March 14, 2025 by jake

The designated hitter has been a staple of the American League since 1973. Pitchers in the National League were still required to bat, and usually in the ninth spot, until 2022. Since 1986, the World Series has followed the rules of the designated home team’s league. It’s no surprise the designated hitter rule had finally become the standard. Most pitchers were easy outs. Sure, there were occasional big hit moments, but by and large, the pitcher coming up to bat was a joke. In 1993 one pitcher defied the standard.

Orel Leonard Hershiser IV was born September 16, 1958 and played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues from 1983 to 2000. He is currently 66 years old. He was a 3 time All Star, a World Series winner (1988), a NL Cy Young winner (1988), a 2 time LCS MVP (1988, 1995), a World Series MVP (1988), he won the Gold Glove in 1988 and even won the Silver Slugger in 1993.

Of his 18 seasons, 1988 was Hershiser’s best season by far. He started 34 games, completing 15 of them, 8 of which were shutouts. In his 267 innings pitched, Hershiser had 178 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.26.

While not a flamethrower, Hershiser was a strategic pitcher, which gained him 23 wins that season. This style of pitching also led to Hershiser obtaining the record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched with 59. He also won the Gold Glove. The Dodgers made the playoffs, and Hershiser won his first NL Championship MVP Award (the second was 1995) after pitching starting in three games against the New York Mets, shutting them out in Game 7. Oh, and for good measure, he got a save in Game 4.

The Dodgers won the World Series ring 1988 after beating the Athletics 4 games to 1. Most people remember that timeless pinch-hit walk-off homerun by a hobbled Kirk Gibson in Game One of that series, but it was World Series MVP Oral Hershiser who really secured the ring. In Game two he allowed only three singles, all by Dave Parker, shutting out the A’s. He also was the first pitcher to get three hits in a World Series game since 1924, and the first pitcher to record a World Series RBI since 1983. So, the dude could hit!

He capped off the World Series in Game Five, by pitching a complete game, allowing only four hits, two runs, and striking out nine.

1988 was a great year for Hershiser and led to him becoming the only player to receive the Cy Young Award, the Championship Series MVP Award, and the World Series MVP Award in the same season.

Enough about his great 1988 season, I’m here to talk about 1993, and not because of his pitching. In fact, 1993 was a mediocre year for Hershiser. He started 33 games, completed 5 of those with one shutout. He pitched 215 innings with 141 strikeouts and a pretty pedestrian 3.59 ERA. He went 12-14. But what really caught my attention was his hitting stats. Remember I mentioned that 3 hit game in the 1988 World Series? It was important because in 1993 he won a Silver Slugger Award. In 73 AB he had 26 hits for a .356 avg. He had 11 runs, 4 doubles and 6 RBI’s. He really had a great hitting season for someone who only appeared in 34 games. Sure, he was no Shohei, no one is, but in a time when the 9^th batter was almost always a pitcher, and the likelihood of an out, or possibly a bunt was very high, Hershiser defined the odds-at least in 1993. For his career his batting average is .201.

Hershiser retired in 2000 but continued to be involved in baseball in many ways. He’s been a consultant, a special assistant, a pitching coach, and executive and a television analyst. He finished his career with a 204-150 win-loss record, 3.48 career ERA and 2,014 career strikeouts.

“Go after the hitter, I said. Quit being so careful. Get ahead of the count. Even the good hitters are going to fail 70 percent of the time. You got what it takes to get anybody out. What I saw in Orel over the next twelve years was a baseball player with a tenacious will to learn, to grow, and to improve. I saw an outstanding young man who was a hard worker – aggressive, even daring, on the mound. Not only did I get what I asked for, I got more. Without a doubt, Orel Hershiser is one of the smartest baseball players I’ve ever managed.”- Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda in Between the Lines: Nine Things Baseball Taught Me About Life (Orel Hershiser, Faithwords, 07/01/2002, Foreword)