Tommy Lasorda ✝

Tommy Lasorda signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 1945 and began his professional career that season with the Concord Weavers of the Class D North Carolina State League. He then missed the 1946 and 1947 seasons because of a stint in the United States Army. He served on active duty from October 1945 until spring 1947.\n', ' He returned to baseball in 1948 with the Schenectady Blue Jays of the Canadian–American League. On May 31, 1948, he struck out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers in a 15-inning game, setting a professional record (since broken), and drove in the winning run with a single. In his next two starts, he struck out 15 and 13, gaining the attention of the Dodgers, who drafted him from the Phillies chain and sent him to the Greenville Spinners in 1949. Lasorda also pitched for the Cristobal Mottas in the Canal Zone Baseball League in Panama from 1948 through 1950, winning the championship in 1948. Lasorda played for Almendares (Cuba) in 1950–1952 and 1958–1960, compiling a 16–13 record in four seasons, including 8–3 with a 1.89 ERA in 1958–1959. Lasorda made his major league debut on August 5, 1954, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Though he did not play in the 1955 World Series, he won a World Series ring as a member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.\n', ' He pitched for the Dodgers for two seasons, then for the Kansas City Athletics for one season after the Athletics bought him from the Dodgers. Kansas City traded Lasorda to the New York Yankees in 1956. He appeared in 22 games for the Triple-A Denver Bears in 1956–1957, and then was sold back to the Dodgers in 1957. During his brief tenure with the Bears, Lasorda was profoundly influenced by Denver skipper Ralph Houk, who became Lasorda\'s role model as an MLB manager.\n', '