The Dodgers once had an Ohtani. Don Newcombe. Per Houston Mitchell: Shohei Ohtani? Don Newcombe could have been a two-way player if the Dodgers would have let him. In 1956, Newcombe went 27-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 38 games, 36 starts and 268 innings with 15 complete games. At the plate, he hit .234 with six doubles, two homers and 16 RBIs. He won the Cy Young and MVP awards after the season. He was Rookie of the Year in 1949 and is the first player to win all three major baseball awards. In an eight-season Dodgers career, Newcombe went 123-66 with a 3.51 ERA. He went 20-5 during the Dodgers’ World Series champion 1955 season. That year, he hit .259 with nine doubles, seven homers and 23 RBIs. How good a hitter was Newcombe? He pinch-hit 88 times in his career. He last pitched in the majors with Cleveland in 1960. In 1962, he signed with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan, as a hitter, not as a pitcher. In 81 games, he hit .262 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
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Wow, what a great read!