LOS ANGELES -- No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only.
Here is our ranking of the top five third basemen in Dodgers history.
1. Ron Cey, 1971-82
Key fact: Set a Major League record with 29 April RBIs in 1977.
Third base was a revolving door for the Dodgers until Ron Cey came along and stopped that, manning the hot corner in the 8 1/ 2-year run of the legendary infield with Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Bill Russell.
“Penguin” was a six-time All-Star and tri-MVP when the Dodgers won the 1981 World Series, beaned by a 94-mph fastball from Goose Gossage in Game 5 but returning for the Game 6 clincher with two hits and a go-ahead RBI.
Overshadowed by Garvey, Cey was something of an ironman himself, playing in at least 150 games in eight of his nine full seasons in Los Angeles.
2. Justin Turner, 2014-22
Key fact: Has a .309 career batting average with runners in scoring position.
Non-tendered by the Mets in 2013, Justin Turner was arguably the Dodgers’ best free-agent signing since Kirk Gibson, with an .865 OPS over six seasons in LA, underrated solid defense, clutch production and clubhouse leadership.
Turner had a club-record 42 RBIs in the postseason, where his poise and professionalism set him apart.
3. Max Muncy, 2018-present
Key fact: Holds the club record with 16 postseason home runs.
The Dodgers took a flier on Muncy after he was designated for assignment by the A's, and he blossomed into a power-hitting mainstay at the hot corner. Muncy is one of eight hitters with 200 or more homers as a Dodger, and he's come through with quite a few key long balls under the bright lights.
Muncy broke a three-way tie with Turner and Corey Seager at 13 for the most postseason homers in franchise history during the 2025 NLCS, a remarkable achievement considering his early days as an unheralded acquisition.
4. Adrián Beltré, 1998-2004
Key fact: His 376 total bases in 2004 are most for the Dodgers since Duke Snider’s 378 in 1954.
Adrián Beltré would have topped this list had the Dodgers not let him leave as a free agent in 2004 just as he was entering the prime years of a career that is likely to put him in the Hall of Fame.
The Dodgers rushed him to the big leagues at age 19, and he struggled while learning on the job. But Beltré capped his steady improvement in LA with 48 homers, 121 RBIs and an MVP runner-up finish on his way out of town to make room on the payroll for J.D. Drew.
5 Jim Gilliam, 1953-66
Key fact: He’s the only non-Hall of Fame Dodger whose uniform number (19) is retired.
The versatile Jim Gilliam ranked third on our list for all-time Dodgers second basemen (where he played 1,046 games) and shows up fifth at the hot corner (where he played 761 games).
It was at third base where Gilliam shows up the most in Dodgers highlight films. In Game 7 of the 1965 World Series, best known for Sandy Koufax’s three-hit shutout against the Twins on two days’ rest, Gilliam made a diving, backhanded stop to rob American League MVP Zoilo Versalles of extra bases with one out in the fifth inning with runners on first and second while Don Drysdale was warming up in the bullpen.