2003 Los Angeles Dodgers season

The 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 114th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 46th season in Los Angeles, California. It was a turbulent season as News Corporation (Fox) was seeking to sell the team. Nevertheless, the Dodgers fell just short of a Wild Card berth, winning 85 games while finishing second in the National League West. The Dodgers pitching staff led baseball in earned run average (3.16), Éric Gagné became the first Dodger to earn the NL Cy Young Award since 1988 as he converted all 55 of his save opportunities. Shawn Green set a new Dodger single season record with 49 doubles and Paul Lo Duca had a 25-game hitting streak.

2003 Los Angeles Dodgers
League	National League
Division	West
Ballpark	Dodger Stadium
City	Los Angeles
Record	85–77 (.525)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Fox Entertainment Group
President	Bob Graziano
General managers	Dan Evans
Managers	Jim Tracy
Television	Fox Sports Net West 2; KCOP (13)
Radio	KFWB Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Rick Monday KWKW Jaime Jarrín, Pepe Yñiguez, Fernando Valenzuela
Seasons

Offseason

• December 4, 2002: Acquired Todd Hundley and Chad Hermansen from the Chicago Cubs for Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros.
• December 16, 2002: Acquired Derek Thompson from the Chicago Cubs for cash.
• January 25, 2003: Acquired Daryle Ward from the Houston Astros for Ruddy Lugo.
• January 27, 2003: Acquired Jason Romano from the Colorado Rockies for Luke Allen.
• January 30, 2003: Ron Coomer was signed as a free agent.

Regular season

Season standings

National League West

NL West

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
San Francisco Giants	100	61	.621	—	57‍–‍24	43‍–‍37
Los Angeles Dodgers	85	77	.525	15½	46‍–‍35	39‍–‍42
Arizona Diamondbacks	84	78	.519	16½	45‍–‍36	39‍–‍42
Colorado Rockies	74	88	.457	26½	49‍–‍32	25‍–‍56
San Diego Padres	64	98	.395	36½	35‍–‍46	29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

2003 National League record Source: [1]
Team	AZ	ATL	CHC	CIN	COL	FLA	HOU	LA	MIL	MTL	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL	AL
Arizona	—	2–5	2–4	7–2	10–9	2–5	5–1	10–9	3–3	4–2	4–2	4–2	3–3	9–10	5–14	3–3	11–4
Atlanta	5–2	—	4–2	3–3	6–0	9–10	5–1	4–2	4–2	12–7	11–8	9–10	7–2	6–1	2–4	4–2	10–5
Chicago	4–2	2–4	—	10–7	3–3	4–2	9–7	2–4	10–6	3–3	5–1	1–5	10–8	4–2	4–2	8–9	9–9
Cincinnati	2–7	3–3	7–10	—	4–2	2–4	5–12	2–4	8–10	2–4	2–4	5–4	5–11	3–3	3–3	9–7	7–5
Colorado	9–10	0–6	3–3	2–4	—	4–2	2–4	7–12	5–1	3–4	2–5	2–4	3–6	12–7	7–12	4–2	9–6
Florida	5–2	10–9	2–4	4–2	2–4	—	1–5	2–5	7–2	13–6	12–7	13–6	2–4	5–1	1–5	3–3	9–6
Houston	1–5	1–5	7–9	12–5	4–2	5–1	—	4–2	9–8	3–3	2–4	2–4	10–6	3–3	2–4	11–7	11–7
Los Angeles	9–10	2–4	4–2	4–2	12–7	5–2	2–4	—	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–5	5–1	8–11	6–13	4–2	11–7
Milwaukee	3–3	2–4	6–10	10–8	1–5	2–7	8–9	2–4	—	0–6	6–3	4–2	10–7	5–1	1–5	3–13	5–7
Montreal	2–4	7–12	3–3	4–2	4–3	6–13	3–3	2–4	6–0	—	14–5	8–11	3–3	4–2	7–0	1–5	9–9
New York	2–4	8–11	1–5	4–2	5–2	7–12	4–2	3–3	3–6	5–14	—	7–12	4–2	3–3	4–2	1–5	5–10
Philadelphia	2–4	10–9	5–1	4–5	4–2	6–13	4–2	5–2	2–4	11–8	12–7	—	2–4	4–3	3–3	4–2	8–7
Pittsburgh	3–3	2–7	8–10	11–5	6–3	4–2	6–10	1–5	7–10	3–3	2–4	4–2	—	4–2	2–4	7–10	5–7
San Diego	10–9	1–6	2–4	3–3	7–12	1–5	3–3	11–8	1–5	2–4	3–3	3–4	2–4	—	5–14	2–4	8–10
San Francisco	14–5	4–2	2–4	3–3	12–7	5–1	4–2	13–6	5–1	0–7	2–4	3–3	4–2	14–5	—	5–1	10–8
St. Louis	3–3	2–4	9–8	7–9	2–4	3–3	7–11	2–4	13–3	5–1	5–1	2–4	10–7	4–2	1–5	—	10–8

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Dave Roberts	Center fielder
Paul Lo Duca	Catcher
Shawn Green	Right fielder
Brian Jordan	Left fielder
Fred McGriff	First baseman
Adrián Beltré	Third baseman
Jolbert Cabrera	Second baseman
César Izturis	Shortstop
Hideo Nomo	Starting pitcher

Notable transactions

• July 14, 2003: Acquired Jeromy Burnitz from the New York Mets for Jose S. Diaz, Victor Diaz and Kole Strayhorn
• July 31, 2003: Acquired Robin Ventura from the New York Yankees for Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor

Roster

2003 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 57 Víctor Alvarez 47 Wilson Álvarez 43 Andy Ashby 27 Kevin Brown 54 Troy Brohawn 50 Steve Colyer 37 Darren Dreifort 38 Éric Gagné 17 Kazuhisa Ishii 36 Edwin Jackson 60 Masao Kida 51 Tom Martin 59 Guillermo Mota 49 Scott Mullen 58 Rodney Myers 10 Hideo Nomo 45 Odalis Pérez 46 Paul Quantrill 44 Paul Shuey		Catchers  9 Todd Hundley 16 Paul Lo Duca 40 David Ross Infielders 29 Adrián Beltré  8 Ron Coomer 13 Alex Cora 28 Fred McGriff  3 César Izturis 49 Joe Thurston 23 Robin Ventura		Outfielders 21 Jeromy Burnitz  6 Jolbert Cabrera 49 Bubba Crosby 15 Shawn Green 25 Rickey Henderson 41 Chad Hermansen 33 Brian Jordan  7 Mike Kinkade 30 Dave Roberts  5 Jason Romano 26 Wilkin Ruan Other batters 14 Larry Barnes 52 Chin-Feng Chen 55 Koyie Hill 36 Daryle Ward		Manager 12 Jim Tracy Coaches 22 Jack Clark (hitting) 48 Jim Colborn (pitching) 22 George Hendrick (hitting) 35 Glenn Hoffman (third base) 18 Jim Lett (bullpen) 11 Manny Mota 25 Jim Riggleman (bench) 31 John Shelby (1st base)

Starting Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; CG = Complete games

Name	G	GS	IP	W/L	ERA	BB	SO	CG
Hideo Nomo	33	33	218.1	16-13	3.09	98	177	2
Kevin Brown	32	32	211.0	14-9	2.39	56	185	0
Odalis Pérez	30	30	185.1	12-12	4.52	46	141	0
Kazuhisa Ishii	27	27	147.0	9-7	3.86	101	140	0
Wilson Álvarez	21	12	95.0	6-2	2.37	23	82	1
Andy Ashby	21	12	73.0	3-10	5.18	17	41	0
Darren Dreifort	10	10	60.1	4-4	4.03	25	67	0
Edwin Jackson	4	3	22.0	2-1	2.45	11	19	0
Masao Kida	3	2	12.0	0-1	3.00	3	8	0

Relief Pitchers stats

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W/L = Wins/Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves

Name	G	GS	IP	W/L	ERA	BB	SO	SV
Éric Gagné	77	0	82.1	2-3	1.20	20	137	55
Paul Quantrill	89	0	77.1	2-5	1.75	15	44	1
Tom Martin	80	0	51.0	1-2	3.53	24	51	0
Guillermo Mota	76	0	105.0	6-3	1.97	26	99	1
Paul Shuey	62	0	69.0	6-4	3.00	33	60	0
Steve Colyer	13	0	19.2	0-0	2.75	9	16	0
Troy Brohawn	12	0	11.2	2-0	3.86	4	13	0
Rodney Myers	4	0	9.0	0-0	6.00	4	5	0
Víctor Alvarez	5	0	5.2	0-1	12.71	6	3	0
Scott Mullen	1	0	3.0	0-0	9.00	5	1	0

Batting Stats

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games; AB = At bats; Avg. = Batting average; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Name	Pos	G	AB	Avg.	R	H	HR	RBI	SB
Paul Lo Duca	C/1B	147	568	.273	64	155	7	52	0
David Ross	C	40	124	.258	19	32	10	18	0
Todd Hundley	C	21	33	.182	2	6	2	11	0
Koyie Hill	C	3	3	.333	0	1	0	0	0
Fred McGriff	1B	86	297	.249	32	74	13	40	0
Alex Cora	2B/SS	148	477	.249	39	119	4	34	4
César Izturis	SS	158	558	.251	47	140	1	40	10
Adrián Beltré	3B	158	559	.240	50	134	23	80	2
Ron Coomer	1B/3B	69	125	.240	11	30	4	15	0
Robin Ventura	1B/3B	49	109	.220	11	24	5	13	0
Joe Thurston	2B	12	10	.200	2	2	0	0	0
Shawn Green	RF	160	611	.280	84	171	19	85	6
Dave Roberts	CF	107	388	.250	56	97	2	16	40
Jeromy Burnitz	LF	61	230	.204	25	47	13	4
Jolbert Cabrera	OF/IF	128	347	.282	43	98	6	37	6
Brian Jordan	LF/CF/RF	66	224	.299	28	67	6	28	1
Mike Kinkade	LF/RF/1B/3B	88	162	.216	25	35	5	14	1
Daryle Ward	LF/1B	52	109	.183	6	20	0	9	0
Rickey Henderson	LF	30	72	.208	7	15	2	5	3
Wilkin Ruan	CF	21	41	.220	2	9	0	2	1
Larry Barnes	LF	30	38	.211	2	8	0	2	0
Jason Romano	LF/RF/CF/2B	37	36	.083	3	3	0	0	2
Chad Hermansen	LF	11	25	.160	2	4	0	2	0
Bubba Crosby	LF	9	12	.083	0	1	0	1	0
Chin-Feng Chen	OF	1	1	.000	0	0	0	0	0

2003 Awards

• 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Éric Gagné reserve
  • Paul Lo Duca reserve
  • Kevin Brown did not play due to injury
• National League Cy Young Award
  • Éric Gagné
• Rolaids Relief Man of the Year
  • Éric Gagné
• TSN National League All-Star
  • Éric Gagné
• TSN NL Pitcher of the Year
  • Éric Gagné
• TSN NL Reliever of the Year Award
  • Éric Gagné
• Players choice: NL Outstanding Pitcher
  • Éric Gagné
• NL Pitcher of the Month
  • Kevin Brown (May 2003)
• NL Player of the Week
  • Éric Gagné (Aug. 4–10)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Las Vegas 51s	Pacific Coast League	John Shoemaker
AA	Jacksonville Suns	Southern League	Dino Ebel
High A	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	Scott Little
A	South Georgia Waves	South Atlantic League	Dann Bilardello
Rookie	Ogden Raptors	Pioneer League	Travis Barbary
Rookie	Gulf Coast Dodgers	Gulf Coast League	Luis Salazar
Rookie	DSL Dodgers DSL Dodgers 2	Dominican Summer League

Major League Baseball Draft

Main article: 2003 Major League Baseball Draft

Chad Billingsley

The Dodgers selected 50 players in this draft. Of those, 12 of them would eventually play Major League baseball.

The first round pick was right handed pitcher Chad Billingsley from Defiance High School in Defiance, Ohio. He was a 2009 All-Star and pitched eight seasons with the Dodgers with an 81–61 record and 3.65 ERA in 219 games (190 starts) before missing most of 2013 and all of 2014 with serious arm injuries.

The sixth round pick, outfielder Matt Kemp from Midwest City High School would lead the National League in Home Runs and RBIs in 2011 as well as finishing second in the MVP vote that year.

The draft class also included catcher A. J. Ellis (18th round), who would become the Dodgers starting catcher in 2012.

2003 Draft Picks

Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Chad Billingsley RHP Defiance High School Yes 2003–2015 MLB 2 Chuck Tiffany LHP Charter Oak High School Yes 2003–2011 AA 3 Cory VanAllen LHP Clements High School No Nationals-2006 2006–2015 AAA 4 Xavier Paul OF Slidell High School Yes 2003–2018 MLB 5 Jordan Pratt RHP Central High School Yes 2003–2010 AAA 6 Matt Kemp OF Midwest City High School Yes 2003–2020 MLB 7 Wesley Wright LHP Goshen High School Yes 2003–2017 MLB 8 Lucas May 3B Parkway West High School Yes 2003–2014 MLB 9 Brett Dowdy 2B University of Florida No Orioles-2004 2003–2012 AAA 10 Phil Sobkow RHP University of Central Missouri Yes 2003–2009 A 11 Anthony Harper C Oak Creek High School Yes 2004–2007 A+ 12 Cody White LHP Pleasant Grove High School Yes 2004–2012 AAA 13 Derik Olvey RHP Pelham High School No 14 David Pfeiffer LHP Lincoln Park Academy Yes 2004–2011 AAA 15 Russ Mitchell SS Cartersville High School Yes 2003–2013 MLB 16 James Peterson 1B Indian Hills Community College Yes 2004–2007 A 17 Steven Sapp OF West High School Yes 2003–2005 A 18 A. J. Ellis C Austin Peay State University Yes 2003–2018 MLB 19 Matt Antonelli SS St. John's Preparatory School No Padres-2006 2006–2013 MLB 20 Chad Barben 3B Taylorsville High School No 21 Travis Denker 2B Brea Olinda High School Yes 2003–2017 MLB 22 Douglas Frame LHP Tomball High School No 23 Taylor Slimak C California Lutheran University Yes 2003 Rookie 24 Ben Snyder LHP Bellevue High School No Giants-2006 2006–2012 AAA 25 Kevin Skogley LHP Hermiston Senior High School No White Sox 2007–2009 A 26 Thomas Piazza C Palm Beach Atlantic University Yes 2003–2005 Rookie 27 Jesús Castillo RHP Tucson High School Yes 2004–2022 AAA 28 Adam Moore C Northeast Texas Community College No Mariners-2006 2006–2019 MLB 29 Adam Parliament OF Penticton Secondary School No Braves-2005 2005–2007 A+ 30 Mark Melancon RHP Golden High School No Yankees-2006 2006–present MLB 31 Garrett Kohler RHP Cimarron-Memorial High School No 32 Kyle Reichert RHP Porterville College No 33 Ryan Zaft RHP Yuba Community College No 34 James Lawler 1B A&M Consolidated High School No 35 Antonio Anderson OF Greene County High School No 36 Andrew Jeffcoat LHP James W. Martin High School No 37 Mike Ludwig 1B St. Olaf College Yes 2003–2004 Rookie 38 Justin Ferreira OF Stoneman–Douglas High School No 39 Andy LaRoche SS Grayson County College Yes 2003–2016 MLB 40 D. J. Lewis 1B San Fernando High School No Cubs-2005 2005–2007 A 41 Matthew Votaw 3B Brea Olinda High School No 42 Cory Vanderhook C Golden West College No Cubs-2006 2006–2007 Rookie 43 Clayton Van Hook SS Brenham High School No 44 Travis Check C Logan High School No 2007 Ind 45 Cass Rhynes C Bluefield High School No 46 Steven Paddock OF Milford High School No 47 Matthew Chase RHP Florin High School No 48 Kyle Rapp OF Milford High School No 49 Clarence Farmer OF University of Arizona No 50 Curtis Hudson C Yuba Community College No 51.

External links

• 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site
• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page