On Baseball: Heading for the Playoffs, Dodgers Are Still in the Shadow of 1988

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This is Hershiser’s fifth season as the lead analyst on Dodgers telecasts, and for many fans, he is, by far, the most visible link to the last title team. Tommy Lasorda, the feisty manager, turns 91 this weekend. Kirk Gibson, the slugger whose indelible homer won the World Series opener, calls games for the Detroit Tigers as he fights Parkinson’s disease. Fernando Valenzuela is a Spanish voice of the Dodgers and carried them to the 1981 crown, but he struggled in 1988 and did not appear in the postseason.

It is Hershiser, and often Hershiser alone, who represents that last, best victory in public nearly every day. He wears his World Series ring, he said, because fans ask to see it so often. They constantly show him how much it means.

“I just walked down to the front office for a meeting, and as I was walking out, there was a gentleman from BMW who was here on a tour, and he almost started crying,” Hershiser said. “He’s in his Dodger jersey, and his wife is shaking and they’re trying to get the ball out so I can sign it and take a picture with his family. I was 30 at the time, and he was probably 12. There’s an emotional response from the fans, and it’s interesting that it’s coming from that age group.”

The fans who rooted for the 1988 champions are older now than almost all of the players. The Dodgers’ manager, Dave Roberts, was still in high school then. Their president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, was 11 years old.

“I’m one of the older guys now, and 1988, that’s when I was born,” said Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ ace. “Most of these guys weren’t even alive yet. We respect history around here; obviously, as a franchise, we might have the most history of any team, really. But at the same time, yeah, we’re sick of it. We’re sick of hearing about it. I mean, it’s up to us to change that. But all the highlights that you see, all the other stuff, we’d like to create some of our own.”

Kershaw said he appreciates Hershiser for his positive manner around the players, and for the way he analyzes the modern game without criticizing the evolving style of play. Hershiser is fascinated by the data revolution, and believes Friedman’s theory that defensive shifts could have made him even better. He sympathizes with the plight of today’s pitcher.

“It’s a harder game right now for pitchers, because there’s so much information about what they’re going to do,” Hershiser said. “The hitter sees 100 deliveries before the guy even comes out to the mound. He gets used to his rhythm. He can stare at a screen and go, ‘Yep, when the ball starts here, it ends up off the plate.’ There is so much studying they can do to prepare for what used to be a mystery.”

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