For more than three decades, he has been the face of
the Los Angeles Dodgers.
And after more than sixty years in the Dodgers’
organization, Tommy Lasorda remains the embodiment of Dodger Blue.
Lasorda, who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from
1976-1996, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 by the
Veterans Committee following a career where he won 1,599 games, two World
Series and two more National League pennants – all with the Dodgers.
In 1948, Lasorda made a record-making return to the
baseball scene with the Schenectady Blue Jays as he authored a 25-strikeout
performance. In 1949, the Dodgers drafted him from the Phillies, and he made a
new home pitching for the Greenville Spinners and the Montreal Royals. During his
time with the Royals, Lasorda led his team to four minor league championships.
Lasorda made his major league debut on Aug. 5, 1954
with the Dodgers. He played for the Dodgers for two seasons before being traded
to the Kansas City Athletics, where he pitched for one season.
By 1978, he had led the Dodgers to two straight
National League championships, and became the first NL manager to win pennants
in their first two seasons. After losing to the Yankees in both the 1977 and
1978 World Series, the Dodgers went on to win the World Series over the Yankees
in 1981.
“Guys ask me,
don't I get burned out?” Lasorda said. “How can you get burned out doing
something you love?”
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