Making a Pitch for Orel as Coach

It is not my intention to distract from this dramatic, inspired, hearty postseason baseball by mentioning the Dodgers.

But this week I couldn’t help noticing a certain old friend showing his October smarts on the mound and in the dugout.

And I couldn’t help noticing the report that the Dodgers are asking around about potential pitching coaches.

And something crossed my mind that has maybe also crossed your mind.

It’s time for Orel Hershiser to come home.

If the Dodgers are looking for a new pitching coach, they should look him up.

I know, I know, asking these Fox hounds to do anything that smacks of tradition unnerves them as much as hearing fans cheer Mike Piazza or watching them wave to Tom Lasorda.

But there are some things Fox officials should know.

First, Hershiser once pitched here.

Hard for them to believe, maybe, but for 12 years, there existed a pitcher who brought toughness to the Dodger Stadium mound and class to its clubhouse.

Second, Hershiser was almost like a pitching coach when he was here. He helped hold the weary staff together during the 1988 championship run, constantly tutoring the young pitchers while acting as informal liaison between Lasorda and pitching coach Ron Perranoski, and the staff.

Third, he is doing the same thing now for the New York Mets.

“We call him another pitching coach,” said Dave Wallace, Met pitching boss and former Dodger guru. “He works with a lot of guys around here. He tells me what he’s thinking, then talks to them about it. It works out great.”

Fourth, it appears Hershiser is ready to start doing this for good.

When I mentioned the idea to him during the Mets’ September visit to Dodger Stadium, he pulled me aside to talk about it at length.

“I would love to have a chance to gather all the expertise I’ve gained and put it back into the industry,” Hershiser said. “Some people walk away for a year or so, but then it’s hard to get back into the game. If you are going to make a transition like this, you are going to have to do it right away.”

Considering he is still “just” 41 and still has great October stuff, Hershiser thinks it could make sense for him to play one more season.

But he also knows that he would be silly to ignore any offers he would receive now.

It’s not about the money, it’s about the opportunity, and maybe next year those opportunities would not be available.

So when the Cleveland Indians recently called to talk about their vacant pitching coach position, he listened.

And if the Dodgers called--even Chase Carey, his voice probably hoarse from cheering for his beloved Yankees--Hershiser would call them back.

“I have a tremendous amount of friends here, I love California,” the Florida resident said. “My allegiance to the Dodgers has not changed . . . but it’s become more complicated because I’ve since been other places, and exposed to other teams, and made other contacts.”

Those who know Hershiser may be saying, “Yeah, right, a guy who loves displaying his smarts would come back to be a puny little pitching coach?”

Well, no, that is not his long-term goal.

“I want to eventually be a manager, a general manager or a broadcaster,” he said.

But he knows he has to pay his dues. And he is politically sensitive enough to be able to pay them in Los Angeles without being a threat to Davey Johnson.

Off the field, nobody plays that game better.

And on the field? Well, who knows the Dodger game better?

“With the Dodgers, it’s like a relative died, and a new relative takes over the family business,” Hershiser said. “There was something special about the way the O’Malley family ran the team, but life goes on, and you can’t cross anything off.”

Does any one coaching candidate understand the mentality of pitching in Dodger Stadium, and for the Dodgers, better than Hershiser?

Ismael Valdes needs toughening up? Remember, everyone thought the same about Hershiser, until Lasorda nicknamed him “Bulldog,” maybe the smartest managerial move of Lasorda’s career.

Darren Dreifort needs more mound discipline? Hershiser used years of discipline to survive recent tight spots in the playoffs.

Chan Ho Park has trouble staying focused? Sometime during his record 59-inning scoreless streak here, Hershiser learned something about that.

Heck, with Hershiser as the pitching coach, maybe Kevin Brown could have been persuaded to put the game ahead of himself and take the mound in Houston on the season’s final day.

Or, maybe not.

“Orel would make an outstanding pitching coach,” Wallace said. “He has a tremendous knowledge of mechanics, of pitch selection, of how to get out certain hitters. When it comes to mental preparation, there’s nobody better.”

And when it comes to the Dodgers, is there a fit more perfect?

Kevin Malone wouldn’t answer this, or any question from me, Thursday. A woman picking up the general manager’s phone said he had requested that all calls from reporters be transferred to the publicity office.

This has never before happened in the long history of the Dodgers’ fan-friendly front offices.

But what the heck, maybe Malone was busy making arrangements to bring back the one person who could bridge that increasingly long and dark gap between the Dodger past and their future.

Or, maybe not.

Bill Plaschke can be reached at his e-mail address: bill.plaschke@latimes.com.