Bob Davidson thought he had made the correct call. In his mind, it wasn’t even debatable.

Nevertheless, after the umpire declared a runner safe on a swipe of second base during a contest at Dodger Stadium in 1984, Los Angeles skipper Tommy Lasorda stormed out of the dugout.

Davidson, then in just his third big league season, prepared for the worst. He got something different.

“All he talked about was an Italian restaurant he ate at and how the wine was bad,” Davidson said. “He said, ...