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Orel Hershiser knows that he is a bona fide Los Angeles icon. But he has no illusions — he wouldn’t have the business opportunities he enjoys today without the platform provided by his broadcasting gig with the team.
“You have a resume, but the resume slowly dies,” Hershiser says. “You have to be active. You have to be pertinent. I always have wanted to be introduced as ‘He is,’ not ‘He was.’ ‘He is’ is really important to me.”
Despite his busy travel schedule during baseball season, Hershiser is hands-on in running his businesses. For this interview, he donned a slate-gray polo shirt embossed with the rectangular Chevrolet logo and arranged for the sit-down to take place amid the Corvettes on display on the showroom floor of the Chino auto dealership that was reopened with Hershiser’s imprimatur in May.
Hershiser has been energized by the challenge of learning an entirely new sector with his move into automotive.
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As he was in baseball, Hershiser is a quick study and doesn’t miss an opportunity to promote his latest brand.
“We are conveniently located off the 60 freeway at Central and Riverside, and we would love to see you,” Hershiser enthuses before the interview wraps.
Hershiser’s other public-facing business is the Legends Attic sports memorabilia shop in Claremont, which opened in 2024. It is partly a museum-style showcase of Hershiser’s career kudos and mementos as well collectable items for sale from other icons in from a range of other sports and cities.
“We speak on a daily basis,” says Eddie Allizadeh, who is Hershiser’s business partner.
Allizadeh initially reached out to Hershiser about five years ago with an offer for him to appear at his sports collectibles shop in Victorville.
“He said no to us to do an appearance. He was more interested in doing business ventures,” Allizadeh says. “I asked for a few moments of his time to do lunch in Pasadena and the story goes from there.”
Hershiser invested in Allizadeh’s automotive sales representation firm Lane4 before the two teamed to buy out the long-established auto shop M.K. Smith Chevrolet in Chino. When the sale was announced, Hershiser arranged with Chino officials to appear as a surprise guest at Mayor Eunice Ulloa’s state of the city address in April.
“Hello Chino! Hello Dodger fans! Oh my gosh,” Hershiser told the crowd as he bounded out on stage wearing a Dodger blue blazer with the team’s logo.
“What you saw from me on the baseball field — I’m going to bring that here,” Hershiser enthused.
