yeah, Lasorda threw six knock down pitches in the 8th inning!!?! with Tommy's ERA, he lasted 6 innings against the Yankees!!?! c'om!!! give me a break. who's he trying to kid.
Indeed, quite a "story teller"! Had to go find the two games he mentioned (5/12/56, 6/6/56)...and virtually every detail in his story is incorrect. lol Slaughter did not HR. Collins was not the first hitter. Martin did not K to end the 8th. Mantle did not double but walked. In NY, Bauer did not lead off. Tommy did not pitch 6 IP with 2 ER, but lasted 2 IP with 6 ER.
I’ll give you one, I think, I went to a parochial Catholic School with Hank Jr and his sister, I think her name was Becky, not sure on that one that one, but it was a small school Hank Jr and I played catch, my arm was better than his❤️
K S - This man has GREAT Dodger stories to tell, especially about his years and years of managing minor league teams.He "raised" many a Dodger for the major league roster.
@2121skip Some of those stories about McClain are mind boggling. Like the time he convinced a General Motors executive to allow him (McClain) to fly a cargo plane at night WITHOUT having the required flying experience, with McClain sweating the whole flight, fearing he was going to crash the plane in a residential neighbourhood.
I could listen to these guys talk baseball for hours, day after day thanks to RU-vid. Even if a LOT of their details are really mixed up (maybe deliberately?). Rest in peace, Tommy.
My dad was a pilot who once flew Mr. Lasorda on a small Cessna... and as soon as they got out of the plane, Tommy let out the biggest fart my dad ever heard in his life. He held it for hours like a true gentleman. It's one of my dad's favorite stories to tell.
Growing up Back in the 70’s I always enjoyed Tommy Lasorda’s demeanor, way of managing and his overall personality. And obviously, he earned the respect of his players too, judging of how hard they played.
Great story, my first Yankees game. I'm 8 years old, 1968 it's best give away anywhere, it's Bat Day. We got a free Louisville Slugger and each bat has a Yankees players signature. There handed out at the entrance gate, a 14 yrs. or younger gets one, and yes I get a bat signed by The Great Mick. 52 yrs. Later and I still have that Bat. What a thrill
@Edward We're the exact same age, so I know exactly what you're talking about. My first game was Bat Day at Dodger Stadium. I got a Don Drysdale model, but unfortunately I didn't hang on to mine like you did.
yeah, my Yankees' story is I was 15 years old and I left our box seats behind the the dugout and walked toward the batting cage (I took Bobby Richardson's picture (he was a favorite of mine). and there he was, Roger Maris! I hollered out, "Mister Maris, may I take your picture please?" he looked startled! (I found out later, New York fans didn't treat him like that), then he posed for me! he put his bat to his side, leaned on it with one hand, crossed one leg over the other, put his other hand on his hip and bent his elbow! WOW! then, 55 years later, my cousin's boyfriend was looking through photo album and exclaimed, "HEY! THAT'S ROGER MARIS!"
Tommy proved that and then some in 88, that year alone is HOF stuff but his decision making was fantastic that year. Especially during the world series against that A's club. Your Yanks beat my Dodgers like a cheap chinese gong in the 70's but we did get one in 81 from them Yanks.
If Tommy said it rained unicorns I’d believe him. It’s got to be true, he’s so deliberate and uses so much detail! He’s like a witness at a crime scene - you have to believe him because he was there!!😁
Grew up pulling for the Yanks cause of my Papaw Loved the Big Red Machine For obvious reasons Always been a fan of Tommy Lasorda - How could you not be? I remember an All-Star game in the late 70s or early 80s there was a camera on Billy Martin as he greeted Tommy Lasorda - You could tell the mutual respect and genuine mutual admiration shared between these two legendary Baseball Men - The look on their faces and the manner in which they embraced made it quite obvious - I distinctly remember Billy leaning in and saying something to Tommy - and Tommy literally almost fell over backwards laughing - then with a quick pat on the back they were back to the dugouts , both with huge smiles on their faces - These two were going to battle against each other yet the almost brotherly way they were engaged was truly a special moment in time - Here on my 52 nd b- day and I'll be damned if it doesn't choke me up a little
I'm a die hard RED SOX fan and any time a team is playing against and beating the Yankees, I'm in hog heaven lol. Tommy Lasorda was a class act. He was one HELL of an amazing manager and personality. We miss you, Tommy.
It's funny how we can sometimes recall things the way we'd like them to have been. Tommy actually remembered that start he made at Yankee stadium in reverse, instead of 6 IP and 2 runs it was 2 IP and 6 runs. The next day they had him come in again for mop up duty in a 9-1 loss to the Yanks in which he gave up 3 runs in 2 IP.
The first real indicator that he was just making shit up was the 6 knock down pitches in one inning. How ludicrous is that? I've been watching baseball a long time and you're lucky if you get to see one or two hitters in an entire game get chin music. Maybe Tommy's cognitive skills were waning by the time of that interview and he actually believes the story.
@@Dana-wq5tp It was different then. Pitcher's did go inside. But they weren't all throwing 99 mph stuff either. I do think Bob Gibson or Drysdale would have done that. But Tommy might be a bit too fond of his efforts.
@@dashiellrohan981 Yes, in those days, pitching inside was part of a pitcher's strategy but 6 knockdown pitches? Even Gibson would never go to that extreme and he sure as hell was a lot better talent than Lasorda.
Yeah. I just looked up the box scores of the two games and they don't come very close to matching the story. I put details in another comment. If he faced Mantle at all in that first game, he didn't follow Bauer in the lineup and Lasorda walked him. Mantle was 2-2 with 3 walks. His two hits were a double and a HR, but both came before Lasorda entered the game. I don't expect him to remember every detail after all those years, but the Mantle part and him getting knocked out of the game early in the second game... Kind of makes it hard to believe anything else.
Oh Tommy. In that start at Yankee Stadium, Lasorda lasted 2+ innings, allowed 6 hits, 1 base on balls, 6 runs with 5 earned runs. He faced 15 batters over those 2 innings and he took the loss in a 10-5 Yankee win. He did hit Hank Bauer with a pitch in the second inning.
I love listening to the old-time ballplayers. "He had a face that looked like it could hold 2 days of rain!" I'm STILL laughing! My favorite ever is Casey Stengel. Man, that guy could creatively use the language better than anybody!
Ok you do know what wop stands for? ( With Out Papers ) Tommy had his papers...but i agree with you on never mess with a pissed of Italiano/Sciliano #facts
@@cominghometorome811 ya, I know he is more American than most Americans I met him once about 30 years ago He was a great man A true American Dodger Blue all the Way
For a while Lasorda lived in the town I grew up in, Fullerton, CA. Saw him a few times and said hello. He was just a guy around town that managed the Dodgers. I was an Angels fan. He said that was ok. We can't all be perfect.
Former Braves and Dodgers catcher Del Crandall used to live around the corner from me, here in Brea, California, in a senior mobile home park. I went to his coach for some baseball chat. i asked him about his biggest thrill. #2 - He came up in the bottom of the ninth, two out, bases loaded down 4-1. He hit a grand slam to win the game. He then says, "But beating THOSE yankees in '57! Beating the Yankees. And then we had 'em in 58 3-1 and they came back and beat us." I then told him a favorite pitcher for game 7 of the World Series. As much as Koufax is my favorite, I would pitch Bob Gibson. Mr. Crandall answered back, "Sam McDowell. Hands down, Sudden sam. He scared the daylights out of every batter that faced him."
A few years ago, the wife wanted to go to New York City and do all the NY things. I said ok, but only if we could go to a Yankees game as it was the last year of the original Yankee Stadium. I'm not even a Yankees fan, but there was something about going to that stadium that was special.
AppliedArtsProds You weren’t at the original Yankee Stadium as it was completely renovated in 1975. The version you are referring to was nothing like the original. Nevertheless place you visited was special in its own way, housed some great teams and was100x better than the monstrosity that exists today. Peace.
I made it to a 2020 Dodger spring training game and he was there as usual! Seemed like this guy never missed a game even in spring training too! He’s in his 90s
The truth is Lasorda started 1 game against the Yankees in his career. Lasorda claims he pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 runs. In fact, he pitched 2 innings, gave up 5 earned runs, and got the loss.
Always remember in a big league dugout it doesnt take long to figure out if the manager isnt the smartest baseball man in the dugout. Lasorda passed the test. He was the smartest and a great manager too.
As someone that knew Smokey Alston very well and Tommy Lasorda well enough to escort him to a school where he was helping raise funds, my thoughts about what somebody else replied considering Alston are totally opposite. Alston was an incredible man, not just a manager. He didn't need to raise his voice to get his points across. Alston and Lasorda were both winners, but they were 180-degree polar opposites that just happened to be as close as twin brothers. If Lasorda heard somebody disparaging Alston, they would have gotten a verbal tongue-lashing and maybe more. BTW, as a youngster and nephew of a Major League Scout in the 1950's and 60's, I had the fortune of being allowed to attend a couple of Dodgertown camps. At almost all sports camps tied to a team or university, you hardly ever see the head coach or manager. Not with Dodgertown. Alston talked for 45 minutes on the basic fundamentals and "The Dodger Way." He used a chalkboard like it was math class. He was out there on the field correcting our sliding technique, teaching us how to line up for cutting off the ball from the outfield, AND most importantly, because he valued the opinions of Dodger Math Genius Allan Roth, he stressed the importance of taking pitches and forcing the pitcher to throw inside the strike zone before we swung at a pitch. He taught me how to lead every league I ever played in before college in walks.
Best Mickey story was how the mob was trying to win bets against the Yankees when they were heavy favorites. So they figured getting Mickey to play bad would help. Since he was a notorious partier, they'd keep him out all night. They got two hookers to stay by his side and had him up drinking the whole night through. It was a day game the next day. They figured they couldn't lose. MIckey sat in the dugout with a wet towel around his head the whole game. The ploy failed however when Mick hit a two run homerun to win the game in the ninth inning.
@@MaynardGKrebs-gv4vy Jim Bouton told a story (below link starting at 3:57) about an extra innings game in Minnesota where Mickey Mantle, sleeping on the bench and hungover the entire game, had to be woken and went into the game as a 12th inning pinch hitter, hitting a tremendous homerun in the center field bleachers to win the game. As Bouton tells the story, Mickey had been drinking the night before, so much so that he tried to make a telephone call from a grandfather's clock in a bar. I've heard similar stories from other players, however, I'm not sure they weren't referring to this particular game. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CGmZgqfqQGM.html
Nice story, but the facts don't quite match the way he told it. The first game was May 21, 1956. He got the batting order wrong (Bauer led off and Martin was 2nd, among other mistakes). Lasorda did pitch the 8th and 9th so he got that right, but Mantle hit his double in the 7th inning off of Santiago. Mantle was 2-2 with 3 walks. His other hit was a HR in the 5th inning off Burtschy so if Lasorda faced him that day he walked him. The second game was June 6, 1956 and that was pure fiction, other than him starting. Again he got the Yankees batting order wrong, but more importantly, he didn't pitch 6 innings and give up 2 runs. He pitched 2 innings and gave up 6 runs. He sure did try to make an 0-4 career pitcher seem a lot better than he was.
I vaguely remember a story about him and Billy fighting so there's some truth there. Poor KC back in those days was like a Yankee farm team. That's who they got Maris from!
The mangers laid it on thick they where characters...i remaber when Sparky Anderson was the tigers manager and he would talk to the sports reporters on the news and he would start telling stories lol the news reporters would roll there eyes and smirk as if to say ok sparky we love you but we know your laying it on a little thick here for the tiger fans at home... sure miss a lot of those old-school managers back then Earl Weaver , Billy Martin , Tommy Lasorda , Sparky Anderson
I looked up that start in NY. He did not go six innings while just giving up a couple of runs. His line was: 2+ IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 6 runs, 5 ER. They knocked him out in the third inning. Also, Mantle did not hit a double off of him in the previous game in KC; Lasorda walked him. Very little of this story seems to be true.
@@CoutureThug Here's the game he was talking about where he came out of the bullpen. www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/KC1/KC1195605210.shtml He walked The Mick, then threw a wild pitch and Mickey advanced to 2nd. These are the 2 games Tommy started against the Yankees, Mickey had a single each time. www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195606060.shtml www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195606070.shtml 5
It’s amazing how ball players remember the exact scores and scenarios of games decades ago. I think it’s because of the 3 hour drama of each game, a part of it gets permanently filed away in the memory bank 🤔
Well.....how hard did Tommy throw? What was his velocity? He had a cup of coffee in the majors at a time with many fewer teams and greater competition for those jobs. Tommy John didn't throw hard. Neither did Greg Maddux. And please, NOT that I'm comparing Lasorda to those guys.
I read that Lasorda actually grew up a Yankee fan and his favorite player was Joe DiMaggio. Lasorda was also once property of the Phillies as he played in their farm system. He was actually blocked onto making the Dodgers by Sandy Koufax who lacked command from 1955 to 1958. Koufax straightened out his control problems in 1959.
Wow! Watch Yankees at old Griffith in DC and later at RFK. Mickey only one to clear Bleachers at Griffith in 1953. A monster shot of All time .Was a old Senators fan but rooted for Yankees in World Series.
When I was a pitcher in Babe Ruth Leauge I threw intentionally at guys if the ump said that I hit them the previous at bat and we all know that I didn't hit them. The next time up it was straight at them. And I was fast. they never got out of the way in time. That was when baseball was fun. Before this pussy bullshit they play now.
1960 night game Yankee stadium first MLB game ever had my glove had a nose bleed seat behind home plate leftside, Senator player hits a foul ball it's coming right at me I put my glove up closed my eyes and the guy in front of me jumps up makes a bare handed catch, one disappointed 12 year old fan. Lineup, Skowron on first Richardson on second Mc Dougall at Short, Kubek on third, Elston Howard catching, Yogi in left the Mick in Center and Maris in right field Turley was pitching.
Well who was that kid that pitched when the Dodgers was still in New York in the World Series? He said you mean no Mickey Mantle today he’s not playing, oh well I can win this game and he did. But if Mickey Mantle didn’t intimidate someone or if the Yankees didn’t intimidate you, you had to be ignorant as a box of rocks or in a coma. Mickey hit 18 World Series home runs, still the record.
I think we lost tommy a few years ago he is missed i remember watching baseball years ago...an he was coaching the dodgers who were originally ftom brooklyn my italian grandfather used to remind me ....with that upset look...deserters.he didnt say it but i got it...
The thing is that, when we were kids, of course the names like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale, Yogi Berra, Lou Gehrig, Babe, Joe D., and the famous others were well known to every person who loved baseball. This "Hank Bauer" guy was not even considered or his name bandied about like the others. Weird how the nobodies gain fame later on in life even though no one had the slightest idea who they were when they were supposedly "famous".
They don't allow you to play baseball like that no more the game has gotten too soft I'm not the biggest fan of Tommy Lasorda but I appreciate the story and I wish the game was went back to the old ways
