Orel Hershiser arrived in the majors without the hype that follows most future aces. He had been an undersized kid, a 17th-round pick, and even got cut from his high school team. What he did have was a stubborn sense of self-belief and a willingness to rebuild himself from the ground up. The Dodgers helped him reshape his delivery and his confidence, and by the late 1980s he had become the face of their pitching staff.

Hershiser reached his peak in 1988, a season that still feels almost mythical in Dodgers history. He threw 59 consecutive scoreless innings, a record that has survived every offensive era since. He won the Cy Young Award, then outdueled some of the best lineups of the decade in October. His complete game in the National League Championship Series and his dominant work in the World Series helped deliver the Dodgers their first title since the Koufax era. People in Los Angeles still talk about how calm he looked on the mound during those weeks, almost as if the postseason belonged to him.

His influence was not limited to that one season. Hershiser became known as one of the smartest and most prepared pitchers of his time, a player who kept evolving as velocity around him climbed and hitters changed their approach. Later in his career he served as a steadying veteran presence for Cleveland during their mid-1990s resurgence, reaching two more World Series.

Orel Hershiser’s story is one of persistence, reinvention and competitive poise. He went from overlooked prospect to postseason legend and left behind one of the most memorable pitching seasons the game has ever seen.