Dodgers vice president for external relations and former Lakers basketball player Tommy Hawkins will welcome Lasorda onto the stage at Caltech and will interview him about his career.
Special guests will include Buzzie Bavasi, the general manager who hired Lasorda into the Dodgers organization; Rod Dedeaux, the former USC baseball coach who produced many major-league prospects including Tom Seaver, Randy "The Big Unit" Johnson and home-run king Mark McGwire; Peter O'Malley, former Dodgers president who sold the team in 1998; Baseball Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson; former Dodger Charlie Hough; Jo Lasorda, his wife of 51 years; and Laura Goldberg, his daughter.
Lasorda's 50-year career in baseball included stints as a minor league player, major league player with the Kansas City Athletics and the Dodgers, and as a scout, coach, manager, and executive with the Dodgers. With his outsized personality and unquenchable enthusiasm as their manager, Lasorda led the team to eight division titles and two World Series victories, in 1981 and 1988.
After suffering a heart attack in 1996, Lasorda retired as general manager. In 1997 he was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame and in 1998, he was elevated to Dodgers senior vice president. He also managed the U.S. baseball team to its first-ever gold medal in baseball at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the California Coast Baseball Academy will make presentations to honor Lasorda as part of the evening program at Caltech.
Each attendee will receive a Tommy Lasorda bobblehead doll as a memento.
The event is sponsored by the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, the Caltech Management Association, the Caltech Y, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Parking for Beckman Auditorium is at 332 South Michigan Avenue. in Pasadena (south of Del Mar Boulevard). For more information, call toll free (888) 2CALTECH (222-5832) or (626) 395-4652. Individuals with a disability should call (626) 395-4688 (voice) or (626) 395-3700 (TDD) for information and assistance.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jill Perry, Media Relations Director (626) 395-3226 [email protected]
Visit the Caltech media relations web site: http://pr.caltech.edu/media
