by Cary Osborne
It was 10 years and one day ago when the late Tommy Lasorda and Dodger outfielder Andre Ethier visited San Bernardino to help the community heal at a luncheon, nearly two months after a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 14 people and injured two dozen.
Wednesday was a full-circle moment in San Bernardino, as the Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour presented by Bank of America returned to San Bernardino, this time visiting the San Bernardino Police Department as a show of continued support for first responders.
Helping to complete that full circle moment was a visit by Dodger great and 1981 World Series tri-MVP Steve Yeager, whose first manager in baseball was Lasorda. Yeager also coached Ethier in the Minor Leagues. On top of all that, Yeager was the hitting coach of the San Bernardino Stampede — then the Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate — in 1999.
“It was very rewarding for me to be here today,” Yeager said. “I’m going to be selfish and say I feel really good about it. The fact that I had Tommy for a long time as a manager and coach, and had players that I coached who went on to the big leagues like Andre did, and I played and coached in the California League and coached in San Bernardino — this is a neighborhood I know something about. I enjoy this town. I enjoy the people.”
Yeager, 77 years old and in his 40th year working in the Dodger organization, lives an hour and a half away from San Bernardino. The former catching great jumped at the opportunity to make a rare visit back to San Bernardino, especially because of the importance of the event.
“I have a great deal of respect for law enforcement, for firefighters and first responders,” he said. “They’re running to something when everyone else is running away, and it takes a different type of person to do that.”
The Dodgers brought the 2025 Commissioner’s Trophy (World Series championship trophy) for the event and thanked police officers for their service. Police officers and staff took photos and chatted up Yeager for more than an hour, and the Dodgers provided lunch for the attendees and a monetary donation for the San Bernardino Police Foundation.
“The Dodger organization is getting involved, doing many activities in so many communities,” said Yeager. “They’re going to show up because they care about the fans, and just being a part of it makes me feel good.”
The Dodgers return to San Bernardino to again show the community its appreciation was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.