Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977–78 Dodgers by Michael Fallon (review)

Dodgerland tells the story of the Los Angeles Dodgers during Tommy Lasorda's first two seasons as manager, when the Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League pennant but lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Author Michael Fallon's book also focuses on four men who represented different aspects of Los Angeles at this time: Lasorda, small businessman Tom Fallon, author Tom Wolfe, and Mayor Tom Bradley. The Dodgers' success affected and reflected social and economic change in Southern California in the late 1970s.

The Dodgers of the late 1970s faced considerable challenges. They played in the same division as the two-time World Series champions Cincinnati Reds, and defeating the Reds was Lasorda's top priority when he became manager after the 1976 season. Lasorda tried to change the culture, and the Dodgers were more businesslike in their approach to the 1977 season. The one constant was that star players continued to capitalize on the opportunities available to athletes from Los Angeles that had existed since the team moved from Brooklyn in 1958, particularly in film and television roles and commercials. Mayor Tom Bradley, meanwhile, was riding a wave of popularity in the Democratic Party yet declined Jimmy Carter's offer of a Cabinet position to continue Los Angeles's economic transformation. Tom Fallon, who idealized the California self-made man, strove to become one with his new hardware store in Cucamonga.

The success in 1977 did not immediately carry over to 1978. Many players (even those who were married) were sexually active, fitting into the lifestyle of Southern California that included the Playboy Mansion and was portrayed on television shows such as Three's Company. Thus, they did not always focus on the game. An interview with Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post on outfielder Reggie Smith—and Don Sutton's supporting comments that did not speak kindly of first baseman Steve Garvey—led to a fistfight between Garvey and Sutton, one that led to Garvey throwing Sutton into a locker and Sutton poking Garvey in the eye. The fight, possibly supported by Lasorda, brought the team together, and it went on a winning streak that ultimately led to repeating as National League champions.

The book is strongest in its description of the ebb and flow of the Dodgers' seasons in 1977 and 1978. Fallon, Wolfe, and Bradley, however, are mostly afterthoughts, only occasionally making appearances in the text. By 1980, Fallon was dealing with the challenges of being a small business owner at a time when national chain stores were moving into the area and had to relocate. Mayor Tom Bradley succeeded in getting the Olympics for Los Angeles for 1984, but he never realized his dream of higher electoral office. Tom Wolfe finally published The Right Stuff in 1979 after years of research and writing. Dodgerland is an engaging book, but it is one that spends too much time on the Dodgers and not enough on the other main characters of "decadent Los Angeles."