Tommy Lasorda
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| Tommy Lasorda | ||
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| Pitcher / Manager | ||
| Born: September 22, 1927 Norristown, Pennsylvania |
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| Batted: Left | Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | ||
| August 5, 1954 for the Brooklyn Dodgers |
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| Final game | ||
| July 8, 1956 for the Kansas City Athletics |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Win-Loss record | 0-4 | |
| Earned run average | 6.48 | |
| Strikeouts | 37 | |
| Teams | ||
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As Player As Manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
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| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Elected | 1997 | |
| Election Method | Veteran's Committee | |
Thomas Charles Lasorda (born September 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a former Major League baseball pitcher and manager. In 2008 he marked his 59th year in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest tenure anyone has had with the team (Vin Scully joined a year later).
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[edit] Playing career
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| Tommy Lasorda's number 2 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997 |
Tommy Lasorda signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 1945 and began his professional career with the Concord Weavers in 1945. He then missed the 1946 & 1947 seasons because of a stint in the United States Armed Forces.
He returned to baseball in 1948 with the Schenectady Blue Jays of the Canadian-American League. On June 1, 1948 in a 15-inning game he struck out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers, setting a since-broken pro record. He even drove in the winning run with a single. In his next two starts, he struck out 15 and 13, gaining the attention of the Dodgers, who drafted him from the Phillies chain and sent him to the Greenville Spinners in 1949. Lasorda also pitched for the Cristobal Motta's in the Canal Zone Baseball League in Panama from 1948 through 1950. The Motta's won the championship in '48 and '50.
He was sent to the Montreal Royals of the International League in 1950. He pitched for Montreal from 1950-54 and 1958-1960 and is the winningest pitcher in the history of the team (107-57).[1] He led Montreal to four straight Governors' Cups from 1951 to 1954, and a fifth one in 1958.[1] On June 24, 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[1]
Lasorda made his major league debut on August 5, 1954 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched for the Dodgers for two seasons, and then for the Kansas City Athletics for one season, after the Athletics purchased him from the Dodgers. He was later traded by Kansas City to the New York Yankees in 1956 and then sold back to the Dodgers in 1957. He played only in the minors for the Yankees and the Dodgers returned him to the Montreal team where he was voted the International League's Most Valuable Pitcher Award in 1958, when he won his fifth minor league championship. The Dodgers finally released him on July 9, 1960.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] Minor leagues
Lasorda's first off-field assignment with the Dodgers was as a scout from 1961-65. In 1966, he became the manager for the Pocatello Chiefs in the rookie leagues, then managed the Ogden Dodgers to three Pioneer League championships from 1966-1968. He became the Dodgers AAA Pacific Coast League manager in 1969 with the Spokane Indians (1969-71) and remained in the position when the Dodgers switched their AAA farm club to the Albuquerque Dukes (1972). His 1972 Dukes team won the PCL Championship. Lasorda was also a manager for the Dominican Winter Baseball League team Tigres del Licey (Licey Tigers). He led the team to the 1973 Caribbean World Series Title in Venezuela with a series record of 5 wins and 1 loss.
[edit] Dodgers' third base coach
In 1973, Lasorda became the third-base coach on the staff of Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston, serving for almost four seasons. He was widely regarded as Alston's heir apparent, and turned down several major league managing jobs elsewhere to remain in the Dodger fold.
[edit] Manager of the Dodgers
Lasorda became the Los Angeles manager September 29, 1976 upon Alston's retirement. He compiled a 1,599-1,439 record as Dodgers manager, won two World Series championships in (1981 and 1988), four National League pennants and eight division titles in his 20 year career as the Dodgers Manager.
His 16 wins in 30 NL Championship games managed were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement. His 61 post-season games managed ranks fourth all-time behind Bobby Cox,Casey Stengel and Joe Torre. He also managed in four All-Star games.
Lasorda managed nine players who won the National League Rookie of the Year award. The winners came in two strings of consecutive players. From 1979 to 1982, he managed Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela and Steve Sax. From 1992 to 1995, he managed Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí and Hideo Nomo. Before retiring during the 1996 season, he had also managed that year's rookie of the year, Todd Hollandsworth.
His final game was a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros, at Dodger Stadium (att. 35,467), on June 23, 1996. The following day (June 24) he drove himself to the hospital complaining of abdominal pains, and in fact he was having a heart attack. He officially retired on July 29. His 1599 career wins ranks 15th all-time in MLB history.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a manager in his first year of eligibility. The Dodgers retired his uniform number (2) on August 15, 1997 and re-named a street in Dodgertown as "Tommy Lasorda Lane".
[edit] 2000 Summer Olympics
Lasorda came out of retirement to manage the United States team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He led the Americans to the gold medal, beating heavily favored Cuba, which had won the gold medals at the two previous Olympics.
[edit] 2001 All-Star Game
Lasorda coached the 2001 All-Star Game as third base coach. Vladimir Guerrero broke his bat while swinging, hitting Lasorda, but he was unharmed. Barry Bonds later gave him a chest protector.
[edit] 2008 Spring Training
During Spring Training in 2008, the Dodgers were selected to play a series of exhibition games in China. Current Dodger manager Joe Torre took a group of players with him for that series. The majority of the team remained behind in Florida to finish out the Grapefruit League season. Lasorda briefly came out of retirement to manage the team while Torre was away.
[edit] Awards
- Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year (1970)
- UPI & AP Manager of the Year (1977)
- AP Manager of the Year (1981)
- Baseball America Manager of the Year (1988)
- Sporting News Co-Manager of the Year (1988)
[edit] Dodger Executive
Lasorda was named "Vice-President" of the Dodgers upon his retirement from managing in 1996. On June 22, 1998 he became the Dodgers interim General Manager upon the mid-season firing of Fred Claire. He resigned as General Manager after the season and was appointed as "Senior Vice-President" of the Dodgers. After the sale of the team to Frank McCourt, Lasorda took on his current position of "Special Advisor to the Chairman" where his responsibilities include "scouting, evaluating and teaching minor league players, acting as an advisor and ambassador for the Dodgers’ international affiliations, and representing the franchise at more than 100 speaking engagements and appearances to various charities, private groups and military personnel each year." [2]
[edit] Life outside of baseball
Lasorda and his wife Jo celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in 2007. They named a gymnasium and youth center in memory of their son, Tom Jr., in Yorba Linda, CA on Sept. 7, 1997. They have a daughter, Laura, and a granddaughter, Emily.
In June 2005, Lasorda was asked by President George W. Bush to serve as a delegate to the U.S. National Day at the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan.
Lasorda was equally famous for his colorful personality and outspoken opinions regarding players and other personnel associated with baseball. He had a number of obscenity filled tirades, a number of which were taped and became underground classics. The most famous of these is his "Dave Kingman" tirade (see below). He also had an altercation with Doug Rau on the pitching mound in the 1977 World Series which was recorded since he was wearing a microphone. He befriended Frank Sinatra (a well-known baseball fan) and other entertainment personalities during his career.
In 1991, Lasorda's son Tommy Lasorda, Jr. (commonly known to friends and family as "Spunky") died of complications related to AIDS.[3] Lasorda was estranged from his son at the time of his death. According to sportswriter Bill Plaschke, when asked about the cause of death Lasorda insists that it was cancer.[4]
For years, Lasorda appeared in TV ads for Slim Fast diet shakes (with his famous quote, "If I can do it, you can do it."), and Rolaids antacids where he was seen writing the product's name on a baseball. He briefly owned a restaurant chain bearing his name. He also bottled and sold a failed brand of spaghetti sauce beginning in 1989 through his company Lasorda Foods.
Lasorda portrayed "The Dugout Wizard" in the syndicated children's television show The Baseball Bunch
Lasorda is the godfather to Thomas Piazza, and not Major League All-Star catcher Mike Piazza (also from Norristown), as has been widely circulated. Mike Piazza's younger brother, Thomas, was named for Lasorda.[5]
In 2006, Lasorda appeared in a series of commercials promoting the MLB Playoffs for ESPN and FOX. The campaign, entitled "Tommy’s Tough Love", featured Lasorda in a tuxedo motivating fans to watch baseball.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Burnett, Richard. "Walkie-Talkie Lasorda" - Hour.ca - June 1, 2006
- ^ Lasorda biography - Los Angeles Dodgers Official Website - MLB.com
- ^ "Torn between two loves Lessons From a Life in and Out of Major-League Baseball" - San Francisco Chronicle - (c/o SFGate.com) - November 30, 2005 - Retrieved 2006-11-30
- ^ Gould, Timithie. "Baseball, through Tommy’s eyes", The La Cañada Valley Sun, published November 15, 2007, accessed November 15, 2007.
- ^ Reaves, Joseph A. "Piazza returns draft favor, nearly 400 times over" - Arizona Republic - August 7, 2005 - Retrieved 2007-11-06
[edit] External links
- Lasorda's manager page and Player page - at MLB
- Lasorda's manager page and Player page - at Baseball-Reference
- Tommy's blog, "Tommy's World" - at MLBlogs.com
- Lasorda biography - at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Lasorda's page - at BaseballLibrary.com
- Lasorda's retirement press conference - at CNN
- Tommy Lasorda - at Los Angeles Dodgers Online
- Tommy Lasorda Jr. - Find a Grave
| Preceded by None |
National League Manager of the Year 1983 |
Succeeded by Jim Frey |
| Preceded by Buck Rodgers |
National League Manager of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Don Zimmer |
| Preceded by Walter Alston |
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager 1976–1996 |
Succeeded by Bill Russell |
| Preceded by Fred Claire |
Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager 1998 |
Succeeded by Kevin Malone |
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