Last September the Los Angeles Dodgers announced their intention to honor franchise icons Steve Garvey, Don Newcombe and Fernando Valenzuela by naming them to the inaugural “Legends of Dodger Baseball” class.
The three former players were set to be officially enshrined prior to select home games this season, with the late Newcombe the first to be recognized during an on-field ceremony and with the installation of a plaque on the top deck at Dodger Stadium.
The spotlight then shifted to Garvey last weekend, as he was honored during a pregame ceremony that was attended by his family, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel who has long been a fan of Garvey and the Dodgers, Ron Cey and Bill Russell, among others.
Garvey’s induction included a bobblehead distributed in his honor and came on the same night as the Dodgers’ annual Alumni Game at Dodger Stadium.
Now forever immortalized in franchise lore, Garvey discussed the appreciation he has for being associated with Newcombe and Valenzuela, via Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider:
“I do a lot of motivational speaking, and I refer to people that have been consistently good at what they do. The old term is: They’ve been good for so long they become great,” Garvey said. “I don’t like to use that relative to me, but in this case, the Legends of Dodger Baseball is going to recognize those individuals who have defined the history of the Dodgers in their own way. To be part of the inaugural class with Don and Fernando is a tremendous honor.”
Garvey played 14 of 19 Major League seasons with the Dodgers. From 1969-82, he was a member of four National League pennant-winning teams and the 1981 World Series roster. Garvey ranks among the all-time Los Angeles franchise leaders in hits (1,968; second), doubles (333; first), home runs (211; third), RBI (992; first) and games played (1,727; third).
Garvey was named MVP of the 1978 NL Championship Series and received recognition for his work in the community as the 1981 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award. He additionally holds the NL record with 1,207 consecutive games played.
Garvey remains active in the Dodgers community by making special appearances at the King’s Hawaiian Grill in the left field plaza of Dodger Stadium.
