Eric Gagne. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former Dodgers Cy Young winner looks barely recognizable now

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 4/2/23

The Los Angeles Dodgers broke out the big guns for their Opening Day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

All of the Dodgers’ living Cy Young Award winners gathered at Dodger Stadium ahead of the game. They took a photo that the Dodgers shared via Twitter.

Take a look:

Cys only. pic.twitter.com/414EGoU8vR

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 31, 2023

Do you recognize all the pitchers?

From left to right, it’s Sandy Koufax, Orel Hershiser, Fernando Valenzuela, Eric Gagne and current Dodger Clayton Kershaw. Most of the guys are easy to recognize, but it took a few minutes to figure out that No. 38 was Gagne.

You might remember him looking more like this:

Damn they got Eric Gagnè out there throwing out the first pitch.

Dude was my favorite Dodger pitcher growing up fr. #HereToPlay #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/DAkPciMho9

— Hugo Stiglitz (@Omni_Gabe) March 31, 2023

Gagne won the NL Cy Young Award in 2003. He finished a league-high 67 games and led the league with 55 saves that season. He went 2-3 with a 1.20 ERA and 0.69 WHIP.

The Dodgers have won 12 Cy Young Awards, which is the most of any team in MLB history. Koufax and Kershaw have each won three. Hershiser, Valenzuela and Gagne each won one. And the late Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale and Mike Marshall each won one as well.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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