On June 13, 2000, Eric Karros became the all-time Los Angeles Dodgers home run leader with No. 229 of his career, surpassing the previous mark of 228 by Ron Cey.
Karros’ home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks was his 18th of 31 overall he hit during the 2000 season.
A sixth-round draft pick by the Dodgers in the 1988 MLB Draft, Karros finished his career with the team at 270 home runs while playing from 1991 to 2002. To this day, Karros remains the Dodgers’ all-time home run leader since the organization made the move to Los Angeles.
As for the franchise’s all-time home run leaderboard, Karros ranks third behind Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. Snider finished with 389 homers and Hodges hit 361. Both players’ totals spanned the franchise’s time in Brooklyn and included part of their relocation to Los Angeles.
Max Muncy’s 223 home runs rank sixth on the Dodgers’ all-time list, and he is close to surpassing Cey for second place in L.A. Dodgers franchise history.
Karros made his MLB debut in 1991 but had his official rookie season during 1992. He put together a very solid year, becoming the team’s full-time starter. The first baseman finished the year hitting .257/.304/.426 with 30 doubles, 20 home runs and 88 RBI.
Karros was named the 1992 National League Rookie of the Year for his efforts.
Karros was a constant contributor throughout his 12-year Dodgers career, with a .268 batting average, 109 OPS+ and averaging roughly 25 home runs per season when discounting the 14 games in 1991.
He joined Snider and Hodges as the third Dodgers player in history to record 30 home runs and 100 RBI in five different seasons. Karros also became the first player in the 111-year history of the Dodgers to hit two long balls in the same inning.
Karros’ best statistical season with the Dodgers came the year before he broke L.A. all-time home run record. He finished the 1999 season with a .304 batting average, 34 home runs and 112 RBI.
His 1995 season was a close second and earned him the first and only Silver Slugger Award of his career.
Eric Karros remains part of Dodgers organization
Karros has managed to stay connected to the game since his retirement in 2004. His final MLB game was on July 21, 2004, and he was released by the Athletics on Aug. 3, 2004. Karros began his broadcasting career that same year, doing pregame shows for MLB playoff games on Fox Sports.
He previously assisted with pre-game show for Dodgers games on KCAL-TV, but was later hired to call regional games for Fox Saturday Baseball in 2007.
Karros returned to his broadcasting role with the Dodgers on Spectrum SportsNet LA in March 2022.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
