Lasorda Wasn’t the Longest Shot

Tom Lasorda pitched four games for Brooklyn in 1955, the year the Dodgers won their first World Series, and when the team was honored a few years ago at Shea Stadium, he was there.

“We were standing in line as they were introducing us, and I happened to be standing next to Pee Wee Reese,” Lasorda told Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Press. “I said, ‘Captain, in 1955, if someone walked into our clubhouse and told you one of these 25 guys will be managing the Dodgers to the world championship in 1981, and asked you to put them in order of who you think it will be, do you know where you would have put me? You would have put me 25th.’

“And he said, ‘No, you’re wrong.’

“He said, ‘I would have put you 24th.’

“I said, ‘Who would you have had 25th?’

“He said, ‘Sandy Amoros, because he didn’t speak English.’ ”

Add Lasorda: After he had called Ted Williams the greatest hitter he had ever seen at a banquet honoring the Hall of Fame slugger, Williams said of Lasorda, “There’s no one I admire more. A great manager, a super guy in this game of ours. When they were looking for a new commissioner, Tommy Lasorda was my candidate.”

Asked if he’d take the job, Lasorda said, “I don’t think so. I’d have to take a pay cut.”

Add Williams: Said Joe DiMaggio: “He was a devastating hitter--he was feared.”

Williams on DiMag: “Joe DiMaggio could do everything. He had more style than any player I ever knew.”

Trivia Time: What did running backs Charlie Justice of the Washington Redskins and Gene Roberts of the New York Giants, and catcher Clarence Coleman of the New York Mets have in common? (Answer below.)

Now-it-can-be-told Dept.: Dave Robinson, a linebacker on the Green Bay Packers team that beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first Super Bowl, told Mike De Courcy of the Pittsburgh Press: “It was a big game. We realized it back then. Vince Lombardi hammered it home very strongly. He told us this wasn’t a game we wanted to win 13-10 or 21-17.

“On the opening kickoff, Jerry Kramer came into the huddle and said, ‘Let’s go, fellas, we’re 21 points down.’ We played like we were coming from a deficit all day.”

From Philadelphia 76ers rookie Scott Brooks, who played at Texas Christian before transferring to UC Irvine: “I’m probably the only person in the world to have been both a Horned Frog and an Anteater.”

Ouch: From Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Evening Sun: “With each passing Bullet defeat, I am reminded of what team General Manager Bob Ferry said during training camp: ‘We’re continually looking to improve at every position.’ How ‘bout at general manager?”

Wait a Minute: From the Sporting News: “While in Madrid with the Boston Celtics, Larry Bird went to Spain’s largest department store, El Corte Ingles, and signed 2,200 autographs in 65 minutes. ‘I signed until my hand gave out,’ said Bird after breaking the store record for signing autographs, a record set by Sophia Loren.”

That means he signed his name every 1.8 seconds. Is that possible?

Trivia Answer: The same nickname, Choo Choo.

Quotebook

Don James, University of Washington football coach, on why he’s not thinking of retiring, as rumored: “I’ve got a daughter that I’ve got to get through college and I’ve got a wife who’s a world-class shopper.”