I remember Tommy Lasorda's ascension to Dodger manager — and Los Angeles superstar — like it was yesterday. I'd just begun seriously following the Dodgers while visiting my Mom Los Angeles during the summer of '76; I saw my first-ever NL game at Chavez Ravine that summer, a Dodgers-Reds contest on August 6. (I remember that we went to the game with a friend of hers, who drove a white VW microbus whose insides were plastered with pictures of Meher Baba.)
The Dodgers were already 11 games in back of the Big Red Machine at that point, and wouldn't get closer than 7 at any point during the rest of the season. They had a solid nucleus of players — including Don Sutton, Burt Hooten, Tommy John, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Steve Yeager and Reggie Smith — but never quite seemed up to the task of taking down the mighty Reds and regaining the NL West crown that they'd won in '74. And Walter Alston, the taciturn manager who'd skippered the Brooklyn Dodgers to a World Series championship in 1955 and had remained with the franchise through a cross-country move, the Koufax-Drysdale era and into the mid-70s, no longer seemed like the right man for the job. But when Alston sleepwalked into retirement in September '76, the right man was waiting in the wings... or rather, the third base coaching box.
Now, don't get me wrong — I personally have no love at all for Tommy Lasorda. Without opening myself up to a potential libel suit, let's just say that there have been few people in the game, past or present, whose public and private personas have been as profoundly divorced from each other as Tommy's. (His shameful refusal to acknowledge his late son's homosexuality or AIDS-related cause of death is really just the tip of the creepy iceberg here.) But there's no denying that he brought a new energy, enthusiasm, excitement and self-belief to the Dodgers at a time when they desperately needed it. With only a few changes to the roster (like the addition of Rick Monday), the Dodgers went on to win the '77 and '78 NL titles; it's hard to imagine that that would have happened with Alston still at the helm.
There's also no denying that Lasorda was an incredibly entertaining figure — loud, colorful, and prone to dropping "f-bomb" fusillades with the sort of gusto that would put Casey Stengel to shame. His Dave Kingman rant remains the favorite of many; but for me, there's no better way to observe Tommy Lasorda's 84th birthday than to replay this extremely amusing conversation between him and Doug Rau during Game 4 of the 1977 World Series. Rau has begun the second inning by giving up three straight hits to Reggie Jackson, Graig Nettles and Chris Chambliss, but doesn't want to come out of the game. He gives some lip to Lasorda — who of course gives it back ten-fold. (Listen closely for Davey Lopes and Bill Russell, as they try to shut Rau up.)
Happy Birthday, Tommy. No doubt you've still got enough hot air in your lungs to blow out all the candles on your lasagna.
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