Dave Roberts ran out of superlatives recently when praising the performance of rookie starting pitcher Gavin Stone, and the transformation he has undergone over the past calendar year.
So, as he extolled Stone at length during a scrum with reporters last week, the Dodgers manager racked his brain for a lofty comparison instead.
“I’m not saying he’s Orel Hershiser,” Roberts cautioned, before evoking the nickname of a club legend to describe its new breakout star. “But he’s a bulldog … It’s a little Orel Hershiser-esque.”
No one will confuse Stone with Hershiser, the original Dodgers “Bulldog,” by appearance.