By: Karen Zhu
How did a harmless little lie create one of the most iconic infields in the history of the LA Dodgers? Well, let’s find out.
“I wasn’t gonna tell him.”
It’s June 23, 1973, and the Los Angeles Dodgers (CA) have lost 4-1 in the first game against the Cincinnati Reds (OH). Only seven hits were recorded, and Dodgers manager Walter Alston is looking to change his lineup. The solution is utility infielder Steve Garvey. “I was sitting at my locker,” Garvey recalled when he was interviewed, “and Walter Alston came by and stopped me and asked me, ‘Have you ever played first?’” There was one time in Little League, another in triple A and a handful of appearances in the first few years of his big-league career, but still, not really. “But,” Garvey added with a mysterious smile, “I wasn’t gonna tell him.”
Lying…. For Good?
Instead of denying, Garvey coolly fibbed to Alston, “Oh, sure,” he had answered. Thus, that night, instead of standing in his normal spot, he lined up alongside Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and Davey Lopes. This infield was incredibly important as it rarely ever changed again for the next 8 ½ years. This infield went on as the four collected 21 All-Star Game appearances, four National League pennants and a memorable 1981 World Series title playing alongside one another.
Together
A half-century later, that very infield is still honored. This Friday night before the team played against the Houston Astros (TX) at Dodger Stadium, the three Southern California residents of the group — Garvey, Cey, and Russell — were at the stadium to throw out the first pitch and watch a pregame video tribute. “It’s just like your family,” Russell said. “We didn’t take anything for granted back then. You had to be successful to be together that long.” And that, they were, Cey went to six straight All-Star Games from 1974 to 1979. Russell made the Midsummer Classic in 1973, 1976 and 1980. Lopes was a rookie of the year finalist in 1973, a Gold Glove winner in 1978, and a four-time All-Star from 1978 to 1981. And then there’s Garvey, who is not only a four-time Gold Glove winner at his adopted first base position but also won an NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1974 and appeared in eight consecutive All-Star Games throughout 1981 — the year the four infielders helped lead the Dodgers past the New York Yankees for the franchise’s first World Series title in 16 years. “When you look at the accomplishments, the longevity, the contribution to the Dodger organization and baseball,” Garvey said, “all four of us have taken a lot of pride in it.”