In 2000, the Dodgers set a club record for home runs with 211, led by Gary Sheffield, who tied Duke Snider's single-season club mark with 43. Eric Karros became the L.A. Dodger all-time leader with his 229th home run and Dave Hansen set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs. Kevin Brown led the league in E.R.A. with 2.58 and rookie pitcher Matt Herges started the season 8-0, the first pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela to open the season with eight straight victories. The Dodgers won 86 games, but failed to make the post-season, finishing second in the Western Division of the National League. Manager Davey Johnson was fired after the season and replaced with bench coachJim Tracy.
The Dodgers selected 50 players in this draft. Of those, eight of them would eventually play Major League baseball. The first round pick was right-handed pitcher Ben Diggins from the University of Arizona. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002 and appeared in five games with them as a starting pitcher that season with an 0-4 record and an 8.63 ERA. Those would be the only Major League games he would appear in as he was out of baseball after a few more years in the minors. The second round pick, pitcher Joel Hanrahan from Norwalk High School would be the only moderately successful player in this draft class. He became a two-time All-Star as a relief pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Catcher Koyie Hill would catch on as a backup catcher for several teams, most notably the Chicago Cubs.
