WEBVTT - Orel Hershiser (6-4-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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<v Speaker 2>We're joined right now by one of the all time

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<v Speaker 2>great Dodgers, a man that led the eighty eight Dodgers

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<v Speaker 2>to the World Series, World Series, MVP Sports Illustrated back

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<v Speaker 2>when there was a Sports Illustrated, the eighty eight Sportsman

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<v Speaker 2>of the Year, and of course the nineteen eighty eight

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<v Speaker 2>Cy Young Award winner and still and still the record

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<v Speaker 2>holder of fifty nine consecutive scoreless sinnings, a Major League record,

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<v Speaker 2>which actually is sixty seven because he pitched eight scoreless

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<v Speaker 2>in Game one of the nineteen eighty eight NLCS. And

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<v Speaker 2>that's the one and only Bulldog Oral Herscheizer. Great to

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<v Speaker 2>be with you as always.

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<v Speaker 3>You know what I need to take you on the

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<v Speaker 3>road with me. That's some kind of introduction.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, you deserve it, you accomplished it, and you definitely

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<v Speaker 2>deserve more accolades in your future. But let's just get

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<v Speaker 2>this out of the way right now. Everybody was hounding

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<v Speaker 2>the Bulldog about Christopher Sanchez getting closer to your record.

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<v Speaker 2>Number one. I know how you feel, but how did

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<v Speaker 2>you feel about everybody asking you questions, especially when Philly

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<v Speaker 2>was in La last week.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, you know, it really starts to become news when

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<v Speaker 3>you get that as far out as he did with

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<v Speaker 3>he made it all the way up to fifty innings

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<v Speaker 3>or so. And he's a tremendous young man and great

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<v Speaker 3>picture and an unbelievable change up and a ground ball

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<v Speaker 3>machine and a strikeout machine.

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<v Speaker 1>Also better strikeout picture than I was, for sure.

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<v Speaker 3>But yeah, the interviews started to come, and really it

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<v Speaker 3>was going to be. If he'd have made it through

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<v Speaker 3>the last outing and still been scoreless, I'm sure I

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<v Speaker 3>would have started to get busy with interviews, but the

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<v Speaker 3>interviews are you know, I accomplished something with my teammates.

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<v Speaker 3>That scoreless streak is really a team record.

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<v Speaker 1>You know.

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<v Speaker 3>I wasn't a big time strikeout pittuer. I don't know

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<v Speaker 3>what I averaged per nine innings in it, maybe six

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<v Speaker 3>or seven strikeouts. But you know, somebody had to pick

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<v Speaker 3>up the ground ball and throw it the first somebody

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<v Speaker 3>had to catch the fly ball in the gap. Somebody

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<v Speaker 3>had to turn a double play when all of a

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<v Speaker 3>sudden I had first and third one out. So it's

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<v Speaker 3>a team record. I know it gets attributed to one person,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's definitely a big team record, and when I

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<v Speaker 3>think back to eighty eight and what went on, it

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<v Speaker 3>is more rewarding to think about my teammates and winning

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<v Speaker 3>a World championship than the individual record.

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<v Speaker 2>That's amazing, And I know that's not something we think about,

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<v Speaker 2>but you being a guy that as a group in

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<v Speaker 2>nineteen eighty eight accomplished something special makes a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>sense that you're shining a light not on yourself but

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<v Speaker 2>on your teammates.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you know, Saxy and Moose and Gibbie and Soosh

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<v Speaker 3>and Hatch and Hat should have wanted.

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<v Speaker 1>To paybe the co World Series MVPs.

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<v Speaker 3>He was amazing, you know, Mickey meeting Mickey Mantle and

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<v Speaker 3>hitting home runs after he wasn't a home run hitter,

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<v Speaker 3>So you know, John Shelby, Mike Davis. I can go

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<v Speaker 3>down the whole list of them, you know, but Franklin stubbed.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, those guys, that was quite a year.

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<v Speaker 3>We weren't supposed to win, and we probably shouldn't have won,

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<v Speaker 3>but we rose to the occasion in the key moments.

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<v Speaker 3>So we went to the brink with the Mets in

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<v Speaker 3>Game seven, and we went to the brink. Really, I

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<v Speaker 3>felt like even against the Bash Brothers with Oakland. I

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<v Speaker 3>mean you looked across the field and you saw Bobby Welch,

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<v Speaker 3>and you saw Dave Stewart, and you saw Dave Parker

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<v Speaker 3>and the Bash Brothers with McGuire and Conseco, and it's unbelievable.

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<v Speaker 3>While why said short, fantastic team that we had to beat,

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<v Speaker 3>and we felt like we were the underdog even when

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<v Speaker 3>we were heading that series, and probably even felt like

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<v Speaker 3>an underdog even after we won it.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, one of the two images that will always remember,

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<v Speaker 2>there's actually three in eighty eight you coming off the

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<v Speaker 2>field in San Diego after going extra innings to break

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<v Speaker 2>Don Drysdale's record. The other is you taking a kneel

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<v Speaker 2>on the mound after striking out Howard Johnson in Game

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<v Speaker 2>seven of the eighty eight NLCS, and of course Rick

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<v Speaker 2>Dempsey and the rest of your infield hoisting you up

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<v Speaker 2>in Oakland.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, when you talked about taking the knees like I

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<v Speaker 3>was the first team.

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<v Speaker 1>People have kidded me about that.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, there's a lot of images there, and there's a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of good things that happened. I remember getting tapped

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<v Speaker 3>on the shoulder and say that camera say it, and

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<v Speaker 3>it was I'm going to Disneyland, and then that camera

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<v Speaker 3>say it, I'm going to disney World. And then we

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<v Speaker 3>had to go to Disneyland and Disney World for Truth

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<v Speaker 3>and Advertising. So my kids got this backstage treatment there

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<v Speaker 3>and they never got it the rest of their life,

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<v Speaker 3>just those two visits.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, there was some great images and great

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<v Speaker 1>memories from that year.

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<v Speaker 2>Orrel Hersheiser is our guest. You'll hear them again tonight

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<v Speaker 2>with Joe Davis on Sportsnet LA. And last night I

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<v Speaker 2>thought you just handled everything with so much class, But

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<v Speaker 2>did you feel like you did have to say something

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<v Speaker 2>on your own broadcast last night to acknowledge what Sanchez

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<v Speaker 2>did and just how much attention you were getting.

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<v Speaker 3>Joe brought it up in the first couple innings, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>kind of like a congratulations, and we were going over

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<v Speaker 3>some of the scores around the league and what the

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<v Speaker 3>Padres had done. I was actually pulling for the Padres

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit because Walker Bueher was on the mound

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<v Speaker 3>and all of a sudden, you know, Sanchez gives up

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<v Speaker 3>the run and I think it was one to one

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<v Speaker 3>at that time, and then I think somebody gave up.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know was Walker.

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<v Speaker 3>I haven't checked the box score, but he gave up

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<v Speaker 3>a home run and all of a sudden they got ahead.

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<v Speaker 3>So I, you know, I don't know about handling something

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<v Speaker 3>with class or handling something with your true feelings.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that people the hardest question is are you

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<v Speaker 1>rooting for him? And that's a hard question because a

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<v Speaker 1>record is a record. But you're not.

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<v Speaker 3>Gonna wish Ill Will on somebody. You know, the only

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<v Speaker 3>time I would root against Christopher is when he's playing

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<v Speaker 3>the Dodgers. So when he's playing the Padres and you're

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<v Speaker 3>just watching, you're an observer and you know you're part

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<v Speaker 3>of the equation because you had done something, and Don

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<v Speaker 3>Drysdell had done something, and others had done something. So

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<v Speaker 3>I thought about it as while it pretty much changed

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<v Speaker 3>my life, the World Championship changed my life more than

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<v Speaker 3>the fifty nine scoreless, But why am I going to

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<v Speaker 3>root negatively against somebody that has a chance to change

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<v Speaker 3>their life and do something special? And whether he broke

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<v Speaker 3>it or not, it wasn't going to change my present tense.

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<v Speaker 3>It wasn't going to change my life at all. So

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<v Speaker 3>I had very neutral feelings about what was going on.

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<v Speaker 3>I know that people around me would kind of say

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<v Speaker 3>friends and family, especially doctor Kurjuski. They would kid me

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<v Speaker 3>an awful lot about, oh, he gave up a run,

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<v Speaker 3>and I actually have to be where we're doing this interview.

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<v Speaker 3>It happened to be in this booth and I was

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<v Speaker 3>changing my shirt into the one I was gonna wear

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<v Speaker 3>for the broadcast, and I wasn't even watching the screen,

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<v Speaker 3>but the game happened to be on because it was

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<v Speaker 3>kind of rotating around the league showing highlights, and they

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<v Speaker 3>were having that live, and so Rick Go's base head

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<v Speaker 3>base had it was it Merrill that got the hit.

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<v Speaker 3>Rick's like, well, you're gonna owe him an awful lot

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<v Speaker 3>of dinners. You might want to send him a bottle

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<v Speaker 3>of champagne.

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<v Speaker 1>So he was definitely kidding me about.

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<v Speaker 2>It all right, before I let you go oral herscheizer.

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<v Speaker 2>Last night, you and Joe Davis, along with all of

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<v Speaker 2>us were treated to a spectac game by the most

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<v Speaker 2>spectacular player in baseball history. What was it like for

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<v Speaker 2>you guys to sit back and watch what Otani did

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<v Speaker 2>last night?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it's it's spectacular to know somebody's a two way player.

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<v Speaker 3>It's spectacular to know that they can do it on

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<v Speaker 3>alternating nights, and one night he's a pitcher and another night

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<v Speaker 3>he's a hitter. But to do it all at that

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<v Speaker 3>elite level on the same night is just remarkable to see.

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<v Speaker 3>And we were kind of smelling a no hitter there

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<v Speaker 3>until Moreno snuck that ball down the right field line.

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<v Speaker 1>But what show he has done.

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<v Speaker 3>I think Will Smith capsulized perfectly today in an article

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<v Speaker 3>where he was quoted as saying the best player to

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<v Speaker 3>ever walk the face of the earth. And I think

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<v Speaker 3>we probably are experiencing that. I don't think we're going

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<v Speaker 3>to ever see anything like this in our lifetime and

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<v Speaker 3>maybe my kid's lifetime and maybe grandkids lifetime.

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<v Speaker 1>Who knows. He might be a one of a kind forever.

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<v Speaker 2>Bad news for your old teammate, Rick Dempsey number seventeen.

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<v Speaker 2>It's associated with Otani.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, okay, I'll make sure I mentioned that Rick next

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<v Speaker 3>time I call him.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks a lot for the time, always handling everything with

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<v Speaker 2>class and dignity. Thanks a lot for the time, bulldog,

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<v Speaker 2>Am I allowed to call you that?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>You are all right?

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<v Speaker 2>Another victory here in the booth of sports Net LA