He returned to play minor league baseball & got noticed by the Brooklyn Dodger organization when he struck out 25 batters in a 15 inning game setting a pro record. Lasorda even drove in the game winning run, & the Dodgers bought his contract out from the Phillies.
He was mostly a career minor leaguer, spending 14 seasons there, nine of them at AAA Montreal. He compiled a 107-57 record over those seasons, having his best year in 1954, going 17-8 with a 2.41 ERA. He earned a late season call up, pitching in four games, allowing five runs in nine innings.

His contract was sold to the Kansas City A’s the next season and he appeared in a career high 18 games going 0-4 with a 6.15 ERA. His contract was eventually sold back to the Dodgers and he finished his playing career at AAA Montreal. His playing career ended in 1960 and he served as a scout in the Dodger organization.
In 1965, he began a seven year stretch as a minor league manager. In 1973, he was named to the Dodgers coaching staff under Manager; Walter Alston. Lasorda was a loud & talkative third base coach for Los Angeles. He got national recognition during the 1974 World Series, in the first all California World Series (Oakland A's vs Los Angeles Dodgers). Lasorda was wired with a microphone by NBC television & his antics were put into that years World Series highlights film.
Lasorda turned down other managerial jobs in order to remain with the Dodgers, & was Alston’s understudy until he retired in 1976. Lasorda was named the new Dodger manager in the bicentennial year.

Local Hollywood stars would hang around the Dodgers clubhouse, especially fellow Italian / American; Frank Sinatra. Lasorda loved the Dodgers, just as much as he loved good Italian food.
The Dodger infield at the time consisted of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, & Ron Cey all players he helped develop in the minor leagues.
In his first season at the helm he finished second to the Big Red Machine but he & his Dodgers would shut the machine down taking over the N.L. West from there on in. Over the next two seasons he brought the Dodgers to the World Series, although they fell short of the Worlds Championship in six games both times.

In 1988 the Dodgers came out of nowhere to win the West, beat a heavily favored Mets team in the NLCS & a powerful A’s team in the World Series. He was named Baseball America & Sporting News Manager of the Year. Lasorda would win two more divisional titles in 1994 & 1995 then finish second in 1996, when he retired from managing.
In his 21 year managing career he was 1599-1439 posting a .526 %. He won eight divisional titles, four pennants & two World Series. He managed nine players who won the NL Rookie of the Year award. The winners came in two sets of consecutive players (1979 -1982) Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela & Steve Sax. From (1992 -1995) Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí & Hideo Nomo. Then in 1996 he also managed that year's rookie of the year, Todd Hollandsworth.

The following year he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. After managing he became a Dodgers executive & a great ambassador for the game of baseball.
He was then named Dodgers Senior V.P & then special advisor to the Chairman under the new ownership. He has been working for the Dodgers spanning a stretch of seven decade;

His number 2 was retired by the club in 1997. Lasorda also does motivational speaking, usually averaging over 100 speaking engagements a year. He does everything from charity work with children to international events, military appearances, television shows, book signings, Dodger appearances, Italian American events & just about anything else that comes his way. He was a regular on Johnny Bench’s old TV show the baseball bunch in the early 1980’s, playing the character "The Dugout Wizard".
He was at one time the spokes person for slim fast diet when he actually trimmed down, although he didn’t keep the weight off. He has appeared on the Tonight show many times through the years from the Johnny Carson days to the Conan O’Brien /Jay Leno years. He was known for getting angry and using expletives during TV interviews, even having a fist fight during an TV interview with former coach Jim Lefebvre.

In 2000 he managed the United States Olympic team & won the Gold Medal, becoming the first manager to do so as well as win a World Series title. He was coaching third base As honorary captain of the 2001 Al Star Game, when a Vlad Guerrero bat shattered flying down toward the coaches box. Lasorda fell backwards to the amusement of all including himself, of course he was fine. he

In 2009, a portrait of Lasorda in a Dodgers uniform was added to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. He has been honored in Jpan for his work in Japanese baseball, the Dominican Republic as well as Cuba.
Family: Lasorda has been married to his wife Jo for 60 years. In 1991 his son passed away from Aids, but Lasorda insists it was cancer refusing to acknowledge his sons homosexuality.
The Lasorda’s also have a daughter & granddaughter.
1 comment:
I miss Tommy now that baseball is drowning in political correctness and is devoid of color. He was one of the most colorful,funny and inspiring individuals to play, manage and embrace the game. Tommy's leadership skills and positive outlook; his willingness to give interviews and to be real are sorely missed.
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