The 1982 Los Angeles Dodgers was the team's 25th season in Los Angeles and their 100th overall. The Dodgers entered the season as the defending World Series champions. They would remain in contention until the final day of the regular season, when their archrivals, the San Francisco Giants, would knock them out of the National League West race, in a season that saw the Atlanta Braves reach the playoffs instead. The Dodgers finished second in the National League West at 88–74, becoming the fifth team since 1969 to miss the playoffs one year after winning the World Series. This was the final season for longtime Dodger cornerstones Steve Garvey and Ron Cey, who would move on to new teams next season. The Dodgers did welcome new second basemanSteve Sax, who won the Rookie of the Year Award.
The Dodgers drafted 32 players in the June draft and 12 in the January draft. Of those, only four players would eventually play in the Major Leagues.
The first selection in the June draft was first baseman Franklin Stubbs of Virginia Tech. He would spend 10 seasons in the Majors, including 6 with the Dodgers but only hit .232 during that span.