No organization in all of sports has been as diversified as baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Indeed, few businesses in any field can match the Dodgers in terms of employing men and women from every faith, color and ethnicity in the world.
From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have a rich and long history of diversity:
Advertisement
Consider:
*The Dodgers signed the first African-American to a major league contract and Jackie Robinson, beginning in 1947, built a Hall of Fame career.
They shortly added Roy Campanella, Don Newcombe and Joe Black, who all played major roles in the Dodgers success during those years in Brooklyn.
Dodgers former players Don Newcombe and Sandy Koufax throw out the first pitch.
*The Dodgers had the greatest Jewish player (although not the first, that would be Hank Greenberg) in Sandy Koufax. He retired from the game 59 years ago, but remains a dignified and beloved presence whenever he’s at Dodger Stadium.
*The greatest – and most famous – Mexican to play in the majors played for the Dodgers – Fernando Valenzuela. And he was more than a pitching star, he was a phenom, especially among the large Hispanic population in Los Angeles. Anyone who ever experienced it will not forget the magic of “Fernando Mania.”
Advertisement
*Chan Ho Park became the first Korean in the majors, pitching for the Dodgers in 1994. Twenty eight Koreans have followed Park into the majors.
*The most famous player in the game today is from Japan and wears Dodger Blue – Shohei Ohtani.
(It should be noted that the Dodgers made these moves for the primary purpose of winning. All the players listed above became All-Stars and the team won a World Series with Robinson, Koufax, Valenzuela and Ohtani. Attendance also flourished, especially during “Fernando Mania”.
*Manager Dave Roberts is the only Japanese-American manager in the majors. And a highly successful one, having guided the club to nine consecutive postseason appearances.
Advertisement
*Kiki Hernandez is Puerto Rican, Miguel Rojas Venezuelan. Three of their starting pitchers this year are Japanese.
*There’s also been players in the past from the Dominican Republic like Manny Mota, Adrian Beltre, Pedro Guerrero and Manny Ramirez.
*One of the first females to work in a major league front office was Kim Ng, an assistant general manager for the team in 2002.
There apparently is no discrimination in the Dodgers when it comes to the bottom line – winning.
Hear hear.
Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached at pwdonovan22@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Los Angeles Dodgers led baseball’s move to more diverse roster