Tommy Lasorda dead at 93

worm0082

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He threw out the first pitch at only Sox game Ive been to. 2009 vs Braves. Something to do with the Jimmy Fund. RIP.
 

bankshot1

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He, along with Scully, was the face of the Dodgers for decades.

And he went out with his beloved Dodgers winning the World Series.
RIP Tommy
 
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staz

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The cradle of the game.
Incredible 71-season career with the Dodgers and a seemingly great guy. R.I.P. and thanks for '81. Fittingly, he goes out a champion.
 

deanx0

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Posted this on Facebook. Figured I will share it here:

RIP Tommy Lasorda. Figured I would share my story about "meeting" Tommy. I was working for Human Kinetics at the American Baseball Coaches convention in San Diego in January 2002. The show was over, so I was breaking down our booth, packing books, working up a sweat. Tommy works his way down the aisle and a few young ladies are talking to him and they stop in front of our booth. Eventually Tommy reaches out a hand to me and I honestly think "wow, this guy sees how hard I am working and wants to shake my hand!" so I go to complete the hand shake. Tommy glares at me and yells "pen!"--he just wanted to sign a few autographs for the young ladies and ultimately didn't want anything to do with me.
 

ColdSoxPack

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Posted this on Facebook. Figured I will share it here:

RIP Tommy Lasorda. Figured I would share my story about "meeting" Tommy. I was working for Human Kinetics at the American Baseball Coaches convention in San Diego in January 2002. The show was over, so I was breaking down our booth, packing books, working up a sweat. Tommy works his way down the aisle and a few young ladies are talking to him and they stop in front of our booth. Eventually Tommy reaches out a hand to me and I honestly think "wow, this guy sees how hard I am working and wants to shake my hand!" so I go to complete the hand shake. Tommy glares at me and yells "pen!"--he just wanted to sign a few autographs for the young ladies and ultimately didn't want anything to do with me.
Awesome.
 

nattysez

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Incredible 71-season career with the Dodgers and a seemingly great guy. R.I.P. and thanks for '81. Fittingly, he goes out a champion.
My impression from everything I've ever heard about him is exactly the opposite.
 

terrynever

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Tommy pitched one season with Kansas City, 1956, and walked 45 batters in 45 innings. He was a 5-foot-10 lefty from Norristown, PA. Feisty. He told a story about not being afraid of the Yankees and how he wanted to dust off every one of them. Yankees crushed him twice in early June. Lasorda was so awful, he got cut by the worst team in baseball.

Tommy is in the HOF as much for his personality and love of the game as for his managing. Maybe the best thing he did was listen to his hometown friend, Vince Piazza, who had a son named Mike. Dodgers drafted him very late, maybe 37th round, and Mike got to the HOF, too.

edit: 62nd round for Piazza.
 

terrynever

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From today’s Philly Inquirer:
Bill Plaschke, the Los Angeles Times columnist who authored a book on him,I Live for This: Baseball’s Last True Believer, wrote that Mr. Lasorda might have been “the most popular baseball figure in the world, but he is also perhaps the most complex.”
“He can be lovable, vengeful, unselfish, unkind, tender and tough, all at the same time,” Plaschke said.
https://www.inquirer.com/phillies/tommy-lasorda-died-los-angeles-dodgers-norristown-20210108.html
 

mikeot

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Loathe to speak ill of the departed, but is it possible to reconcile his status as a baseball icon with his denial about his son? An open question IMHO.
 
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terrynever

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Loathe to speak ill of the departed, but is it possible to reconcile his status as a baseball icon with his denial about his son? An open question IMHO.
Unless you have been in Tommy’s shoes, let’s not make judgments. I had a close friend in that situation. It took him a long time to realize what was going on but eventually he came around. He always supported his son, often financially, as did Tommy Sr. Things are good now but his son did not die at 33. My friend had time to catch up.
The coaching world is full of fathers who did much worse with their families. Andy Reid. Coaches just are not around their wife and children enough because they are addicted to their jobs.
 

kenneycb

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Loathe to speak ill of the departed, but is it possible to reconcile his status as a baseball icon with his denial about his son? An open question IMHO.
Yes. Just like people do all the time with a whole host of athletes. To say nothing of the ones we know nothing about. Great sportsman, shitty person. Ted Williams comes to mind.
 

jaytftwofive

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It is so sad that his son died of Aids. A tragedy. I met Tommy at a Penn Baseball Banquet in the fall of 1995. My brother in law, A Penn graduate got myself and my nephew tickets. I asked him a question about Jim Healey, a LA talk show/comedienne who's show would feature one liners from Bobby Knight, Mike Dikta, Bob Costas and of course Tommy. Usually the famous "What did I think of Dave Kingman's performance tonight"(He hit 3 hrs and 10 RBI"s against Dodgers in May of 1978). Healey had passed in 1994 so I asked him do you miss JIm Healey? At first surprised by the question he said "Yes I do miss him" He was signing free autographs and was very nice to the crowd before the banquet. I said you're a good sport. Vince Piazza(Mike's Dad) was there also. He was normally pretty funny but that night he was off. Oh well. I used to watch the Baseball Bunch also, even though I was in my early to mid 20's. He was the Wizard. RIP Tommy. 71 years in baseball, married 70 years.
 

Deweys New Stance

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When I was a teenager in the late 70s/early 80s I found his cartoonish persona entertaining and appreciated that, as the guy who bled Dodger Blue, he was a common opponent of the Yanks. But when, as an adult, I learned more about him, including the horrible treatment of his son, I came to view him much differently, and grew very tired of his act.

I’m just glad he wasn’t smart enough to appreciate what he had in Pedro Martinez.
 

RG33

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A client of mine who has become a good friend turned 60 3 years ago. He is from Los Angeles and a diehard Dodger fan, and has always loved Lasorda. His two sons purchased a “Lunch with Lasorda” for his 60th at a charity event (like $6000!). The only rule was that Lasorda insisted it be at the neighborhood diner that he frequented often. He got there around noon — ended up spending 3 hours with him — said the stories and jokes were amazing, and he could not have been more accomodative and nice to him. He also said, which Lasorda had forwarned, that Lasorda just fell asleep sitting upright about 5-6 times during the 3 hour span. It would last a couple of minutes and he would then snap out of it — and then would make self-depracating jokes about being an old geezer. My friend said it was one of the top 10 experiences of his life. RIP to one of the good guys.