The Hyenas and the Stuntmen: The Dodgers Platoon Squad

With the Dodgers winning their first World Series in 32 years, it's tempting to look for parallels with their last win in 1988. There are a few interesting coincidences (both years had the Lakers winning the NBA championship) but overall the two squads couldn't be more different.

The 88 Dodgers entered as underdogs coming off two losing seasons, while the 2020 Dodgers were hunting an NL West 8-peat and had been to the World Series twice in the last 3 years. However, there was one thread that connects these two very different World Series-winning teams.

Let's talk about Stuntmen and Hyenas...

The Stuntmen

"Our goal, as stuntmen, is to push the [starters]. Being a stunt man takes a certain kind of attitude and patience" -Mickey Hatcher, LA Times, 1988

The Stuntmen was the self-given moniker of the platoon squad of the 1988 Dodgers. As detailed in the bookMiracle Men: Hershiser, Gibson, and the Improbable 1988 Dodgers, the Dodgers were coming off two losing 86 and 87 seasons and manager Tommy Lasorda wanted to start the season off with a bang. The plan: Give the team momentum by winning a lot of Spring Training games.

To do this, he started leveraging a group of misfit bench-riders, often brought into the late innings of games after the starters had been taken out to avoid injury. They were scrappy and hugely instrumental in scraping back wins, literally acting as stuntmen for the more established starters of their team in the later innings. "In Spring Training, these guys would get their two at-bats and take it in," Hatcher reflected. "They'd leave it up to us to win a game".

And it worked: The Dodgers went 21-11 and carried the momentum into the regular season, ending with a 91 win record. They continued the performance into the postseason with an upset division win against a stacked 101 Mets team, and won a World Series against the A's. As a sign of how far the stuntmen had come, let's have a look at the starters for the WS clinching G5:

Steve Sax 2B

Franklin Stubbs 1B

Mickey Hatcher LF

Mike Marshall RF

John Shelby CF

Mike Davis DH

Rick Dempsey C

Jeff Hamilton 3B

Alfredo Griffin SS

Orel Hershiser P

Hatcher, Dempsey, Hamilton, and Stubbs had all climbed to World Series starters.

The Hyenas

So where does that link in with the 2020 squad?

It was almost fate that Kiké, the face of the Dodgers platoon squad, would be the one to come up with a new moniker for 2020 Stuntmen. After an incredible game-tying pinch-hit home run that led to a Dodgers come-back 4-3 win against the Braves, Kike Hernandez gave a colorful analogy:

"There's not many holes, if any... from the top of the lineup, we've got some superstars, and thehyenas in the bottom, waiting for leftovers. It's a whole thing."

Within a few days, the hyenas had shirts ready, and the whole team was wearing them:

Brusdar Graterol

Brusdar Graterol

Justin Turner

Justin Turner

So who were the Dodgers 2020 Stuntmen-cum-Hyena's? Well, based on Joc Pederson's post-World Series win Instagram photo:

From the left, our Hyena's are: Kike Hernández, Joc Pederson, AJ Pollock, Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor.

Let's dive deep into each one:

Kike Hernandez (SS, CF, RF, LF, 1B, 2B)- What else is there to say about Kike? Kike is the stuntmen of stuntmen, the hyena of hyenas. Whilst theoretically his primary role is 2nd basemen, he's literally played every infield position other than catcher while wearing Dodger Blue. In his time with the Los Angeles, he's played at least 50 innings of SS, CF, RF, CF, LF as well as a smattering of 3B.

His versatility has lead to some cheeky line-up banter:

Lol.@kikehndez#SuperUtilitypic.twitter.com/KhkBluZTU8-- Lindsey (@lnzy04)March 23, 2017

Lol.@kikehndez#SuperUtilitypic.twitter.com/KhkBluZTU8

His 2020 season was another demonstration of his utility: A great defender with a rocket arm (0.9 dWar) and great clutch appearances (148 tOPS+ with 2 outs and RISP), whilst playing every position except 3rd base.

His postseason speaks for itself: Hernandez's Game 7 solo shot was instrumental in the Dodgers win over the Braves in the NLDS.

THIS GAME IS TIED!!Solo short from Hernandez! We are in for a FUN Game 7 tonight!pic.twitter.com/GaGY2yIjcf-- FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX)October 19, 2020

THIS GAME IS TIED!!Solo short from Hernandez! We are in for a FUN Game 7 tonight!pic.twitter.com/GaGY2yIjcf

NB: Not related to his 2020 season but I loved some of these stats I found when researching his stuntman nature. With his 2018 position pitching stunting against the Phillies, he's now in esteemed company: He is the first position player since Babe Ruth to play in the infield, outfield and give up 3 runs or more in the same game... as well as the first position playereverto give up a walk-off home run.

Joc Pederson (LF, CF)- Joc definitely had the Stuntman experience: Before the season even started he was almost traded to the Angels, he was injured in Spring Training and ended the 2020 season with a sub-Mendoza .190/.285/.397 slash line. His injuries, combined with spending time on the family emergency list (some things are more important than baseball), made it a down regular-season overall for Joc, as he finished with -0.4 WAR overall.

But this is the man known asJoctoberfor his postseason juice, and he didn't disappoint, finishing the post-season with a .382/.432/.559 slash line.

Joc's stuntman role is probably the most bittersweet, and likely to be his last (as we'll be covering later). He's a Dodgers lifer, and has been part of every of their postseason since he was called up in 2014.

AJ Pollock (LF, RF)- One of the rare non-pitcher FA signings the Dodgers made, 2019 Pollock was disappointing. He batted a barely above average 108 OPS+ in his regular season, but his postseason was what most fans remember him for, and not in a good way: 14 PA, 10 Ks, 0 hits, 1 Walk. An OPS of .071 against the Nationals over 5 games.

But this was largely due to injuries, and a healthier Pollock definitely had something to prove in 2020, which he did during the regular season, slashing .266/.327/.468 for a 134 OPS+. His postseason performance was an improvement over 2019, but not something really to boast about: .216/.256/.243 but with some important hits.

A comeback overall, but Pollock is likely to keep his hyena status for now.

Austin Barnes (C)-Sammy'shad a tough job, having to fight for a catcher spot against red-hot rookie Will Smith, who ended the season with a 164 OPS+ to Barne's 85 OPS+. But a catcher's primary job is not to hit, it's to catch.

On that front, Barnes' defensive and framing metrics are above and beyond Smiths:

He's even improved at the plate, thanks to some batting advice fromsome guy called Mookie. Whilst not as good as his breakout 2017 season (138 OPS+), Barnes improved his numbers from 2019 and even had a hitting streak of his own in August, when he went seven straight games with hits and brought his BA up to .300 briefly.

He also shone in the postseason, such as in WS G3 where he hit a textbook sac-bunt, then followed it up with a HR.

(Get a man who can do both)

And in G5, who hit the single that might've tipped the balance toward Blake Snell being pulled from the game? Sammy of course!

Chris Taylor - (2B, SS, LF, CF)- If I were to ask you "Who are the 5 most valuable players on the Dodgers?", Chris Taylor would probably not be in your list, but you'd be wrong! According to Fangraphs and Baseball Reference: by bWAR he was the 3rd most valuable player on the team behind Mookie and Seager (3.4, 1.9, 1.8 respectively) and in fWar the 4th (behind pitcher Tony Gonsolin).

CT3 is a Dodgers workhorse: He's in the top 5 for plate appearances on the team (214), a great defender (beaten only by Mookie, Kike, and Lux in dWar), and tops it off with a respectable 128 OPS+.

Less said about that bobbled throw in G5 the better, eh?

The Next Chapter for the Hyena's

"The thing about the Stunt Men is that we're never happy," Hatcher said. "We want to make that clear. You show me a guy happy to be on the bench, and I'll show you a loser." -Mickey Hatcher, LA Times, 1988

One of the reasons that the Dodgers platoon excels so much is their overflowing depth: it's a good problem to have, but I imagine a lot of players would prefer not to sit on the bench. Combine that with a bunch of minor-league home-grown talent nipping at their heels, and a World Series win under their belts, this might be the last hurrah, something that's even been acknowledged by the Hyenas themselves.

Kike' Hernandez said there has been some acknowledgement among#Dodgersplayers that will be free agents this could be their "Last Dance" to win a World Series together in L.A.-- David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV)July 15, 2020

Kike' Hernandez said there has been some acknowledgement among#Dodgersplayers that will be free agents this could be their "Last Dance" to win a World Series together in L.A.

Let's see how their contracts look:

Only two of the Hyena squad are free-agents coming into the 2021 season: Kiké and Pederson.

Pedersonseems the most likely to leave. He was already part of afailed trade with The Angelsat the start of the year, and he ticks a lot of boxes for a lot of teams: outfielder, hitting for power, left-handed, and without a massive price tag. MLB Trade Rumours is guessingthe Cardinals 21m/2 years.

Kikéis less certain. He's certainly good enough to start for a bunch of teams, but is anyone crying out for a multi-year deal for a utility man 2B, in what could be one of the coldest hot-stove seasons for a while? But then if the Dodgers do re-sign him, where does 2B prospect Gavin Lux fit?

Pollockhas one year remaining on his 3-year contract. Based on his mostly ok performance, I'm not sure the Dodgers would re-sign him for the 2022 season, but he's definitely improved since 2019.

Tayloris still a workhorse for the Dodgers and has another year of team control, but could potentially be headed out based on minor league talent jockeying for position.

Barneshas team control for a while, and with his defensive skills and his role as the personal catcher for Kershaw, is likely to be wearing Dodger blue for a while.

Conclusion

In a team loaded with superstars, MVPs, 100mph fireballers, and Cy Young winners, it's easy to forget the day players. But just like in 88, they stepped up when it counted and were just as important to the World Series win.

Stuntmen and Hyenas: World Series Champions!