:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66750506/715225.jpg.0.jpg)
Eric Karros
Time with Dodgers: 1991-2002
Stats: .268/.325/.457/.782, 270 HR, 976 RBI, 1,608 H, 752 R, 302 2B, 109 OPS+
Baseball Reference WAR: 11.9
FanGraphs WAR: 19.3
Combined WAR: 15.6
Eric Karros spent 12 seasons with the Dodgers. He hit 270 homers while in Los Angeles, which is the most home runs in LA Dodgers franchise history. Overall, he’s hit the third most in franchise history, sitting behind Duke Snider (389) and Gil Hodges (361).
Karros made himself a household name for Dodgers fans right away. In his first full season with the club, Karros was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1992, the 24-year-old slashed .257/.304/.426/.730 with 20 home runs and 88 runs driven in. At the time, he was the 12th player in franchise history to win Rookie of the Year honors.
Over the next two seasons, he put up decent numbers. He played in a total of 269 games, hitting .255 with 39 home runs.
1995 was the year in which Karros turned himself into an MVP candidate. In 143 games that season, he hit 32 home runs and drove in 105, both of which were career bests for him. He hit .298, had an OPS of .905 and an OPS+ of 145. Karros won his first Silver Slugger Award that season, and finished fifth in NL MVP voting.
His numbers took a bit of a hit the following year, but he still hit 34 home runs and drove in 111 runs, both new career-highs. He received MVP votes as well, finishing 16th in the voting. This would be the last season in his career that Karros would receive MVP votes.
In 1997, Karros appeared in all 162 games for the Dodgers. He finished the season with a career-high 167 hits, to go along with another 30 HR, 100 RBI season, this time finishing with 31 homers and 104 RBI. He also stole 15 bases, which was the only time he stole more than eight bases in a season.
From a pure hitting standpoint, 1998 and 1999 were probably Karros’ best two seasons with the Dodgers. Over 292 games, he hit exactly .300 and had a .873 OPS along with an OPS+ of 128.
His average dipped in 2000, as he hit only .250. However, the power was still there, as he finished with yet another 30 homer/100 RBI season, his fifth and final one with Los Angeles. Karros is tied with Snider and Hodges for the most seasons in franchise history with at least 30 homers and 100 RBI with five.
His bat began to tail off after his 2000 campaign. He’d hit only a total of 28 homers over the course of his final two seasons with the Dodgers. Karros hit .255, and his OPS was right above .700.
After 12 years and 1,600 games played with the franchise, Karros’ time in Dodger blue came to an end following the 2002 season, as he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.
Here’s where Karros ranks in LA Dodgers history:
- 270 home runs (1st)
- 976 RBI (2nd)
- 1,601 games (4th)
- 752 runs (6th)
- 1,608 hits (5th)
- 302 doubles (4th)