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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

Van Mungo was one of the most eccentric figures in Baseball, or would volatile be a better word?

Mungo did not have the luxury of playing for Brooklyn when they were a National League power, but that was no fault of Mungo, who went to four consecutive All-Star Games (1934-37).  Known for an erratic fastball, heavy drinking, and a volatile temper, Mungo was the stuff of fables, but he was also a very competent hurler.  His wildness was shown by leading the NL in Walks three times, but he also once led the league in Strikeouts and three times in SO/9.

Mungo's play fell off in the late 1930s, and was traded to a Minor League Team in 1941.  With the Dodgers, Mungo went 102-99 with a 3.41 ERA.

Jake Daubert initially thought that his first crack at the Majors would be with Cleveland, who signed him in 1908, but he never played there and was released shortly after.  A second opportunity struck a year later with Brooklyn, and this time it stuck.

Playing at First Base, Daubert had a pedestrian rookie year, batting .264 with 146 Hits, but he then went on a six-year streak where he batted over.300.  This included back-to-back Batting Titles in 1913 and 1914, with him winning the Chalmers Award, which was then the version of the MVP.  He also exhibited solid speed, swiping at least 20 Bases in six of his seasons in Brooklyn.

Daubert was traded to Cincinnati in 1919, leaving Brooklyn with 1,387 Hits and a Batting Average of .305.

After a brief run in 1924 with the Cleveland Indians, it was back to the Minors for two years before the Brooklyn Robins signed Watty Clark.  

In his second year with Brooklyn (1928), Clark proved he was there to stay, and he was a member of their starting rotation for the next four years as the top hurler on a mediocre team.  Clark led the NL in FIP in 1929 and 1932, with the latter year seeing him earn his lone 20-Win Season.  

Traded to the Giants during the 1933 Season, Clark was re-acquired by Brooklyn a summer later, but he only had one productive year in him before he rapidly declined and was out of the Majors after two Games in 1937.

For the Dodgers, Clark went 106-88 with a 3.55 ERA.

Can you imagine Justin Turner as anything other than a Los Angeles Dodger?  He was, and it can also be argued that he was lucky to ever play in L.A., as Turner seemed to have two steps away from the diamond.

Turner first made the Majors in 2009 with Baltimore and would later spend time with the Mets, but he was not impressive for either team and was non-tendered in 2013, making him a Free Agent.  He was signed by the Dodgers for an opportunity while starring at a Cal-State Fullerton alumni Game, and he made the Los Angeles roster in 2014 and was set to unshackle his past performance.

Due to injuries to other players, Turner got a chance to play regularly, and he responded by batting .340 in 109 Games and became an even better player as he entered his 30s.  In 2016, he had a career-high 27 Home Runs and was ninth in MVP voting, which he followed up with a 21 Home Run year with an OPS is .945.  Turner went to his first All-Star Game that year and was eighth in MVP voting.  

The popular redhead did not have another top-ten MVP finish but still provided very good baseball, having two more 27 Home Run years, adding a second All-Star in 2021, and winning a World Series Ring in 2020.  Last season, Turner won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which is given annually to the players who best exemplify the game of baseball, sportsmanship, and community involvement.

The popular player is still a Dodger as of this writing and could climb up a few more spots.