"Tommy Lasorda? I hate Tommy Lasorda." - Fletch
Tommy Lasorda. Member of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers for two decades.
Taking over the helm as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers from the legendary Walter Alston in 1977, Tommy Lasorda proceeded to win two straight National League West division titles and in his second year lost the World Series to the New York Yankees. By the time he retired as manager in 1996, Lasorda's Dodgers appeared in the World Series four times and were crowned World Champions twice.
Considering the rate of turnover amongst major league managers and coaches, Lasorda's twenty years can be considered a remarkable feat. Only three men managed the same team for a longer span of consecutive years, Connie Mack, John McGraw and Alston. Then again, Lasorda did not work for George Steinbrenner...
Lasorda's playing career lasted only three years, two of which were spent with the Dodgers, the third with Kansas City. He pitched in four games for the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, the only world championship won by the team during their time in Brooklyn.
In his lifetime, Lasorda has worked for the Dodgers as a player, scout, minor league manager, coach and general manager for the team, but his greatest success came as manager, for which he was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
According to numerous websites, Lasorda spends much of his time on the circuit as a motivational speaker. In 2000 he managed the United States Olympic baseball team in Sydney, Australia.
Some information gathered up and regurgitated from:
Los Angeles Dodgers History at dodgers.mlb.com.