Tommy Lasorda Inducted to Brooklyn HoF

[jnakamura]

from mlb.com:

Lasorda to be inducted into Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame

This induction marks Lasorda's 14th Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda will be inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at KeySpan Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones this Sunday, August 16 during a special ceremony. The day will begin at 3 p.m. EST with a news conference at KeySpan Park, followed by a tour of the Brooklyn Baseball Museum where Lasorda will be inducted. From there he will go out on the field for the pregame ceremony and address the crowd. The game starts at 5 p.m.

"To be enshrined with the Boys of Summer is a great honor that I will cherish forever," said Lasorda. "I played in Brooklyn with those guys. I made lifelong friendships with them and am very appreciative to have my name mentioned alongside theirs."

As part of Lasorda's 60-year career with the Dodgers, he played in parts of two seasons for Brooklyn (1954-55) as a left-handed pitcher. After being called up from one of the Dodgers' three Triple-A affiliates, the Montreal Royals, Lasorda made his Major League debut on August 5, 1954 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Lasorda finished the '54 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers and continued with them through the middle of the '55 season when he was sent back to Montreal to make room on the roster.

Although Lasorda went 0-4 with a 6.52 ERA in his Major League career, he went on to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers for 20 seasons (1977-96) and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997, joining fellow Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Leo Durocher, Roy Campanella, Burleigh Grimes, Dazzy Vance, Zack Wheat, Walter Alston, Wilbert Robinson, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, and Larry MacPhail.

This enshrinement marks Lasorda's 14th Hall of Fame. Most recently, he was inducted into the Inland Empire 66ers Hall of Fame on August 1 and the Ogden Professional Baseball Hall of Fame on July 10. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on August 3, 1997 after winning eight division titles, four National League pennants and two World Series championships (1981, 88).

Lasorda has also been inducted into the Pacific Coast League HOF (2006), Canadian Baseball HOF (2006), Italian American Sports HOF (1989), California Sports HOF (2006), Montgomery County Coaches HOF (2002), South Atlantic League (2001), Albuquerque Baseball HOF (2007), and the Louisiana Italian American HOF (1985), the Cleveland Italian American HOF and the Rhode Island Italian American HOF. Later this year Lasorda will be enshrined in the Philadelphia Sports HOF (November 12).

[KCGHOST]

Who's idea was this?? Certainly not a guy I associate with Brooklyn.

[jnakamura]

Who's idea was this?? Certainly not a guy I associate with Brooklyn.

I would assume the people in charge of the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame. Who else?

Not surprising really. Not much different than colleges that give special recognition to former students that go on to do great things.

[Macker]

Looks like they think any news is good news.

[pgsuperfan]

I can remember him playing with the LA ANGELS of the PCL back in 1957 when O'Malley bought Wrigley Field and the ANGELS from the CUBS>

[VIBaseball]

As noted here in the past, Lasorda is not among the favorites of the old guard in Brooklyn, in large part because he is squarely in the O'Malley camp.

I doubt the Cyclones people considered that angle. They probably just thought, "He's famous and he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This should sell tickets."

It may well do so, but much of the old guard is irked.

[jnakamura]

I doubt the Cyclones people considered that angle. They probably just thought, "He's famous and he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This should sell tickets."

It may well do so, but much of the old guard is irked.

What percentage of Cyclone fans are "old guard"?

The ceremonies will be public. It will be for all to see exactly what the reaction will be to the induction.

[CaliforniaCajun]

As noted here in the past, Lasorda is not among the favorites of the old guard in Brooklyn, in large part because he is squarely in the O'Malley camp.

I doubt the Cyclones people considered that angle. They probably just thought, "He's famous and he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This should sell tickets."

It may well do so, but much of the old guard is irked.

Yeah, that struck me as kind of odd. :crazy

[VIBaseball]

What percentage of Cyclone fans are "old guard"?

The ceremonies will be public. It will be for all to see exactly what the reaction will be to the induction.

My guess would be that it's relatively low, and that's why the Cyclones don't take this sensibility into account.

It reminds me of a quote that I heard from one old Brooklyn Dodger, Pete Coscarart, to another, Al Gionfriddo. "They're just going to wait for us all to die," said Pete. But I'm not sure the Cyclones deserve even that much credit for thought.

[dodger dynamo]

Course you gotta remember the Cyclones are a "Mets" organization...not a Brooklyn Dodger organization.....It's not like it's Ebbets field....but of course it will sell tickets.. If they thought only three people would show up..Tommy wouldn't get elected dog catcher, let alone get elected into the brooklyn dodger hall of fame....battlin bake, the dodger dynamo...

[dodger dynamo]

Oh, and the old guard is irked....but hey, Tommy did what Tommy did and how he did it....he kept his job...by becoming an O'malley man....Hey, that's great for Tommy, he made a bundle...just like O'malley...and off O'malley and Tommy is still rakin it in in one form or another...though these days it's more baseball glory than monetary, but he does ok there too....You know if Tommy came out and said, boy I sure fooled the big O' with my phony PR...and I got a lot of his dough and other peoples in the process...........shock waves I'm tellin ya!.....but as with anyone we'll never truly know what he thinks....scully and Lasorda are very similar in their relationship to O'malley....If Peter were to pass beyond before they do...you might here a few words of truth...ah, well who cares really he was not a great ball player and he never managed in Brooklyn....but it will be interesting to see what happens...BB the DD

[The Real McCoy]

Who's idea was this?? Certainly not a guy I associate with Brooklyn.

I believe he went into the self promoting phony wing, in his first year of eligibility.

[VIBaseball]

This looks to have been a fizzle, according to the NY Post:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08172009/sports/moresports/cyclones_honor_lasorda____sorta_184998.htm

Here's a key quote from the column, in line with much of the sentiment here:

"The connection between him and the Cyclones begins and ends with the extra tickets the club sold yesterday by using his name."

[Michael Green]

I grew up in Las Vegas, the son of a Brooklyn mother, and am a Dodgers fan. I know that longtime Brooklyn fans are saying, Lasorda has no business in that hall of fame. But I watched his bad managing for 20 years here, so I am still too busy figuring out why he is in the one at Cooperstown!

[pgsuperfan]

What percentage of Cyclone fans are "old guard"?

The ceremonies will be public. It will be for all to see exactly what the reaction will be to the induction.

Correct me if I am wrong the DODGERS have been in LA for 51 years now. Don't you think that most of the "old guard" are no longer around. The only people that remember the DODGERS in Brooklyn are all about my age 62.

[VIBaseball]

The headscratching over this move continues. Here's a good blog entry on the "Metstradamus" site -- it raises a good question, who's in charge of the Brookyn Dodgers Hall of Fame these days? I'm not sure that Marty Adler is any more. The author's belief is that the the Cyclones -- i.e., the Mets organization -- are.

http://metstradamus.blogspot.com/2009/08/blue-for-you.html

On a milder note, here is what The Brooklyn Papers had to say, including a quote from an actual "old guard" fan who was at the game and claimed to have seen Lasorda pitch at Ebbets:

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/32/33/32_33_zf_cyc_tommy_lasorda_in_brooklyn.html

[metrotheme]

I don't know why there is so much resentment by Brooklyn's only baseball club doing something to honor one of the few living Brooklyn Dodgers, especially one that is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, even if it was for his managing. I understand that the Cyclones are under the Mets umbrella, but will fans really show up to honor the deceased, as much as they will for someone that is actually living.
I heard from a fan who went to the game that Lasorda was under lock and key and didn't sign a single autograph for any of the fans at the game. If you look very hard at the press releases, there was nary a single word or hint of Lasorda signing autographs. I guess the Cyclones were trying to keep the dealers away or Lasorda didn't feel like dealing with them.

[dodger dynamo]

[QUOTE=VIBaseball;1594667]The headscratching over this move continues. Here's a good blog entry on the "Metstradamus" site -- it raises a good question, who's in charge of the Brookyn Dodgers Hall of Fame these days? I'm not sure that Marty Adler is any more. The author's belief is that the the Cyclones -- i.e., the Mets organization -- are. QUOTE]

Wilpon will next trade the dodgers for copyrighted material.....some terms of the deal will be a trade off in cash and a "team name" to be disclosed at a later date.............................

[VIBaseball]

We've touched on some of your points here and in the past, metrotheme, but it's worth recapping them here along with some other things.

I don't know why there is so much resentment by Brooklyn's only baseball club doing something to honor one of the few living Brooklyn Dodgers, especially one that is in the Baseball Hall of Fame, even if it was for his managing.

"Resentment" may be too strong a word. "Irked" is the one that came to mind for me, even though I'm not an "old guard" fan. Lasorda's connection to Brooklyn is tenuous, and being an O'Mallley man does nothing to endear him to the faithful.

I understand that the Cyclones are under the Mets umbrella,

One thing I was wondering is how the Cyclones came to be associated with the Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame. Apparently this has been the case since at least 2002. I do think Keyspan Park is as good a place as any to host it.

http://www.ebbets-field.com/Webmaster/May22002.htm

but will fans really show up to honor the deceased, as much as they will for someone that is actually living.

Agreed. Of the 80-some living Brooklyn Dodgers (as of this writing), the only other "name" that I can think of who's not already in is Don Zimmer. I dare say Zim would have been better received...that is, if the fans could have beaten the traffic and canned music didn't drown out the event.

I heard from a fan who went to the game that Lasorda was under lock and key and didn't sign a single autograph for any of the fans at the game. If you look very hard at the press releases, there was nary a single word or hint of Lasorda signing autographs. I guess the Cyclones were trying to keep the dealers away or Lasorda didn't feel like dealing with them.

Probably some of both. Here's a story that discusses Tommy's stance on autographs and dealers:

http://issuu.com/autograph/docs/autograph_april_2009/15

[VIBaseball]

Well, Marty Adler -- a leading member of the "old guard" -- is still involved with the Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame as curator. In fact, he was there at KeySpan and inducted Lasorda.

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/08/20/bay_news/brooklyn_sports/bay_news_brooklyn_sportsopwajxt08202009.txt

So Marty for one isn't irked...two sides to every story.