Tommy Lasorda didn't die; his volume has been turned down - Los Angeles Times

Tommy Lasorda is not dead. They just turned down the volume. Now, the sports world will become quieter and the entertainment will be greatly reduced.

Lasorda was the capital B that was bombed. His voice is as soft as a megaphone, as subtle as a slap in the face. He is Vesuvius in the Dodge Blue Volcano.

Lasorda really kicked. For us in the newspaper industry, he is the ultimate baseball figure, a minute of laughter. During Lasorda's management, Dodger defeated writers who should pay for privilege, not for salary. He often yelled at sports writers to learn about their various criminal behaviors stained with ink, and then gave them a wink and a smile at the end of the novel. He likes sports writers and almost likes him yelling at them. He never underestimated their value.

He was the manager of the Sydney U.S. Olympic team in 2000. American baseball has never been good because the Olympic Games are held in the summer and the good players are in the major leagues. But LaSorda, who retired from managing the Dodgers a few years ago, was boring and was looking for another challenge. Therefore, he signed to manage a series of obscure prospects and minor league cast detractors. This made me very happy. One day, before the game started, I went to the stadium to look for Lasorda and some good offers. No one is nearby. The U.S. team’s canoe is empty. The canoe is a restricted zone in the press, but I want to know where everyone is, but I walked along the tunnel to the clubhouse, even more.

Then, I heard the sound, it was a sound with a bomb rhythm. I have been walking, and my voice is getting louder and louder. Now I tell this group that most of them are baseball scrubs. They are one of the best teams he has ever managed. There are a lot of talents in that room. right now! Remember, he has managed two world championship teams.

He yelled: "I want to make a prediction here." "Two of you pitchers, maybe three, will win the Cy Young Award!"

I was very interested, so I kept going, sneaking into the back of the room, hoping not to show up. But LaSorda saw me. In the fog, he might find sports writers 1,000 yards away. He stopped, thinking whether to scream or kick me out or take advantage of the moment. He chose the latter and raised the volume when gathering troops. He knew I would write this. I did it, and the tone suggested that this inspirational speech was absurd. Two weeks later, under the leadership of manager Tommy Lasorda, the U.S. men’s Olympic baseball team participated in the game as they believed to be the Yankees in 1927 and won the gold medal.

Many years later, I decided to write a column about Bruce Froemming, a long-term national league referee. In the seats behind the home plate at Dodger Stadium, we met the Dodgers a few hours before the game. When I am now a Dodge executive LaSorda wandering around, there are two questions in my interview. He made two decisions, figured out the situation, and then started yelling at Froemming that some Froemming abandoned his long-term game. Froemming yelled that he should be deported earlier or more frequently. They left.

By the time they re-expressed their views aloud, the bounce and dirt of their career hit the home plate, and about 50 people gathered together. Lasorda yelled, Froemming yelled. They are performing now. The insult was filled with giggles and winks. I never asked another question. No need.

Around the same time, I went to South Bend, Indiana, to report on the football game at Notre Dame University in Tennessee. The night before, a party was held at the home of the Irish Sports Director. I went, and the first person I met was LaSorda. He said that the next day he will go to Notre Dame de Paris for pre-match inspiration. A few minutes later, he wandered around and asked if I had a car. This is one of the events where you wander around and eat finger food. LaSorda did not make finger food.

Look at the life of legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who died on Thursday at the age of 93.

He said: "Let's go." We went to a city where 80,000 football fans were also having dinner. I asked him if he had reservations, and he said, "We are going to pick up Digger on the road." That is Digger Phelps, Irish basketball coach, Blarney technique and Lasorda )similar.

We picked up Digger and drove to a restaurant called Parisi's. Of course, this place is full of people. I asked LaSorda again if he had reservations. He said: "We don't need to make a reservation here." We were taken to one of the best tables in the house, Lasorda returned the soup twice as usual because it was not hot enough, and then he and Digger tried to tell stories to each other. Soon, it was almost midnight, and the place was almost empty. I told Lasorda that we should pay the bill and let the help go home.

"We are not paying here," LaSorda said.

I found the waiter on the road and handed him some 20 dollar bills.

Before I sent him to his hotel, I asked Lasorda the next day about the lecture of the Notre Dame team. "They will win," he said. "When I speak before the game, the team always wins."

The next day, Tennessee defeated Notre Dame de Paris. That Monday, I called LaSorda and asked if the Irishman might get lost after speaking.

He said: "They took the lead at halftime, but then I had to leave to catch a plane."

The legendary Dodgers manager and baseball ambassador Tom Lasorda (Tom Lasorda) died of a heart attack on Thursday at the age of 93. He is always joking, always fast, here are some.

One day, I was sitting in the Dodgers press room with a friend Father Billy McKinney. A few years ago, he worked for me in the sports department of the "Milwaukee Daily" and then entered the priesthood. He is one of two "Wall Street Journal" sports writers serving as priests, which may reflect my management skills. LaSorda lingered. I introduced them. McKinney has become the highest priest of the Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and he told him that he was seeing some potential donors in the city.

"That's it." LaSorda yelled. "How much do you need? Dwyer, I will propose. We will come out there, talk, sell tickets, raise funds. Just say when. Dwyer will arrange it."

Oh my God. Trip to South Dakota.

Six months later, McKinney died of a heart attack, but LaSorda asked us to move on. We flew to Rapid City. A priest and two nuns picked us up and drove us for a few hours to the monastery, where they were converted into houses for the priest and nuns. Lasorda called his wife Jo, told her that he was sleeping in the monastery, and then sat around the table with six priests, becoming Tommy Lasorda. I forgive myself and go to bed. The last sentence I heard from LaSorda was: "So, I tell Ronnie, Ronnie Reagan, your damn army needs more money..."

The next day, we will return to Rapid City and stop at several reserved schools, where hundreds of children flock to Lasorda, and he will tell them the story of Dodge Blue. He stayed for a few hours. He is a rock star.

In the late afternoon, the pastor and two nuns drove us back to Rapid City, and LaSorda spoke in the auditorium of Rapid City. I picked up a local newspaper at the hotel, and the front page headline announced LaSorda's speech. Later, the pastor and two nuns picked us up and took us to the auditorium. The picture of LaSorda hung from the wall. He gave a speech and told the story of Dodger Blue, which I had heard dozens of times, but it attracted the audience in the crowded auditorium. He raised thousands of dollars for the reservation.

Lasorda suggested wearing a nightcap, but I begged to get off the car and walk back to the hotel. When Lasorda and the two nuns walked towards an area with a few places that looked like bars and strip joints, I looked back at the street. The next morning, the pastor and two nuns picked us up and drove us to the airport. In those days, people could take you all the way to the gate, and they did. Goodbye.

When we were sitting on the plane, I asked LaSorda to assure me that he did not take the nuns to one of the places last night.

"Damn it," he growled undeniably. "Everyone needs to play once in a while."

Therefore, it seems fair to summarize here. Despite Tommy Lasorda's awkward mouth, he may still be in heaven now-the big place, not just the Dodge Blue Satellite-partly because several nuns are there praying for him.

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Bill Dwyre was a three-time sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times in 2006-15. Prior to this, he had been the sports editor of the paper for 25 years. In 1985, Dwyre was named the National Editor of the Year by the National Press Foundation for his coverage of the 84th Olympic Games, and was awarded the United States for his outstanding achievements in sports news. The Associated Press Sports Editor (1996) awarded the Red Smith Award. From 1973 to 1981, he joined the "Times" as the sports editor of the "Milwaukee Daily". Dwyre was named the winner of the National Headline Award in 1985, was awarded the Sports Writer of the Year in Wisconsin in 1980, and the Sports Writer of the Year in California in 2009.

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