2009 MLB season in review: Los Angeles Dodgers
What can you say about a team that wins 95 games, advances all the way to the National League Championship series, and really a team that should have a much rosier short term future? It seems that the Dodgers are in store for a huge collapse, the pending divorce proceedings between their owner and his wife, who had served as President of the team seems to be a harbinger of very bad things. On top of that their lack of a true Ace started was exposed during their post season run.
Their final record was 95-67, and that was good enough to win the National League West. The Dodgers were able to grab control of the division early and spent a total of 176 days in first place. By early summer they were out in front by 9.5 games, and they finished 3 games ahead of the Colorado Rockies. They managed to knock off the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS.
Their offense was led by Manny Ramirez and Matt Kemp, who both hit just under .300 for the year. As a team they scored 780 runs, had 1,511 hits (most in the National League), and hit 145 home runs. They suffered 1,068 strike outs while working for 607 walks. They also stole 116 bases which was the third highest in the NL. While having no clear Ace, their pitching staff featured two starters with double digit victories and they surrendered just 611 runs. Their staff ERA was 3.41 also the best among senior league clubs. They struck out 1,272 batters while issuing 584 walks.
In the end 3,761,669 fans came out to Dodger Stadium to see their Dodgers play. For their 81 home games they averaged 46,440 fans and that was the best of the 30 MLB teams. For the 2009 season they were able to sell 82.9% of their ticket inventory.
