I’ve written a bit about my Dodgers fandom on this blog. Last night, I watched from afar (thank you, streaming services) as Clayton Kershaw notched his 3,000th strikeout, becoming the 20th pitcher to ever do it (and only the 3rd pitcher to rack up 3K strikeout for one team).

He’s definitely my favorite active player on the Dodgers (we even got to see him deal when we went to game 1 of the 2017 World Series). But it got me thinking: who is my absolute favorite player of all time?

There’s only one answer, and it goes back as far as I can ever remember: Orel Hershiser.

So much so, that when I was a wee little lad, I would write him actual letters and send them to Dodgers Stadium via the post office. I have no idea what I said. Probably something in an 8-year-old’s hand writing that said, “Dear Mr. Hershiser, you are my favorite baseball player and I’m going to be just like you when I grow up and blah blah blah.”

I remember writing him numerous times. One thing I do know: I never asked for anything*. Never for tickets to a game. Never for an autograph. Then, one day, we received a letter in a big envelope from Dodger Stadium. Do you know what it contained?

Are you kidding me?! Looking at that photo you can see it’s definitely been through some stuff over the years. Pre-teen and teen version of me probably just stuffed it in some folder that got lost in my room, stepped on, and whatever else. Anyway, I ultimately framed it and still have it today!

All of this brings me to the title of this post: “SCHUMAKER 55”. For reference, Hershiser wore number 55 throughout his career.

So, as a kid, I would play baseball in our backyard, pretending to pitch and throw tennis balls at the garage, where I had drawn a small “strike zone” in chalk.

(Side note: hey, I won a school wide pitching competition in 5th grade — maybe this pretend play helped!)

All the while, I would wear this homemade uniform in honor of him, where I had written “Dodgers” in blue marker on the front and “SCHUMAKER 55” on the back. I wish I had pictures. It was probably cheesy.

So, imagine my shock, surprise, and delight when the Dodgers acquired Skip Schumaker in 2012. And do you know what number he wore? Do you! Guess!

You know, I don’t have many regrets in life. But I definitely regret never getting an actual jersey!

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^* Regarding the never asking for anything comment:

So, I do remember asking for one thing. My mom was going to take me to a baseball game in August of 1992 (more on that in a bit). I think I wrote months ahead of time how I was going to my first baseball game with my mom and I hoped he would pitch.

So, we went and BY SOME COINCIDENCE, HE DID! HE PITCHED THE GAME!

Over time, the memories of that game faded away and I wished I could remember what game we actually went to.

Talking to my mom, we remembered three ultra specific things: An afternoon game. Orel Hershiser started. Darryl Strawberry hit a home run.

Thanks to the wonders of Baseball Reference, that is literally all you need to find something. The game my mom and I went to? Wednesday, August 21st, 1992.

When Darryl Strawberry went up to bat with the bases loaded in the fifth inning of the Dodgers’ 9-5 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, coach Bill Russell nudged someone in the Dodgers’ dugout.

“If I’m the pitcher, I’d intentionally walk him,” Russell said. “Give up one run instead of four.”

If only the San Diego Padres’ Ricky Bones had been listening. Three pitches later, Strawberry hit one over the left-center-field fence for a grand slam.

[…]

But before 32,864 on a warm afternoon, Strawberry did more than pad his statistics. He did more than help Orel Hershiser run his record to 5-2 in 5 2/3 innings of pain-free work.

What Strawberry did was restore flickering Dodger spirits. For the first time in weeks, the Dodgers actually looked as if they were having fun.

Ultimately, Darryl Strawberry hit two home runs (one of which was a grand slam)! Talk about an exciting and fun game.