Tommy Lasorda - Life Outside of Baseball

Life Outside of Baseball

Lasorda has supported the U.S. Armed Forces since his 1945 draft at age 18 into the U.S. Army. Stationed at Fort Meade, MD after completing basic training at Fort McClellan, AL, Lasorda served two years at the end of World War II. At the end of the war, draftees were given the option to leave or re-enlist, and Lasorda stayed with the Army to serve, putting his professional baseball career on hold to fulfill his duty.

Lasorda joined Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity as an alumnus initiate on February 10, 1990. He is a member-at-large and is not associated with any particular chapter.

Lasorda and his wife Jo celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2010. They named a gymnasium and youth center in memory of their son, Tom Jr., in Yorba Linda, California on September 7, 1997. They have a daughter, Laura, and a granddaughter, Emily. They have resided in Fullerton, California, for more than fifty years.

In June 2005, President George W. Bush asked Lasorda to serve as a delegate to the U.S. National Day at the World Exposition in Aichi, Japan.

Lasorda was equally famous for his colorful personality and outspoken opinions regarding players and other personnel associated with baseball. He had a number of obscenity filled tirades, a number of which were taped and became underground classics. The most famous of these is his "Dave Kingman tirade" in 1976, in which Lasorda ranted at reporter Paul Olden who asked him about Kingman having hit three home runs against the Dodgers that day. He also had an altercation with Doug Rau on the pitching mound in the 1977 World Series, which was recorded, since he was wearing a microphone. He befriended Frank Sinatra (a well-known baseball fan) and other entertainment personalities during his career.

In 1991, Lasorda's son Tommy Lasorda, Jr. (commonly known to friends and family as "Spunky") died of complications related to AIDS. Lasorda was estranged from his son at the time of his death, and refuses to acknowledge his son's homosexuality and the nature of his illness. According to sportswriter Bill Plaschke, when asked about the cause of death Lasorda insists that it was cancer.

In 1996 he voiced the role of Lucky Lasorta, A Rough Collie commentating the Baseball game in the film Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco

For years, Lasorda appeared in television advertisements for Slim Fast diet shakes (with his famous quote, "If I can do it, you can do it."), and Rolaids antacids where he was seen writing the product's name on a baseball. He briefly owned a restaurant chain bearing his name. He also bottled and sold a failed brand of spaghetti sauce beginning in 1989 through his company Lasorda Foods.

Lasorda portrayed "The Dugout Wizard" in the syndicated children's television show The Baseball Bunch.

Lasorda is the godfather to Thomas Piazza, the younger brother of Major League All-Star catcher Mike Piazza, both of whom are from Norristown. Thomas was named after Lasorda and it has been widely misstated that Lasorda is Mike's godfather. Lasorda is also the godfather to Alex Avila, a catcher with the Detroit Tigers. Alex's grandfather, Ralph Avila, is a former scout with the Dodgers and friend to Lasorda of over 50 years. Alex's middle name of Thomas was named for Lasorda.

In 2006, Lasorda appeared in a series of commercials promoting the MLB Playoffs for ESPN and Fox. The campaign, entitled "Tommy’s Tough Love", featured Lasorda in a tuxedo motivating fans to watch baseball.

In 2008, the government of Japan conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, which represents the fourth highest of eight classes associated with the award. The decoration was presented in acknowledgment of his contributions to Japanese baseball.

Lasorda became a local celebrity in the Dominican Republic due to his many visits in search of young baseball talents in this land of many famous players in the major leagues, especially after becoming a devoted fan of the "chicharrones" (deep fried pork skins) commonly sold on the streets of the Villa Mella neighborhood of Santo Domingo.

On July 23, 2009, Lasorda made a cameo appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. During his brief cameo Lasorda plugged his upcoming music album of great American standards, one of which is a duet with Rod Stewart.

On June 3, 2012, Lasorda at age 84, was hospitalized in New York after suffering a heart attack. The heart attack was not considered to be overly serious.