Michael Lorri Scioscia is the youngest of Fred and Florence Scioscia's three children. Fred ran a beer distributorship and Florence was a teacher while raising Mike, older brother Fred and older sister Gail in Morton, Pa. Young Mike could appreciate his parents' work ethic and it has stuck with him. But before he would put into use in his professional career, Mike was just one of the kids in the neighborhood, looking to have some fun. And in his neighborhood, playing sports was it.

"I remember playing sports my whole life," Scioscia said. "One of my first memories is running around playing with friends and playing ball when I was 3 or 4 years old. We played ice hockey, baseball, football and basketball. Everything was seasonal back east."

Athletic success ran in Scioscia's family. Older brother Fred went on to play semi-pro football. Scioscia played football, basketball and baseball at Springfield High. He was named Delaware County player of the year in baseball in both 1975 and 1976, but his goal at the time had to do with football. As a guard on the offensive line in high school, Scioscia hoped to play football at Penn State for legendary coach Joe Paterno.

"A recruiter said I was too small and too slow for guys at that level," Scioscia said.

However, Scioscia did receive an offer to play both football and baseball and the University of Delaware. He also got a full-ride scholarship offer to play baseball at Clemson University, and that seemed to be Scioscia's destination. There was also the option of playing professional baseball. Scioscia was drafted in the first round, the 19th pick overall, in the June, 1976 Major League draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"My mom taught school for 30 years, so she supported going to Clemson," Scioscia said. "My dad said it might be my only opportunity to play pro ball. They were split and so it was up to me."

A month after the baseball draft, Scioscia had not made up his mind, but he was leaning towards going to Clemson. It was July of 1976, and the 17-year-old Scioscia was at home when the phone rang.

"I was two weeks away from going (to Clemson)," Scioscia remembered. "The Dodgers were in town to play the Phillies and I got a call from Tom Lasorda. He was the third-base coach at the time and he invited me to work out at the stadium before one of the games. He said someone would be at my home in an hour to pick me up. I grabbed my spikes and glove and left a note for my parents telling them where I was. I could just imagine my mom reading that note."

The next day, Scioscia was on an airplane to Bellingham, Wash. to begin his professional career with the Dodgers' Rookie League team.

"My mom made sure it was in my contract that the Dodgers would pay for college," Scioscia said.

Scioscia did go to college in the off season following the 1976, '77 and '78 seasons, but he played winter ball in the Dominican Republic in 1979 and '80, which put his academic career on hold. Meanwhile, his baseball career was about to blossom.

PLAY BALL

Scioscia ascended through the Dodgers' minor league system rapidly. He was still only 17 when he played Rookie ball in Bellingham, Wash. in the summer of '76, hitting .278 in 46 games. In 1977, he attended his first major league spring training, reporting to Vero Beach, Fla. at the ripe old age of 18.

"That first spring training was incredible," Scioscia said. "You start to put faces to names. Before then these guys were all mythological to me. Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, John Roseboro. I was trading their baseball cards eight months ago, and now I'm in the middle of it."

That first spring would have a lasting effect on Scioscia.

"I took a little part of a lot of people," Scioscia said. "Roy Campanella, Del Crandall and John Roseboro were big influences on me at an early age. Not just giving me a foundation for being a catcher, but what it takes to win."

And there was Lasorda, then the Dodgers manager and head cheerleader.

"Tommy magnified it with communication," Scioscia said. "He'd get a guy to compete at a level higher than that guy thought he could. And he made guys love to work hard. Tommy had a tremendous passion for the game and was a great instructor. He gave you the confidence you could be better. He was a tireless worker with endless enthusiasm."

Scioscia played Class-A ball in Clinton, Iowa, in 1977, then played Class-AA ball in San Antonio, Texas in 1978. His breakout year came in 1979, when Scioscia played at Class-AAA Albuquerque. He played in 143 games, hit .336 with 34 doubles and 68 RBIs. He hit only three home runs, but homers were never Scioscia's forte. Except when it meant a trip to the World Series.

Scioscia spent some of the 1980 season in Albuquerque, but he also made his major league debut that season. On April 20, 1980, Scioscia was the starting catcher for pitcher Don Sutton. Scioscia doubled in his first major league at-bat, off Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro. Scioscia also remembers scoring the first run of the game that day on a wild pitch. Not bad for someone who was too slow to play on the offensive line at Penn State.

Scioscia reached the big leagues for good in 1981, but still split time with veteran catcher Steve Yeager. Even though Scioscia was still only 22 years old, he was behind the plate most of the time when the Dodgers' newest phenom Fernando Valenzuela was on the mound. Fernando, who was said to be just 20 at the time, spawned "Fernandomania," which took on a life of its own. Fernando began the season with eight consecutive victories. He finished the season with a 13-7 record and a 2.48 ERA and had a league-leading eight shutouts. But Fernando was more than his numbers.

"The whole experience was a bunch of things coming together at the right time," Scioscia said. "He was an incredible talent and he was pitching in a city that was just waiting for someone like him to come out of Mexico. It was exciting for all of Southern California, not just the Mexican community. I was just 22 and he was 20 ... it was a unique experience."

That 1981 season was more than just Fernando. It was a Dodger team that was nearing a transition phase, but still had their core group of players like Yeager, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Dusty Baker. It was a team that failed to win the World Series in matchups against the Yankees in 1977 and '78, but in 1981 it broke through with a World Series victory over those same Yankees. Yeager, Cey and Pedro Guerrero were named co-MVPs of the Series.

"The '81 team was the best team I ever played on," Scioscia says.

Scioscia took over the primary catching duties in 1982, but he tore the rotator cuff in his right shoulder in 1983 and played in only 12 games, watching as the Dodgers reached the playoffs before being eliminated by his hometown Philadelphia Phillies.

Scioscia returned to play the 1984 season, and in 1985 the Dodgers were back in the playoffs. They lost in the National League playoffs to the St. Louis Cardinals, but these Dodgers had represented the organization's next stage.

"The '85 team was a different team, a younger team," Scioscia said. "It was a transition team, a different team from the teams of the '70's. It wasn't Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey anymore. It was Greg Brock, Mike Marshall, Fernando, Steve Sax and Bobby Welch. Orel Hershiser pitched for us that year. The team was a product of the Dodger farm system. It had carried over."

The Dodgers had a playoff drought in 1986 and '87, but found magic in 1988. They were sparked by Orel Hershiser's incredible performance throughout the regular season and the playoffs, and got one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history from Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the World Series against the Oakland A's.

But if not for an earlier home run by Scioscia, Gibson's homer might not have ever occurred. Scioscia's ninth-inning home run off Dwight "Doc" Gooden in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series helped lift the Dodgers to the National League pennant over the heavily-favored New York Mets. That victory gave Gibson and Hershiser the opportunity for their World Series heroics, and the Dodgers had their second World Series championship of the decade.

That season, Hershiser put together one of the most impressive seasons by a pitcher in major league history. He won 23 games, broke the major league record for consecutive scoreless innings (59), and Scioscia was with him every step of the way.

Scioscia, however, was not there when Hershiser recorded the final out against the A's to win the World Series. Instead, it was backup catcher Rick Dempsey who was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, lifting a triumphant Hershiser into the air. One game earlier, Scioscia hurt his knee trying to break up a double play at second base. He didn't play in the deciding Game 5.

"Not having him catch the last game of the World Series was devastating to me," Hershiser said. "I love Rick Dempsey, but I know every time Mike sees the cover he thinks it should have been him. He was hustling from first to second got hurt. It was crushing."

Scioscia got over it. He was named to the National League All-Star team in both 1989 and '90. He played for the Dodgers in 1991 and '92, but after years of getting beat up behind the plate, his playing career was nearing an end. Scioscia tried to continue his career with both the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers in 1993 and '94, but another rotator cuff injury in the spring of 1993 was too much to overcome and his playing career was finished.

"It was definitely a transition, but one thing that made it easier was playing that long and giving myself every opportunity."

INTO THE DUGOUT

Though his body would not cooperate and allow him to continue his playing career, Scioscia's mind held a wealth of information that made him a natural for a coaching career. And there was no better way for him to pay back all that he learned in the Dodger organization than to pass it on to future Dodger stars. When it became evident that his playing career was nearing an end, Scioscia began thinking about a coaching career.

Scioscia rejoined the Dodgers in 1995 as the organization's minor league catching coordinator and held that job through the 1996 season. He joined Dodger manager Bill Russell's staff in 1997 and the club's bench coach, and after the season got his first managerial experience, managing the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League.

He returned as the Dodgers' bench coach in 1998, but the Dodgers were about make big changes and Scioscia would not be a part of it. When Rupert Murdoch and his Fox Group's purchase of the Dodgers from the O'Malley family became official in 1998, change took place quickly.

Manager Bill Russell and general manager Fred Claire were fired in June of 1998 and replaced on an interim basis by Glenn Hoffman and Lasorda, respectively. After the season, Scioscia watched as the club hired Kevin Malone to be the club's general manager. But Malone never considered Scioscia as the club's next manager, deciding to go outside the organization and hiring Davey Johnson. It was then that Scioscia knew he had to make some decisions of his own.

"That's when I knew I needed to take steps in order to become a major league manager," Scioscia said.

Scioscia was given the job as the club's manager at Class-AAA Albuquerque, but it would be his final year with the organization. Immediately after the season, Scioscia met with Malone.

"I was wondering where the organization was going, if they could give me an idea," Scioscia said. "He said there was so many things in transition that they weren't clear. I thought the best thing for me was to get out early and give myself the opportunity to look for some spots."

Just like that, Scioscia was an ex-Dodger in every sense of the word. He had previously turned down opportunities to interview for managerial openings with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Chicago White Sox, but there would be another opportunity yet to come.

Scioscia had talked to Bill Bavasi before Bavasi resigned as the Angels' general manager late in 1999. But once Bavasi was gone, Scioscia could only sit and wait to see who would become the next general manager of the Angels.

At the time, former Yankees GM Bob Watson appeared to be the frontrunner, and he was expected to hire one of his former teammates with the Yankees, either Willie Randolph of Chris Chambliss. But Angels president Tony Tavares surprised everybody with his hiring of Bill Stoneman, who had been with the Montreal Expos and was known more for his financial wizardry than running a baseball team.

Once Stoneman was in, managerial candidates like Don Baylor and Phil Garner had already signed on with other teams. Scioscia got in touch with Stoneman and landed an interview. Little did Scioscia know, he got help from another ex-Dodger.

"Bill Stoneman called me before he hired Mike," Claire said. "We talked for 45 minutes to an hour, and I told Bill, if you hire Mike it will be a great decision for your organization. He will be a successful manager. He was respected as a player and coach, he's well prepared and he's dedicated. He does everything he possibly can."

Scioscia was asked back for a second interview, at which time he was hired as the Angels manager. Three years later, Scioscia's Angels won the World Series and he was named the American League manager of the year.

Success, though, would not shake Scioscia's foundation. It never has. His wife Ann first introduced herself to Scioscia by offering him chocolate chip cookies she baked. Their children, Matthew and Taylor, come first in the Scioscias' lives.

When the Baseball Writers Association of America tried to contact Scioscia to tell him he won the manager of the year award, he wasn't home. He finally was reached via cell phone at a botanical garden. He was on a field trip with Taylor's fifth-grade class.

"I'm learning a lot about botany," Scioscia quipped with glee.

And he meant it.

This page was last updated on July 18, 2003

Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Joe Haakenson