The summer of 1973 was the year first baseman Steve Garvey made his most important play in his whole baseball career. And, surprisingly, it wasn’t even on the field! Yes, Garvey was indeed that very lucky player who fibbed to his manager by his locker about having experience playing on the infield.
On the fateful day of June 23, 1973, Garvey was standing by his locker when his then manager, Walter Alston, walked up to him and offered him a career breaking opportunity: to play first as part of the Dodgers’ infield. Of course, Garvey didn’t let this chance pass him up. So, like any sensible person, he gratefully accepted with his small and simple tale.
Even though Garvey had technically lied, his lie wasn’t entirely a full-blown one. In fact, he had played on infield before, just not a lot. There were a few times he played in Little League, triple A, and some in his big-league career. So, it was probably safe to say that this lie definitely had potential to turn itself into the best decision in Garvey’s career.
Then came the night it all started. This was the starting game after which the legendary quartet would go on to lead the Dodgers to nearly a decade of much-needed glory. The infield line-up included Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Dave Lopes, and Garvey himself.
The line-up would rarely change for nearly the next nine years, during which the four would lead the Dodgers past the New York Yankees and claim a title in the World Series for the first time in 16 years.
But there was something else that also came with the glory. According to the Los Angeles Times, “They [the four infielders] relished standing alongside one another on the same field they called home for almost a decade,” which many may find extremely heartwarming.
To back that up, Russell has also stated that “It’s just like your family.” This only goes to show how long the foursome have played together field.
On the other hand, though, it would be difficult to stay with each other for that many years without being stars. As Russell stated after, “You had to be successful to be together that long.” Needless to say, they had no reason to worry about that, because boy were the four of them successful. They went on to achieve great feats, earning a hefty number of titles each.
For example, while Garvey had four Gold Glove wins in a row, Cey participated in six All-Star games, Lopes became a rookie of the year finalist, and Russell appeared in the Midsummer Classic in three different years.
“The four of us have taken a lot of pride in it,” Garvey stated on the matter.
On the fateful day of June 23, 1973, Garvey was standing by his locker when his then manager, Walter Alston, walked up to him and offered him a career breaking opportunity: to play first as part of the Dodgers’ infield. Of course, Garvey didn’t let this chance pass him up. So, like any sensible person, he gratefully accepted with his small and simple tale.
Even though Garvey had technically lied, his lie wasn’t entirely a full-blown one. In fact, he had played on infield before, just not a lot. There were a few times he played in Little League, triple A, and some in his big-league career. So, it was probably safe to say that this lie definitely had potential to turn itself into the best decision in Garvey’s career.
Then came the night it all started. This was the starting game after which the legendary quartet would go on to lead the Dodgers to nearly a decade of much-needed glory. The infield line-up included Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Dave Lopes, and Garvey himself.
The line-up would rarely change for nearly the next nine years, during which the four would lead the Dodgers past the New York Yankees and claim a title in the World Series for the first time in 16 years.
But there was something else that also came with the glory. According to the Los Angeles Times, “They [the four infielders] relished standing alongside one another on the same field they called home for almost a decade,” which many may find extremely heartwarming.
To back that up, Russell has also stated that “It’s just like your family.” This only goes to show how long the foursome have played together field.
On the other hand, though, it would be difficult to stay with each other for that many years without being stars. As Russell stated after, “You had to be successful to be together that long.” Needless to say, they had no reason to worry about that, because boy were the four of them successful. They went on to achieve great feats, earning a hefty number of titles each.
For example, while Garvey had four Gold Glove wins in a row, Cey participated in six All-Star games, Lopes became a rookie of the year finalist, and Russell appeared in the Midsummer Classic in three different years.
“The four of us have taken a lot of pride in it,” Garvey stated on the matter.
