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Catching Up With Dodgers Great Steve Garvey

Originally posted on The Spun | By Jerry Bonkowski | Last updated Jan 1, 2026 8:05 AM ET

[Editor’s note: This article is from The Spun’s “Then and Now” magazine, featuring interviews with more than 50 sports stars of yesteryear. Order your copy online today, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Steve Garvey holds the National League record for consecutive games played at 1,207. He was a 10-time NL All-Star, the 1974 NL MVP, a two-time NLCS MVP, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner, and reached the World Series five times, winning it in 1981 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He also had a career total of 2,599 hits, 272 home runs, 1,308 RBIs, and a .294 batting average in 2,332 games.

But Garvey is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He was on the ballot for 19 years; his highest percentage was 42.6% in 1995, far short of the 75% needed for induction.

Garvey began his lifelong passion for baseball at the age of 8, when he served as a spring training bat boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. Even if he never sees his plaque in Cooperstown, N.Y., Garvey has no regrets.

"God gave me the skills and the ability to work hard and to excel," the 77-year-old Garvey said. "I think my career warrants being in the Hall of Fame, but do I lay awake at night and worry about it? Absolutely not, because I've been blessed."

Steve Garvey walks to the mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch before the playoff game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 8, 2025.Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

While Garvey’s No. 6 was retired by the San Diego Padres after a five-year stint, it hasn’t been retired by the Dodgers, with whom he spent 14 seasons. The Dodgers retire numbers only after a player has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Garvey said the influence the national pastime had on American sports was indelible. "I always say we're in the memory business, to create memories for millions of people. And winning the 1981 World Series was the ultimate for me."

Garvey, who was once part of a group that failed to succeed in an effort to buy the Dodgers, keeps busy these days as a motivational speaker and a spokesman. He also attends numerous fan and collector conventions.

Failing to reach the Hall of Fame isn’t the only time he has come up short in a vote: He lost a U.S. Senate race last year.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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