Scioscia May Face Lineup Changes

A bench coach? When the Dodgers won the 1981 World Series championship, Tommy Lasorda had a bench full of coaches.

“Players were managing right along with Tommy on the bench,� Jerry Reuss said Thursday. “They looked down at some move he was doing and [would] say, ‘What’s he doing now?’

“I was second-guessing just like everyone else.�

Little wonder, then, that those Dodgers bred future managers like few other teams in major league history. With the Angels hiring Mike Scioscia and the Milwaukee Brewers hiring Davey Lopes this fall, and with Dusty Baker leading the San Francisco Giants and Bill Russell formerly managing the Dodgers, four of the eight position players on that championship club are or were major league managers.

“That was a good group of guys,� Reuss said. “I really thought it was something special. How special it was wasn’t truly realized until 20 years later, when you look at where the players are today.�

Look beyond the managers. Dave Stewart is the assistant general manager with the Toronto Blue Jays. Reggie Smith, whom Stewart thought might be the first manager from that group, has coached, as have Burt Hooton, Ron Roenicke, even Mike Marshall and Pedro Guerrero. Reuss, Rick Monday and Steve Sax have landed in broadcast booths.

“I was very fortunate to come up into that clubhouse and that environment,� said Scioscia, who made his major league debut in 1980. “It was always about winning.�

And, if the Dodgers hadn’t won, there would be no stampede to hire their alumni. The Dodgers won division titles seven times in 15 years, starting with a 1974 World Series loss to Oakland and ending with the Kirk Gibson-inspired victory over Oakland in 1988.

Said Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman: “I wanted somebody who was a winner and who knew about winning.�

Lasorda gets some, but not all, of the credit for spawning this generation of managers.

“Yes, Tommy was conducting the band, but where Tommy really succeeded was with the players that were not playing every day,� Monday said. “Tommy excelled at motivating them.�

And the regulars, the group that included Lopes and Russell, Baker and Scioscia?

“We were always talking baseball,� Scioscia said. “That was an essential part of your daily routine. It was a relaxed clubhouse. Sure, some guys you didn’t get along with, but you were always there to win.�

The players didn’t just want to know what Lasorda did, they wanted to know why. They came early and stayed late, talking baseball.

“I think the guys drove themselves,� Monday said. “I think a lot of the success those players have had was because they were thinking about the next game, the next month, the next year, maybe even their next career.�

And the bonds that developed then, the comfort to speak freely among those you know well, were forged by years of brotherhood and success, not only in Los Angeles but also in the minor leagues.

“The Dodgers were very unique. They could keep players like that together,� Russell said. “They drafted most of them, so they came through the organization. Nowadays, they probably couldn’t afford that.

“It was a unique team that probably won’t ever happen again.�

These were the days, remember, when “The Dodger Way to Play Baseball� was not a punch line but an actual book sold at Dodger Stadium souvenir stands.

“That’s more of an organizational thing, not just Tommy,� Stewart said. “For most of us, we started through the minor league system. It was learning the fundamentals, playing the fundamentals, believing in what you’re doing.

“More than anything, we bought into the history and tradition of Dodger baseball. We bought into the tradition of the Dodger organization.�

The Angels appear to have bought into the Dodger tradition more than the Dodgers these days, with Scioscia expected to hire Roenicke, Alfredo Griffin and Mickey Hatcher as coaches. While former Atlanta and Baltimore hero Davey Johnson manages the Dodgers, Russell is coaching in Tampa Bay, Lopes is in Milwaukee, Baker is in San Francisco. . . .

“Who would have ever thought,� Reuss said, “that Dusty would manage the Giants? The Dodgers aren’t the Dodgers anymore.�

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Look at Mike Scioscia’s Career

1976: Selected in first round of draft by Dodgers

1980: Made major league debut against Astros; doubled in first at-bat

1981: Hit home run in National League championship series against Expos; Dodgers beat Yankees in World Series

1985: Became Dodgers’ regular catcher after platooning since 1980 with Steve Yeager and hit. 296, a career high

1988: Hit a ninth-inning, game-tying home run off Dwight Gooden in National League championship series against Mets; Dodgers beat A’s in World Series

1989: Made National League All-Star team

1990: Started at catcher for National League All-Star team, first Dodger to do so since Hall of Famer Roy Campanella in 1954

1994: Retires as player, with 68 home runs and .259 average; Dodgers’ all-time leader in games caught with 1,395

1995-96: Serves as minor league catching coordinator for Dodgers; Bill Russell succeeds Tommy Lasorda as Dodger manager

1997-98: Serves as bench coach for Dodgers; Glenn Hoffman and then Davey Johnson selected as Dodger manager

1999: Manages Dodgers’ Triple-A Albuquerque affiliate; resigns after season

Los Angeles Times