A Good Sign

A few years ago I attended an awards dinner where Tommy Lasorda was the featured speaker. On the dais next to Lasorda was his friend Rod Dedeaux.

After the festivities, I walked up and asked Lasorda if he could sign a ball I had brought along. He used my Sharpie and placed a beautiful signature right across the sweet spot.

As Lasorda was handing the ball back to me, Dedeaux grabbed it, pulled out his own Sharpie, flipped the ball over and applied his signature.

Well, I couldn’t exactly scream, “No!” It was Rod Dedeaux, after all. But I did feel a pang of disappointment that my ball was “ruined.” However, after giving it some thought I decided I held a rare heirloom indeed: the signatures of two Hall of Famers, on and off the field.

Rest in peace, Tiger.

DAVID H. CROCKER

Long Beach