Coming Home

Orel Hershiser, the symbol of what the Dodgers were 11 years ago, when they last won a postseason baseball game, returned Friday to do something about what they are now.

Lacking pitching, leadership and, for more than a decade, playoff victories, the Dodgers signed Hershiser to a one-year contract with a base salary of $2 million and an option for 2001.

Though he turned 41 in September, Hershiser is expected to compete for a place in a starting rotation that required arms even before right-hander Ismael Valdes was traded to the Chicago Cubs last week.

Kevin Brown, Chan Ho Park and Darren Dreifort will lead the rotation. Hershiser, Eric Gagne and 1999 bust Carlos Perez will contend for the remaining two places. Many in the organization expect Hershiser to win one of the jobs in spring training.

Chairman Robert Daly and General Manager Kevin Malone lauded him for his skills and ferocity, but a chuckling Hershiser found it necessary to respond.

“Kevin’s thrown a lot of compliments around and so has Bob Daly,” Hershiser said. “I don’t want to walk into that locker room and you guys make me into something I’m not. I’m not a saint and I haven’t run my life perfectly, or my baseball career. I’m just a guy that is trying to do the best I can. I think everybody else in that locker room last year was trying to do it the best they could also. So, don’t paint me as somebody who is going to come in there and teach these guys [how to play] every day. It’s an osmosis thing.”

Hershiser, who won Cy Young and World Series MVP awards in 1988, last pitched for the Dodgers in 1994. Since then, he has pitched for Cleveland, San Francisco and, last season, the New York Mets.

He threw 179 innings for the Mets, was 13-12 with a 4.58 earned-run average and made three scoreless relief appearances in the playoffs. And though every season of late is predicted to be his last (“At times my wife and kids have been writing me off,” he said, laughing), Hershiser on some nights took his 1988 sinker to the mound.

He became one of Manager Bobby Valentine’s favorites and worked closely with rookie Octavio Dotel, even though Dotel replaced him in the rotation toward the end of the season.

So he returns to Southern California having pitched in seven more playoffs series and two more World Series and, perhaps, with his eye on managing, just like his old batterymate, Mike Scioscia.

Cleveland General Manager John Hart and Hershiser spoke on a couple of occasions about Hershiser managing the Indians when Mike Hargrove was fired, and then Hershiser’s name was on the list of potential pitching coaches for Charlie Manuel, who replaced Hargrove. Ultimately, Hart decided Hershiser still wanted to pitch.

The Mets wished to upgrade their staff, and so did not offer Hershiser salary arbitration. After conversations with other ballclubs, Hershiser could no longer avoid the temptation of concluding his career where it began.

“I was elated when they made me an offer,” Hershiser said. “After reviewing what their plan was, I decided I really wanted to be a part of that.

“I can’t wait. I’m back into a culture that I know. I’m going to walk back into an organization that I understand. It’s just a sweet, sweet possible ending to my career. I’d be very proud to have a Dodger uniform on and to win the world championship in the year 2000. I think that would be very, very special.”

Not to mention startling. The Dodgers finished 23 games out of first place in the National League West. Still, Hershiser’s rejoining the pitching staff aroused an entire organization.

“I’m so happy the Bulldog’s back,” Tom Lasorda said. “We talked about being reunited for another time, how great it will be.

“I used to tell him, ‘You know something, Bulldog, whenever you go to another team, they’re not just getting a pitcher, they’re getting a pitching coach, they’re getting a manager, they’re getting a general manager, they’re getting a financial expert.’ He’s capable of doing all of those things.”

In the wake of trades that sent Raul Mondesi to Toronto and Valdes and Eric Young to Chicago, Daly and Malone spoke of adding the “right kinds of players” to the roster. As the club stumbled around through the summer, it was clear it lacked leadership, chemistry and, finally, victories.

“I think his history speaks for itself,” Malone said. “Everything about him has been much respected in the industry. Orel commands respect because of who he is and how he goes about his business. One of the biggest points is his desire to win. What we’re trying to establish here is to try to bring in winners. Orel is a proven winner. He knows what it takes to win, he’s committed to winning, he works hard to win and he’s got a plan. The more guys we can add like Orel, that are committed to winning, the better chance we have to win.”