Interview with Tommy Lasorda

MJ: Tommy Lasorda, thank you for joining us today.

L: Thank you very much. Arigato.

MJ: How long have you been managing the L.A. Dodgers?

L: Well, this is my... I just completed my 19th season. And next year,

when I manage my first game in 1996, for my 20th season, I will be one of

only four in the history of the major leagues who managed the same team 20

years or more. Of course Connie Mack did it for many, many years, he was

the owner of the team, John McGraw did it with the Giants, he was half

owner of the team, and my predecessor Walter Alston did it for 23 years. So

he and I are the only two that accomplished it that didn't have part of the

ownership of the club. So, I'm honored about that, I'm very extremely

proud. And I'm grateful to Mr. O'Malley, and the general manager, Fred

Claire, and his predecessor Al Campanis, who made it possible for me to

accomplish this. And the players. Naturally, you can't do it... To manage

that long, you have to have had good ballplayers playing for you.

MJ: When you joined the Dodgers as manager, you succeeded, or just before

you, Mr. Alston had been in there. He was a very successful manager. Was

that tough to follow in his footsteps?

L: Well, you know, it's a funny thing you mention that. He was... You

know, when I got the job, and the day they announced it right here in this

ballpark, that I was the new manager of the Dodgers, Vin Scully interviewed

me. He said, "You're replacing a man that's been here for 23 years, you

are replacing a future Hall of Famer. You are replacing a legend. You are

replacing one of the greatest managers that ever lived. Don't you feel

there's going to be a lot of pressure on you?" And I didn't even hesitate.

I said, "You want to know something, I'm worrying about the guy who's going

to have to replace me." Because, let me tell you something. Because if I

was concerned with who I was replacing, I might have felt inferior. But

when I thought about who was going to replace me, all of a sudden I felt

superior. So I go from inferior to superior, in just the direction I look.

MJ: Speaking of that, is there anybody that you would like to see replace

you, when that eventually happens?

L: Well, first of all, let me say this. Whoever replaces me, I'm not going

to have anything to say about that. The man in that office over there,

Peter O'Malley, is going to be the guy who's going to decide who replaces

me, just like he decided who I was going to replace, or who was going to be

the replacement for Walter Alston. But if he asked me, I would answer in

all honesty, I would say Billy Russell. I would think that he would be a

good manager for this ball club.

MJ: Tell us how you got involved in baseball.

L: Well, you know, when I was 12 years old, 10 years old, I don't know, I

always wanted to be a major league baseball player, because I idolized

major league players. And I always dreamt of being a major league player,

that was all I ever wanted to be. I didn't want to be anything else but a

major league player. And then I signed my first contract when I was 17

years old. I went away to play professional baseball, 17 years... 17 years

old, now, that was 50 years ago. 50 years ago, I played my first game of

professional baseball. And all I ever wanted was to be a major leaguer. So

I did get to the big leagues, but it wasn't for a long time, but I got

there. And then the Dodgers asked me to be a manager. So I went in the

Rookie League, which is the lowest league. And I worked there for four

years, and then they put me to Triple A, which is the highest minor league,

and I did that for four years. And then they asked me to come up here to be

the coach, and I was the third base coach for four years. And then they

asked me to be the manager of the Dodgers, and that's going on 20 years

now. So, it's been a career that I have loved every minute of it, because I

was doing exactly what I wanted to do. And there were tough times, no

question about it, but my father taught me that tough times come with

everybody. Tough times never last, but tough people do. And I've enjoyed

every minute of my career. I've been the happiest guy in the world, without

question.

MJ: Most of us know you as a manager. What was Tommy Lasorda like as a

player?

L: Well, looking back on my career, I didn't stay too long in the big

leagues because... I don't want to alibi, was I didn't really get a good

shot at the big leagues. Minor leagues, I was very successful. I pitched

nine years in Montreal, which was in the International League. I won over

125 games there. But getting the chance to pitch, I just didn't get it. But

I can't complain, I can't look back, I can't change what has happened. So I

don't look at it in that manner, because if I did, I would only feel

remorseful. But then I said... When I became a manger, I said, "Ok, I

wasn't a real big success as a player, then I want to be a real success as

a manager." And then I worked my way from the top, I mean from the bottom,

the Rookie League, all the way to the top. I sat right up in those seats up

there, 1963. I was a scout for the Dodgers. I sat there with my wife there,

now up in that red, you see where those red seats are up there? That's a

long way from that field. And I said to my wife, I said, "You see that

dugout there?" This was during the 1963 World Series. I said, "One day, I'm

going to be down there in that dugout, managing the Dodgers to a World

Series." That was in 1963. In 1977, my first year as manager for the

Dodgers, I was in that dugout for the 1977 World Series. 14 years later, my

dreams became a reality.

MJ: People who know you and work with you say you love baseball. What is

it about baseball that you love so much?

L: Well, it's a great game. It gives youngsters of any size an opportunity

to play. To play football, you got to be big, you got to be strong, in most

cases you got to be fast. To play basketball, you got to be tall. But

baseball, everybody plays baseball, no matter what size. You can be a

success if you're 5 foot 7. You can be a success if you're 6 foot 1.

Everybody plays baseball in this country. So I'm proud to be associated

with this sport. I'm proud to be a Dodger. So wherever I go in this

country, or all over the world, wherever I go, I try to represent the

Dodgers and baseball in the highest degree of class. Because it's a great

profession. I love my job, and I really and truly love... I'll be

beginning my 47th year with the Dodgers. Can you imagine that? 47 years

with the same organization. It's unbelievable.

MJ: Can you tell us a little bit about your early years growing up, your

family life?

L: Well, I come from a family of five boys. I was the second oldest. My

father worked awful hard. He drove a truck in a stone quarry. And he worked

sometimes two jobs to take care of his family. We worked hard, we had a lot

of love, we didn't have very much money, we didn't have very much of the

material things in life, but we had faith in God, and we had a lot of love

that was in our family. And I had to work in summers to help support the

family. As soon as school was out, I would have to go out and get a job. I

worked on a railroad when I was 16 years old, as a laborer. I worked in a

clothes factory. I worked putting roofs on houses. Any way I could get a

job. When school was out, the next morning my mother was shaking me,

saying, "Hey, wake up, you got to go out and get a job." I had to go out

and look for a job because the money I brought in was to support our

family. But it was great. I loved it. We had a lot of love, a lot of

togetherness. You know, a lot of people look back on their youth when

they were growing up, "Oh, times were tough, we couldn't do this, we

couldn't do that." Hey, we didn't do those things, but we loved each other.

We had fun, we played baseball, we did a lot of things. So I loved my

parents, I loved my brothers very very dearly. So my life has been... I

wouldn't trade my life for anybody's. I would never trade my life for

anybody's, because I have had a great life, I've done exactly what I wanted

to do, and I did it for a lot of years.

MJ: What do you learn about life from what you learn on the baseball field?

What principles to you learn there that you apply to your life?

L: Well, you... In baseball, if you're a player, you've got to follow

orders. The manager tells you to bunt, you bunt, the manager tells you to

pitch, you pitch. In life we got to follow orders. Whatever we undertake.

In baseball you got to be in the clubhouse in uniform at a certain time.

You go out into the world, you get a job, you got to be in that office at a

certain time. You got to be everything, got to be on time. You want to win

on that baseball field; this tremendous desire to win, whatever you

undertake in life, you maintain that same desire. You put forth all the

energy, all the drive and determination that you have within you, because

that's what you did on the ball field, and that's what you do in life. So

the things that I learned in baseball are the things that carry me through

life. You've got to get along with your teammates, in real life you've got

to get along with people. You can't be miserable on the baseball field, you

can't be miserable in life. You've got to want to make it on the baseball

field, and you've got to want to make it in life. My job is no different

right now than anybody's. I want to be the best manager in baseball, and

you want to be the best in your business. I want the Dodgers to be the

number one organization in baseball, the people want their organization to

be number one. I want to make money, they want to make money, so it's all

relative. It's not the same, it's all relative in what you're trying to

accomplish in life. And our goals are to do the best we can, and to reach

the top of the ladder in our profession. When you do that, you know one

thing, that you have worked hard to get there, you have paid the price, and

the price of success can only come through the avenue of hard work.

MJ: You've had a lot of achievements with the Dodgers in your almost 20

years. What are the things you're most proud of over that time period?

L: Well, I'm proud, I'm proud first of all to be a Dodger. That is a

privilege in itself. I'm proud of the players that played for me. I've had

some of the greatest players and the greatest guys in the world play for

me. I'm proud that I've been fortunate enough to manage world championship

teams. I'm proud of the fact that I have never, ever, ever in my lifetime

done anything to tarnish the name Dodger, or embarrass myself, or embarrass

the Dodger organization in any degree. I'm proud, I'm proud that I've been

able to do this job for as long as I have. And that is only because I have

a very patient owner, understanding general manager. So you're looking at

the happiest, luckiest, most appreciative man in the whole world.

MJ: You mentioned some great players. Can you tell us about some players

that just really stand out in your mind that you've had over the years?

L: If I did that, it would take me a long time. You know, everybody asks

me, who's the guy that you liked more? Who is you favorite? Out of all the

players who played for you, which one is your favorite? You know, when I

was with my father, I was about 15, 14, 15 years old, and we went over to

visit this family on a Sunday afternoon. And the man said to my father, he

says, "Sam, you have five sons. Which one of those boys do you love the

best?" I thought, "By golly, he's going to say me." And I was waiting

anxiously. And my father held up his hand like this, and he said to the

man, "Which one of those fingers do I like the best?" And it's the same

thing with my players. I've had so many great young men play for me, that

for me to say one is better than the rest of them, I can't honestly say

that. I can tell you that there are a lot of them that I still love very

very much. There are a lot of them that I still respect very very much.

Guys that have played for me, long gone. And I never stopped thanking them

for giving me what they gave me over the years. They made it possible for

me to manage this ball club, going on 20 years. That's amazing. And you

can't do it without good ball players.

MJ: People on this team talk about being part of the Dodger family.

That's not true of every team in the major leagues. Why is that?

L: I don't know, I can't answer that, I cannot answer that for the simple

reason that I haven't been in other organizations. I can only tell you

about this one. I can tell you that it's an industrious, it's an

aggressive, it's a family oriented organization. The O'Malleys have had

this ball club since 1951. And they have always done their best to make

everybody in this organization... I mean the guys who take care of the

clubhouse, the bat boys, anybody... they have always done their utmost to

make sure everybody felt like they were an important part of a family. And

that's a great feeling to know that you're part of a family, that there's

love there, there's understanding there, there's appreciation there. See,

loyalty is a two way street. Einstein once said, "An ounce of loyalty is

worth more than a pound of knowledge." You've got to be loyal to people who

do so much to make you happy, and make you feel appreciated. And I'm

talking about Walter O'Malley first, and then his son Peter took over. I've

worked for two owners. I've worked for two general managers. I've worked

for a group of players that I've had nothing but tremendous feelings for.

So what happens when it's time for me to say goodbye? I've got a ... They

can take away my clothes, they can take away my car, but they can't take

away my memories. I've got a houseful of memories. Nobody can ever take

those away from me. Wonderful, and gratifying memories.

MJ: What advice would you have for a youngster who wants to play

professional baseball, for you maybe?

L: Well, I go all over this country. I speak to schools, I speak to

universities, and the first thing I try to make them understand, is to get

a good education. Education is something that no one can take away from

you. If the youngster wants to have aspirations of being a major league

ballplayer, that's good. But if he puts all his eggs in one basket, and

denies himself of the opportunity of getting a good education, then he gets

signed by a professional team, and he plays ball for 3, or 4,5 years in the

minor leagues, then he gets hurt, and he can't play any more, or he doesn't

make it, now what is he going to do? He did not get that education. See

what I mean? So he's going to live to regret that. What's he going to do

now? You see, he's been out of school 6.....7 years, what's he going to do?

He's got to go out and find a job. But if a young man has aspirations of

being a major leaguer, that's good, but get your education, because your

education is something that no one can take away from you. They can take

your car away from you, they can take you house away from you, they can

take your money away from you, but they can't take your education away from

you. That's one of the few things that you will take to the grave with you.

So I try to impress upon all the youngsters that I talk to, "Get a good

education." Set your goals in life. Whatever you want to be, you can be.

All you've got to do is pay the price. And the price of success can only

come through the avenue of hard work. How bad do you want something? Set

your goals and go after it with all the drive and determination and desire

that you have within you. You can reach those goals. Dreams become

realities. There's nothing wrong with dreaming. There's nothing wrong with

hoping. There's nothing wrong with praying. Because prayers are answered,

dreams become realities, and hopes become fulfilled. You can be anything

you want to be. There's no one going to stop you but yourself. So make up

your mind what you want to be, and go out and do it with a great deal of

self confidence. But more important, get a good education.

MJ: What is life like for you in the off season?

L: I do a lot of speaking. I speak to schools, I speak to churches, I speak

to armed forces, I speak to so many people in the off season, and I love

it, because whenever I go in to talk to a group of people, I surely hope

that I would be able to say something that would help them in their

lifetime to be better people or more successful. Because you see we learn

three ways in life. We learn by conversation; how much have we learned by

talking to other people, and then we learn by observation; how much have we

learned in our lifetime just looking, and then we learn by participation.

So, when I speak to a group of people, when I'm finished, I hope and pray

that I have a message that I delivered to them, a message that will make

them better people, and possibly more successful in their particular

fields. And when I walk out of that door, I feel good myself, because I was

able to transfer into their minds and their hearts the things that I felt

that are needed for someone to reach the level of their goals.

MJ: Could you tell us about Hideo Nomo?

L: Well, you know, I remember in 1981 when we had Fernandomania. And then

here it is 1995, when another young man came along that sparked the

baseball world, Hideo Nomo. He is a breath of fresh air. He was somebody

who brought life back to baseball. He joined two countries closer together.

He is an outstanding young man, tremendous character, he represented his

country in the highest degree of class, dignity and character. When he

came here, he was put into a fish bowl, to use that expression. When, you

know, you look in and you see the fishes all the time. Everybody wanted to

know what this guy was going to do. The people in Japan, all the Japanese

people were pulling for this guy, because they wanted to find out how their

baseball today can compare with the baseball here in the major leagues.

Because it was over 30 years that a player came from Japan to pitch in the

American, in the baseball, the guy was Masanori Murakami, who pitched for

the San Francisco Giants, but that's over 30 years ago. Now along comes

this guy who pitched five years in their league, now we're going to find

out how our baseball compares to theirs. Well, all the people in Japan, all

the people of Japanese descent were all pulling for this guy. This was

their hero. This was the guy that was going to represent therm. Not only on

the baseball field, but off the baseball field. And he represented his

country in a great degree of class. The people of Japan could be very very

proud of Hideo Nomo. Not for just what he did on the baseball field, but

for what he did off the field. He represented his country in the greatest

fashion and class. I'm very very proud of him. I love him very very much.

Not only as a baseball player, but as a person. I'll be going to Japan on

the 23rd of November. I can't wait till I get over there and visit with

him, because we had a good time together this year. He had a beautiful

family, Ikuko is his wife, and little Takahito is his boy, and he's a

great person, and I'll tell you something, the people of Japan should be

very proud of him.

MJ: If you decide to stop managing, what do you think you'll be doing, what

would you like to be doing?

A: Well, when the time comes that I can't manage any more, I hope that I

can help somebody, in some way, whatever it might be. If somebody thinks

that I can help them in baseball as a scout, or a developer, or whatever

the case might be, fine. I want to be a Dodger till the day I die.

MJ: Would you ever consider managing in Japan?

L: Well, you can't think about the future, because nobody knows. No one

knows what the future holds. You can't think about the past, because you

can't do anything about that. But you can do something about the present.

Right now, I'm the manager of the Dodgers, I'm the happiest guy in the

world, and I don't know what's going to happen five weeks from now, I don't

know what's going to happen five years from now, I don't know what's going

to happen to me at all. But I know one thing, that whatever I do, I will do

it with all the desire that I have within me, and I will do it because I

love it. And I'll do it with one hundred percent effort.

MJ: You have a love affair with the city of Los Angeles, and they have a

love affair with you. Why is that? Why are you so popular in this city?

L: Well, you know, when you start trying to beat your own drum, you're in

trouble. I can't, I can't say why, I'm just happy that, I'm just happy that

people like me. I like that. Because I work hard at trying to make people

like me. I speak for a lot of people, I try to help a lot of people, I'm

always there to help. And people know that I love my job, people know that

I'm loyal to the Dodgers, people know that I love my family, people know

that I love my country, people know that I love my God. So I'm the happiest

guy in the world. And if people like me, that makes me feel good.

MJ: I also wanted to ask you about your restaurants that you had for a

number of years. Can you tell us about those?

L: Yeah, I had three restaurants, but they weren't mine, they used my name

on them, and I thought they were great, because I would go in there and

meet people, and have lunch or dinner there, and the owner wanted to go

back to Canada, so he sold them all, but that was great, I loved it very

very much......

.......... I love going there. The people of Japan, you know, I've gotten

word back from a lot of people that they appreciate the way I've taken care

of Hideo Nomo. You know, and he eats with me all the time in the clubhouse,

and I treat him like a son. And I want him to know, because here's a guy

coming over here, he doesn't speak the language, it's very difficult. So I

did everything I could to make him feel like he was part of the family. I

did everything I could to help him enjoy himself here. And I told him any

time he needs me, I'm always there to help him. Not just on the baseball

field, but off the baseball field too. Which I do with all my players. See,

I spend more time with them than I do with my own family. They spend more

time with me than they do with their own family. So I want us to be all

happy. I want us to all be together. I tell them that's the only way we're

going to win.Everybody got to get on one end of a rope and pull together.

He loved the players, he loved, he loved playing here for the Dodgers. He

really did. Because, hey, we all looked after... I took care of this guy. I

wanted him to feel at home. I wanted him to feel welcome in this country. I

wanted him to know that he was a very very important part of the team.

MJ: So you felt that he got along real well off the field as well as on.

L: I think he's very happy here. I think that he can't wait until he waits

until he comes back and plays for the Dodgers again. I really do.

MJ: Do you expect to see more Hideo Nomos in the years ahead?

L: No, I don't think so. No, the Japanese players are good players,

they're not going to come over here. They get paid handsomely over there,

they speak their own language, when they're through playing, the people who

own the teams, they own big corporations, and they have them work for them

when the time is over. A guy would be... it wouldn't do him any good to

come over here, and he wouldn't make any more money than he makes over

there, he'd have to go through the language barrier, he's have to go

through a different culture, a different way of living. He'd be crazy to

do that. The only reason he came over here, he had problems with the team.

And I guess he had problems with the manager, I don't know, but I never

asked because that's none of my business, but I know one thing; he was

happy here. He was really happy here. And I don't think the players, I

don't think the players are going to come over here. I think that they

should stay there, because that's their country, just like it's our country

here. But if they want to come, you know, they're more than welcome.

Because we don't... When we judge talent, we don't look at where they're

from, we don't look at what their color is, we don't look what their

nationality is. Can they play? That's what's important with us. We have

guys on this team from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela,

Panama, Mexico, Japan, Korea, we got them all on this team. So we're proud

of them. Proud of each and every one of them.

MJ: Tell us about your family life.

L: Well, I married a girl from Greenville, South Carolina. I played there

in 1949, in 1950 we got married. So we've been married 45 years. We've had

two children. Our son passed away when he was 33 years old, we have a

daughter, she just had a baby about seven weeks ago, a little baby girl, so

we're grandparents for the first time. A beautiful little baby. And I thank

God every night because he gave me a great family. I married... If I could

have seen God one week before I got married, and had written down on a

piece of paper what I wanted for a wife, He couldn't give me a better one

than the one that I have. They say marriages are made in heaven, boy, I'll

tell you, this one was. I've been very very happy. She has been the wind

beneath my wings.

MJ: Thanks for joining

us today.

L: I enjoyed it. I want to say hello to all the people in Japan. I want

to thank you for the support you gave Hideo Nomo, the support you gave the

Dodgers, I want you know that Hideo Nomo came here, he brought two

countries closer together, Japan and the United States. We're very very

proud of Hideo Nomo, we're very very proud of your country. And we thank

you for giving Hideo Nomo to us. He's been an inspiration, he's been a

blessing, and we have really enjoyed him pitching for us this year.

Arigato.