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Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda baseball Manager, born Thomas Charles Lasorda, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Lasorda is best known for leading the Los Angeles Dodgers for twenty seasons (1977-1996); he has been a part of the Dodgers organization for over fifty years total (for some time as a pitcher for the team). He is one of only four managers to remain at the helm of the same team for at least twenty years (he joins Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Walter Alston, the Dodgers manager he replaced).
The story goes that, as a teenager, Lasorda took note of the motto on the side of a can of Carnation milk: "Contented Cows Give Better Milk," and that it was a concept he applied to his philosophy of managing. First as a player, then as a manager, he worked at keeping team morale high, telling jokes, and giving praise for hard work. His approach, to remain positive, and work towards keeping his players content, earned him the respect of players and management throughout baseball, and resulted in a largely successful career. He was known as a great leader, and as one of baseball's great personalities.
While Lasorda led the Dodgers, they won 1,599 games, eight National League West titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. He was elected to manage four All-Star games. In 1997, Lasorda was elected to baseball's highest honor, the Hall of Fame, in 1997; his modesty and respect for the talents of his players was in evidence even then: he claimed that, "I got into the Hall of Fame because my players put me there!"
After suffering from a heart attack, and undergoing heart surgery, Lasorda retired from his post of manager in 1996, but still works within the organization, as the team's senior vice president.
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