Dodger Legends Discuss Greatness Of Orel Hershiser (Video)

If there’s one thing you could say about the Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s that they believe in the tradition of honoring their great history. The Dodgers have accomplished plenty as a franchise and included in their rich history is a long list of legends.

One of the all-time greats to wear a Dodger uniform is Orel Hershiser, who turned 56 years old Tuesday. Hershiser pitched in the Majors for 18 seasons and did it all. In the 1988 season, which was the last time the Dodgers won a World Series, he compiled a list of accolades that compares with any from a pitcher.

That season, Hershiser won the Cy Young Award, a Gold Glove, and was named the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP.

In the postseason, the right-hander had a 1.07 ERA in six starts. Three of the starts were complete games and he allowed a combined five earned runs in 42.2 postseason innings pitched. When Hershiser first began his career, manager Tommy Lasorda stated that he was a negative pitcher and that he was always down on himself.

One day, Lasorda put him aside and told him two things: from now on, you will no longer be a negative pitcher, and that Lasorda did not like his first name. He followed that statement by saying that he is going to call the right-handed pitcher “The Bulldog” from that point on and he wanted Hershiser to act like one.

To add to Hershiser’s career list of accomplishments, he also won the 1993 Silver Slugger award and the 1995 ALCS MVP, but what he is most known for is his scoreless innings streak. In the 1988 season, Hershiser posted a 59-inning scoreless streak, which is a record that still stands; he passed Dodger legend Don Drysdale, who had the previous record of 58 innings.

Dodgers Nation would like to wish Orel “The Bulldog” Hershiser a happy 56th birthday!