Dodgers to Give an Orel Exam

The pitcher Tom Lasorda nicknamed “Bulldog” will make his best pitch to become top dog in the Dodger dugout.

Orel Hershiser, most valuable player of the 1988 World Series and a Dodger for 13 seasons, will interview early next week for the vacant managerial position. He will be the sixth candidate interviewed, and probably the last.

“It’s difficult to curb my enthusiasm,” he said. “It’s one of only 30 jobs and the one with the team I grew up with and played for. So it’s the chance of a lifetime.”

Terry Collins, the Dodger farm director, is the leading candidate to replace Jim Tracy, who parted ways with the team Oct. 3. However, the Dodgers also interviewed San Francisco bench coach Ron Wotus, triple-A manager and former Dodger infielder Jerry Royster, former Detroit Tiger manager Alan Trammell, and Cleveland minor league manager Torey Lovullo.

Wotus was particularly strong in his interview, according to Dodger sources. Owner Frank McCourt will meet with more than one finalist.

“At this point, it will be those six,” General Manager Paul DePodesta said. “We’ve talked to and about other people informally. But these are the candidates.”

Hershiser, 47, is glad to be in their company. He is on a father-son trip this weekend and will attend today’s Tennessee-Alabama football game. Hershiser, the Texas Ranger pitching coach since June 2002, plans to return to his Dallas home Sunday and travel to Los Angeles early next week.

“The Dodgers are one year removed from winning the division,” Hershiser said. “They aren’t a turnaround project. They have a great minor league system and talent on the big league roster.”

Hershiser said he was unconcerned about not having been among the original candidates and about DePodesta’s not having asked the Rangers’ permission to interview him for several days after saying former Dodger players would be considered.

“I think Paul has done an outstanding job dealing with this process,” he said. “They’ve been deliberate and diligent. I think they’ve handled it great. They haven’t rushed.”

DePodesta says he is mindful that former pitching coaches traditionally have not had great success as managers. Hershiser’s stock might have risen, though, when he was scheduled for an interview for the Oakland Athletics’ opening. Before he could meet with General Manager Billy Beane, Ken Macha agreed to return as manager.

Beane is DePodesta’s mentor, and his high regard for Hershiser might have influenced the Dodgers’ decision to take a longer look. DePodesta said he’d consulted several people.

The two men met in 1997 when DePodesta was a Cleveland Indian advance scout and Hershiser was a mainstay of the starting rotation.

“He’s very bright, he’s a leader and he understands what it takes to win,” DePodesta said.

Hershiser pitched for the Dodgers from 1983 to ’94 and again in 2000. He was 23-8 and won the National League Cy Young Award in 1988, the last time the Dodgers won a World Series.

“I’ve made a natural progression in the candidate fraternity,” Hershiser said. “I got a taste with Oakland, and this will be my first face-to-face interview. I definitely respect Paul’s pedigree. He’s won one division title in two years and that’s a pretty good ratio. I look forward to seeing him.”