If you think it is tough for a Major League hitter to battle a Major League pitcher, try battling leukemia as a little boy, or as a young woman.  Try battling myeloma.  Try spelling it!  That's tough enough in itself!  If you think it's tough to play for nine innings, or to play 162 games, imagine how tough it is to go through chemo, crippling fatigue, morphine dependency, endless needle pricks, and chronic aches.  Imagine going through it for just one day!

 

Today was a very special day at the City of Hope.  Over 1,600 bone marrow transplant survivors and their friends and family gathered for a reunion.  I was grateful to be amongst them, and to have the opportunity to see the embodiment of courage, and yes, of hope. 

 

People gathered under tents, with plates full of delicous bar-b-qued chicken and hot dogs to celbrate life and the belief in its possiblities.  These people have looked death in the face and have won.  They had bright smiles, and the look of gratitude on their beautiful faces. 

 

They are my heroes. 

 

I told them that they had to believe in themselves.  My father told me many years ago that tough times don't last, but tough people do.  It's a tough, tough task to stay strong while battling for your life, and I commend and admire each person who fights that battle.

 

Today I was moved beyond words. 

 

I commend Frank McCourt for his vision in partnering with the City of Hope and with Children's Hospital Los Angeles to creat ThinkCure.  It is a foundation devoted to raising funds to research the cure for cancer.  I don't know when it will be, or by whom, but one day we will have a cure, and it is because of everyone who has banded together to fight this disease.

City of Hope has one of the largest, most successful bone marrow transplant programs in the world.  To date, more than 8,500 people have received a bone marrow transplant at City of Hope.  Bone marrow transplantation is a procedure that is considered standard treatment for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

City of Hope was one of the first hospitals in the world to perfrom bone marrow transplants.  They began doing them in the 1976, the same year I began managing the Dodgers.  My pitchers have complied many saves over me 20-year career, but far fewer than the lives that have been saved at City of Hope.

 

Each year, every patient who has received a bone marrow transplant at City of Hope is invited to the reunion event to celebrate their health and reunite with oter patients, their physicians and nurses.

 

I would also like to commend the nurses, and doctors, who have pledged a life of service towards others, who help those in their most desperate hour.  When patients have doubt, they provide faith.  When patients are in despair, they bring hope.

 

I wish all of those who have been inflicted with cancer, or who have stood next to someone they love while they fight the battle, I wish you the best of luck.  

 

 

There have been over 260 Popes, 43 U.S. Presidents, but there are only 16 managers in the Hall of Fame.  Now that's a tough fraternity to get into!

 

All kidding aside, I have been invited by President and Mrs. Bush to the White House to receive His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at a special ceremony tomorrow on the South Lawn.  To say that I am honored to receive such an illustrious invitation is an understatement.  To be amongst two of the world's leaders is truly an honor and privilege.  I just wish my parents could be alive to see it.

 

I like to tell the story about when the Pope arrived at LaGuardia Airport and rushed to the curb to get a cab.  He told the driver that he had to be at a very important meeting in 30 minutes.  The driver said there's no way he could get him to the meeting on time so the Pope said to get in the back and that he would drive.

 

So they're going down the highway, 60, 70, 80 miles an hour and a Highway Patrolman pulled them over.  He walked over to the cab and immediately rushed back to his bike and got on the two-way radio.

 

"Chief, chief, you won't believe who I pulled over Chief.  This guys is big, I mean really big, Chief!" exclaimed the cabby.

 

"My God Mario, you're excited.  Who is, the president of the United States?"

 

"Bigger than that, Chief."

 

"Well who is it, Frank Sinatra?"

 

"Bigger than that, Chief."

 

"I don't know, Mario.  Who is it?"

"I don't know who he is, but he's got to be big because he's got the Pope driving him!"

 

I have had the honor of meeting two other Popes, and proudly display the Papal blessings, printed on beautiful parchment paper, in my office. 

 

Being raised Catholic and going to Mass throughout the course of my life, I only have one question for His Holiness... Why didn't the Corinthians ever write back?

 

Maybe I could trade one of my World Series bats for the Pope's staff...

 

In any case, I hope to represent the Dodgers, and Major League Baseball to the highest degree of class, dignity and character.  This is something I will never forget, and something I will hold in my heart forever.

 

I would like to thank the McCourt's for allowing me to attend the ceremony.  They are truly gracious people, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for all they do for the Lasorda's.

In 1949 I happened to be playing in the Sally League in Greenville, South Carolina and one day I look into the stands and I see this beautiful girl.  I happened to know the girl who was sitting next to her, and her name was Margaret Goldsmith who sold tickets at the local movie theater.
 

I asked Margaret what that girl's name was and she said Joan Miller.

I told Margaret to ask her if she would go out with me.  She whispered in her ear and she shook her head, no.

I told Margaret to ask her if she'd give me her phone number.  Again she whispers in her ear and again she shook her head, no.

So finally I called Margaret down to the end of the stands and asked her to do me a favor and see if she could delay that beautiful girl and give me a chance to come out and meet her.

So in the ninth inning I was sitting at the end of the bench with my cleats untied and my jersey unbuttoned, and when the third out was made I was in the clubhouse, in the shower, out of the shower putting my clothes on and in the parking lot and they were still there.

Margaret had deliberately left her sweater on the seat, so she had to go all the way back to get the sweater which gave me enough time to shower and get out there.

I met Jo's mother, her sister, her brother-in-law and her other sister and her husband.  I told her mother that I would be a twenty-game winner if I was dating her daughter. 

I found out where Jo worked and I called her to ask her out.  She said no.

I called about 10 times and each time Jo would say no.  On the 11th time I said, "Look, I know I'm no movie star but I'm not that bad either."

I continued, "Just go out with me once and if you don't like me after that, fine, I won't bother you any more."

So she finally agreed to meet me for lunch.  So we went to lunch and we took a booth and I sat across from her and I kept looking across at her.  She was so beautiful and humble, and I said to her, "You might laugh, but I'm going to marry you."

Well, she laughed.

One year later we married.  Today, April 14th, 58 years ago. 

I took that girl out of SC.  We opened the season by playing an exhibition game in Baltimore.  I took her home to meet my parents and my family.  Then we opened the season in Springfield, Massachusetts.  From there we went to New York to play in Jersey City.  We stayed in Manhattan and saw a stage play.  Then we went on to Montreal and that was the beginning of it.

I was making $500 a month, and I had to borrow $500 to get married.  I went to Branch Rickey and told him I was getting married.

"Good, good," he said as he loved it when players were married.  He would really insist on it.

I told him I had saved some money in Panama but it was stolen and that I needed $500.

He told me to go see Buzzie Bavasi for the money, which I did.  When I saw Buzzie I told him I needed $500 and that Mr. Rickey told me to see him.

"For what," he barked, to which I told him I was getting married.

"How in the world are you getting married," he yelled.

"Are you crazy asking me that," he went on.

"$500, I can't believe it," he said trying to dissuade me.

So Buzzie lets me have the $500 and I bought a ring.  I told him to deduct money from my pay checks, and when I got my first check nothing had been deducted.  I told him to take $100 out per month.

He wanted to take it out when we got in the playoffs, but I told him I wanted it taken out right away, but he would never take it out.

So at the end of the season Buzzie put a letter before me and told me to sign.  I asked him what it was and he told me it was a letter to Mr. Rickey thanking him for loaning me $500 and that I was glad I could pay it all back.

So every year on our anniversary, Buzzie would send Jo a bouquet of flowers with a note that reads, "Sorry."

He figured it out, that with compounded interest I now owe him about $75,000. 

But here we are celebrating today our 58th wedding anniversary.  If I could have seen God and given him a description on a little piece of paper of what I was looking for in a wife he couldn't have given me anyone finer than Jo. 

She has stood by me through thick and thin, and I love her dearly.  When times were tough she was there for me.  When we were away from each other because of baseball she would always remind me that she and the children understood why I was away.  She would always put my picture on the table while they were eating to remind them that I was away earning a living.

They said it would never work for a, Italian Catholic Yankee marrying a Southern Baptist, but they were wrong, and boy is I glad.  She is the best, and I love her with all my heart.

The 50th Anniversary ceremony before yesterday's game was beautiful.  There were Dodgers from every decade, all wearing their uniforms.  From the flannels of the 50's and 60's to the home-whites in the 70's, 80's and 90's, it was great to see legends like Duke Snider and fan-favorites like Erik Karros come from the bullpen to their respective positions.

And the reaction from the crowd was heartwarming.  The applause and adoration was almost as loud as the B1 flyover.  

I had the pleasure of seeing two of my favorite ex-players, Kenny Landreaux and Steve Sax.  They were great players, and Sax was a breath of fresh air.  He played baseball like my wife shops; all day long.

The only thing with Sax was his intelligence never quite reached the same level as his playing ability.  In other words, he wasn't the brightest guy.

One day we're playing in San Francisco.  I had been harping on Sax to stop hitting the ball in the air because he was a line drive hitter, and to use all parts of the field.  So before the game we are standing behind the cage during BP, and Sax comes up to me and says, "Hey Skipper, I think I've got your hitting theory down pat."

 "That's great Saxy."

 "Eighty percent of the time I try to hit the ball up the middle," he said.

"Beautiful."

"Twenty percent of the time I try to hit the ball to left and the other twenty percent I try to hit it right."

I looked at Kenny Landreaux who was standing right next to me and said, "Did you hear what he just said?"

Now Kenny was dumber than Sax.  He went to Arizona State University, and I often wondered what the requirements were for admission.  Do they check you to see if you're breathing?

Landreaux said, "Skip, I've been in the big leagues for 13 years and that's the best hitting theory I've heard yet."

And I had to win pennants with these guys!

I couldn't have been happier when I heard that Brad Penny will be our Opening Day starter.  When you start thinking about pitchers who have opened the season, in most cases it is the guy who has had a great spring.  In the case of Penny, not only did he have an outstanding spring, but he is also the number on pitcher on our staff at this time.  

Penny has all the ability to be a Cy Young Award winner.  He's strong, he should be able to put a lot of innings in and he should win a lot of ball games.  

He's got outstanding stuff.  

When you talk about the number one pitcher on the staff, as Manager you expect certain things.  A lot of people in baseball say a quality start is going six innings and giving up three runs or less. I think a quality start is a complete game and a win.  And I've told Penny that many, many times.

In today's era, I would expect a staff ace to go about 7+ innings, for about 35 starts per year, totaling about 245 innings.  Now in my day, in the days of Koufax and Drysdale, those guys threw about 350 innings each season.  I'd love to see Walt Alston go out to the mound and tell Koufax, "Hey, that's it.  Your pitch count is up."

The ace of your pitching staff has got to set the tone.  He's got to be the leader of the staff, and he's got to win.  He's got to be able to show the other pitchers on your staff how to win.  If you are in the middle of a losing streak, the ace is the guy you look to to stop it.  

Penny has matured in many ways since joining the Dodgers.  First of all, he has improved his temper.  His temper used to get him in trouble with the umpires, and as a starting pitcher you never want to make them mad.  You just can't do that, even when you know you're right and they are wrong.  

Maturity is a very important part of Penny's improvement.  As a young pitcher he tried to just blow batters away with his fastball.  But what Penny has learned to do is to win even when he doesn't have his best stuff.  That's the sign of an ace too, and in Penny's case he understands the opposing batters weaknesses and utilizes them to his advantage.  He prepares better in between starts, and he pitches to the count.

As this was most likely the last spring the Dodgers will spend in Vero Beach, I would like share a few thoughts.

I think we made all the fans understand how much we love Vero Beach. I have spent most of my life there each spring.  For the past 59 years I've known Dodgertown as my spring home.  For the past 30 years I've stayed in room 112, and for the past 30 years I have had the same table reserved in the dinning room.

The McCourt's love Vero Beach and Dodgertown too.  However, the McCourt's also have a responsibility to our fans, and it is their obligation to bring Dodger fans the best experience possible.  And that is why the team is moving, so Dodger fans can see the team in spring training like every other major league franchise. 

To get from LA to Florida it is a six hour flight, another hour drive from Orlando where to get from LA to Arizona it's four hours in a car or an hour flight.  And it's much cheaper too.

When we played those few games in Arizona this spring, the ball park was full each time.  The fans were so excited to be able to enjoy Dodger baseball, and that's exactly what the McCourt's want.  They are thinking of the fans.

My hear and love will always be with Vero Beach and its fine people, but I am also looking forward to making millions of people happy in Arizona for years to come.

Having a split squad this spring allowed me to manage the players who did not go to China.  I can not tell you how good that made me feel.  My gratitude to the McCourt's, our general manager, Ned Colletti and to Joe Torre.

Torre is just what the doctor ordered.  He brings with him a suite case of victories, and has already gotten the respect of the players.  I am looking forward to a year of outstanding Dodger baseball.  We owe the fans a championship team.  I want to see the pennant flag flying high again above Dodger Stadium, which I call Blue Heaven on Earth, so the fans can know how sweet it is to taste the fruits of victory.

Do you realize that we have played more games in Dodger Stadium than we did at Ebbetts Field?  We are LA's team.  We are going to have a celebration for the ages this year as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers moving from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

So I look forward to seeing you all here this season.

A lot has been said about the Dodgers leaving Vero Beach.  The comments are realistic, but the sentiments are sad.  I've heard many, many fans say we are sorry to see you go, but we understand why you have to do it.

Even though we are moving, we will always have our memories.  I first reported to Dodgertown in 1949.  I was a young left handed pitcher with a lot of hopes and dreams.  I was in a training camp that hosted more than 700 players.  In order to make it to the Brooklyn Dodgers I would have to beat out about 200 pitchers.  Prior to reporting, I had never been more than 10 miles from home. 

The line outside the dinning hall looked like a line for Southwest Airlines.  But every player, coach, manager and executive would eat in the same dinning hall.  You would even find Walter O'Malley himself standing in line.  I would eat next to the great Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges.  I would tell my parents that I dinner with them.  They never said anything to me, but hey, I had dinner with some of my heroes.

As Dodgertown grew, so did the city of Vero Beach.  When we first reported, there was only one bridge, and it was so shaky they would only let on car cross at a time. 

While Vero Beach has grown, it's not the buildings or the monuments or the streets that make it great.  What makes any city great are the people, and the people of Vero Beach are the heart of the city that so many of us Dodgers have loved for so many years.

I would like to thank Vero Beach for a lifetime of memories.  You have played the perfect host, and I will never forget all the great times I have had.

The last game was an emotional one.  I was really trying to win that game.  I called for a double steal and I put on the squeeze.  Furcal played all nine innings, and Loney did too.  Russell Martin stayed on the bench all day long even though he could have been in the clubhouse, and I put him in to pinch hit in the ninth.  The players showed a lot of respect for the fans at Dodgertown, the game, and for me.  As I walked down the right field line for the very last time, I couldn't believe what I saw. There they were, forming a tunnel with their bats and letting me walk through.

I have had a lot of great things happen in my life, but what those players did for me is something I will never forget.

They made an 80 year-old man feel great.

In 1988, after every win I would walk into the clubhouse and scream at the top of my lungs, "How sweet it is!"

Kirk Gibson, who the young players followed around like chicks following around the mama duck, would yell, "The fruits of victory!"

Well today we won, so I say to all of you; how sweet it is, the fruits of victory!

I couldn't have been happier.  A lot of people were telling me not to worry, and that spring training games don't matter.  But to me, there are two teams on the field.  One has to win and the other has to lose.  And I'd rather be the one who wins.

My boy, Brad Penny, who I am trying to groom to win the Cy Young, pitched for five shutout innings, only giving up one hit.

Andre Ethier hit a two-run home run and we never looked back.  In fact, coming into today's game, I only had 1,599 career wins, so today's win gets me 1,600.  I hope they don't have to change my plaque in Cooperstown.

If I could have written down on a piece of paper what I wanted in a wife and handed it to God, He couldn't have given me a finer one than my wife Jo.

Today is her birthday, and she deserves nothing but the best.  She should be eligible for Saint-hood after putting up with me for all these years.

I love you Jo.  Happy Birthday!

I have had many sleepless nights as Manager of the Dodgers.  Many times I could be found walking the streets after a tough loss.   There were times I walked back to Manhattan from Shea Stadium.  At every corner I would have to sign more and more autographs.

Once Mark Cresse and I walked back from the stadium in Montreal to our hotel, which was about eight miles. 

Once in Philadelhia we lost a tough game and I was really mad.  I told the guys I would not get on the bus, and so I starterd to walk back to the hotel.  Along the way a paddywagon came by.

"What are you doing Tommy?" yelled the officer.

"Get in here, it's not safe!" yelled another.

I got in and got dropped off at the team hotel by the officers in the paddywagon.

Once in Atlanta, we were up by four runs going into the bottom of the 9th.  The Braves were rallying, but we only needed one out to win.  Roger McDowell couldn't get the out so I brought in Jim Gott.  He couldn't get the out so I brought in our closer, Jay Howell.  He couldn't get the out either and the Braves ended up winning.

I was so furious that I told Billy DeLury, our traveling secretary, to go without me and that I wanted to walk.

So I set out walking back to the hotel, and along comes an ambulance.

"Hey Tommy, what are you doing walking?" called one paramedic.

"Please just leave me alone," I answered. 

A block later he called out again, "Come on Tommy, let us take you.  It isn't safe around here this time of night."

I figured I should let him get on with his job and that I should stop being a hard head so I climbed in and off we went to the hotel.  When we got there, Jim Gott was standing in the lobby and when he saw me get out of the ambulance he thought I was coming from the hospital.  He was scared to death.  I told him the story and that I just wanted to blow off some steam and that I hate to lose.

We are now 0-3, and I still hate to lose!