is Matt Kemp the best Dodger including the Brooklyn Dodgers?

[Blackout]

homerun kemp

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I find it odd that a team like the Dodgers with such a long and rich history doesn't really have a "face of the franchise" type of player like a Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, or even a Mike Schmidt. They've had great players of course but none quite at the level of "all-time" great. I suppose Mike Piazza could have been that player if he didn't leave the Dodgers half way through his career.

[milladrive]

I find it odd that a team like the Dodgers with such a long and rich history doesn't really have a "face of the franchise" type of player like a Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Stan Musial, or even a Mike Schmidt. They's had great players of course but none quite at the level of "all-time" great. I suppose Mike Piazza could have been that player if he didn't leave the Dodgers half way through his career.

I agree, but I think it has a lot to do with them having a history laced with so many greats, especially in their final decade in Brooklyn. That Robinson-years-unity alone from '47 to '57 could be considered the "face(s) of the franchise."

However, even when considering only those who played for Los Angeles, I'd have to count guys like Koufax, Garvey, and Piazza before even considering Kemp just yet. Perhaps in a few more years.

[Melottfan]

Kemp has a few more years to establish himself. If he can keep his nose, and body clean, he could.

[The Real McCoy]

I guess the Dodgers will have to be content with having had the most important player to ever play the game and every April 15 every player in the game honors him and the team by wearing his number 42.

[aqib]

.....but sometimes it's the players too who have something to do with it. The late Johnny Unitas avoided any semblance of respect for Irsay and the Indianapolis Colts in the years before his death; he cast his lot with the Ravens. Jim Brown, I understand, can be a very angry person. Does he attend Ravens games as one of the faces of the franchise? Or is he at Cleveland Browns games? Is it the city? Is it the organization? Is it the corporate name? In many cases, franchise shifts occur when new owners take over. Does the entire history of the baseball in Philadelphia reside today with the Phillies? Who claims the legacy of Jimmy Fox? Cornelius McGilicuddy (Connie Mack)? Does the legacy of Hank Aaron reside with the Atlanta Braves (well at least Aaron played in Atlanta) or do the Milwaukee Brewers have some claim to his legacy? It goes on and on.

The Browns case is unique in the sense that the name and records were required to remain in Cleveland so Jim Brown is always a Brown. I guess it each team chooses to handle it differently.

The LA NL Franchise seems to love trading on the Brooklyn history while the Orioles went out of their way to distance themselves from all things St Louis Browns. As far as successor franchises go the Phillies apparently give a nod to the A's since they have a statue of Connie Mack and some A's stuff at their stadium. Not sure how KC handles it though