Albuquerque Part of His Roots, Hall of Famer Says

Tommy Lasorda is not a member of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce.

You wouldn’t know it by talking to him.

Lasorda, the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers manager, is quick to say Albuquerque holds a special place in his heart. Fittingly, the 84-year-old is drawing double duty in the Duke City today.

	Monday Isotopes vs. Padres, late

Job one for the current Dodgers special advisor is attending the Triple-A Isotopes home game against Tucson.

Job two is serving as keynote speaker at today’s annual Chamber of Commerce meeting at Sandia Resort and Casino.

“I love coming here,” Lasorda said as he prepared to take in Monday night’s game at Isotopes Park. “It’s a great city and part of my roots are here.”

Lasorda took an important step in his Hall of Fame managerial career when he skippered the 1972 Dukes to a Pacific Coast League title. Remarkably, Lasorda was able to reel off most of that team’s key players as soon as the subject came up.

“Our eighth-place hitter was our shortstop, Steve Huntz,” Lasorda said, “and he drove in almost 100 runs. That was a hell of a ballclub.”

Lasorda thought so at the time, too.

“I challenged (then-Dodgers GM Al) Campanis,” Lasorda said with a grin. “I said we could play the major league team in a seven-game series and beat ‘em. He got really mad at me.”

Campanis got over it. Lasorda went on to manage the Dodgers for 20 years, winning 1,599 games and two World Series championships. In fact, he’s now in his seventh decade with the franchise, having served in a variety of roles.

After enduring some lean years recently, Lasorda believes it’s once again a good time to be a Dodger. An ownership change has reinvigorated the franchise, which was a big-time buyer at the recent trading deadline.

“Oh, it’s great,” Lasorda said. “Ownership told our GM (Ned Colletti), `If you want a player, don’t worry about money.’ They want a winner, and the fans deserve one.”

Lasorda believes Albuquerque will continue to play a critical role in the Dodgers’ success – even if the organization can now spend freely on high-priced talent.

“Different organizations have different philosophies,” he said, “but we believe having a great minor league system is the way it has to be. We need this place. It’s our bloodline to the major leagues.”

Unfortunately, Lasorda has been forced to deal with a different type of blood-flow issue of late. In June, he suffered a mild heart attack and had to have a stent inserted in one of his arteries.

“They said it was 90-percent blocked,” Lasorda said, “but I’m feeling good now.

“They also found out what I’ve been saying all these years, that my blood is Dodger blue.”

Lasorda said he’s been placed on a regimen of diet and exercise, which he doesn’t mind – with one exception.

“I have a real weakness for pasta,” he said. “Even if it means I’ve got to go, I’ll still eat pasta.”

It remains to be seen if pasta is on the menu for today’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon, but Lasorda didn’t mind giving a quick preview of his speech.

“First of all, I’ll let everyone know how great their city is,” Lasorda said. “Albuquerque’s one of the fastest growing cities I’ve seen and it’s really taken it’s place with other big cities around the country. Besides, that’s what the Chamber of Commerce wants to hear, right?”
— This article appeared on page D1 of the Albuquerque Journal