DODGERS : To Identify These Players, You Need a Program

An elderly couple from Los Angeles watched batting practice here Monday but didn’t recognize any of the players. The couple, regular fans, asked a reporter to help them find somebody they knew of. But the only one they could think to ask for was Orel Hershiser.

Since the departure of Mike Scioscia, Hershiser has been with the Dodgers the longest. He made his debut in September of 1983 and is one of 22 players in baseball to have played for the same major league team the last 10 years, 1983-92. Of those 22 players, seven will wear new uniforms this season. After Hershiser, the Dodger with longest continuous service is Ramon Martinez, who has been in Los Angeles since June 5, 1989.

Eric Davis is still happy to be living his boyhood dream of playing on the same team as Darryl Strawberry, but says it is time to quit touting the team of “Darryl and Eric.”

“That’s in the past, isn’t it?” Davis said. “Darryl has been here two years and I’ve been here one. It’s time to play baseball with Darryl and 23 other guys in this clubhouse. That’s what is important. It’s not for me and Darryl. It’s for the whole city of Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ organization and each individual.”

Strawberry continued to hit balls out of the stadium during batting practice Monday, but he isn’t hitting against Dodger pitchers, only coaches.

“I don’t want to face pitchers in my same uniform,” he said. “There’s no point in it.”

Strawberry said he has never worked this hard in spring training.

“I never had a bad season before,” he said. “I feel great now. Pain-free. I feel like I’m 21, but I’m not 21.”

Last season, Davis and Strawberry had five home runs each.

“I can hit five home runs in a week,” Strawberry said.

Left-hander Lee Guetterman threw batting practice but before he could get started, he kicked over a full basket of baseballs. He started to laugh, and Manager Tom Lasorda explained to the crowd: “Left-hander’s are smart. That’s why he kicked the balls over. He needed a break. He was tired.”

Lasorda is left-handed.

Martinez was sidelined Monday because of flu. . . . Right-hander Chris Nichting, who spent last season in Albuquerque and San Antonio, has a sore right elbow.

The first full team workout will be held Wednesday, when the position players report.