Matt Kemp and the Best Homegrown Talent in Dodgers History at Every Position

There are many ways to build a winning ball club. You can be the Yankees of the last decade and shell out nine-figure contracts. You can be the Rays of the last half decade and build through intelligent coaching and brilliant drafts.

Do I need to even declare which style earns greater respect among the general fan?

It's just something special to raise a talented player from the day you drafted him, through the rungs of the minor league system, until stardom finally strikes in the big leagues.

Like watching your own son blossom into a successful adult. 

The Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the franchises that has always prided itself on bringing up internal talent to get to the playoffs. Matt Kemp is the latest in a long line of homegrown talent in Dodgers' lore to reach All-Star status.

Here is the best homegrown player from each position in Dodger history:

Catcher: Roy Campanella

Honorable Mention(s): Steve Yaeger, Mike Scioscia, Mike Piazza, Johnny Roseboro

The Dodgers have never lacked for homegrown talent behind the dish—even more recent guys like Russell Martin and A.J. Ellis are proving to be above-average, serviceable Major League players. But choosing the best homegrown catcher of this franchise's illustrious history was obvious for me.

Even among a talented group of candidates, Campanella stands out as the best of the bunch. The 1969 Hall of Fame inductee was originally signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and never left town throughout his 10-year career. 

Campanella won three National League MVP awards (1951, 1953, 1955) and averaged a line of .276/32/114/.360 in Brooklyn. He wasn't a one-way player, though. Campanella never made more than 11 errors in a season and threw out at least 40 percent of base stealers every year.

An eight-time All-Star, Campy finished his career with a .988 fielding percentage and a 42-percent caught stealing rate.

First Base: Steve Garvey

Honorable Mention(s): Gil Hodges, Wes Parker, Eric Karros

This was a very close race for me; I very well could have swapped out Garvey for Hodges and felt just fine about it. But despite Hodges' slight edge in career power numbers, Garvey won an MVP award with the Dodgers and also had a better fielding percentage and one more Gold Glove.

Both players are big time Hall of Fame snubs in my book, but you can't go wrong with either of them on this team. Garvey was originally drafted by the Dodgers with the 13th overall pick in 1968 and made his big league debut one year later at age 20.

Garvey won the 1974 National League MVP award, a season in which he also began a streak of four straight Gold Glove seasons and eight straight All-Star selections. He finished his career with the Dodgers with a .301 average, over 200 homers and nearly 1,000 RBI. 

His career fielding percentage was .996, an astounding number even for a first baseman. Perhaps most importantly, Garvey racked up a career .338 average in postseason play, mostly for the Dodgers in the '70s and early '80s.

Second Base: Jackie Robinson

Honorable Mention(s): Jim Gilliam, Steve Sax, Davey Lopes

Well, this was a no-brainer. No disrespect intended to the fine careers of Gilliam, Sax and Lopes, but there is no player in baseball history more inspiring, influential and important than Robinson. 

There is a reason why the No. 42 is retired across baseball and why Robinson is the only player to ever receive that honor. He broke the color barrier in a day and age still rife with racism and prejudice, spending his entire career with the franchise that gave him the opportunity—the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Signing Jackie was no publicity stunt for the Dodgers. He could play with the best of them. After signing in 1945, all Robinson did was hit .311 with 137 homers, 734 RBI and 197 stoolen bases in 227 chances over 10 seasons in Brooklyn.

Robinson won a Rookie of the Year award, MVP award, a World Series ring and earned six All-Star selections on his way to the Hall of Fame as arguably the most important individual in the history of American sports.

Third Base: Ron Cey

Honorable Mention(s): Adrian Beltre

While Beltre had some big seasons in Los Angeles, he has really taken off since leaving the Dodgers after the 2004 season. Still, he can't even be compared to 1968 third-round pick Ron Cey, who spent almost 1,500 of his 2,073 career games in a Dodger uniform.

Cey racked up six straight All-Star appearances from 1974-1979 and hit for an average line of .261/25/89/.354 for his career. He was a mainstay in the Dodger lineup from day one, coming up for good in 1973 and putting up huge numbers until 1982.

In the postseason, Cey was a beast for the Dodgers, homering six times and driving in 24 runs over 40 games. Perhaps most importantly, Cey was raised through the Dodgers' farm system after being drafted out of the greatest college in the country, Washington State University (no bias...I swear...).

The pairing of Cey at third base and Garvey at first base made for a deadly corner infield combination, something that couldn't be more opposite of what this year's Dodger team has. Oh, the glory days of having power and awesome mustaches at the corners.

Shortstop: Maury Wills

Honorable Mention(s): Pee Wee Reese

This might come as a shock to many, but Wills is my starting shortstop here over the fan favorite and Dodger legend Reese for two reasons. First, believe it or not, Reese wasn't actually drafted by the Dodgers. He made his name in Brooklyn but was signed originally by the Pirates.

And even if he did qualify, I would lean towards the man who succeeded him in the Dodger infield because of superior stats. Pee Wee definitely deserves mention in this list, but check out what Wills was able to do over 12 seasons as a Dodger:

• National League MVP in 1962
• All five All-Star selections of his career
• Both Gold Glove awards of his career
• .281 career average in Dodger blue
• 490 of his 586 career steals

As you can see, Wills more than earns his place on this list. The Dodgers' current shortstop has the potential to surpass these numbers, but Dee Gordon will have to turn it around fast in order to achieve such a status.

Left Field: Zack Wheat

Honorable Mention(s): Tommy Davis

No left fielder in Dodgers history even comes close to touching Zack Wheat as the best homegrown talent at that position. Over 18 seasons with the Dodgers, he hit .317 with a .367 on-base percentage and averaged nine homers, 84 RBI and 14 steals in an era where power numbers weren't as prominent. 

Wheat is one of the better players in baseball history who didn't win a ring, but he still had good showings in both World Series he was involved in on the Dodgers. In 1918, Wheat also took home the National League batting title with a .335 average.

In 1959, Wheat was enshrined in his rightful place in Cooperstown, though he remains largely anonymous to non-Dodgers fans despite a historic career.

Center Field: Matt Kemp

Honorable Mention(s): Willie Davis

Center field is another relatively thin position for great all-time homegrown Dodgers, but they have struck gold, it seems, with Kemp. The Dodgers spent a 2003 sixth-round pick on him, then kicked back and watched him tear up the minor leagues on the way to stardom at the big league level.

Since joining the Dodgers full-time after the 2008 season, Kemp has delivered 123 homers and hit near .300, while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense. In fact, Kemp won his second Gold Glove in 2011, along with his second Silver Slugger and his very first All-Star selection of many to come.

Today, he is arguably the most popular player in the game, leading the National League in All-Star votes despite missing most of the season with a hamstring injury. Kemp has established himself as a legitimate five-tool player, a premier defender and a possible candidate, health pending, to join the 400/400 career club (if not 500/500).

As one of just a few current players who could reach the 40/40 mark in a full, healthy season, Kemp surely has MVP awards coming his way in the future. At only 27 years old, he is a clear choice for center field on this list.

Right Field: Duke Snider

Honorable Mention(s): Raul Mondesi, Babe Herman

Okay, I lied. Snider was technically a center fielder in his day, making him the likely selection to start at that position. But for the sake of this article, I'm giving the nod to the current star in center, and sliding Snider to right to assure the Dodgers have an incredible outfield on this roster.

And there aren't many bigger homegrown stars in franchise history than The Silver Fox, who was signed out of nearby Compton High School in 1943 and spent the next 16 seasons wearing Dodger Blue. He was a 1980 Hall of Fame inductee, and averaged a line of .295/31/101/.380 for his career.

Snider was an All-Star in seven straight seasons for the Dodgers, and held a career fielding percentage of .985. From 1950-1957, Snider hit at least .274 with at least 21 homers (including 40 or more five seasons in a row) and 92 RBI, while finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting five times. 

Duke was the picture of consistency during his Dodgers tenure and helped bring them two World Series titles (1955, 1959). In the 1955 series, Snider hit four home runs, drove in seven runs and hit .320.

Starting Pitcher: Sandy Koufax

Honorable Mention(s): Clayton Kershaw, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, Bob Welch, Dazzy Vance, Don Sutton, Johnny Podres, Don Newcombe, Hideo Nomo, Charlie Hough, Orel Hershiser, Burleigh Grimes

The Dodgers have always been good at raising their own homegrown pitching talent, as evidenced by the long list of honorable mentions above. I selected the most legendary of them all in Koufax, though a few of the others certainly have good cases for the spot.

Koufax is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball history, let alone one of the best lefties. Signed in 1954 by the Brooklyn Dodgers, Sandy spent all 12 years of his illustrious career in Dodger Blue, both in New York and California. 

Sandy finished his career with a ridiculous 165-87 record and 2.76 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. He averaged over 220 strikeouts per season and racked up the mind-boggling total of 382 K's in 1965.

Among his other accolades, the 1972 Hall of Fame inductee was a three-time Cy Young winner, six-time All-Star, and three-time World Series champion. In the 1963 season, Koufax posted one of the greatest seasons for a pitcher in baseball history on his way to winning the Cy Young and MVP: 25-5/1.88/306/0.88.

Koufax was also a shutdown pitcher in the postseason, posting a 0.95 ERA over seven career starts in the playoffs. If you throw in four career no-hitters (including a perfect game in 1965), there is no question that Koufax was the top choice for this spot, as well as one of the greatest pitchers in MLB history.

Closer: Eric Gagne

Honorable Mention(s): Ralph Branca, Clem Labine

As much as it pains me to admit, considering steroids eventually tarnished Gagne's reputation as a Dodger, his numbers cannot be bested as a closer in this franchise's history. Even though the closer's role became much more prominent around the time Gagne was in the big leagues, his numbers are still shocking.

In eight seasons with the Dodgers, Gagne recorded 161 saves. He set the major league record of 84 consecutive saves in the middle of turning in three straight 45-plus save seasons. In 2003, Gagne shut down opposing hitters to the tune of 55 saves, a 1.20 ERA and 137 strikeouts in just less than 90 innings.

Gagne took home the National League Cy Young award in that 2003 season and then put together another a third straight All-Star season in 2004, in which he struck out 12.5 batters per nine innings.

While Gagne likely won't be enshrined in Cooperstown, he certainly has the best pure numbers of all the homegrown Dodger closers. If current closer Kenley Jansen can wrangle that cut fastball and turn it into a weapon of Mariano Rivera-esque proportions, he could eventually overtake Gagne here. 

The All-Homegrown Starting Lineup in Dodgers History

If only the Dodgers could pull together decades and decades of great homegrown talent into one roster, this would probably be the final product for a starting lineup:

*denotes Hall of Famer

1. Jackie Robinson, 2B*

2. Maury Wills, SS

3. Duke Snider, RF*

4. Matt Kemp, CF

5. Steve Garvey, 1B

6. Roy Campanella, C*

7. Ron Cey, 3B

8. Zack Wheat, LF*

9. Sandy Koufax, SP*

Closer: Eric Gagne

And that will get a Dodger fan like myself drooling. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment below!

Follow Jeremy on Twitter at @Jamblinman