30 Teams in 30 Posts: #20

My earliest baseball memory goes back to when I was in Kindergarten. I was walking to school with my best friend and his older sister who was in the 4th grade, when the big sister proceeded to explain why the Dodgers were absolutely going to win, something I didn't want to hear. My friend could never admit to this memory, but both he and I were on the Yankees side. Yankees fandom was in my family and as a child I didn't know any better, while my friend was likely on the opposite side of his sister just because that's how things work. In any case, the Dodgers were burned into my brain as a sworn enemy and I've never shaken the feeling.

These days, the Dodgers don't really bug me as much as they used to. I definitely rooted against them in the 1988 World Series. The Cardinals have dominated the Dodgers in recent years, although the pendulum decided to swung the other direction in a severe way in the 2009 playoffs. Guys like Andre Ethier, James Loney and Clayton Kershaw are definitely less hatable than Jeff Kent or Mike Piazza, but the team is still in the lower half of my rankings and have virtually no hope of leaving it.

Favorite current Dodgers player: Andre Ethier. This was a tough choice, but I'm not allowed to say Vin Scully because he isn't on the active roster. Ethier is probably underrated, even after all of the notoriety he's received for being a magnet for the late inning walkoff drama.

Least favorite current Dodgers player: Rafael Furcal. All I get in my mind when I hear that name is Jon Miller talking about "FOUR-CALL" and his unassisted triple play.

Favorite Dodgers player of all-time: Pedro Guerrero. I don't really know if I ever actually liked Guerrero, but I fondly remember his name being used in the classic '80s comedy Short Circuit, and that has to count for something. Guerrero finished his MLB career with the Cards as part of the unfortunate Joe Torre era.

Least favorite Dodgers player of all-time: Kirk Gibson. Gibson was only a Dodger for a brief period, but his place in history also became a particularly sore spot for me. I was never A's Fan Number One, but I rooted for those teams because they were exciting, and the Cardinals were at beginning of a long downward slide. I was fascinated by the magic that Dave Duncan was able to work with Eckersley, Welch and Stewart, which still continues today with the likes of Carpenter and Pineiro.

The Los Angeles Dodgers step up to the plate at #20 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.