American baseball player & manager (1927- )
When I was 14 years old, I went with my father to visit some family. This guy said, "Sam, you have five sons -- which one of those sons do you like the best?" I thought my father would say me! He thought for a moment, and then he raised his hand, and said, "which one of those fingers do you like the best?"
TOMMY LASORDA
"A Thoughtful Sitdown with the Best. Manager. Ever.", Thrillist
Yeah, but I love you more than football and basketball.
TOMMY LASORDA
to his wife who claimed he loved baseball more than her, The Gigantic Book of Baseball Quotations
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, Winning Words: Classic Quotes from the World of Sports
About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure.
TOMMY LASORDA
The Artful Dodger
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
Sports Illustrated, May 29, 1989
When you're not playing up to your capability, you gotta try everything, to motivate, to get them going. All of them have to be on the same end of the rope to pull together. It's playing for the name on the front of the shirt, not the back. Individualism gets you trophies and plaques. Play for the front, that wins championships. I try to remind them of that.
TOMMY LASORDA
Los Angeles Daily News, July 14, 2013
I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, Winning Words: Classic Quotes from the World of Sports
Baseball is like driving, it's the one who gets home safely that counts.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, The Gigantic Book of Baseball Quotations
I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I'm going to the big Dodger in the sky.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, Confessions from Left Field: A Baseball Pilgrimage
The only way I'd worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, Great Quotes from Great Sports Heroes
I found out it's not good to talk about my troubles. Eighty percent of the people who hear them don't care and the other 20 percent are glad you're having trouble.
TOMMY LASORDA
attributed, The Gigantic Book of Baseball Quotations
I managed the Dodgers for 20 years. It's hard to believe that there are only four guys in the history of baseball who managed the same team for 20 years or more. One was owner of the team, Connie Mack. Another was part owner of the team, John McGraw. Then there was my predecessor, Walter Alston, and me. It's amazing. In the 20 years I managed the Dodgers, 210 managers were fired.
TOMMY LASORDA
interview, American Sportscasters Online
I was told to stay away from pasta and bread for two weeks. Not eating pasta? That'll kill me. Anything else, but why pasta?
TOMMY LASORDA
Los Angeles Daily News, July 14, 2013
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
The Artful Dodger
Caltech honored me -- they named an asteroid after me. There's only two of them up there with names. One of them is Walter Cronkite. The other is Tommy Lasorda.
TOMMY LASORDA
Los Angeles Daily News, July 14, 2013