The baseball manager who bled Dodger blue
Tommy Lasorda 1927–2021
Tommy Lasorda never held back. During his 21 seasons as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Hall of Famer became renowned for the profanity-laced tirades—or “heart-to-heart” talks, as he called them—he aimed at umpires and sportswriters. Lasorda also berated his own players, but always made clear he loved them, embracing them after good plays and exhorting them to greater heights. That combination of hectoring and hugs proved a powerful motivator: After Lasorda took over the team late in the 1976 season, the Dodgers won National League pennants the following two years and World Series titles in 1981 and ’88. A member of the Dodger organization for eight decades, his belief in the team was total. “Cut my veins, and I bleed Dodger blue,” he said. “If trouble comes, I pray to that big Dodger in the sky.”
Born to Italian immigrant parents in Norristown, Pa., the young Lasorda “loved to do two things: fight and play baseball,” said The Washington Post. A left-handed pitcher, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies out of high school and for the next 14 seasons bounced around the major and minor leagues, playing for a stint with the then Brooklyn Dodgers. Hired as a scout for the team in 1960, he rose steadily through the organization, becoming a minor-league manager and then joining the big-league club as a coach in 1973. Appointed manager three years later, “Lasorda groomed a host of outstanding young players,” said The New York Times. From
1973 to 1981, “he managed one of baseball’s most enduring infield alignments, with Steve Garvey at first base, Davey Lopes at second, Bill Russell at shortstop, and Ron Cey at third.” His management style was simple. “If you treat players like human beings,” Lasorda explained, “they will play like Superman.” “A heart attack in 1996 ended his managerial career,” said the Associated Press, and he retired with 1,599 career wins. But he remained a force with the Dodgers, representing the club at goodwill events. Lasorda made his last on-field contribution when he coached the underdog 2000 U.S. Olympic team to gold in Sydney. His final ambition, he said, was to be buried under the pitcher’s mound at Dodger Stadium. “And when some little ol’ lefthander’s out there struggling, he’ll hear a voice. ‘Slow down, son. Concentrate. You can do it.’”