Tommy “Lasagna” Bleeds Dodger Blue
May 28, 2009 – 6:15 am by Lance Zimmerman
Tommy Lasorda has been in the Dodgers organization for 60 years spending countless days on the road. He’s definitely eaten at every Italian restaurant along the way.
Although Lasorda spent a bit of that time as a player in the organization, it was his managerial skills for which he will be remembered. Lasorda has been in the organization so long, that he never actually played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954-55. His 0-4 record and 6.48 ERA career ERA definitely didn’t land him his spot in Cooperstown.
Similarities can be drawn between Lasorda’s coaching days and current Dodgers Manager Joe Torre. Both definitely know how to win and use the old school mentality to get through to their players. Lasorda didn’t have the trouble of today’s manager however. There were no accusations of Kirk Gibson corking his bat, or HGH being found in Steve Sax’s locker. This however doesn’t make Lasorda immune to baseball’s recent transgressions as he still remains one of the Dodgers top executives.
Tommy Lasorda joined KJR AM in Seattle on Wednesday to talk about Manny Ramirez’s recent steroid suspension, as well as Pete Rose and other issues currently effecting baseball.
Lasorda was asked what his thoughts were on Manny Ramirez:
“He paid the price for what he did. He took the suspension, it cost him a lot of money and it shows that in baseball it don’t make no difference who you are. They say you’re doing something wrong, then you’re going to get penalized for it, and that’s about the way I look at it.”
On if he feels that players from the steroid era deserve to be in the Hall of Fame:
“That’s not my decision to make whether to put them in or not put them in. It’s going to be up to the people that have to vote. I only carry one vote, follow me. So it’s not right for me to speak to other people about other people and what they’re going to vote. I think that’s the way it has to be.”
Lasorda was asked if we should let Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame now:
“Pete Rose committed the cardinal sin of baseball when he bet on baseball. Every major league clubhouse, every minor league clubhouse, there’s a sign on the clubhouse door and on that sign it tells you the rules of the game, and it says if you’re caught betting on baseball its three years, and if you’re caught betting on your own team, its life. That’s the rules. I heard him interviewed in New York one time when a guy said ‘why did you do it Pete?’ and he said he thought he would get away with it. I guess that’s what everybody thinks when they do something wrong. For me, I would not vote for him.”
Listen to Tommy Lasorda on KJR in Seattle with Mitch in the Morning
Tags: Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB Hall of Fame, Pete Rose, Tommy Lasorda
