Time
to go and create a "missing" 1979 National league All-Star manager card
for the skipper who led the Senior League to another Midsummer classic
win over the American League in 1978, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Tommy
Lasorda:
Lasorda
was given the honor of course because of his pennant winning season of
1977, when he guided the Dodgers to the World Series where they would
lose to the New York Yankees.
It
was the first Series appearance as manager for Lasorda, something he
would repeat the following season, as well as 1981 and 1988, the latter
two years bringing the City of Angels World Championships.
Though
he skippered the Dodgers for four games in 1976, the 1977 season was
the first full year at the helm of the team, and it would lead to an
incredible 21 year run that saw him win two championships (1981 and
1988), with two other pennants thrown in (1977 and 1978).
Between
1976 and 1996, Lasorda led the Dodgers to 1599 wins and a .526 winning
percentage, while becoming an icon in the baseball and cultural realm.
Funny
enough, Lasorda would guide the Dodgers to 98 wins in his first full
season as manager, and that would be the high-mark in a season for wins
during his tenure.
However, he would lead the team to seven
different seasons of 90+ wins, as well as seven first place finishes in
the National League West.
He grew to be a legend in Los
Angeles, and growing up as a kid loving baseball in the 70's and 80's
his legendary status made its way East to Brooklyn, New York with my
friends and I in our Italian neighborhood!
