Lasorda, book draw fans

From the line that wound around the upper level of Borders Books on Saturday, you'd never have guessed baseball had the week it did.

Despite the snow and, yes, despite the steroids saga, dozens of fans turned out to meet and greet Hall-of-Famer Tommy Lasorda as he signed copies of his new book -- hailing him as a legendary ambassador of the sport where he made a name for himself in a different time.

"He's before the steroids era," said Chris Bender of Elmhurst, who snapped keepsake photos of the 80-year-old after surmising in line that recent accusations of widespread MLB steroid use could "potentially destroy the game of baseball."

The longtime Dodger shared jokes and stories, high-fived tots and sang in Italian at the Schaumburg appearance, with another planned in Naperville today.

The stop came days after former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell released a report identifying numerous players alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs.

Doug Peterson of Rolling Meadows, one of the first in line at Saturday's book event, used his few moments with Lasorda to ask a key question: What do you think about it?

"He said, 'Well, they finally got caught,' " Peterson said afterward, relaying his exchange. Lasorda also told him players "should all be on the same level," Peterson said.

A representative for Lasorda said the baseball great would not answer specific questions about the issue.

He'd rather, the rep said, talk about the game or his book: "I Live for This: Baseball's Last True Believer."

In fact, there were plenty of believers waiting to see him Saturday -- people who said with conviction that the game will not be spoiled by the report released this week.

"Baseball will bounce back," predicted Susan Rothchild of Bloomingdale, a Cubs season-ticket holder who, like others, pointed out other baseball strife -- like the 1994 players' strike -- didn't put an end to fan support.

"I think the game will persevere," agreed John Zielinski of Des Plaines, who played minor league ball. "History has shown that. But it does need to be cleaned up."

Zielinski says he saw evidence of steroid use as a player, and others said they'd also long suspected it among some of baseball's big names.

The best thing now, Lasorda fans said, is for those involved to own up to the problem and be banned from entering the hall of fame.

About 75 people, many of them in Dodger attire, turned out for Saturday's event.

Lasorda spent five decades with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a pitcher and manager, and has four pennants, two world series titles and an Olympic medal -- he managed the 2000 team -- to his name. He'll be at Anderson's Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., in Naperville at 2 p.m. today.