Wednesday, April 10, 2024

MISSING ALL-STAR MANAGER: 1979 TOMMY LASORDA

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!