Hodges' No. 14 becomes 11th retired by Dodgers

LOS ANGELES -- Gil Hodges remains one of the strongest links between the Dodgers and Mets franchises. On Saturday, before the two teams played in Los Angeles, the Dodgers retired his No. 14.

The late first baseman, who played with the Dodgers for 16 seasons, became the 11th person to have his number hanging in front of the suite level at Chavez Ravine. The Mets gave him the same honor in 1973.

This was the latest event in a significant year for Hodges and his family. Last December, it was announced that Hodges had finally been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame after decades of waiting.

“You can only hope and pray that once he did get into the Hall of Fame -- which we were happy and thrilled for -- that this just falls into place," said Gil Hodges Jr., who was joined by his sister, Irene, and several other family members for the ceremony. “We’re thankful to the Dodger organization that they picked up on it and made it happen.”

The Dodgers primarily retire numbers for those who spent a majority of their career with the franchise and have been enshrined in Cooperstown.

There were few better first basemen in the 1950s. Hodges had the second-most home runs (310) and RBIs (1,001) in the decade. He won a Gold Glove Award every year from 1957-59, the first three seasons in the award's history.

“He was very strong with great hands,” said longtime broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, who has worked with the Dodgers since 1959. “He moved so quick for his size.”

When Hodges’ playing career ended in 1963, his 370 home runs were the most by a right-handed hitter in National League history.

Hodges broke in with the Dodgers in 1943, missed the next two seasons while serving with the Marines in World War II, then became an integral part of the famed “Boys of Summer.” He was a participant in seven World Series with the Dodgers, including the first two championships for the team in 1955 and 1959. But beyond the statistics and on-field accomplishments, his dignity and professionalism earned him universal respect.

Few have memories of Hodges’ playing days with the Dodgers, but Jarrín does. The team’s Spanish broadcaster was a direct recipient of that respect when he was a young announcer.

“He was one of those guys who would look at you and put their hands over your shoulder while they spoke to you,” Jarrín said. “He knew I was green at this thing and so he was very nice. He was such a gentleman.”

Hodges went with the Dodgers when they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958, then he returned to New York for the Mets’ inaugural season in '62. After retiring as a player, he became the manager of the Washington Senators from 1963-67. Hodges later took the reins of the Mets from 1968-71, leading them to a World Series title in '69.

Hodges was still the Mets' manager when he had a heart attack and died on April 2, 1972, at age 47.

Hodges fell short of the Hall of Fame in each of his 15 years on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, and he continued to be overlooked by various veterans committees after that. But in 2021, he received the necessary 12 votes from the 16-member Golden Days Era panel and will be inducted this July.

Hodges' daughter, Irene, noted how appropriate it is that Hodges' number retirement by the Dodgers came during an occasion when the two teams he had the greatest impact on were playing each other.

“It’s a perfect night,” she said. “To have it against the Mets, it doesn’t get better than that.”