Lasorda the Ambassador Will Be Missed

How are we Angelenos supposed to feel? Should we be glad that the dean of all managers has moved into the on-deck circle for the Hall of Fame? Or should we feel cheated that Tommy Lasorda will not be able to give the troops one more rallying cry?

One thing for certain: Baseball will sorely miss one of its greatest ambassadors. No one came to the ballpark day in and day out with such boundless enthusiasm. Thank you, Mr. Lasorda, for blessing us with incalculable energy, spectacular moments and the Dave Kingman tapes.

MATTHEW CRAMER

Los Angeles

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I am a native Californian and a Dodger fan since birth, 25 years ago. I do not know the Dodgers without Tommy and frankly I don’t think I want to.

His retirement is understandable, due to his health, but I just wanted to let him know that I am not happy with the situation. I’ll still be a Dodger fan, and I wish Bill Russell luck, but I’m not running out to the stadium any time soon. It just won’t be the same without Tommy’s short little legs running to the mound.

MICHELLE CROWDER

Glendale

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I vividly remember being in a hotel in Montreal for the 1982 All-Star game. I could not believe how friendly Tommy Lasorda was to every kid who wanted an autograph or picture. He would even coax the shy ones to come on over and make sure the kid’s parents got the shot they wanted. He stayed and stayed.

At the same hotel at the same time, I remember Reggie Jackson trotting away, even going behind tables and moving chairs to avoid any kid who wanted a picture or autograph.

With the contrasts between the two, I remember what I told myself: Tommy Lasorda was the nicest guy and one of the greatest ambassadors baseball will ever have.

JEFF PRESCOTT

La Jolla

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Funny, but as I was watching Tommy Lasorda declaring that it was “his” decision as to whether he would retire, the longer he spoke, the longer his nose seemed to grow.

CHUCK FITZPATRICK

Covina

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There would never be a day that Tommy Lasorda would want to quit managing the Dodgers. There is little secret that the deepest wishes of Tommy and Peter O’Malley became diverse. Fortunately, the ideal situation arose for this uneasy transition, and in its execution, Tommy Lasorda reaffirmed his candidacy as the most loyal team player in the history of sports.

RICK WALLACE

Malibu

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Usually once a year I write to vent my frustration at the Dodgers’ underachievements due to the always predictable managerial blunders of Tommy Lasorda, saying that if they ever expected to be winners, they needed to trade Dodger-bleeding-blue cheerleading for some much-needed managerial genius. But I’ve always separated Lasorda the person from Lasorda the manager, so although I’m excited for the prospects of a Dodger team guided by new blood, I’m truly saddened for a fine human being and the way it happened.

I don’t believe for a second that Peter O’Malley said the job was Tommy’s if he wanted it. If he had, Lasorda would be in the dugout right now. I sincerely hope that Lasorda wants to, and becomes, commissioner of baseball. He not only has the knowledge, but a genuine love and respect for the game, its history, the players and the fans--qualities sorely lacking in the half-wit who now pretends to run the office. Right now, major league baseball needs Lasorda far more than the Dodgers.

DAVID PHINNEY

Newbury Park

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The Times did something right! Thanks for putting the highlights of Tom Lasorda’s Dodger career on the front page of your July 29 edition. Now maybe his detractors--who would look in vain for even a single comparable achievement in their own backgrounds--will shut up and go away.

WILLIAM S. KOESTER

Upland

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It’s September, 1980, the last game of a season-ending three-game series with the Astros. The Dodgers need to complete a sweep in order to tie for the division lead and force a one-game playoff. The buzz in the park is unreal. Every pitch, every swing of the bat brings a roar from the crowd. We shout and scream through the whole game--when Steve Garvey bunts for his 200th hit, when Manny Mota gets a pinch-hit, when Ron Cey deposits Mr. Spalding over the fence, when Fernando pitches in relief, when Don Sutton comes out of the bullpen and “finishes” a save, ensuring the one-game playoff. It remains the most exciting and loudest game of baseball I have ever witnessed.

Now it’s October 1985. It is the sixth game of the league championships. The Dodgers are trailing in the series, 3-2. In the bottom of the eighth, Mike Marshall connects on a solo home run. The Dodgers lead, 5-4, three outs away from a decisive seventh game. The Cardinals, with one out in the ninth, have runners on second and third. Jack Clark steps to the plate to face Tom Niedenfuer. The moment cries for an intentional walk. “What in the hell is he doing?” my brother-in-law asks. We can’t believe it. Niedenfuer is pitching to Jack Clark with first base open. Clark connects on a fastball that is still rising when it crashes into the left-field pavilion. With one swing of the bat a season (and a pitching career) is over.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat--what baseball is all about. Thanks for the memories and God bless you, Tommy Lasorda.

JAMES P. CANTILLON

Santa Barbara

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I wonder what Dave Kingman thought of Lasorda’s performance.

JOHN D. THOMPSON

Chino