life has expired on the ‘Dodger Way’
July 12, 2008|Ross Newhan | Special to The Times
One in a series marking 50 years of the Dodgers in L.A.
—
Branch Rickey disciple Al Campanis wrote “The Dodger Way to Play Baseball” in 1954.
Campanis was scouting director on his way to becoming general manager, and his book, both symbolically and in practicality, became the organization’s bible, preaching pride in coaching and fundamentals with an emphasis on pitching, speed and defense.
The “Dodger Way” formed a significant part of the club’s aura and attraction for decades, tutored to rookies in night classes at Dodgertown, envied and emulated by other organizations.
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
Eyeball to Eyeball, Bellybutton to Bellybutton: Inside The Dodger Way of Scouting
By Lee Lowenfish
This article was published in the 2011 The National Pastime.
In the highly competitive, insular world of major league baseball, the phrase “The Dodger Way” still retains its hallowed place. The term can be traced to 1942, when Branch Rickey took over as general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers and created a farm system that surpassed the one he built during his quarter-century with the St. Louis Cardinals. Though Rickey was bought out of Dodgers ownership by Walter O’Malley after the 1950 season, O’Malley understood the importance of scouting and player development. He retained experienced executives Buzzie Bavasi, Al Campanis, and Fresco Thompson, and The Dodger Way remained in force until Walter’s son Peter sold the team to Rupert Murdoch before the start of the 1998 season.
Google Books
The House That Ruth Built:
A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923
By Robert Weintraub
New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company
2011
Pg. ?:
In later years, other organizations would shorthand their brand of baseball as the “Dodger Way” or the “Cardinal Way” or the “Oriole Way.” The “McGraw Way” not only predated these but was a profound influence on them.
Twitter
Steve Garvey
@SteveGarvey6
@Dodgers..I think we need to do a “Throwback"to the decades when the franchise “Dodger Way” to play the game was a culture that started Day1
Palm Desert, CA
7:25 PM - 8 Oct 2014
ESPNChicago.com
What’s different this time for Bears?
For fans having trouble trusting team’s future to management, some suggestions
Updated: December 29, 2014, 9:04 PM ET
By Jon Greenberg | ESPNChicago.com
LAKE FOREST, Ill.—There is no such thing as the Bears Way.
There is a Tress Way, but he’s just a punter the Bears released.
I believe the Dodger Way was coined back in the 1940s, and other fan bases and teams have glommed on with their own versions. Some have real meaning. Some do not.