Hershiser and Garvey Have Teamed Up : Marketing of Dodger Pitcher Is Handled by Padre First Baseman

There must be an aura about Orel. He and his wife went out for dinner Monday night, and somebody recognized him.

“Really, 15 to 20 people stopped by the table and said ‘hi’ or asked for autographs,” said Orel Hershiser IV, who doesn’t know the first thing about mob scenes. “That never happened before! I never expected it. I said to Jamie, my wife, ‘Gol, things have changed a little.’

“But I don’t go home and think: ‘Gee, what a popular guy I am!’ Or, ‘Isn’t it great great to be Orel Hershiser?’ I don’t think that. I don’t sit around and look at pictures of myself.”

But picture this:

Orel Hershiser doing milk commercials.

Orel Hershiser doing contact lens commercials.

Orel Hershiser speaking out against child abuse.

It’s going to happen.

And it’s all Steve Garvey’s doing. Garvey owns his own marketing group, and he approached Hershiser last year. “Gol,” he told Hershiser, “we can help you.”

“Gol, you’re right,” Hershiser said.

See, a lot of people had begun to call Hershiser for commercials and appearances, and he didn’t know how to say no. Now, Garvey’s group could say no for him, and, besides, Garvey and he are alike in a lot of ways.

“He (Hershiser) stays up to date on current events,” Garvey said before Tuesday night’s Padre-Dodger game. “We’ve talked about our interests, and, you know, they are a lot like mine.”

And they both say “Gol.”

So the selling of Orel Hershiser was under way. First, Hershiser needed to keep up the good work on the field. Last season, he went 19-3 with a 2.03 earned-run average, and that got him on the news and in the newspaper. Dwight Gooden beat him out for the Cy Young Award, but. . . . “You know what?” Hershiser said Tuesday. “Gooden gave up two runs today (against Pittsburgh). Gooden’s having a bad year, man.”

Hershiser better have a good year.

“This could be the year when he really starts to gain national prominence,” Garvey said.

Garvey has big plans for the kid. Already, there has been a shoe commercial, but Garvey said: “Oh, we’ll get cameos for him, ones where you don’t get a lot of speaking parts. But then you progress.”

Like Garvey. He started at the bottom, too. His rookie year, he appeared in a hair commercial with Maury Wills and Pete Rose. In the commercial, Garvey tries to steal second, and the umpire says he’s safe. But Rose says, “Hey, ump! There’s grease on my glove!” The ump says: “You’re right! He’s out!” Garvey runs to the dugout, where Wills tells him: “Kid, if you want to stay in the big leagues, get the greaseless groomer.”

Also, there were stints for Garvey as a judge on “The Gong Show” and “The $1.98 Beauty Contest.”

Now, the Garv speaks to judges, among others, as he gives motivational speeches.

“It’s an evolution,” he said.

Now, it’s up to Hershiser to see if he wants to evolve that far. Personally, all this glitter stuff isn’t his bit.

“You grow up dreaming about being a big leaguer and doing well and having all the fans love you,” he said, “but once you get here, it’s hard to believe it’s you. I’m a different person.

“I mean, the person they write about and the person that’s on TV and the person that gets the exposure seems like it’s a different person than me, you know? I’m not saying that the person’s different, but, I mean, when it’s yourself looking at yourself on TV, it’s weird. You know? Or listening to yourself on the radio, you know, I don’t get all puffed up about it, but it’s strange.

“Really, I don’t think I’m a big name. Maybe, I’m getting there, but I’m not really one to go blow a horn and say: ‘Look at me!’ It’s their (the Garvey group’s) job to knock on doors.”

And they’re knocking.

“This is a presence-building campaign,” Garvey said. “What we’re trying to do is create awareness about Orel Hershiser in other mediums.”

The Garv went into his briefcase to pull out some confidential papers.

“Let’s see,” he said. “There are magazines we’ve approached for stories on him--Family Circle, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping.”

And there’s the deal with the Milk Advisory Board.

“He’s someone wholesome who drinks milk,” Garvey said. “He’s a natural.”

And there’s the child abuse prevention.

“Hopefully, I can help,” Hershiser said. “I have a soft heart for children. I have a little boy myself. . . . I seem to communicate well with high school age kids when I go on speaking engagements.”

And there’s the contact lens commercial.

Hershiser wears them himself. Before he went out to pitch Tuesday’s game, he said: “Listen, I’ve got to go put my eyes in.”

Wouldn’t that be a great line for TV?