The Dodgers: 60 Years in Los Angeles

by Michael Schiavone

The 60 Years in Los Angeles chronicles the team’s thrilling, roller coaster history since arriving in the West Coast from Brooklyn. Featuring the stellar talents and memorable personalities of Dodgers greats such as Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Tommy Lasorda, Fernando Valenzuela, and Kirk Gibson, as well as the stars of today, like Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager, author Michael Schiavone offers an in-depth history of the team since their arrival in 1958.

In 1957, the Dodgers left their home of Brooklyn, New York, where they had been since their inception in 1884, for the sun of California. Since arriving in LA, the team has won five World Series Championships and ten National League Pennants, and become one of the most popular organizations in Major League Baseball.

With highlights of each season, the moments fans love to remember (Kirk Gibson’s memorable home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series) or wish to forget (the entire 1992 season), as well as those who have graced the field of Chavez Ravine, The 60 Years in Los Angeles shares the wonderful history of the boys in blue in the most comprehensive book available. Whether you’re a fan of the Dodgers of old or today’s team, this book offers the most information of the team’s time in California than any other on the market.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

356 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2018

About the author

Michael Schiavone is the author of The Dodgers: 60 Years in Los Angeles. His other books are Sports and Labor in the United States (SUNY Press, 2015) which was longlisted for the 2016 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing, presented by PEN American Center, Unions in Crisis? The Future of Organized Labor in America (Praeger Publishers, 2008) and Austerity and the Labor Movement (SUNY Press, 2016). He has a Bachelor's Degree in International Relations from Flinders University and a PhD from the Australian National University. When he is not writing he is watching baseball and having tea parties with his daughter.

Reviews

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's OK, but a bit generic. At times it falls into "And then this happened. Then this happened. ..." and so on. It generally lacks any momentum or bigger sense of what was going on. The earlier chapters on the O'Malley era are the better ones. There is more a sense of overall purpose in those chapters.

[Nancy Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing...

This book is not particularly well written and offers very little new information or insights... I was really hoping for more.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book hit all the key highlights of Dodger history without going into enough detail to be an enjoyable read. It also seems that the book needed another editorial pass - I found at least 3 typos plus way too many cliches.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although entertaining, this book suffers from poor writing style and even worse editing.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a serious Dodger fan, then you need to read this book. You will learn all about the history of your team. How did they get the name "Dodgers"? What is the real story? How was Donald Trump's father- Fred along with "The Power Broker" Robert Moses involved in the decision to move the team out of Brooklyn? Here you will see that Branch Rickey was the friendly, "warm" character that brought Jackie Robinson, along with the new wave of black players, into Major League Baseball.
How about the owner though, Walter O'Malley, what was HE like. Read and you will find out what the players had to go through in dealing with him.
This book primarily covers the Dodgers after their move to Los Angeles in 1958, up until 2019.
While in Brooklyn, they were "Dem Bums", a lovable team of also rans, who only ever won one World Series championship in 68 years in Brooklyn (1955 was the year).
Once they got to L.A, they really got rolling.One of the most successful and storied franchises in MLB, the Dodgers have won eight World Series championships and a record 25 National League pennants. Eleven NL MVP award winners have played for the Dodgers, winning a total of 14. Eight Cy Young Award winners have pitched for the club, winning a total of 12—by far the most of any Major League franchise. The Dodgers boast 18 Rookie of the Year Award winners, twice as many as the next club.
This is their story.
The only drawback that I found in the book is that while the author breaks down the early years out in L.A. rather nicely, he seems to rush through the last ten years a bit faster.

[Chuck Neumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Dodgers, 60 years in Los Angeles" is a history of the team since it arrived in L.A. in 1958. The author gives a good overview of the team's fortunes over the next 60 seasons. As to be expected, he is not able to go into great depth on any one season, but does a good job covering each year in general. I was a little surprised by a lack of stats. I would expect a yearly rundown on each season's finish, won lost record, manager etc. Also, a list of yearly team leaders in wins, batting average, homers etc. None of that was provided. Few photos were seen in the book. The author does give some interesting details about the team's ownership groups that came and went after the O'Malley's sold the team. One owner brought the team by getting a loan on a parking lot he owned, defaulted on the loan but was able to sell the Dodgers for billions, making a huge profit for himself. The author isn't shy about giving his own opinion on people and events, so don't expect a dispatched view of the events. He seemed frustrated by the team's failures in the post seasons in recent years, it is too bad his book ends after the 2019 season as the team would win the World Series in 2020 and 2024.

[Michael Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author slips his political views into his writing - if I wanted a sociological and economic commentary on baseball I would recommend Jackie Robinson's autobiography over this work. If he had done so, I would have added another star.

Having been a lifelong fan of this team for the entire coverage span of the book, I applaud the author's thorough recounting of the Dodgers' work between the lines. Author does also not hide his disdain for some of the characters he covers in the book.

Despite these misgivings, there are some welcome insights. Easy read is also welcome.

[Bruce Corder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dodger Blue

A good read and it actually filled in some gaps in my knowledge of the Dodgers. With the story ending with the close of the 2017 season, mention should have been made about the cheating scandal of the World Series winning Houston Astro’s.

[Amaya Acosta]

This book was an easy read. I've loved baseball but mostly the Dodgers all my life. Watching games, talking about the Dodgers and even listening to them makes me so happy. Reading about their history pulls me in and it makes me so much more interested.