Tommy Lasorda an iconic figure in baseball managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996.
During his tenure, he led the Dodgers to two World Series victories and four National League pennants.
Born in 1927 in Norristown, Pa., Lasorda began his professional baseball career at 18 with the Phillies.
After serving in the military, he achieved a record 25-strikeout performance in 1948. In 1949, the Dodgers drafted him, leading to various successes.
By 1978, he had made history by winning pennants in his first two managerial seasons.
Post-retirement, Lasorda managed the 2000 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team to a gold medal. He passed away in 2021.
Below are some of the inspirational quotes by Tommy Lasorda.
Best Tommy Lasorda Quotes
My theory of hitting was just to watch the ball as it came in and hit it. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Sometimes, you get too hopped up, too excited, and it works against you. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Everybody wants to win, but everybody doesn’t win. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Everybody makes mistakes, that’s why they put erasers on pencils. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
When we lose, I eat. When we win, I eat. I also eat when we’re rained out. ~ 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.
Nothing succeeds like – failure. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
People say you can’t go out and eat with your players. I say why not. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Baseball is played by all countries now, and softball, too. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
If you’d see my schedule, you’d know I have no time to slow down. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I was told to stay away from pasta and bread for two weeks. Not eating pasta? That’ll kill me. Anything else, but why pasta? ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Grownups have to say ‘please,’ too. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
About the only problem with success is that it does not teach you how to deal with failure. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Famous Tommy Lasorda Quotes
Think about each pitch like you think about women, then select one which is particularly appealing. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I wasn’t quite sure how a player got to the big leagues. As far as I knew, he was just there one day. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you’re up in the stands with them. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
If you don’t love the Dodgers, there’s a good chance you may not get into Heaven. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Everything I have, I owe to baseball and the Dodgers. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
You can wake up every day and make today better than the last. ~ 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.
Never argue with people who buy ink by the gallon… ~ Tommy Lasorda.
When I was 15 years old, I used to actually dream I was pitching in Yankee Stadium. Bill Dickey was my catcher. ~ 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.
Chan Ho had a great career and was the exemplification of class, dignity and character. ~ 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.
Inspiring Tommy Lasorda Quotes
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.
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.
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.
All last year we tried to teach him, Fernando Valenzuela, English, and the only word he learned was ‘million’. ~ 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.
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.
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.
I’m telling you, I don’t like cheaters. ~ 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.
Bruce Benedict is so slow he’d finish third in a race with a pregnant woman. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I’ve got a portrait in the Smithsonian. Who ever thought that would happen? ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Talking about your troubles is no good. Eighty percent of your friends don’t care and the rest are glad. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Nobody has to tell Frank Sinatra he is a good singer and nobody has to tell me that I am a good manager. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Top Tommy Lasorda Quotes
The only Angels in Los Angeles are in Heaven, and they’re looking down on the Dodgers. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
You can have the best team in baseball, and if nobody goes through the turnstiles, you’ve got to shut the doors down. ~ 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.
It’s still the best game in town because you don’t have to be big to play, and everybody plays. Even your grandmother probably played baseball. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I love doubleheaders. That way I get to keep my uniform on longer. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I’ve never used one word of profanity in front of my wife, or my daughter, or my granddaughter or anybody else’s wife. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
You give loyalty, you’ll get it back. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I’ve had heroes in my life – Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
The best possible thing in baseball is winning The World Series. The second best thing is losing The World Series. ~ 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 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.
My son wasn’t gay. No way. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Popular Tommy Lasorda Quotes
I motivate players through communication, being honest with them, having them respect and appreciate your ability and your help. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
If you love your job, you haven’t worked a day in your life. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Always give an autograph when somebody asks you. ~ 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.
If he raced his pregnant wife he’d finish third. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I was glad to see Italy win. All the guys on the team were Italians. ~ 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.
I believe managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
The saddest day of the year is the day baseball season ends. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
I didn’t even graduate from high school. I’ve never told anybody that before. I got my degree later, when I was in the army. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
No, we don’t cheat. And even if we did, I’d never tell you. ~ 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.
Great Tommy Lasorda Quotes
My God, look at the words people use today. They use profanity like it’s nothing. Christ almighty. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Everywhere I go, I feel strange. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Baseball is like driving, it’s the one who gets home safely that counts. ~ 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.
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.
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.
I believe that managing is like holding a dove in your hand. If you hold it too tightly, you kill it, but if you hold it too loosely, you lose it. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
My goal is to live to be 100. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
Sports has kept me on the straight and narrow path. ~ 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.
I bleed Dodger blue and when I die, I’m going to the big Dodger in the sky. ~ Tommy Lasorda.
So these were the 77 top Tommy Lasorda quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Zitkala-Sa quotes and William Blake quotes.
