July 10, 2025 • 11 mins
David Vassegh talks to the "Bulldog" Orel Hershiser on off-day Dodger Talk.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
The Dodgers back in action tomorrow night in San Francisco,
their first trip to San Francisco this season, a three
game series with Dustin May on the Mount tomorrow night,
going up against Logan Webb, and of course, Sportsnet LA
made the right decision of having the nineteen eighty eight
World Series MVP, the Dodger or the Giant Killer himself
(00:30):
an icon in Los Angeles, a fabric of the city.
The one and only Oral Herscheizer is joining us from
the Bay Area orl Thanks a lot for coming on.
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Anything for you, David, anything, Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Man, It's special to be talking to you anytime, but
especially with you and San Francisco because you had so
many great moments pitching against the Giants a candlestick park.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Oh wow, I loved pitching a candlestick. I was actually
talking to Rick about this, Rick Monday, You're number one guy. Okay.
I was talking to him because We're coming in from
the airport and I'm like, I love this place. I
love the wind, and He's like, you love the wind,
and I go, yeah, I mean you find out which
(01:16):
pitches get accentuated, like if it doubles the size of
your curve ball, if it doubles the size of your sinker.
Then you also throw almost every pitch you throw it
so that the hitter has to hit it into the wind.
And so you can throw a bad pitch as long
as they're hitting into the wind, you get away with it.
So I played the wind here so much. I think
(01:36):
I don't know what my record was, but it was
significantly a winning record when I pitched in Candlestick because
of that, and I think it was like seventeen and
three something really stupid, because then all of a sudden,
the Giants want to be on the team. And I
played for him for one year. But we shouldn't mention that.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, that was a forgettable year with you and
the Giants. We don't remember that at all.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
We lost in game we lost in Game one sixty
three to the Cubs at Wrigley because we had to
play an extra game because we tied him. We were
in Colorado and had to then fly over to Wrigley
and play the next day. Oh what an old memory.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And we obviously we treasure you for being a Dodger
but oral, you've had so many experiences with so many
different teams. You know, obviously the Giants were competitive when
you were on the team, and of course, I mean,
you're the only guy to win the al CSMVP and
the NLCSMVP with the Indians and Dodgers. You had a
life away from the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, you know, I kid had on Nomo when he
is in town because he took my job when they
went out and spent the money to bring Nomo in.
When I was negotiating with the Dodgers, they said, well,
we're gonna have to have a really serious hometown discount
if you want to still pitch here. And I said, well,
that's just not even an offer. And so we went
(03:02):
into the office and we talked to Peter O'Malley and
Tommy Lasorda, and we're all there just talking about, you know,
staying as a Dodger. But they had already spent the money,
so they were very, very kind and very nice, and
it was a great conversation, but it was like, you know,
it was going to be a probably one sixteenth of
what I would have made somewhere else, and so we
(03:24):
ended up having to leave and it was. It was tough.
It was very tough to leave. I was probably depressed
and stayed in my house for about three days. I
just said, don't want to go out in public.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
You know, it's funny you bring that up, because over
the course of the last thirteen years, we've seen so
many good players come and go because of the success
of the Dodgers. But you know, when you tell your story,
I mean, you were the ultimate Dodger with the ultimate success,
and it's just unfortunate reality of being part of Major
League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Right, yeah, it is. I went off, and you know,
the Dodgers did a great thing in signing Nomo. He
did very well. I went off and played for the Indians,
and I was sixteen and six and I think I
was like four and zero in the playoffs, so I
won like twenty games over what you know, thirty eight
thirty nine starts. But they made the right call because
(04:16):
the theory with the Dodgers at that time was they'd
rather get somebody, let somebody go two or three years early,
then sign them and have to hold on to that
contract for two or three years where they're not getting production.
So that was the more conservative route as far as
managing the team. But we we as players understood that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
With the Dodgers, I mean you think about it, right,
Garby Lopes Rustling say same thing, right, They let him
go a couple of years before they were at the
end of their careers.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yep, so Sernando, Yeah, they're Pedro Guerrero. We think of
a lot of different guys that. Yeah, and that was
you know, because even though we were a big market
and supported by the fan base and drawing almost you know,
always drawn three million fans, it's still Peter O'Malley, Mister O'Malley.
He really managed the team as a family business. It
(05:09):
was their only source of income. They weren't conglomerate, they
weren't didn't have other sources of income, and they were
managing it according to putting a winning product, a good
product on the field every year, but never stretching to
a point where you go, Okay, you know we're going
forward this year, but you know we'll pay for it later.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oral Herscheizer, that's his voice, the bulldog Treasure here in
Los Angeles joining us on Dodger Talk from San Francisco.
One of the memories that flashed through my mind when
we talk oral about the Dodgers and Giants and you
being part of those teams. There was a game in
the mid eighties. I can't remember the year, but certainly
when they show the highlights Mike Marshall rounding the bases
(05:50):
and kind of pointing with his middle finger. How much
do you remember about those flashes, those images of those
type of games.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah, I think it was very It got very personal
because you know, we played more times against each other.
They were very competitive. It wasn't like the Giants were
the Juggernaut or the Dodgers were the Juggernaut. It was
always a pretty even competition. So it got personal, and
the personnel on the field stayed a lot the same.
(06:21):
You know, there was always Robbie Thompson, there was always
Matt Williams. You know, there was always all these same
kind of characters and the same thing kind of on
the Dodgers. So I think when you see actions like
that back in old time baseball, it's because it was
so personal at the time. I think there was more
physicality in baseball at the time as far as knockdowns
(06:44):
and paying back, and you have a manager like Tommy
Lasorda that likes to bring that emotion out and people
either your own fans or their own team, or his
own you know, the opposing fans. I mean, I remember
watching him walk in to candle stick from the locker
room down to the third base dugout, and it was
(07:04):
amazing to watch him get booed and he got the fans.
It was. It was fantastic. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I think his last time there, he was blowing kisses
to the fans and candlestick.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yes, And they actually like planned it with the Giants, like, Okay,
when are you going to walk out? Tommy? Okay, we're
gonna play certain music. You know, we're gonna warm them
up with a little Frank Sinatra and you're gonna come out.
Tommy's like, all right, I got this. Oral.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Herscheizer is our guest. All right. Oral. Turning our attention
to these Dodgers. They can they use the All Star
break more than most teams just because of how banged
up they are.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yeah, I think you know there are portions we can
look at the glasses half full, which is their second
best record in baseball, they you know, second most wins.
So the Tigers, the rotation is starting to round into
form and get healthy, and there's more on the horizon.
The guy that are struggling. The backs of their baseball
(08:03):
cards are a lot better than what they're producing right now,
so you have confidence that they're going to come around
and the injuries the guys are going to heal. And
you know, right now Will Smith and Andy pat Has
are probably doing most of the carrying of the offense,
and that has been really tough of late. You know,
they're not hitting with runners and scoring position, but they're
still I think the top team in baseball with hitting
(08:24):
and runners and scoring position, at least in the National League.
So it's been a really rough first half as far
as reaching the potential, But then reach the potential just
it was because of injuries. I don't think it's because
of performance.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, I agree with you orl I mean, everybody just
wants to look at this six game losing streak in
a vacuum, but it feels like a lot of guys
are playing through a lot of stuff. I mean, how
do you explain Freddie Freeman leading Major League Baseball and
batting average and now hitting two hundred the last month.
There's got to be something going on with his ankle, right.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Maybe there's something going on the aches and pains that
keep you from having resps to practice. The aches and
pains keep you from having the perfect mechanics that you want.
We saw, we show it and heard it about Max Munsey,
and then all of a sudden he gets hurt again.
But he's like, finally, my elbow feels free and easy.
And it's one thing to heal, it's another thing to
reprogram your brain to be able to say it's healed
(09:23):
and you can go back to the old swing. So
we saw that with him, and I think we'll get
turnarounds with Mookie. I think we'll get turnarounds with Freddy.
I think we'll get less swing and miss with Otani.
I think a lot of the things that you see
and people can say these are the reasons they're struggling.
I think those will clear up as long as, like
you say, you know, the aches and the pains kind
(09:44):
of go away. And I think the All Star break
is one thing. I think even this day and a
half of the off day in San Francisco is going
to help them a lot. And the change of scenery
and seeing the giants across the field. You're just looking
for a change in brain chemistry, and I think everybody
knows that in every industry and every walk of life,
that your brain and the brain chemistry can make you
(10:06):
feel like I'm a winner and I'm going to have
a good day even no matter what was in the past,
or your thoughts and your attitude can make you feel
like even though I'm winning, I'm scared and things aren't
going to go well, and you just we're going to
turn that around. We got to turn those thoughts around.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Sounds like you're describing when I walk into your booth
before a game, Oral, I just changed the brain chemistry
before the game for you.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
You light up every room that you come into, whether
it's a negative light up or a positive light up.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I'll take it. I'll take it. Oh my gosh, thanks
a lot for doing this on an off day.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Oral.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
We love you, and you know how much you mean
to the city and how much you mean to Dodger
fans and to those of us that work around you
in the press box. You're always a great guy to
be around and you always bring everybody's spirits up. So
thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Well, it's a it's a it's a pleasure to work there,
and we shouldn't even call it work. It's a it's
a pleasure to bring the entertainment value in baseball, in
the great game, to all these fans. And I feel
like a pretty girl when I walk into Dodders Stadium
because everybody's smiling at me, and I'm like, I'm pretty ugly.
I'm sixty six and old and ugly, and they're still
(11:20):
smiling at me. So it's pretty nice.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Thanks a lot for the time, orrel anytime, but
And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
The Dodgers back in action tomorrow night in San Francisco,
their first trip to San Francisco this season, a three
game series with Dustin May on the Mount tomorrow night,
going up against Logan Webb, and of course, Sportsnet LA
made the right decision of having the nineteen eighty eight
World Series MVP, the Dodger or the Giant Killer himself
(00:30):
an icon in Los Angeles, a fabric of the city.
The one and only Oral Herscheizer is joining us from
the Bay Area orl Thanks a lot for coming on.
Appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Anything for you, David, anything, Oh.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Man, It's special to be talking to you anytime, but
especially with you and San Francisco because you had so
many great moments pitching against the Giants a candlestick park.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Oh wow, I loved pitching a candlestick. I was actually
talking to Rick about this, Rick Monday, You're number one guy. Okay.
I was talking to him because We're coming in from
the airport and I'm like, I love this place. I
love the wind, and He's like, you love the wind,
and I go, yeah, I mean you find out which
(01:16):
pitches get accentuated, like if it doubles the size of
your curve ball, if it doubles the size of your sinker.
Then you also throw almost every pitch you throw it
so that the hitter has to hit it into the wind.
And so you can throw a bad pitch as long
as they're hitting into the wind, you get away with it.
So I played the wind here so much. I think
(01:36):
I don't know what my record was, but it was
significantly a winning record when I pitched in Candlestick because
of that, and I think it was like seventeen and
three something really stupid, because then all of a sudden,
the Giants want to be on the team. And I
played for him for one year. But we shouldn't mention that.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah, yeah, that was a forgettable year with you and
the Giants. We don't remember that at all.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
We lost in game we lost in Game one sixty
three to the Cubs at Wrigley because we had to
play an extra game because we tied him. We were
in Colorado and had to then fly over to Wrigley
and play the next day. Oh what an old memory.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And we obviously we treasure you for being a Dodger
but oral, you've had so many experiences with so many
different teams. You know, obviously the Giants were competitive when
you were on the team, and of course, I mean,
you're the only guy to win the al CSMVP and
the NLCSMVP with the Indians and Dodgers. You had a
life away from the Dodgers.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, you know, I kid had on Nomo when he
is in town because he took my job when they
went out and spent the money to bring Nomo in.
When I was negotiating with the Dodgers, they said, well,
we're gonna have to have a really serious hometown discount
if you want to still pitch here. And I said, well,
that's just not even an offer. And so we went
(03:02):
into the office and we talked to Peter O'Malley and
Tommy Lasorda, and we're all there just talking about, you know,
staying as a Dodger. But they had already spent the money,
so they were very, very kind and very nice, and
it was a great conversation, but it was like, you know,
it was going to be a probably one sixteenth of
what I would have made somewhere else, and so we
(03:24):
ended up having to leave and it was. It was tough.
It was very tough to leave. I was probably depressed
and stayed in my house for about three days. I
just said, don't want to go out in public.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
You know, it's funny you bring that up, because over
the course of the last thirteen years, we've seen so
many good players come and go because of the success
of the Dodgers. But you know, when you tell your story,
I mean, you were the ultimate Dodger with the ultimate success,
and it's just unfortunate reality of being part of Major
League Baseball.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Right, yeah, it is. I went off, and you know,
the Dodgers did a great thing in signing Nomo. He
did very well. I went off and played for the Indians,
and I was sixteen and six and I think I
was like four and zero in the playoffs, so I
won like twenty games over what you know, thirty eight
thirty nine starts. But they made the right call because
(04:16):
the theory with the Dodgers at that time was they'd
rather get somebody, let somebody go two or three years early,
then sign them and have to hold on to that
contract for two or three years where they're not getting production.
So that was the more conservative route as far as
managing the team. But we we as players understood that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
With the Dodgers, I mean you think about it, right,
Garby Lopes Rustling say same thing, right, They let him
go a couple of years before they were at the
end of their careers.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
Yep, so Sernando, Yeah, they're Pedro Guerrero. We think of
a lot of different guys that. Yeah, and that was
you know, because even though we were a big market
and supported by the fan base and drawing almost you know,
always drawn three million fans, it's still Peter O'Malley, Mister O'Malley.
He really managed the team as a family business. It
(05:09):
was their only source of income. They weren't conglomerate, they
weren't didn't have other sources of income, and they were
managing it according to putting a winning product, a good
product on the field every year, but never stretching to
a point where you go, Okay, you know we're going
forward this year, but you know we'll pay for it later.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oral Herscheizer, that's his voice, the bulldog Treasure here in
Los Angeles joining us on Dodger Talk from San Francisco.
One of the memories that flashed through my mind when
we talk oral about the Dodgers and Giants and you
being part of those teams. There was a game in
the mid eighties. I can't remember the year, but certainly
when they show the highlights Mike Marshall rounding the bases
(05:50):
and kind of pointing with his middle finger. How much
do you remember about those flashes, those images of those
type of games.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yeah, I think it was very It got very personal
because you know, we played more times against each other.
They were very competitive. It wasn't like the Giants were
the Juggernaut or the Dodgers were the Juggernaut. It was
always a pretty even competition. So it got personal, and
the personnel on the field stayed a lot the same.
(06:21):
You know, there was always Robbie Thompson, there was always
Matt Williams. You know, there was always all these same
kind of characters and the same thing kind of on
the Dodgers. So I think when you see actions like
that back in old time baseball, it's because it was
so personal at the time. I think there was more
physicality in baseball at the time as far as knockdowns
(06:44):
and paying back, and you have a manager like Tommy
Lasorda that likes to bring that emotion out and people
either your own fans or their own team, or his
own you know, the opposing fans. I mean, I remember
watching him walk in to candle stick from the locker
room down to the third base dugout, and it was
(07:04):
amazing to watch him get booed and he got the fans.
It was. It was fantastic. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I think his last time there, he was blowing kisses
to the fans and candlestick.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yes, And they actually like planned it with the Giants, like, Okay,
when are you going to walk out? Tommy? Okay, we're
gonna play certain music. You know, we're gonna warm them
up with a little Frank Sinatra and you're gonna come out.
Tommy's like, all right, I got this. Oral.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Herscheizer is our guest. All right. Oral. Turning our attention
to these Dodgers. They can they use the All Star
break more than most teams just because of how banged
up they are.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yeah, I think you know there are portions we can
look at the glasses half full, which is their second
best record in baseball, they you know, second most wins.
So the Tigers, the rotation is starting to round into
form and get healthy, and there's more on the horizon.
The guy that are struggling. The backs of their baseball
(08:03):
cards are a lot better than what they're producing right now,
so you have confidence that they're going to come around
and the injuries the guys are going to heal. And
you know, right now Will Smith and Andy pat Has
are probably doing most of the carrying of the offense,
and that has been really tough of late. You know,
they're not hitting with runners and scoring position, but they're
still I think the top team in baseball with hitting
(08:24):
and runners and scoring position, at least in the National League.
So it's been a really rough first half as far
as reaching the potential, But then reach the potential just
it was because of injuries. I don't think it's because
of performance.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, I agree with you orl I mean, everybody just
wants to look at this six game losing streak in
a vacuum, but it feels like a lot of guys
are playing through a lot of stuff. I mean, how
do you explain Freddie Freeman leading Major League Baseball and
batting average and now hitting two hundred the last month.
There's got to be something going on with his ankle, right.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Maybe there's something going on the aches and pains that
keep you from having resps to practice. The aches and
pains keep you from having the perfect mechanics that you want.
We saw, we show it and heard it about Max Munsey,
and then all of a sudden he gets hurt again.
But he's like, finally, my elbow feels free and easy.
And it's one thing to heal, it's another thing to
reprogram your brain to be able to say it's healed
(09:23):
and you can go back to the old swing. So
we saw that with him, and I think we'll get
turnarounds with Mookie. I think we'll get turnarounds with Freddy.
I think we'll get less swing and miss with Otani.
I think a lot of the things that you see
and people can say these are the reasons they're struggling.
I think those will clear up as long as, like
you say, you know, the aches and the pains kind
(09:44):
of go away. And I think the All Star break
is one thing. I think even this day and a
half of the off day in San Francisco is going
to help them a lot. And the change of scenery
and seeing the giants across the field. You're just looking
for a change in brain chemistry, and I think everybody
knows that in every industry and every walk of life,
that your brain and the brain chemistry can make you
(10:06):
feel like I'm a winner and I'm going to have
a good day even no matter what was in the past,
or your thoughts and your attitude can make you feel
like even though I'm winning, I'm scared and things aren't
going to go well, and you just we're going to
turn that around. We got to turn those thoughts around.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Sounds like you're describing when I walk into your booth
before a game, Oral, I just changed the brain chemistry
before the game for you.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
You light up every room that you come into, whether
it's a negative light up or a positive light up.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
I'll take it. I'll take it. Oh my gosh, thanks
a lot for doing this on an off day.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Oral.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
We love you, and you know how much you mean
to the city and how much you mean to Dodger
fans and to those of us that work around you
in the press box. You're always a great guy to
be around and you always bring everybody's spirits up. So
thank you.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Well, it's a it's a it's a pleasure to work there,
and we shouldn't even call it work. It's a it's
a pleasure to bring the entertainment value in baseball, in
the great game, to all these fans. And I feel
like a pretty girl when I walk into Dodders Stadium
because everybody's smiling at me, and I'm like, I'm pretty ugly.
I'm sixty six and old and ugly, and they're still
(11:20):
smiling at me. So it's pretty nice.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Thanks a lot for the time, orrel anytime, but
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