#Tommy Lasorda dead at 93: Dodgers legend’s best quotes

Baseball lost a legend Thursday night, when Tommy Lasorda died at the age of 93. A two-time World Series championship manager with the Dodgers, Lasorda was known best for his colorful personality.

Here are some of his most iconic rants:

In a game against the Padres on June 30, 1982, Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer hit Joe Lefebvre in the head after allowing a home run. Kurt Bevacqua of the Padres charged the mound and later said Lasorda should’ve been fined, calling him “that fat little Italian.”

Lasorda responded the next day.

“I’ll tell you what I think about it. I think that is very, very bad for that man to make an accusation like that. That is terrible,” he started. “I have never, ever, since I managed, ever told a pitcher to throw at anybody, nor will I ever. And if I ever did, I certainly wouldn’t make him throw at a f–king .130 hitter like Lefebvre or f–king Bevacqua, who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a f–king boat.

“And I guaran-f–king-tee you this: When I pitched and I was going to pitch against a team that had guys on it like Bevacqua, I sent a f–king limousine to get the c–ksucker to make sure he was in the motherf–king lineup because I kicked that c–ksucker’s ass any day of the week. He’s a f–king motherf–king big mouth, I’ll tell you that.”

---

After a 10-7 loss to the Cubs on May 14, 1978, Lasorda went off when asked about Dave Kingman’s three-homer day.

“What’s my opinion of Kingman’s performance? What the f–k do you think my opinion is of it? I think it was f–king bulls–t. Put that in. I don’t f–king care,” he said. “What’s my opinion of his performance? S–t. He beat us with three f–king home runs. What the f–k do you mean, ‘What is my opinion of his performance?’ How can you ask me a question like that?

“What is my opinion of his performance? S–t.. He hit three home runs. S–t. I’m f–king pissed off to lose a f–king game, and you ask me my opinion of his performance? S–t. I mean that’s a tough question to ask me, ‘What is my opinion of his performance?’”

---

Tired of the Phillie Phanatic dressing a dummy in his jersey, Lasorda took the mascot’s vehicle during a game on Aug. 28, 1988, took the dummy and used it to hit the Phatic over the head.

Years later, he addressed that day.

“I was always upset about him always taking my shirt and putting it on some dummy and then running over it,” Lasorda said. “I didn’t particularly like that and I told him. I said, ‘I don’t want you to do that anymore.’

“The next time I saw him he still put my shirt on so I went after him and I bopped him down a little bit and I said, ‘If there weren’t all these people here I’d really rip ya.’”