Young Andrew played Little League and Babe Ruth baseball on a diamond in Elysian Park, the 600-acre public area that includes the site of Dodger Stadium.
"Our ballpark was right there where the players came out, and they used to stop by,'' Reid said. "I had a Steve Yeager catcher's mitt and a Manny Mota bat. They always gave us stuff.''
Reid did not, however, acknowledge rooting for his hometown team in the National League Championship Series, which the Phils hope to close out in Game 5 tonight.
"There's still a part of me that's blue, but I've gotten to know all the Phillies guys on a personal basis. Charlie's done a phenomenal job," Reid said, giving props to his fellow oft-criticized Philly helmsman, Charlie Manuel. "His players are unbelievable. I guess I'm a little like [fellow LA exile] Chase Utley . . . We grew up Dodger fans, but we're pullin' for red right now."
Reid, a pitcher and a catcher in his youth, said his favorite Dodger Stadium memory was the usual one - Kirk Gibson and 1988. Asking a Dodgers fan of Reid's generation that question is like asking a Baby Boomer Flyers fan what he recalls from the '70s.
Reid said Yeager and second baseman Davey Lopes - now a Phils coach - were his favorite players.
"That's quite an honor. Just shows you how old you are,'' Lopes said, when informed of this fact the other day.
He and Reid have never met in Philadelphia, but Lopes wasn't surprised to hear the Eagles coach fondly recalled interacting with players in the '70s. The Dodgers organization stressed that sort of thing, Lopes said, asking players to connect with the community formally and informally.
"It makes goodwill," he said.
Reidian lore holds that the coach hails from Frogtown, a gritty, warehousy sort of neighborhood that was home to a notorious street gang in the '70s. If there are any gangs roaming Holly Knoll Drive today, their tags must be ceramic address tiles set tastefully in stucco.
