It’s a question that comes up every once in a while, and with good cause: Is this a real baseball card? It’s also a question that once you know the answer to, you never forget it.

The question came up again on Friday afternoon – this time on Twitter – and it was asked by my friend and colleague Ryan Walton, a freelance writer for Valley Bay News, MLB.com and True Blue LA.

This was indeed a real Orel Hershiser baseball card. It was one of the 1994 Topps Stadium Club collection. (Image courtesy of Topps)

As you might have guessed, there is a story behind this mystery card and, of course, Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda had a part in it.

It was 1993 and Lasorda’s team had gotten off to a dismal start to the new season, during which they were 0-9 on away games played on artificial turf. They did, however, manage to win 13 consecutive games on the natural turf at Dodger Stadium.

“People always say everybody looks lifeless when you’re losing and that’s simply because nobody’s having any fun,”  said Lasorda recalling his team’s early road record that season. “Nobody laughs when you lose because it’s tough. So now we’re winning and winning players have a lot more fun. Winning managers have a lot more fun. Winning owners have a lot more fun … Winning front-office people have a lot more fun. How can you not?”

As the team was preparing to head out on another road trip that would take them to Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh and Busch Stadium in St. Louis – both of which had artificial turf – Dodgers outfielder Cory Snyder suggested that they buy some sod when they arrived at these ballparks to remind them of the success they enjoyed on the real turf at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers 1988 World Series hero Orel Hershiser thought that this was a great idea and when the team arrived in Pittsburgh, he asked their visiting clubhouse attendant to run out and buy several half-yard strips of sod. When it arrived, Hershiser and the clubbie placed it on the dugout floor and in the bullpen prior to the May 28 contest against the Pirates. During the game, each player would walk on the real turf and set their gloves on it while they batted.

Sure enough, the Dodgers won the game by a score of 7-2 but were faced with a new dilemma – how to care for the sod for the next game.

“We were getting it some water,” said Hershiser after the game. “We figure that by tomorrow, it’s going to need some sunlight, so that’ll work out fine since it’s a day game.”

Not only did the Dodgers also win that second game, they went 4-2 on the road trip.

The sod silliness generated a new team motto – “In Sod We Trust”, along with several Hollywood parodies like “The Sod Squad”, “West Sod Story” and “Oh Sod!” It also captured the attention of an unidentified photographer who happened to catch Hershiser and the Pirates clubbie placing the sod in the Dodgers dugout – hence the mysterious Topps Stadium Club baseball card.

And now you know – the rest of the story.

Good Day.