He Didn’t Want to Be Slipped a Mickey

Tom Lasorda is always good for stories. After a guest appearance Monday on the “McDonnell Douglas” third-anniversary show on KSPN, Lasorda told a few.

Recalling a Dodger game against Philadelphia in the early 1980s, he said the Phillies were up with two out and a runner on third. Mickey Hatcher was playing third and Joe Ferguson was catching.

“A groundball was hit to Hatcher at third, and I looked over at first, expecting the throw to go there,” Lasorda said. “But instead Hatcher threw home to Ferguson, who applied the tag for the third out.

“Everyone knows in that situation the play is to first. I got on both of them and I asked Fergie why he hadn’t gone down to first to back up the throw. He came right back with, ‘When you play with dummies, you’ve got to think dumb.’ ”

Trivia time: Which four Dodgers hit 30 or more home runs in 1977?

Another story: Lasorda said he took Steve Sax to Santa Anita for his first visit to a racetrack.

“We hadn’t cashed a ticket, and the three guys at the table next to us were coming back from the windows after every race with a wad of cash,” Lasorda said. “I give Saxie $20 and tell him to follow those guys and do exactly what they do.

“Saxie comes back with three roast beef sandwiches. I didn’t know he was going to follow them to the concession stand.”

Another target: Lasorda says he has OnStar in his Cadillac and loves it.

“If I lock my keys in the car, all I have to do is call OnStar and they unlock my car,” he said. “If the car were ever stolen, they can lock all the doors and trap the thief in the car.

“Whenever my wife tells me she is taking my car to go shopping, I call OnStar and tell them my car has been stolen.”

No credit needed: ESPN’s Barry Melrose, on a conference call with reporters to promote the start of “Thursday Night Hockey,” told a story about former King Alexei Zhitnik.

“When I was coaching the Kings in 1993, Zhitnik came over from Russia and the first thing he wanted to do was buy a car,” Melrose said. “So Rob Blake takes him to a Lexus dealer. Zhitnik picks out a car, and then, instead of agreeing on terms, he pays for the car in cash!”

Asked ESPN colleague Bill Clement, “Did he pay with $5 bills?”

Dawn of a new era: Motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel will try to jump over 10,000 dishes at Irwindale Raceway on Thursday. Dawn dishwashing liquid is sponsoring the event at which free breakfast will be served from 7-10 a.m. Then a crew of 300 will wash the dishes, which will be sorted into racks on a raised platform. Knievel will make his attempt at 12:30.

He’s hoping for a clean jump.

Trivia answer: Steve Garvey, with 33; Reggie Smith, 32; Ron Cey, 30; Dusty Baker, 30.

And finally: NASCAR and its top stars were honored Tuesday at the White House. When President Bush mentioned the Busch series, he said, “I kind of like the name of that series.”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.