Tommy Lasorda's new book

[strummer]

Tommy Lasorda"s new book "I Live for This" has just been published. About 40% of the 220 or so pages are about his early life and his experience with the Brooklyn Dodgers and their farm system. [The rest of the book is devoted to his experience with some other team, though he does at the end write about the 2000 Olympics]

He still claims (verbally, though not specifically in the book) that it took the greatest left handed pitcher in baseball (Koufax) to knock him off the Dodgers and back to the farm in June, 1955. He is still unbelieving and steamed about never having a real chance in the majors. He seems to have forgotten how bad he was in 1954 and early spring (April and May 1955). But he was pretty good for Montreal. When he finally got a later chance in the majors with Kansas City, it was too late in his career -- it was over.

I have heard him speak informally in a locker room at Fanatasy camp, at a dinner table, a few times in just a small group of 5 or 6 people watching a game or just standing around, and now being interviewed by Bob Costas as a way of selling his book. This last experience was fantastic, not only because Costas is such a great interviewer, but also because it was the first and only time I have heard Tommy speak without every other word being one of the unprintable kind.

[Matty]

Every time he mentions Dodger Blue, he makes me wanna puke!

Just seeing him on TV and hearing his name gets me angry.

[DODGER DEB]

LaSorda is one person I totally detest! :eek:

I can't stand being in the same room with him (which I have been on several occasions), and listen to his bluster! His arrogance and that chip on his shoulder makes you want to barf. :blah:

He was a BROOKLYN DODGER for only a very, very short time (because despite what he says, he simply wasn't ML material), but, to listen to him tell it you would think HE was a hero in BROOKLYN!

Give me a break!

c.

[KCGHOST]

Old men and their memories.

[LeoD]

May 09, 2007
Tommy Lasorda is a Jackass
It's not an easy title to read, is it?

But who am I to believe: popular LA culture, which claims this guy as a saint, an untouchable, a "made" man who can do no wrong;

Or my college roommate, who was ringside working the Mayweather / De La Hoya fight and who had to physically restrain Lasorda after the famous coach went after a photographer who made the near-fatal mistake of trying to get a picture of said Dodger great?

Only it turned out that Lasorda was sitting directly in front of De La Hoya's wife, and the photographer wasn't even interested in him, but jackass Tommy thought it was all about him and apparently couldn't get over himself even when this fact was pointed out to him.

So from now on I'll be the one booing him as everyone else bows to his greatness.


Posted by Professor Chaos at 09:28 PM · Category: Sports |

[dodger dynamo]

I always thought tommy wanted to build up his own importance to base ball and the dodgers in particular, a compensatory thing of his for really not being a major league quality player. he was and is an o'malley man, or at least he became one. I wonder what he would have and did say in private about o'malley and buzzie in 55, when he was sent down?. a word for tommy should be humility and thankfulness. the "gil hodges way"and in my opinion the "real major league, brooklyn dodger way." now that's what the dodgers should represent. hodges and reese should always be the standard. an overblown ego is a very unlikeable trait. tommy rubs people the wrong way, maybe he doesn't care. It's not a song we want to hear when you constantly blow your own horn. it's too late for tommy just be a regular guy, in his own mind he has to be more. because of his posturing, his image and we suffer even more. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

Don't judge Tommy because he's a loud mouth, arrogant joik. Judge him, instead, by the [well documented] way he lovingly accepted [or not] the lifestyle choices his son made.
If Walter O is where we all hope he is, maybe when the time comes, he can arrange a box seat for Tommy.

[dodger dynamo]

hey, rzt, I thought tommy was already signed to manage the big o's club in the infernal hereafter. just what I heard, no facts as of yet. for once it's more than a one year deal. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo.

[penncentralpete]

to me, personally, lasorda will always be connected to the first two letters of his surname, and NOT brooklyn!

[webmaster]

So help out somebody like myself who doesn't know why Brooklyn Dodger (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans in general would hate Tommy Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01). I honestly didn't think that Brooklyn Dodger (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans felt that way about ANY former Bum, and Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01) wasn't cut out to be a great Major League player, but he did make "the show" and there were a lot more who didn't. Minor League stats are my thing, but I believe he even played four or five years in their revolutionary farm system after serving in the armed forces during the War.

I'm not disagreeing with the image we all have of Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01) at the helm in Los Angeles (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) (is that the reason, because he managed there?), but was just curious when reading this why Brooklyn (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans would not like The Godfather (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01)...

S.

[LeoD]

So help out somebody like myself who doesn't know why Brooklyn Dodger (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans in general would hate Tommy Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01). I honestly didn't think that Brooklyn Dodger (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans felt that way about ANY former Bum, and Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01) wasn't cut out to be a great Major League player, but he did make "the show" and there were a lot more who didn't. Minor League stats are my thing, but I believe he even played four or five years in their revolutionary farm system after serving in the armed forces during the War.

I'm not disagreeing with the image we all have of Lasorda (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01) at the helm in Los Angeles (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) (is that the reason, because he managed there?), but was just curious when reading this why Brooklyn (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/dodgers.shtml) fans would not like The Godfather (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=lasorto01)...

S.

He comes off like an actor, thats why he fit in with the Hollywood crowd so well, not a Brooklyn guy, real phony."I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky". No x Brooklyn player would ever say something that corny. This may be the best reason not to like him, 1955: Lasorda throws three wild pitches in the same inning on May 5 against the Cards, tying a MLB record Lasorda later blames his wildness on his catcher, Roy Campanella, now thats real class blaming some one else for your mistakes.

[dodger dynamo]

for a long time I didn't mind tommy, I thought he was just enthusiastic, then he started to get caught up in his own image. it became more and more about himself and less about baseball. he wanted to be the walking symbol of the dodgers, to elevate his importance. despite the fact that as a player he wasn't well, very good on a major league level. hodges,reese,snider,robinson,campanella. If you could combine the best qualities of those players you'd have the perfect symbol of the dodgers. tommy is far from that. also tommy over the years was an o'malley man through and through, I guess he had to be. I think humility and not forgetting where you came from is important. a little more of that would be nice. bluster for bluster's sake is another thing. I don't hate tommy I just wish he hadn't gone hollywood and become filled with his own self importance. I also wish a little more brooklyn had rubbed off on him. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo

[Matty]

In my first post in this topic I said that having to think about him makes me angry, so now I'm thinking about him and getting very angry.

I hate everything and that has to do with the LA Dodgers and Lasorda has to do with the LA Dodgers.

When he talks about Dodger Blue, that has something to do with loyalty and the LA Dodgers have absolutely nothing to do with loyalty. It is very hypocritical for anyone connected with the LA Dodgers to talk about loyalty.

[dodger dynamo]

matty, I think their loyal to o'malley for whatever reason, dodgers to them is a metaphor not a team. they should say they bleed o'malley green. they use the dodgers to say, "they really love o'malley." did I just say o'malley and love in the same sentence? sheesh!, I'm upsetting myself. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo

[hitstreak23]

A little story about Tommy....When I first got to the majors he told me some day I'd be a Dodger. For a kid growing up in San Jose and drafted as a junior in high school by the Dodgers, this was quite a thrill among many of the thrills I had. Well, I was out of ball in 84' and I get a call from Tommy saying we need a hitter and can I get out to L.A.? I was done by then but I still wanted to wear the Dodger uniform one time and finish a career that could have been different if I signed as a high school junior. Sure enough when I got to Dodger Stadium there was Tommy waiting in the dugout and said to me, "I told you, some day you would be a Dodger. He kept that promise to me. Say what you want about Tommy but my opinion is he is a winner in more ways than one. By the way, baseball can use all the good PR that Tommy brings now-a-days...:cap:

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

I disagree, Mike, but Tommy knew a hitter when he saw one. How's the ankle?

[Todd Anderson]

Wow, this has been an education! All I knew about Lasorda is what I've seen off of tv as I grew up. I've seen him warm and cordial, and short clips as downright venemous toward reporters (I figured the reporters may have deserved the lashing, not having been there). I had written to him re: memories he may have had playing with/against my dad. I haven't received a response. Armed with this new info and perspective, I may not care if he responds at all. Many thanks, Leo, for sharing!
Todd
Andy's #3 son

[strummer]

Lasorda is not a character most of us can warm up to. Maybe DD has the best approach -- forget he was a real Dodger and just view him as a representative of the West Coast team, just like Garvey, Lopes, Russell, etc. That way we can forget about his abrasiveness and his self-centered egotistical stories (I got Koufax into the majors) and his love fopr the O'Malley family (remember he came to the minors after Rickey was gone) and just view him a a colorful abrassive manager who had a fairly successful record and whose greatest achievement maybe was to win the Olympics for the USA against mostly professional players with a team of amateurs.

One note, whenever he was asked to sign something personally, he would write " To -----, you and the Dodgers are both great". I thought this was a wonderful signature until I went to Shannon's in St. Louis and saw a similar one on the wall, and also Harry Caray"s in Chicago and other restaurants that display photos of sports figures, even Ed Figueros in Puerto Rico. However, there aren't that many of my friends who will see mine and then see it in alll those places, even if they do remember mine.

[hitstreak23]

Ralph,
The ankles holding up real well, thanks, thought I'd have bad arthriitis by this point at 56. I know a lot of people are being hard on Tommy but growing up in the bay area driving around listening not only to Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons and Vince then getting to the majors and who was sitting in the clubhouse on my first day in New York? Willie Mays. Then we go out to San Diego, I hit a slider in the hole, rounded first, get back to the bag and who am I standing next too? Willie McCovey. Yeah, I guess Im guilty for having kind of a romantic view on the game and some of the people in it. Anyway, Tommy will always be one of my favorites because he kept his word and gave me the honor of wearing the Dodger uniform and completing playing for all of the original National League New York Clubs.

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

I chose to remember you as a Met, Mr. Vail... I'm glad you're holding up.

Stay well,
RZT

[Matty]

Ralph,
The ankles holding up real well, thanks, thought I'd have bad arthriitis by this point at 56. I know a lot of people are being hard on Tommy but growing up in the bay area driving around listening not only to Russ Hodges, Lon Simmons and Vince then getting to the majors and who was sitting in the clubhouse on my first day in New York? Willie Mays. Then we go out to San Diego, I hit a slider in the hole, rounded first, get back to the bag and who am I standing next too? Willie McCovey. Yeah, I guess Im guilty for having kind of a romantic view on the game and some of the people in it. ...

As a Mets fan, I remember when Mike Vail had a 23-game hitting streak as a rookie for the Mets and tied the club record (Cleon Jones) and rookie record (Richie Ashburn) and hit .300.

What might have been!

Fortunately for you Mike, you never had your hometown team get taken away by a greedy slimeball and then have another piece of garbage rub salt into your wound by talking about Dodger Blue. Hope that's romantic enough for ya.

[hitstreak23]

Point Made Matty, Happy Holidays Anyway!

[Matty]

Thank you, Mike, and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

I'm a few years older than you are, but something inside me is still saying "Holy S---, I was actually talking to a major league player."

[Dodgerfan1]

As a Los Angeles Dodger fan, I was going to stay out of this discussion, however I feel compelled to say just a few words about Lasorda and the Dodgers. I can understand why some people don't like the guy. He's loud and can be quite obnoxious when he wants to be. He has a certain persona and he plays it up for all it's worth. He's very polarizing, which makes him pretty much a 'love him or hate him' kind of guy. Those who have heard him ramble on about bleeding Dodger blue (and who aren't Dodger fans) would naturally feel like strangling him! Maybe it's just a hometown 'love affair' between LA and Lasorda, since he was one of the best managers in their history and his teams were so successful for over a decade. Hell, most Giant fans love Barry Bonds, and he's twice the jerk in real life that Lasorda ever was. Compare the off-the-field stories we hear about the two of them, if you don't believe that. Almost nobody I've talked to outside of San Fran can stand the guy.

I realize this is a Brooklyn Dodger thread, so it's not so surprising to see so much vitriol aimed at the current Dodger team, as well as the city of Los Angeles, misguided as that vitriol is, in my opinion. The fact that the Dodgers are now in LA doesn't make them any less of a legitimate team than any other team that has since moved from their original hometowns (Braves, Giants, A's, etc.). Maybe the only real difference is that those other cities still have teams and Brooklyn does not. Oh, and the fact that those other teams didn't have Walter O'Malley! Kicking him around seems to be a favorite pastime in Brooklyn. Don't get me wrong, I think the man deserved it, I'm just saying.... But putting down the city of Los Angeles because that's where the Dodgers moved is an exercise in futility. I am aware of the snooty way many people back east view California, but who cares, really? Believe me, we don't.

I have been to a couple of banquets that have featured Lasorda as the guest speaker, and both times he came off as very erudite and humble. yes, HUMBLE, if you can believe that! He has said that any manager could have won with the players he had and he gives almost all the credit for his success to them. I know, I heard him. In fact, there were people in attendance who were predisposed to hating him who later said they were very surprised at how genuine and humble he came off. I'm guessing a lot of people would never be aware of these things, but there it is. He also loves to joke (yes, JOKE) about how if it weren't for him, Koufax would not have been a big-leaguer. It's one of his favorite banquet lines, and he uses it frequently. Anyone who thinks he is serious about that, I believe doesn't get it.

So am I sticking up for Tommy? Yeah, a little, I suppose. As I say, the guy can be as abrasive as sandpaper and a loudmouthed jerk when he's of a mind, and certainly rubs many people the wrong way. Dude can cuss like a sailor, but then there aren't many baseball people who don't curse a blue streak now and then. I think Tommy was a very good ambassador for baseball at a time when one was sorely needed, and I do realize that unless you root for the LA Dodgers, the guy is probably the second coming of Satan. That's what happens when you are a polarizing individual. Like some politicians... love them or hate them.

[dodger dynamo]

none of us know what's in someones mind. none of us know how tommy really feels about o'malley or anything for that matter. are we getting the real lasorda or the guy he wants us to think he is. oh, I knew he was joking about koufax, if not he would really be laughed at and not in a good way. I think like everybody he has a public persona and a private one. some times the two can get confused when they merge. I think he's always been the company man in public. all their practices, all their policies, all their attitudes, he stands behind them at least in public. It would be nice to have some genuine insight. however I think he turned himself into the character he is to garner more attention for himself. I think if players or managers can't leave an "I was great" impression by success on the field alone. then they create these "personalities", tommy managed a team of stars, now, how was he ever going to get credit or be recognized surrounded by all that? how could he stand out? so then we see the over the top things he did and said. he, like many, does not want to be forgotten. take a billy loes for example, ok, pitcher, who knew the team he was on and because he said seemingly crazy off the wall stuff, we remember him very vividly, many do, even outside brooklyn. If not for the wackyness maybe he's a minor footnote. now, billy probably was genuine with his personality, but billy was also smart. tommy to knows how it is and I gotta believe he created the whole "bleed dodger blue" and the other hoopla and stuff that surrounds it for a purpose, several purposes in fact. one to show loyalty to the team that put money in his pocket and food on the table and two to stand out amongst his teams of great players, or at least as a manager appear to be their equal. thus leaving an indelible impression on everybody, (good or bad) problem is I think he stared to believe the hype and the real tommy and the public tommy blurred and became one. it also went beyond baseball and being a celebrity can go to anyone's head. I think being a celebrity has become very important to tommy and it shows. mind you he's not the only one guilty of it, It's just we notice it more from him because we are brooklyn dodger fans. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo

[Dodgerfan1]

df, was wondering where you were?. none of us know what's in someones mind. none of us know how tommy really feels about o'malley or anything for that matter. are we getting the real lasorda or the guy he wants us to think he is. oh, I knew he was joking about koufax, if not he would really be laughed at and not in a good way. I think like everybody he has a public persona and a private one. some times the two can get confused when they merge. I think he's always been the company man in public. all their practices, all their policies, all their attitudes, he stands behind them at least in public. It would be nice to have some genuine insight. however I think he turned himself into the character he is to garner more attention for himself. I think if players or managers can't leave an "I was great" impression by success on the field alone. then they create these "personalities", tommy managed a team of stars, now, how was he ever going to get credit or be recognized surrounded by all that? how could he stand out? so then we see the over the top things he did and said. he, like many, does not want to be forgotten. take a billy loes for example, ok, pitcher, who knew the team he was on and because he said seemingly crazy off the wall stuff, we remember him very vividly, many do, even outside brooklyn. If not for the wackyness maybe he's a minor footnote. now, billy probably was genuine with his personality, but billy was also smart. tommy to knows how it is and I gotta believe he created the whole "bleed dodger blue" and the other hoopla and stuff that surrounds it for a purpose, several purposes in fact. one to show loyalty to the team that put money in his pocket and food on the table and two to stand out amongst his teams of great players, or at least as a manager appear to be their equal. thus leaving an indelible impression on everybody, (good or bad) problem is I think he stared to believe the hype and the real tommy and the public tommy blurred and became one. it also went beyond baseball and being a celebrity can go to anyone's head. I think being a celebrity has become very important to tommy and it shows. mind you he's not the only one guilty of it, It's just we notice it more from him because we are brooklyn dodger fans. battlin bake, the dodger dynamo

I can't disagree with any of this.....

[Matty]

Anyone know how come Junior Gilliam, who was more deserving, didn't get the Dodger manager job after Alston?

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

Jim Gilliam may or may not have been qualified. He may, or may no, have not gotten the job for all the wrong reasons.
My guess is, were it not for Mr. Rickey, the first black Dodger player would have been Von Joshua... First black manager? We're still waiting for that to happen. Ask Jerry Royster... or Davey Lopes, or the late Bill Robinson [were that we could], or a myriad of other well qualified candidates. Some of those candidates couldn't get interviews.
I'm an old New York Giants fan, and the older I get the more I love the Brooklyn Dodgers and hate Los Angeles "Dodgers."
With good reason, I might add... and I might subtract. Long division? A possibility.

[DODGER DEB]

Anyone know how come Junior Gilliam, who was more deserving, didn't get the Dodger manager job after Alston?

Because Tommy LaSorda had paid his dues and served his time. It was now time for him to collect. And so he did!

c.

[crzblue]

Like Dodgerfan1, I was going to stay off here. I only come to read and dodge the darts throwing to us L.A. Dodger fans. I love the Dodgers and Iembrase all the history. I came to this wonderful country of ours in the late 60's but only became a Dodger fan in the late 70's.

I love Tommy! He does a lot of charity work here in the L.A. area. I remember him last year dressed in his Santa Claus suit for the Mattel Children's Hospital. He looked like he was so hot in that outfit but there he was posing with kids in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology ward and eating a cold sandwich afterwards. This year he will do it again on 12/11 at the John Wooden Center UCLA. He likes to drop by at the Centinela Freeman hospital in inglewood and visit patients at the Tommy Lasorda Heart Institute. I give him a lot of credit at his age (80) still doing a lot of charity work.

The times that I have run into him at Dodger Stadium (I have season tickets at Top Deck), at the Women's baseball clinics, he has always been friendly. In San Fracisco, I had a long chat with him while he waited for his car.

I read his book while traveling back and forth to work on the train. I found myself laughing out loud at his anecdotes. I have heard some of them before. He was poor growing up which reminded me of my days in Honduras. He says in his book that a day does not go by that he does not remember his son.

[Ace Knuckler]

Please be assured, from personal experience as I have working in baseball, Lasorda is a genuinely contemptible and vulgar individual, unworthy of anyone's praise whatsoever. He is a small and sorry little man who takes rancid, private delight in smearing anyone who he perceives as a foe.

Lasorda is a warped, psychological walking scar, steeped in an unspeakable venom of deep-seated anger, shielding himself with a puff act by which the weak sheep among us will gladly buy into.

Decorum here cannot possibly allow the examples of a low life squalor personality he is known for within the hushed circles of baseball.

Lasorda is only an ambassador of his own blowhard drivel. There are far superior men in baseball to invest one's personal time over.