1996 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 1996 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the 107th for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 39th season in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers were atop the standings for a substantial part of the season, albeit under two managers. Longtime manager Tommy Lasorda suffered a heart attack in late June and had to step down. Bill Russell, Lasorda's bench coach and a former Dodger player, was chosen to manage the rest of the season.
| 1996 Los Angeles Dodgers | ||
|---|---|---|
| National League Wild Card Winners | ||
| League | National League | |
| Division | West | |
| Ballpark | Dodger Stadium | |
| City | Los Angeles | |
| Record | 90–72 (.556) | |
| Divisional place | 2nd | |
| Owners | Peter O'Malley | |
| General managers | Fred Claire | |
| Managers | Tommy Lasorda, Bill Russell | |
| Television | KTLA (5) | |
| Radio | KABC Vin Scully, Ross Porter, Rick Monday KWKW Jaime Jarrín, René Cárdenas | |
| ||
The Dodgers went into the final weekend of the season with a two-game lead on the San Diego Padres, needing only to win one of the final three games with the Padres to clinch the National League West title. However, the Padres swept them, and the Dodgers limped into the playoffs as a Wild Card team. The Dodgers were swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.
The Dodgers used 15 different pitchers during the season, the fewest of any MLB team in 1996.