Customer Reviews

I Live for This: Baseball's Last True Believer

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have seen Plaschke on TV and met Tommy Lasorda at Dodger stadium one time as we past his limo heading into the park. This was after his managerial carrer was over. My wife was a nurse working when Tommy's wife wsa treated at Centinela hospital i 1991. He stopped to talk to us and sign something for us but said he was in a hurry. My wife mentioned his wifes's hospitalization and we got into a nice friendly conversation before he left. As related in the book, Tommy was himself hospitalized at Centinela in 1996 for a heart attack. So even though I was a Yankee fan and relished in the Yankee victories over his Dodgers in 77 and 78, I found him to be very nice, funny and endearing.

That type of personality comes through in this book as well. But early on we learn about his idiosynchrosies and the story meanders. It is hard to tell where Plaschke is trying to go with this.

I was thinking about a possible two star review or at most a three. But things got interesting as I moved toward the latter chapters. I learn how he managed to get the Dodgers to sign Mike Piazza and how Lasorda helped mold him into perhaps the greatest slugging catcher in baseball history.

But the most interesting part for me was to read how he took advantage of the moves Fred Claire made to revamp the team after a dismall 1987 season to build a world champion. Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser were the key players and under the leadership of Gibson Lasorda could lay back and let Gibby motivate the rest of the players. So Tommy shut down his usual pep talks and ket the team run on automatic pilot to take the West Division championship. However when the got to the NLCS they had to beat a strong Mets team that had beaten the dodgers badly in their regular season games. It was the way he managed motivated and handled pitchers like Oraszco and Hershisher that got them through a tough seven gane series. In the world series they faced a very formidable Oakland team led by bash brothers McGwire and Canseco. The way he used Kirk Gibson in game 1 produced one of the most dramatic game winning homeruns in the history of the World Series.

Inside strategy and motivational tricks that Lasorda used to bring out the best in all his players is what makes the book interesting, So I give the book four stars for showing this and the many facets of the complicated personality that is Tom Lasorda.

Also interesting and a point I did not know was that as a player in 1957 his beloved Dodgers traded him to Kansas City (the choice was keep Lasorda or keep Koufax) and since Kansas City traded players to the Yankees so much he quickly was traded to the Yankees and was immediately sent to their AAA farm team in Denver, the Denver Bears. In Denver Lasorda learned a lession in managerial psychology from his manager Ralph Houk and this affect the way he treated players throughout his managerial career.

Another very interesting point was how his loyalty was tested when in 1976 he was offered a nice contract to manage the Montreal Expos but turned it down. He knew that Alston would be retiring soon and he felt that he had built up relationships with the current Dodger player who he had managed in the minors that my serve him to have a good shot at becoming the Dodger manager. His thinking was absolutely right and in 1977 he was picked to replace the retiring Alston as the Dodger manager.

The story has a happy ending with Lasorda leading the USA baseball team to the Gold medal by shutting out the favored Cubans 4-0 in the final.
After this a Bostonian decides to buy the LA Dodger franchise and bring Lasorda back into prominance wheras the previous owners from FOX had ignored this Dodger icon.

Do you bleed Dodger blue? Tommy does. If that's your blood color, don't miss this breezy look at the many ages of Tommy from little kid through to the 2008 season when he managed the last game at Dodgertown in Vero Beach.

Tommy Lasorda is a unique combination of loyal supporter, brash striver, outrageous motivator, kid with a chip on his shoulder, big-hearted helper, insecure human, foul-mouthed jerk, and adoring pal. The size of his heart is what stands out from this biography.

I decided to pick up the book when my sister recounted a story about some shenanigans at one of the Dodger minor league clubs a few weeks ago. She told me that she would straighten it out. I asked her how. She said, "I'll tell Tommy the next time I see him."

Naturally, I asked her when she sees Tommy and she replied that he often comes to the minor league team's games. She often chats with him there.

If you want an objective look at baseball, the Dodgers, the modern game, or anything else, go elsewhere. This book is for those who loved watching Tommy Lasorda manage.

I was never so moved by baseball as when Tommy's crew won the 1988 World Series with a bunch of players most other teams would have sent to the minors. But they all believed and they achieved. I still tear up thinking about that series and the incredible courage they displayed.

I also owe Tommy and the Dodgers for letting me watch them win the 1981 series in Yankee Stadium. I didn't know Yankee fans could be so quiet.

Bill Plaschke knows Tommy and does a good job of mixing up today, yesterday, stories about the old times, and what Tommy plans to do next into the same stream of consciousness. It's like being with Tommy.

May God bless Frank McCourt for buying the Dodgers and putting Tommy back into the middle of things where he belongs.

This is the biography of Hall Of Fame Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda. Unlike most biographies which are chronological; birth to youth to aged, this story starts with a "Foreword" in 1990, then to the present, and then the entire book consists of "flash-backs" from the present to the past, and then back to the present again. It's very much like some of today's annoying movies where the story continually flashes back and forth and you're never sure what dimension you're in. But once you get used to that, the story takes off like a speedster running out an inside the park home run!

Tommy who came from an Italian immigrant family in Norristown Pennsylvania never forgets where he came from. The story allows you to follow Tommy from having to steal his first baseball glove, to him sitting on the top of the world when he wins two world championships for the Dodgers. Combining an immeasurable desire to be a Major League ballplayer, with a "baseball wit" that would make a vaudeville comedian envious, and the willingness to throw more haymakers than the last five heavyweight champions combined, Tommy was not to be denied.

Lasorda throughout the book is giving speeches to anyone willing to listen, and even to people who don't. He gives speeches for large sums of money, and gives speeches for free to churches, firemen, the military, and other worthy causes. The honesty in this book is powerful! Tommy pledges undying allegiance and thanks to the people who helped him and always stood by him. People such as the O'Malley family, Al Campanis, his best friend and USC baseball legend Rod Dedeaux. He just as vehemently curses the ground that his enemies walked on, such as former Dodger manager Walt Alston. Tommy pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to someone whom he took in his heart and treated like a son, and then knifed him in the back, Bill Russell, former Dodger shortstop and short lived manager. I absolutely admire Tommy for his honesty and passion regarding Russell and the Dodgers, who turned their back on him after they were bought by Fox.

I was going to rate this a "4 star" until the book got near the home stretch. When the story rounds third heading for home, we come to the 2000 Olympic Baseball team with Tommy as the manager. The team was made up of nobodies, has beens, and never were's! Lasorda, waving the American Flag from the deepest reaches of his heart, not only made this band of unknowns believe, he led them to the Olympic Gold Medal, and along the way, beat the team that had never, ever, been beaten, the Cuban National Team! As tears streamed down Tommy's face, there was not one member of current Dodger management in attendance. But! Peter O'Malley the former Dodger owner had flown to Australia unannounced to support Tommy! And that's what Tommy was always all about! Loyalties, "I've got your back!! Baseball, America, and the Dodger's.

I'm happy to say that when the McCourt's bought the Dodgers in 2004, they called Tommy and said they couldn't imagine buying the Dodgers without Tommy as Frank McCourt's right hand man, his special assistant. Now everything is right with the world! The greatest country America, And America's pastime, has it's greatest goodwill ambassador back where he should be, with the Dodger's! A "FIVE-STAR-FINISH!"

Before reading this book I was in no way a fan of the Dodgers or Lasorda. After reading it I can't say that I am a big Dodger fan but do have respect for the team and their history. However, I am a converted Lasorda fan. Hearing the stories and the tools he used to not only motivate possibly less skilled players win the world series (and the olympics) but also people in everyday life. He continues to impact people's lives everday with his personal approach to life. He is a role model not only for managers and coaches of sports teams but of managers of people. My hope is he lives to be a million years old so he can continue to to have a positive impact on millions of people.

Tommy Lasorda is a company man and proud of it, regardless of what you might think when he propounds his creed of "the great Dodger in the sky" or bleeding "Dodger blue." The long-time icon has lived in a world that seems long-forgotten: he believes in loyalty, and woe betide anyone who doesn't return the sentiment.

In I LIVE FOR THIS!, LA Times sportswriter Bill Plaschke provides an unusual perspective from most sports biographies. While the character of his subject is never in question --- Lasorda is depicted almost as a national treasure, charitable to an almost absurd degree --- he is not flawless. Lasorda is like the family patriarch who has become outmoded in his role as the big cheese; he no longer wields the power, but acts as tribute should still be paid to him (not unlike King Lear). He is vain, selfish, an attention hog, loves being in the company of other celebrities and is convinced that his 50-plus years with the organization has earned him a large measure of respect and deference. He is insulted when he isn't consulted on front office plans, long after he stepped down as field manager and later general manager.

Lasorda's button-holing of young players who do not understand or care about his place in "Dodgerdom" is almost pathetic as he seeks to remain in the limelight, or at least on the radar. He believes, like the wife of Willy Loman, that attention must be paid. Needless to say, not everyone involved with the team over the years has agreed.

At the same time, his contributions within and outside the game is undeniable. A staunch family man, he is recognized wherever the game is played, from the Olympics to Little League.

Plaschke jumps back and forth between the Lasorda trying to make a name for himself (and coming up short) as a player and his attempts to maintain that baseball connection into the 21st century; this can be a bit jarring.

What makes I LIVE FOR THIS! interesting is not that Plaschke has written it; sportswriters have been making an extra buck publishing inside dope or ghosting autobiographies for a hundred years. Rather, it is that Lasorda himself, by virtue of his "co-authorship" --- whatever that entailed --- signed off on a book that is at times quite unflattering.

This is a challenging book; there's no simple way to categorize it. Whether you like Lasorda or not, whether you think he's an out-of-touch blowhard or a passionate man with a heart of gold, he is, in a sense, one of baseball's "greatest generation." Plaschke calls him the last "true believer" in the national pastime, which has lost ground over the past few decades for any number of reasons. If that turns out to be accurate, it's a sad omen for all us fans.

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan

Bill Plaschke attempts to examine Tommy Lasorda's life and baseball career, but spends much of the time wondering why today's players and executives don't value the input of a man who seems to be painfully insecure, incredibly profane, and prone to telling long and somewhat repetitive stories.

Just who is Tommy Lasorda? In this book, you really won't learn much about the person that Lasorda doesn't want you to know. There's a lot of style, but very little substance.

Having grown up in the Los Angeles area, I am big Dodger fan, thus I am a huge Tommy Lasorda fan and I have read a lot of Plaschke articles in the Los Angeles Times.

Plaschke's writing is very fun and dynamic which is great for an article but for an entire book it can get a little frustrating, but back to Tommy...

Lasorda is a Dodger legend. He bleeds Dodger blue. Tommy Lasorda isn't some persona or act, he is who is he. There is not a lot of depth to Tommy because he is such an outspoken man. So if you are looking for a book that dives into the mind of Tommy, you won't find it. If you are looking for a book that is riddled with outlandish stories of the baseball's most charismatic manager, then I Live For This is your book.

They don't make 'em any better than Tommy Lasorda when it comes to managing professional baseball!! This book thrilled my Dodger junkie husband!!

Tommy has always seemed like one of those people you either love or hate.Needless to say, I've always thought he was awesome but after reading this book even those that say they hate him might find something to like.
It's pretty much a straightforward biography and clearly has no really earth shattering bombshells. With Lasorda what you see is what you get but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining and enlightening. The narrative covers his early years and struggles along with a lengthy ride up to the majors toiling away in the minors. Can't say the guy didn't pay his dues. The most salient thing that came through was his loyalty to the team. He really believes in what he preaches. There is also ample coverage of his time with the Dodgers and all the stories of the teams and players of those great years, 1988 being my favorite.
On balance, the writer gives what I consider to be a fair portrait of the man. Some critics would say a bit too easy on him, but as a fan I found much to make me admire him even more.

I had mixed feelings reading this book. I liked the first half of it, but after awhile I was thinking, "Gee, what a blowhard that Tommy Lasorda is!" I wonder how many of his players got sick of his rants and raves? Yet, what a great motivator and excellent manager was Lorsorda; a guy who would do whatever it took to get inside players' heads to make them much better on the diamond. The man who "bleeds Dodger Blue" is a combination psychiatrist/manager.

This book provides some real insights on how Lasorda worked his magic and made some good players into great players. He's loud, he's profane, he's obnoxious at times but he's no dummy and he's usually a nice guy, stopping for anyone who wants to talk and or ask for an autograph. His personality runs the gamut, that's for sure!

We read here where he's one of these celebrity worshipers but yet is an appreciative, humble man yet doesn't act like one himself. Los Angeles, with the nearby Hollywood, was a perfect setting for him.

Lasorda is the typical doting grandpa, and is passionate about family, food and the Dodgers. Author Bill Plaschke treats this baseball biography more like a comedy but it does let us in on Lasorda's loud and often humorous world. You get a good picture of the man's good and bad sides, which is good, too. Plaschke obviously likes him a lot but he doesn't hide Lasorda's bad traits, either. You'll laugh - and frown - a lot while you read this book.