Revisiting a classic
Lasorda feels echoes, excitement of 1988 in Dodgers’ improbable victory
LOS ANGELES — Tommy Lasorda bleeds Dodger Blue. We all know that. Lasorda was the Dodgers manager 29 years ago when he sent a limping Kirk Gibson up to pinch hit and Gibson lifted a two-out, two-run walk-off home run to right field to deliver an astounding 5-4 victory that sent Dodger Stadium into bedlam as they took Game 1 of the World Series against the A’s.
To the day, 29 years later, Lasorda was at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night when Justin Turner, the ex-Met, delivered a two-out, three-run home run to center field to give the Dodgers a walkoff 4-1 victory over John Lackey and the Cubs and a 2-0 lead in the NLCS.
On that night in 1988, Lasorda was jumping for joy on the field. Sunday night, Lasorda, who has had heart issues, was in a motorized chair. He said he still felt the same excitement he felt 29 years ago and there was the same roar from the capacity crowd.
This is a different Dodgers generation, but the same deafening sound rang throughout the ballpark.
That’s what makes the game so special, so human.
Lasorda’s Dodgers went on to win the World Series that year. The Dodgers haven’t won one since. Two more wins against the defending world-champion Cubs and the Dodgers will be back in their first World Series since then.
“It’s about time, 29 years,’’ Lasorda said as he sat in his chair outside the jubilant Dodgers clubhouse. The old left-hander has not lost his fastball.
The Post asked Lasorda what qualities bond Gibson and Turner. What does the old manager see in each player? In the modern world of analytics that seem to run every facet of baseball, take the time to listen to his answer.
“Both of them are equal type ballplayers,’’ Lasorda said. “They’re real money players. When you need the big hit, they are there.
“That third baseman,’’ he said of Turner, “is a heck of a ballplayer.’’
Then the baseball man asked the same question a lot of Mets fans have asked.
“I don’t understand why those other clubs didn’t keep him,’’ Lasorda said. “The Mets and Baltimore.’’
Credit Turner for changing his swing, adding a leg kick that makes him a hitter to fear.
By the time the ninth inning rolled around, Lasorda had gone into the clubhouse to watch the game on TV.
“My initial reaction was real happiness, real proud,’’ he said of Turner’s home run.
Then he flashed to manager mode.
“But we still got two more wins to go,’’ he added.
Gibson’s home run off Dennis Eckersley’s 3-2 backdoor slider won Game 1. The Dodgers had to win three more games and won the Series in five. They kept rolling after the home run.
“It’s a big win that is going to broaden their confidence and we’re going to be tough to beat in Chicago, man,’’ Lasorda said of these Dodgers in that gravelly voice.
“When you win those next two games, then you got the right to really celebrate,’’ the Hall of Famer said.
How does this 2017 team compare to the ’88 team?
“I think this team, talent-wise probably is better,’’ Lasorda said.
This has not been an easy year for Lasorda that has included two hospital stays.
“I was really ready,’’ he said in that hallway, in the beautiful ballpark that his been his home forever. Ready for what, Tommy? “To go away,’’ he said. Tommy Lasorda has rebounded mentally and physically since late May.
“I want to reach 100,’’ he said. “I just celebrated 90. I continue to help people. I help the players, I help the organization. That’s what I’m here for.’’
While he’s at it, he wants his Dodgers to win one more championship. He wants to be here for that. When you bleed Dodger blue and are at Dodger Stadium for the Gibson home run and the Turner home run, you want to be around for the rest of the show.