Speaker 1: And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: We're join right now by a man that knows all
Speaker 2: about the Dodger Giants rivalry, the nineteen eighty eight SI
Speaker 2: Young Award winner World Series MVP, the only man in
Speaker 2: baseball history to be awarded the NLCSMVP and ALCSMVP, and
Speaker 2: one of those few Dodgers that did wear the orange
Speaker 2: and black for a short time. That's the one and
Speaker 2: only Oral Herscheizer Bulldog. Thanks a lot for the time.
Speaker 2: Great to be in San Francisco with you.
Speaker 1: It's amazing and you saying that I was on both
Speaker 1: sides of this equation. My current business partner, Eddie Alizade,
Speaker 1: had a poster of me in his bedroom, and when
Speaker 1: I became a Giant, he tore it down and ripped
Speaker 1: it up. But I'm still friends with him and still
Speaker 1: business partners.
Speaker 2: What was the reception here when you did come to
Speaker 2: the Giants late in your career.
Speaker 1: Although there were reasons that I chose the Mets, the
Speaker 1: Giants and the Cleveland Indians at the time now the Guardians,
Speaker 1: but chose because I wanted to be a better baseball
Speaker 1: person when I retired and I wanted to experience American
Speaker 1: League baseball, and they were a team that was scoring
Speaker 1: about seven runs a game, and I'm like, I think
Speaker 1: I can pitch that well, so I could win some
Speaker 1: games over there. Then I chose the Mets because I
Speaker 1: thought the New York met fans would hold me accountable.
Speaker 1: Because of the city of New York. I wanted everything
Speaker 1: we did against them in eighty eight, and I wanted
Speaker 1: to live in New York. I think it's one of
Speaker 1: the greatest cities in the world, and I wanted my
Speaker 1: kids and family to be exposed to that. I chose
Speaker 1: San Francisco for the same reason, another great city in
Speaker 1: the United States. I knew the fans would hold me accountable.
Speaker 1: They had a chance. We lost in Game one, sixty
Speaker 1: three to the Cubs that year, and the Mets we
Speaker 1: made it to the playoffs. The Indians. We were in
Speaker 1: the playoffs all three years I was there, ninety five,
Speaker 1: ninety six to ninety seven, So it was about winning
Speaker 1: and getting in the right experience and having a fan
Speaker 1: base that would hold me accountable. And my body gave
Speaker 1: out before I turned forty two that I could not
Speaker 1: continue to pitch, and my last stop was going to
Speaker 1: be the Chicago Cubs, live in a brownstone and work wow.
Speaker 1: But it didn't work out. But not all free agents
Speaker 1: picked places just because they get paid a lot or
Speaker 1: just I actually had a plan for my life in
Speaker 1: that part, and it wasn't about the money at all.
Speaker 2: What about the post playing equation. You were a coach,
Speaker 2: you were a part of a front office. Did you
Speaker 2: want to experience what it was like and how it
Speaker 2: was done in other organizations. Yeah.
Speaker 1: When I was a player, early on, I noticed what
Speaker 1: was going on with people in the front office, in management,
Speaker 1: in broad with broadcasters, and really was always a one
Speaker 1: way street. When you left the field, you weren't really
Speaker 1: allowed to come back. But then there were executives and
Speaker 1: managers that started to go to broadcasting and they were
Speaker 1: able to come back to managing. There were executives that
Speaker 1: went to broadcasting and went back to being a general manager,
Speaker 1: so all of a sudden it became a two way street.
Speaker 1: So I felt like I need to have a full
Speaker 1: education of baseball, and the only part of baseball that
Speaker 1: I hadn't experienced was the front office. So the first
Speaker 1: thing I did was when I signed with the Cleveland Indians,
Speaker 1: back then as far as an executive, it was associate
Speaker 1: general manager like we see Chase Sutley doing and other guys.
Speaker 1: So I wanted to learn the front office and what
Speaker 1: was going on from naming rights and uniform designs and
Speaker 1: scheduling and free agent signings and scouting. I wanted to
Speaker 1: be involved in all those meetings. So when I went
Speaker 1: to John Hart, who was the executive there, I said, John,
Speaker 1: all I want. I'm not worried about salary. I'm not
Speaker 1: worried about how much I work. All I want is
Speaker 1: to be able to be in any meeting possible. I
Speaker 1: want to be in all meetings and not get kicked
Speaker 1: out because I just want the education. And so I
Speaker 1: did that for a while, and then I became the
Speaker 1: Texas Ranger pitching coach because we fired our pitching coach,
Speaker 1: and I told them that the only way I'll become
Speaker 1: the pitching coach is if you still let me in
Speaker 1: any meeting so that I can continue to learn. So
Speaker 1: it was a baseball education that I was after, and
Speaker 1: you know, it led me to ESPN, it led me
Speaker 1: to the Dodgers, and I'm I'm just glad when I
Speaker 1: look out on the field that I know how the
Speaker 1: whole industry works.
Speaker 2: Speaking of ESPN oral hersha As. It was part of
Speaker 2: a very special Jackie Robinson broadcast last week with Joe
Speaker 2: Buck and Ron Darling. What was that experience like working
Speaker 2: with Joe Buck for the first time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, Joe's going into the Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: and it's kind of about time. Ron Darling has always
Speaker 1: been a guy that I've never turned the volume down
Speaker 1: on my TV. I want to hear what he has
Speaker 1: to say. I learned from Ron all the time, so
Speaker 1: I was excited to be in that booth. I was
Speaker 1: even more excited that it was Jackie Robinson Day. And
Speaker 1: it was hard to say this on the air during
Speaker 1: the game because baseball is a joyous occasion. It's a
Speaker 1: distraction for people to watch and enjoy and come home
Speaker 1: from work and see it. But the thing I wanted
Speaker 1: people to remember about Jackie Robinson Day was all the
Speaker 1: hard things that he went through and how he handled
Speaker 1: it so well, and how Rachel handled it so well,
Speaker 1: and some of his teammates handled it so well, so
Speaker 1: that you know, we don't we celebrate him and we
Speaker 1: remember him, and we've retired the number and they get
Speaker 1: to wear it all on that day. But the work
Speaker 1: and the pain and the suffering that he went through,
Speaker 1: it's hard to tell people about that. That that respect
Speaker 1: and that level of admiration that we should have for
Speaker 1: this man that paid, you know, not the ultimate price,
Speaker 1: but I would say he probably died early because of
Speaker 1: all that stress that he went through and the family
Speaker 1: went through. So being a Dodger, being part of Jackie
Speaker 1: Robinson Day on the ESPN broadcast, it was an honor.
Speaker 1: But the thing that I can say in this pregame
Speaker 1: show to you and to all everybody out there, is
Speaker 1: that we need to remember Jackie for the price that
Speaker 1: he paid and all the work that he put in.
Speaker 2: Well said, And how about this Jackie Robinson, the ultimate dodger.
Speaker 2: When he was treated to the Giants, he decided to
Speaker 2: retire rather than play for the Giants.
Speaker 1: Oh now you really put me in a bad foot.
Speaker 2: I should have never Why didn't you retire? Oh?
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I should have never went to Peter
Speaker 1: McGowan's house for dinner and got convinced to be a giant.
Speaker 1: But you know what, San Francisco is a great place.
Speaker 1: It's a great organization. I know they've been on some
Speaker 1: dry times. But I love the fact that we have
Speaker 1: a rivalry, the Northern and Southern California rivalry, and it
Speaker 1: will be good for the Dodgers and good for the
Speaker 1: nationallygue West, and good for baseball as the Giants get better,
Speaker 1: because we want that intense brotherly love, kind of brotherly hate,
Speaker 1: brotherly everything. I say that at some time there used
Speaker 1: to be this brother this brother relationship used to be
Speaker 1: more physical, let's say, And now it's just kind of
Speaker 1: you go over to your brother's room, you knock on
Speaker 1: the door and say, turn the music down.
Speaker 2: What an analogy. That's a good one.
Speaker 1: You used to fight your brother. Now in this generation,
Speaker 1: we just ask them to turn the music down.
Speaker 2: Before I let you go. So many images that flash
Speaker 2: through my mind when you talk about Dodgers, Giants and
Speaker 2: your teams at Candlestick Park. What was it like for
Speaker 2: you to pitch at that ballpark? Because it feels like
Speaker 2: the Dodgers and Giants in this beautiful ballpark they built
Speaker 2: here are living a way better life than you guys did. Well.
Speaker 1: I loved Candlestick Park because I loved playing the wind.
Speaker 1: It was another element where you could win the game,
Speaker 1: and so if the wind was off my left cheek,
Speaker 1: there were other certain pitches that would do certain things.
Speaker 1: If it was off my right cheek, there were certain
Speaker 1: pitches that would do certain things. I would rather throw
Speaker 1: a hanging curveball and have Matt Williams hit it into
Speaker 1: the wind than to throw my best pitch ever low
Speaker 1: and away and now he hits it to right center
Speaker 1: where the wind was gusting out. I always followed the
Speaker 1: hot dog wrappers. I always talked to my infielders and
Speaker 1: outfielders about the wind, and I always looked at that
Speaker 1: place as a place that even though it was cold
Speaker 1: and it was rainy sometimes and it was you know, windy,
Speaker 1: those elements made it a next level for somebody who
Speaker 1: wanted to think on how to win the game, and
Speaker 1: those kind of elements.
Speaker 2: That's amazing. I've never heard any pitcher say those things
Speaker 2: to their strategy. As far as the wind coming on
Speaker 2: one side of your face to the other, that's just
Speaker 2: who oral herscheizer was.
Speaker 1: Well, if it's coming off my right cheek, it would
Speaker 1: accentuate my curveball and make the break bigger. And if
Speaker 1: it was coming off my right check with my sinker,
Speaker 1: it would make it go more straight down, and it
Speaker 1: was coming off my left cheek. It would make my
Speaker 1: sinker flatter because it wouldn't have any wind to bite against.
Speaker 1: But it would also then make my curve ball go
Speaker 1: more straight down, so it would change the pattern of
Speaker 1: the pitches. And in doing that, then you apply that
Speaker 1: to the hitter. Then you apply that to the wind
Speaker 1: direction in the outfield. And what field do I want
Speaker 1: him to hit it to the left side of the
Speaker 1: right side, and you got a better chance of getting
Speaker 1: them out?
Speaker 2: All right, Here's the one question every Dodger fan wants
Speaker 2: to know. What was it like facing Will Clark? Was
Speaker 2: he a tough guy for you to face?
Speaker 1: He was, But that's where I loved using the wind.
Speaker 1: They were a tougher team to pitch to in Dodger
Speaker 1: Stadium because they had some great hitters that could spray
Speaker 1: the ball over the field. Like Will, he could pull
Speaker 1: the ball for power, he could go the opposite field
Speaker 1: of power. But when you're in Candlestick and the wind's blowing,
Speaker 1: I forced him to hit it into the wind.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no doubt. Thanks a lot for the time
Speaker 2: and man orl Hers Scheizer and David Vassey in San Francisco.
Speaker 2: I never would have thought that when I was ten
Speaker 2: years old, but certainly a treat always to share you
Speaker 2: with everybody ORL and you know how much you mean
Speaker 2: to all of us in Los Angeles and to this franchise,
Speaker 2: and you're a treasure.
Speaker 1: This is so much fun to continue to live my
Speaker 1: dream and to be this close. The only frustration for
Speaker 1: me is that the arm and the body wore out.
Speaker 1: I wish I could go out there. It's not even
Speaker 1: close about the salaries, but these facilities and all the
Speaker 1: things that they get to walk onto this field. It's
Speaker 1: like walking on heaven on earth if you love baseball.
Speaker 2: No doubt. And Oral h Herscheiser will be on the
Speaker 2: call tonight with Joe Davis on Sports Net LA. Thanks ORL,
Speaker 2: you got it, David,