August 18, 2009 / Sports / Brooklyn Cyclones

Tommy Lasorda — Brooklyn hall of famer?!

By Zeke Faux

for The Brooklyn Paper

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The Brooklyn Paper / Gary Thomas

Los Angeles Dodger great — and Brooklyn Dodger scrub — Tommy Lasorda was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodger Hall of Fame at Keyspan Park on Sunday. Here, Lasorda (who was a pitcher) meets with (from left) pitchers Bobby Gagg, Mike Powers and Mike Lynn.

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Is pitching 13 innings enough to get you into the Hall of Fame?

If you’re Tommy Lasorda it apparently is. Lasorda, the retired Los Angeles Dodger manager, was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame at Keyspan Park on Sunday, despite pitching for Dem Bums for just minuscule parts of two seasons.

Still, Lasorda — who managed the traitorous West Coast incarnation of the Dodgers to two World Series championships — was thrilled.

“I’m honored to be here today. It’s quite a fraternity,” Lasorda told the crowd.

Of course he was honored! The lefty, who didn’t win a game for Brooklyn and posted a 7.62 ERA, is now part of a club that includes true legends Carl Furillo, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson.

Lasorda did make some contributions to Dem Bums’ history — getting demoted and serving up batting practice homers.

In 1955, Brooklyn’s only championship season, Lasorda was sent down to make room for a more effective lefty — Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. And before Game 7 of that season’s World Series, Lasorda said he threw batting practice and helped the Dodgers figure out Yankee lefty Tommy Byrne’s curveball.

“I have to take credit for that win,” he said.

But there aren’t a lot of batting practice pitchers in the Hall, and the winning runs in that game were driven in by bona fide Brooklyn Hall of Famer Gil Hodges, whose widow was on hand to honor Lasorda on Sunday.

Still, the famously feisty Lasorda, 81, bristled at this reporter’s suggestion that he must have pulled some strings to get his bust in the sacred exhibit.

“I don’t even know what the hell string I’d pull,” he said. “Do you think I belong here?”

One fan wasn’t totally sold.

“He’s a heckuva person,” said Matt Hughes, 70, who claimed to have witnessed one of Lasorda’s six appearances at Ebbets Field. “Not a terrible baseball player.”

Lasorda might not have had the best curveball, but he did show some genuine Brooklyn street cred, recalling riding the trolley as a player to Bamonte’s restaurant in Williamsburg, which still has the “best food you can get anywhere in the United States.” (Lasorda, also known as “Tommy Lasagna,” recommends the crab linguini.)

And he regaled reporters with a story of how he, Johnny Podres and Don Zimmer put one over on some Coney carnies.

“We started throwing and we won every stuffed poodle this guy had,” Lasorda said. “Next time I came down there, he said, ‘You guys are with the Dodgers. Don’t ever try to win anything again. It knocked us right out of business!

©2009 Community Newspaper Group