Hershiser, Dodger 'Bulldog' and Last Player Link to '88 Glory, Is Released

By JASON REID

June 28, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Deciding that struggling pitcher Orel Hershiser should retire, the Dodgers reluctantly put the popular 17-year veteran on waivers Tuesday in order to release him in his second stint with the club.

The Dodgers made the move after Hershiser, 41, gave up eight runs in the second inning of Monday’s 9-5 loss to the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. The right-hander’s record dropped to 1-5 and his earned-run average swelled to 13.14, and the Dodgers had seen enough.

Managing Partner Bob Daly, General Manager Kevin Malone and senior vice president and formr manager Tom Lasorda, whom Hershiser played under during his previous Dodger tenure, informed Hershiser and his wife, Jamie, of their decision in an afternoon meeting at the stadium. Rookie right-hander Eric Gagne was recalled from triple-A Albuquerque and put in Hershiser’s spot on the 25-man roster.

The Dodgers hoped Hershiser would announce his retirement, but officials said the 204-game winner told them he plans to consider his options. They want him to remain with the organization, possibly in a front-office position, but that’s on hold for now.

Hershiser declined comment before leaving Dodger Stadium and did not return phone calls. In a team statement, the 1988 National League Cy Young Award winner said he needs time to think about his future.

“I understand and support the club’s decision of giving me my release after the way I performed,” the statement read. “I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to play for the Dodgers this season.

“I need a few days to weigh these recent events, and to spend time with my family and friends in order to discuss my future. I wish the entire Dodger organization the best of luck and success for the remainder of the season.”

Hershiser’s teammates weren’t surprised by the move, but they were nonetheless disappointed.

“He’s a professional, and it’s sad to see him go out like this,” said first baseman Eric Karros, who also played with Hershiser from 1991-94. “Obviously, it would have been a storybook ending for him to finish strong this year, but it [time] catches up to everybody. You can’t say it was a lack of effort because he worked his tail off. I’m sure this is just the beginning of another successful endeavor for him.”

Said left fielder Gary Sheffield: “He showed me how to go out with your head held high.”

Teams have 48 hours to claim Hershiser. The Dodgers owe the remainder of his $2-million salary this season because they released him. The club holds a $2-million option next season, which it will buy out for $500,000.

If Hershiser pitches for another team this season, the Dodgers will be responsible for all but the $200,000 major-league minimum. The club would have been off the hook for Hershiser’s deal had he retired, but the Dodgers said this isn’t about money.

“We wanted him to retire, but not to save the money,” Daly said. “My goal was for him to go out the way I feel he should go out, but that’s just my personal view. He has his right to have his own views on the subject, and I think everybody was rooting for him and hoping it [a turnaround] could happen.

“But after last night we just can’t . . . we have an obligation to the fans and the other 24 players on the team. If he pitched five or six great innings [Monday], we wouldn’t be having this discussion because he’d be in our rotation. It was just a very tough decision.”

Daly discussed the situation with Malone, team President Bob Graziano and Lasorda only moments after Hershiser received a standing ovation Monday when Manager Davey Johnson removed him with two out in the second inning and the Dodgers trailing, 8-1.

Daly spoke with Johnson and other player-personnel staff before meeting with Hershiser and his wife Tuesday. Daly made tough calls daily while running Warner Bros. studios, but he said the Hershiser decision was the most trying of his professional career.

“As I watched him pitch [Monday] and he was walking off the mound, I realized it would probably be the last time he pitched for the Dodgers,” Daly said. “You could see it in the reaction of the fans. They weren’t looking at a pitcher who just gave up eight runs, they realized they were probably seeing the end of a career, at least for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“For me, I had a very difficult time sleeping [Monday] night, knowing that I was going to have to sit down and talk with him. I had a few private minutes with him before Kevin and Tommy joined us. He understands Gagne is a good young pitcher and that he was going to come up. He made a decision, and he understands our decision.”

Lasorda was torn because of his loyalty to Hershiser, whom he nicknamed “Bulldog.” But it’s time for Hershiser to retire, Lasorda said.

“[Hershiser] and I shared a lot of tears after [Monday’s game],” Lasorda said. “This guy wore the Dodger uniform with pride. He’s had a great career, he’s got nothing to be ashamed of, and the bulldog should go out with his head held high.”

This was not what Hershiser and the Dodgers expected when he rejoined the club as a free agent in December. Daly and Malone worked hard to persuade Hershiser to resign with the Dodgers, whom he helped to an improbable ’88 World Series championship.

Hershiser spent 11-plus seasons at Chavez Ravine before leaving in free agency after the ’94 season, but struggled almost from the outset in this tour. Things went downhill for Hershiser after he started and won the Dodger Stadium opener April 14, giving up one run in six innings in an 8-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

He tied a league record by hitting four batters with pitches in a 10-3 loss to the Houston Astros on April 19, and was removed from the rotation the next day because the Dodgers are trying to salvage left-hander Carlos Perez. Hershiser pitched only 5 1/3 innings from the time he was bumped to the bullpen until he volunteered to pitch at Class-A San Bernardino to get work beginning May 26.

But Hershiser was 0-3 with a 19.28 ERA since being recalled from San Bernardino on June 16. His signature command has eluded him, and batters were pounding his mid-80s fastball.

“It’s been a long couple of days,” Johnson said. “He’s very special to me, and he’s a good friend. I love talking baseball with him, and even though he was struggling, I loved having him out there. I was totally in favor of bringing him back here because he’s a Dodger

“When he stopped playing, he should stop playing in a Dodger uniform, but this is not the way I envisioned it. This is probably one of the toughest things I’ve been associated with in this game, and I’ve been associated with a lot of them.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Diminishing Returns

Comparing Orel Hershiser in 2000 versus the league averages and his career averages:

*--*

CATEGORY 2000 LEAGUE AVG. CAREER Earned-run average 13.14 4.77 3.49 Hits per 9 innings 15.32 9.27 8.45 Strikeouts per 9 innings 4.74 6.80 5.79 Walks per 9 innings 5.11 3.96 2.90 Base runners 24.09 13.60 11.49

*--*

OREL 2000

G 10

Inn. 24 2/3

ERA 13.14

SO 13

BB 14

HBP 12

WITH DODGERS

G 353

Inn. 2,180 2/3

ERA 3.12

SO 1,456

BB 667

HBP 65

CAREER

G 511

Inn. 3,120 1/3

ERA 3.49

SO 2,014

BB 1,007

HBP 118

DODGERS 5, SAN DIEGO 4

Hundley’s home run against Hoffman ties it in the ninth, then Karros gets the winning hit in the 10th as Los Angeles ends a five-game losing streak. Page 8

‘Dog Gone

A look at the career of pitcher Orel Hershiser:

Career Statistics

*--*

Year, Team IP W-L BB SO ERA 1983, LA 8 0- 0 6 5 3.38 1984, LA 189 2/3 11- 8 50 150 2.66 1985, LA 239 2/3 19- 3 68 157 2.03 1986, LA 231 1/3 14-14 86 153 3.85 1987, LA 264 2/3 16-16 74 190 3.06 1988, LA 267 23- 8 73 178 2.26 1989, LA 256 2/3 15-15 77 178 2.31 1990, LA 25 1/3 1- 1 4 16 4.26 1991, LA 112 7- 2 32 73 3.46 1992, LA 210 2/3 10-15 69 130 3.67 1993, LA 215 2/3 12-14 72 141 3.59 1994, LA 135 1/3 6- 6 42 72 3.79 1995, Cle 167 1/3 16- 6 51 111 3.87 1996, Cle 206 15- 9 58 125 4.24 1997, Cle 195 1/3 14- 6 69 107 4.47 1998, SF 202 11-10 85 126 4.41 1999, NYM 179 13-12 77 89 4.58 2000, LA 14 2/3 1-5 14 13 13.14 Totals 3120 1/3 204-150 1007 2014 3.49

*--*

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

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Year, Opp. IP W-L BB SO ERA 1995, Bos 7 1/3 1- 0 2 7 0.00 1996, Bal 5 0- 0 3 3 5.40 1997, NYY 11 1/3 0- 0 2 4 3.97 1999, Ari 1.0 0- 0 0 1 0.00 Totals 24 2/3 1-0 7 15 2.92

*--*

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

*--*

Year, Opp. IP W-L BB SO ERA 1985, StL 15 1/3 1- 0 6 5 3.52 1988, NYM 24 2/3 1- 0 7 15 1.09 1995, Sea 14 2- 0 3 15 1.29 1997, Bal 7 0- 0 1 7 0.00 1999, Atl 4 1/3 0-0 3 5 0.00 Totals 65 1/3 4-0 20 47 1.52

*--*

WORLD SERIES

*--*

Year, Opp. IP W-L BB SO ERA 1988, Oak 18 2- 0 6 17 1.00 1995, Atl 14 1- 1 4 13 2.57 1997, Fla 10 0- 2 6 5 11.70 Totals 42 3-3 16 35 4.07

*--*

2000 Appearances

A look at his outings this season:

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Date Opponent Dec IP H ER BB SO April 5 at Montreal ND 5 7 4 2 4 April 14 Cincinnati W 6 6 1 2 2 April 19 Houston L 1 1/3 4 7 2 0 April 23 at Cincinnati ND 1 2 1 1 0 April 29 Florida ND 1 0 0 0 1 May 7 Houston ND 3 5 3 1 2 May 9 at Arizona L 1/3 3 5 1 0 June 16 St. Louis L 4 6 5 3 1 June 24 at St. Louis L 1 1/3 3 2 0 1 June 26 San Diego L 1 2/3 6 8 3 1

*--*

Timeline

* Sept. 16, 1958: Born in Buffalo

* June 5, 1979: Selected by Dodgers in 17th round of free-agent draft.

* Aug. 30, 1988 to Sept. 28, 1998: Sets major league single-season record for most consecutive scoreless innings: 59 .

* 1988: Wins National League Cy Young Award and named most valuable player of World Series.

* April 27, 1990: After only four starts, has season-ending surgery on pitching shoulder.

* July 1, 1991: Returns from disabled list to finish season with Dodgers, going 7-2 with a 3.46 ERA

* April 8, 1995: Signed by Cleveland Indians.

* Dec. 9, 1997: Signed by San Francisco Giants.

* Feb. 20, 1999: Signed by Indians.

* March 25, 1999: Released by Indians after failing to earn berth in starting rotation.