Dodger fan, author Alyssa Milano is heavy with the hugs

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As an actress, Alyssa Milano may be an unlikely spokeswoman for the game of baseball, but she did a great job of promoting the sport during her conversation with Jon Weisman at the L.A. Times Book Festival today.

Milano’s recently published book, “Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic,” is a memoir and love letter to baseball, as the author herself put it.

Those who may have been skeptical about her passion for baseball and her beloved Dodgers dismissed those thoughts early on when she quickly discussed the team’s need for pitching help. She also mused on the possibility of what it would be like to see Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez on the same team again.

During the question-and-answer period, I nearly forgot she was famous because she kept showering members of the audience with hugs, high-fives and handshakes. The only thing that reminded me of her celeb status was the constant lights flashing off the paparazzi’s’ cameras.

During the session, a man in the audience asked how he could get his girlfriend interested in baseball, and Milano gave him some relationship advice. “To become a fan, you have to see it through the eyes of someone who loves it,” she suggested.

Milano also said that she feels baseball is community related -- and that’s why she is so passionate about the sport.

“Baseball is a generational gift,” Milano said. “I got interested because it was a way to connect with my Dad.”

Milano said baseball was important in her life, particularly when she was younger and working in an industry consumed with self-image.

“Baseball has been an escape,” she said. “It gave me the opportunity to sit in my sweat pants with pimple medication on and just watch a game.”

Milano also proved she is no different than any other fan. When asked who she thought was going to win the National League West, she exclaimed that the Dodgers would.

-- Joshua Sandoval