Of course, the Dodgers would never take back the free agent signing of OF Kirk Gibson. Gibson won the NL MVP that season and his one handed home run off Dennis Eckersley was the turning point of the 1988 World Series. The acquisition of Gibson would lead to the trade of OF/3B/1B Pedro Guerrero. At this point in the season, Guerrero was still on the Dodgers, as today is the 25th anniversary of Pedro throwing his bat at Mets RHP David Cone after being hit by a pitch in a Dodgers/ Mets game. Guerrero was the veteran and one of the senior players on that season's Dodgers team and quickly found that the fiery Gibson's personality clashed with his own.
Guerrero was one of the last links between the prior LA Dodgers teams that made the postseason. He was part of the 1981 World Series Championship team that had infielders Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey. The 1988 version was quite different than the 1981 team for the expection of Guerrero and a couple of other offensive players. Pedro was traded to the St Louis Cardinals in a trade that brought the Dodgers LHP John Tudor, a top pitcher for the Cardinals in the postseason in 1985 and 1987. After Guerrero's departure, that left the Dodgers with C Mike Scioscia, OF Mike Marshall and 2B Steve Sax as players on the 1981 team.
Guerrero finished 3rd in the NL MVP voting in 1982 (.304, 32, 100), 1985 (.320, 33, 87) and in 1989 with St Louis (.311, 17, 117, 42 2Bs). He finished his career (1978-1992) with a .300 avg, 218 HRs and 898 RBIs. He also had 1618 hits and 267 2Bs in his career. He slugged .480 and finished with a .850 OPS. Gibson, of course, was known for his big HR in the 1984 WS of Goose Gossage of the Padres before his bigger HR against Oakland in 1988. Gibson hit .268 for his career with 255 HRs and 870 RBIs. His 1553 hits and 260 2Bs were both similar to what Guerrero finished with. Gibson's .463 SLG was lower than Guerrero's as well as Gibson's .817 OPS. However, Gibson had distinct advantages in runs scored (985-730) and stolen bases (284-97). But, you can make the case Pedro Guerrero was the more solid run producer based on average, RBIs and OPS. Two players who were closer based on career numbers than many ever thought. The irony of this whole comparison is the fact that before Gibson was granted free agency following collusion cases of the past season, there was a rumored swap between Detroit and LA including Gibson and Guerrero in the 1987 offseason.
Guerrero was one of the last links between the prior LA Dodgers teams that made the postseason. He was part of the 1981 World Series Championship team that had infielders Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey. The 1988 version was quite different than the 1981 team for the expection of Guerrero and a couple of other offensive players. Pedro was traded to the St Louis Cardinals in a trade that brought the Dodgers LHP John Tudor, a top pitcher for the Cardinals in the postseason in 1985 and 1987. After Guerrero's departure, that left the Dodgers with C Mike Scioscia, OF Mike Marshall and 2B Steve Sax as players on the 1981 team.
Guerrero finished 3rd in the NL MVP voting in 1982 (.304, 32, 100), 1985 (.320, 33, 87) and in 1989 with St Louis (.311, 17, 117, 42 2Bs). He finished his career (1978-1992) with a .300 avg, 218 HRs and 898 RBIs. He also had 1618 hits and 267 2Bs in his career. He slugged .480 and finished with a .850 OPS. Gibson, of course, was known for his big HR in the 1984 WS of Goose Gossage of the Padres before his bigger HR against Oakland in 1988. Gibson hit .268 for his career with 255 HRs and 870 RBIs. His 1553 hits and 260 2Bs were both similar to what Guerrero finished with. Gibson's .463 SLG was lower than Guerrero's as well as Gibson's .817 OPS. However, Gibson had distinct advantages in runs scored (985-730) and stolen bases (284-97). But, you can make the case Pedro Guerrero was the more solid run producer based on average, RBIs and OPS. Two players who were closer based on career numbers than many ever thought. The irony of this whole comparison is the fact that before Gibson was granted free agency following collusion cases of the past season, there was a rumored swap between Detroit and LA including Gibson and Guerrero in the 1987 offseason.
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