Thomas Charles Lasorda was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997. These Tommy Lasorda quotes will motivate you.
Best Tommy Lasorda Quotes
- “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Talking about your troubles is no good. Eighty percent of your friends don’t care and the rest are glad.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“If you don’t root for the Dodgers, you might not get into heaven.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I walk into the clubhouse today 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 7th inning he’d already drunk it.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Pressure is a word that is misused in our vocabulary. When you start thinking of pressure, it’s because you’ve started to think of failure.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Everybody makes mistakes, that’s why they put erasers on pencils” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “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
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“The best possible thing in baseball is winning The World Series. The second best thing is losing The World Series.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “If he raced his pregnant wife he’d finish third.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “You have got to love what you’re doing. No matter what it is. Whatever you undertake in life, if you don’t love it, and you don’t enjoy it, you are making a big mistake. You have got to love what you are doing. You have to appreciate what you are getting, and you have to do it to the best of your ability.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “When you say you’re a padre, people ask when did you become a parent. When you say you’re a cardinal, they tell you to work hard because the next step is pope. But when you say you’re a Dodger, everybody knows you’re in the Major Leagues.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Managing is like holding a dove in your hand. Squeeze too hard and you kill it; not hard enough and it flies away.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“You can wake up every day and make today better than the last.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “The worst team in baseball’s history won only 55 games. The best team ever won 110 out of 160, so you’re virtually guaranteed to win 1/3 of the time and lose 1/3 of the time. The difference is the 1/3 in the middle. You don’t know what bucket the game you’re playing falls into, so if you’re smart, you’ll fight like everything for all of them.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “If you love your job, you haven’t worked a day in your life.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I’ve been able to dine with presidents, with leaders of corporations, traveled for 14 years with (financier and philanthropist) Michael Milken, who has taught me so much about life. Hanging around with them, it’s nothing I could have believed in grade school. I could be with all of them? Milton Berle, Don Rickles, Dean Martin … this former third-string pitcher from the Norristown High baseball team and the son of an Italian immigrant? I really am in awe when I think that has happened to me. What a life.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands before too long you’re up in the stands with them.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “The only Angels in Los Angeles are in Heaven, and they’re looking down on the Dodgers.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “When we win, I’m so happy I eat a lot. When we lose, I’m so depressed, I eat a lot. When we’re rained out, I’m so disappointed I eat a lot.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “The gym teacher’s name was Mr. Caruso. Mr. Caruso did
not speak English. He spoke ‘Gym.’ One day I was playing
basketball and Mr. Caruso told me I would have to get
an athletic supporter. He didn’t express himself exactly
that way, though. He said, ‘Hey, you, one day you’re gonna
go up for a rebound and the family jewels aren’t gonna
go with ya.’ I had no idea what he was talking about.
Next day I showed up for practice without my watch and
my mezuzah. He said, ‘Did ya take care of the family jewels?’
I said, ‘I left ’em in my locker.’ Took us a half hour to
revive Mr. Caruso.” ~ Tommy Lasorda -
“Sometimes, you get too hopped up, too excited, and it works against you.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “All last year we tried to teach him (Fernando Valenzuela) English, and the only word he learned was million.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I don’t like the pitch count! How are you gonna develop your arm? If you’re a track man you say, “Hey, you can’t run too much.” Or if you’re a boxer you say, “Hey, you can only box three rounds.” It’s not right!” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I’ve been Catholic all my life, and there’s one thing I’ve never understood. Why didn’t the Corinthians write back?” ~ Tommy Lasorda quotes
- “He (Darryl Strawberry) is not a dog; a dog is loyal and runs after balls.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “When I was interviewed after I got hired to replace Walter Alston, a future Hall of Famer, I was asked: “Don’t you feel pressure on you?” I said: “Want to know something, I’m worried about the guy who’s going to have to replace me.”” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“My theory of hitting was just to watch the ball as it came in and hit it.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I motivate players through communication, being honest with them, having them respect and appreciate your ability and your help.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Think about each pitch like you think about women, then select one which is particularly appealing.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “When you – when you become the manager of a major league team, particularly the Dodgers, to me, that’s a privilege and an honor. No matter where you go or what you do, you represent that position that you have. And you represent that organization that gave you the opportunity to be doing what you’re doing.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I do not care whether you’re a Democrat or you’re a Republican or an independent. We must pull for the people who are wearing the uniform of the armed forces. These people weren’t drafted. They enlisted because they believe.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“When I was 15 years old, I used to actually dream I was pitching in Yankee Stadium. Bill Dickey was my catcher.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “It is a great honor to be inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. When you honor me with this distinction, you really honor the players who put me there. All of the honors I receive became a reality only through the contributions of my players. In addition to myself, you also honor my family and the Dodger organization. I accept this recognition with pride and gratitude.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “There are parents out there screaming as if their kid is going to be in the big leagues someday. C’mon. I chew them out if I see that. Maybe they’ve got their own idea how to do things, but it’s wrong. Just be with the kids. Let ’em make errors. Give them all a chance. It’s not about winning. It’s spirit, togetherness.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I’m sick and tired of people saying that taking drugs is a sickness. When you put something of your own free will in your own body knowing that it’s harmful against the body, it’s against the law and all it will do is lead you down the path of destruction, that is a weakness.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“My goal is to live to be 100.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “One time I was doing a speech to a group of kids, and just before I get there, I see this little kid crying. I found out they just lost a game, and he was the losing pitcher. I went over there, put my arm around him, and said, ‘What are you crying for? When major league players lose, they don’t cry.'” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “A second-guesser is one who doesn’t know anything about the first guess, and he’s one who needs 2 guesses to get one right.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I still remember the entire Boy Scout motto. I don’t remember the serial number of my gun in the army. I don’t remember the number of my locker in school. But I remember that Boy Scout code.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“You give loyalty, you’ll get it back. You give love, you’ll get it back.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “If you don’t love the Dodgers, there’s a good chance you may not get into Heaven.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Baseball is like driving, it’s the one who gets home safely that counts.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “The only way I’d worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I am so happy and proud to learn of Hideo Nomo’s election to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. He was quite a pitcher and competitor, but he is also a very special and caring person.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I started in the lowest league in baseball, and I worked my way all the way up to Triple-A and then to the big leagues. I never reached the level that I thought I would reach as a player. But that’s the way it goes. So then I started from the bottom as a manager, and I worked my way up to managing the Dodgers for 20 years.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I’m going to the big Dodger in the sky.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “My wife tells me one day, ‘I think you love baseball more than me.’ I say, ‘Well, I guess that’s true, but hey, I love you more than football and hockey.'” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “When we lose, I eat. When we win, I eat. I also eat when we’re rained out.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Guys ask me, don’t I get burned out? How can you get burned out doing something you love? I ask you, have you ever got tired of kissing a pretty girl?” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Ernie Banks was a great great player and when he no longer could play, he became a great ambassador for the game. He represented the game with the highest of class and dignity. Everybody loved Ernie Banks. He enjoyed baseball, life, and people. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. We have truly lost a baseball giant.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“Grownups have to say ‘please,’ too.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Chan Ho had a great career and was the exemplification of class, dignity, and character.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I firmly believe that there is a God. I firmly believe that there is a Heaven. And I firmly believe that if you go there, it’s gonna be great.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “My God, look at the words people use today. They use profanity like it’s nothing. Christ almighty.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Sometimes you’ve just got to let an umpire know that you’re not satisfied with his decision. That they’ve missed the play in your opinion. Not that it’s going to do you any good, but you’ve got to let them know.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
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“I was glad to see Italy win. All the guys on the team were Italians.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “I’ve had heroes in my life – Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Say ‘Dodgers’ and people know you’re talking about baseball. Say ‘Braves’ and they ask, ‘What reservation?’ Say ‘Reds’ and they think of communism. Say ‘Padres’ and they look around for a priest.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “Baseball is played by all countries now, and softball, too.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
- “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
- “I’m telling you, I don’t like cheaters.” ~ Tommy Lasorda
