Q & A with Tommy Lasorda
| Saturday, Jan 23 2010 11:04 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Jan 23 2010 11:06 PM
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Felix Adamo / The Californian Before anyone sat down to eat at the BC Baseball Hot Stove Dinner, famed ex-LA Dodger manger Tommy Lasorda took the the entire BC squad outside and lectured them on the importance of playing as a team and listening to their coach.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda gives the BC baseball team a talk on teamwork before the start of the annual Hot Stove Dinner.
In August of 1954 Tommy Lasorda made his debut as a pitcher for Brooklyn Dodgers. It was the beginning of a relationship with the franchise that has lasted for six decades. During that time, Lasorda has traveled the globe preaching the gospel according to "The Big Dodger in the Sky."
Saturday night, the two-time World Series winning manager brought that message to Bakersfield as the featured guest speaker guest of the Bakersfield College Baseball Hot Stove Dinner held at the Kern County Fair Grounds.
Before the event started Lasorda took questions from the media.
Q: What do you think of the acquisitions made so far by the Dodgers this off season?
A: We think that the team that we have, we can win. I think that Ned Colletti our general manager, he believes it. And I think our manager (Joe Torre) believes. All we need to do is for our guys to perform up to their capability. If they do that, we got some tremendous talent on our team. There's no question about it. All those guys have to do is perform. All they have to do is play up to their capability and then we'll be in the World Series.
How important was it for the Dodgers to lock up a lot of their younger players like Matt Kemp and Andre Either with new contracts?
The general manager has to realize what he's capable of doing in that position. He figures that those guys have done very well, so he rewarded them with a two-year contract. And rightly so, because those guys have performed extremely well. The relief pitcher, (Jonathan) Broxton, he's outstanding. Kemp had a tremendous year. Either had a tremendous year. That's what its all about. You play well, you get paid.
Talk about being here tonight to speak to some of the players for the Renegades who are trying to work their way up to the majors. What sort of things did you tell them?
I told them what it was going to take to win. Everybody wants to win, but not everybody wins because they fail to execute the fundamentals. I said, when you start your season (there are) three things: You've got to be ready physically. You've got to work hard to get yourself in physical condition. No. 2, you got to be prepared mentally, which means you got to believe that your team is going to finish number one. And then, No. 3. You got to be able to execute the fundamentals of the game. If you can do that, you'll win."
Recently, the Dodgers announced that they are going to be playing two exhibition games this spring in Taiwan. What do you think the future holds for baseball internationally?
I think one day, I don't know if I'll be here, but I think one day we're going to have a real world series.
Do you think the World Baseball Classic has led up to that in any way?
They're proving it right now. I received the highest honor that the Japanese give. It's called the emperor award. They gave it to me for my contribution to baseball over there. I remember when I first went over there. Their classification was probably about A, AA-baseball. Now they've got guys coming out of there that are ready to play in the big leagues. I went over there and worked with the Tokyo Giants to teach them how to win. They won 10 straight championships. Now they are able to compete with the major league clubs. That's what's going to happen. One day when they really and truly can compete, then they might have that world series.
You've been with the Dodgers for a long time. Talk about where you think the organization stands heading into the next decade and what the future has in store with the current owner?
The owner of the team, he thinks everything is going be OK and we have to believe him. We've got a great team. We've got a great bunch of players. I think we're going win. I really believe that. You might say, 'you say that all the time.' Well, I believe it all the time. And I believe this team is going to win.
