About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure.
Tommy Lasorda

All last year we tried to teach him Fernando Valenzuela English, and the only word he learned was million.
Tommy Lasorda

Always give an autograph when somebody asks you.
Tommy Lasorda

Baseball is like driving, it's the one who gets home safely that counts.
Tommy Lasorda

Guys ask me, don't I get burned out? How can you get burned out doing something you love? I ask you, have you ever got tired of kissing a pretty girl?
Tommy Lasorda

I believe managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it.
Tommy Lasorda

I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky.
Tommy Lasorda

I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer.
Tommy Lasorda

I motivate players through communication, being honest with them, having them respect and appreciate your ability and your help.
Tommy Lasorda

I walk into the clubhouse and it's like walking into the Mayo Clinic. We have four doctors, three therapists and five trainers. Back when I broke in, we had one trainer who carried a bottle of rubbing alcohol and by the seventh inning he had drunk it all.
Tommy Lasorda

Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you're up in the stands with them.
Tommy Lasorda

Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it, not hard enough and it flies away.
Tommy Lasorda

My theory of hitting was just to watch the ball as it came in and hit it.
Tommy Lasorda

No, we don't cheat. And even if we did, I'd never tell you.
Tommy Lasorda

People say you can't go out and eat with your players. I say why not.
Tommy Lasorda

Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it's because you've started to think of failure.
Tommy Lasorda

Say 'Dodgers' and people know you're talking about baseball. Say 'Braves' and they ask, 'What reservation?' Say 'Reds' and they think of communism. Say 'Padres' and they look around for a priest.
Tommy Lasorda

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.
Tommy Lasorda

The only way I'd worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs.
Tommy Lasorda

There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.
Tommy Lasorda

When we win, I'm so happy I eat a lot. When we lose, I'm so depressed, I eat a lot. When we're rained out, I'm so disappointed I eat a lot.
Tommy Lasorda

A left-handed pitcher, Tommy Lasorda spent most of his 14-year career in the minor leagues, appearing in only 26 major league games with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics. After retiring as a player, he became a scout for the Dodgers and then managed in the minor leagues.

Tommy Lasorda joined the Dodgers as a coach in 1972 and managed the team at the tail-end of the 1976 season, after Walter Alston announced his retirement. The Los Angeles Dodgers promptly won pennants under Tommy Lasorda's guidance in 1977 and 1978, but lost the World Series in six games each year.

Because of a player strike, the 1981 season was shortened and split into halves. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the first half, beat the Houston Astros in the division playoff, won the league championship series over Montreal, and then defeated the New York Yankees in a six-game World Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the division in 1983 and 1985, but lost in the league championship series both years. In 1988, Tommy Lasorda took the Dodgers to another pennant and they then beat the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in a five-game World Series.

While the Dodgers were usually in contention for the rest of his tenure, they never won another pennant under Tommy Lasorda.

In late June of 1996, Tommy Lasorda underwent angioplasty after a mild heart attack. His former shortstop, Bill Russell, was named interim manager. A month later, Tommy Lasorda announced his retirement from managing to enter the team's front office and Russell became manager.

Tommy Lasorda briefly returned to the field to coach the U. S. team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics.

A fiery leader known for his loyalty to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization--he often exhorted his players to "bleed Dodger blue"--Tommy Lasorda was sometimes been derided by the press as a clown whose success resulted largely from having superior talent. But, like Casey Stengel, who once had a similar image, he's respected by baseball people for knowing the game and for his ability to handle and inspire players.

Former Dodgers Players :