the tommy lasorda managerial tree

with the brewers' firing of manager (and former dodger) ron roenicke the other day (he was replaced by another former dodger, craig counsell), i decided to finally finish pulling this post together.  in football, i used to hear a lot about the bill walsh coaching tree - all of the people who coached under bill walsh who went on to become head coaches themselves.  that tree is then expanded to include coaches under those head coaches who became head coaches, and so on.  my take on the tommy lasorda managerial tree is in regards to his players - not coaches, and this post will just look at the first tier of major league managers who spent some time playing under one thomas charles lasorda.

here's the man himself on a 2004 upper deck sp authentic card

that notes his managerial triumph in the 1982 all-star game in montreal while using a photo from about 20 years later.  incidentally, he had four future big league managers playing under him on that '82 all-star roster - dusty baker, tony pena, pete rose, and ray knight.

i'm focusing on his dodger players, however, and when tommy took over the dodgers late in the 1976 season, he had three future major league managers on his roster at that time:

dusty baker

davey lopes

and bill russell

who replaced lasorda during the 1996 season.

over the next 20-years, lasorda managed another 9 future managers.

johnny oates

ron washington

mike scioscia

ron roenicke

phil garner

 glenn hoffman

who took over for russell in 1998

kirk gibson

willie randolph

and juan samuel

this list does not include players such as bobby valentine, whom tommy managed in the minor leagues, nor does it include players such as joe ferguson, tommy john, gary carter, rick dempsey, mike marshall, or steve yeager who played in the majors under tommy and later managed in the minor leagues.

with the firings of kirk gibson last year and roenicke this year, scioscia is the only active manager to have played under lasorda. however, it is yet conceivable that this tree sprouts some new branches in the future, as such former "lasorda" dodgers and minor league managers bobby mitchell, brett butler, and tim wallach are currently working for big league teams as an instructor (mitchell) or big league coaches (butler and wallach).

and, in case you are wondering, bill russell's managerial tree's first tier consists solely of chip hale.

here's to more lasorda style hugs in the dugout!

i ran into the fuzz at the card shop

a new (yes, new!) card shop opened up in the twin cities about a year ago.  one of the owners is also one of the 'vintage bargain bin guys' from the local shows.  he's the one that sold me my 1955 topps sandy koufax card, in fact.

it took me a while to get over there, but i finally did a few weeks ago.  the store is packed with not just cards, but various pieces of memorabilia and pretty much every kind of sports collectible you could think of.  amid the bobbleheads and pennants, there was a shelf that had a bunch of smaller complete sets on it. boxed sets, like the fleer sets of the 80's and 90's, along with some mail-in sets and some stadium giveaway sets.  it was there that i found a 1993 dodgers police set for $3.

started in 1980, the police sets were, like the later mother's and keebler sets, a good way to get some of the deeper roster players on a card.  and, there were coaches!  i know i have belabored that point recently, but i'm not sorry about it.  here's the coaches card from the 1993 dodger police set

that's manny mota, joey amalfitano, ron roenicke, ben hines, tommy lasorda, ron perranoski, joe ferguson, and mark cresse.

lasorda also got a card of his own

with the one of the outfield pavilions in the background.

ramon martinez was still king of the hill at dodger stadium in 1993

and his little brother pedro was there with him

boyhood friends eric davis

and darryl strawberry

roamed the outfield at chavez ravine, with disappointing results.

the 1993 set was the one that featured lance parrish, despite the fact that he never did suit up in a big league game for the dodgers.  i've shown the front of parrish's card before - i bought it as a single to document his dodgerdom - so here's the back

one reason that parrish never got the call from the dodger brass was the play of a rookie catcher named mike piazza

piazza went on to win the rookie of the year award and hold the dodgers' catching job for about 5 years before he was traded to the marlins.

i'm not sure which card in the set is more desirable - the pedro or the piazza - but i am sure that jody reed's card

is probably not in the running.

more coaches man, coaches

i've extolled the virtues of coaches cards in mother's cookies and the dodger police sets before, and now with the bounty of mother's dodger sets that mr. haverkamp procured for me, i can show more of these great cards.  they aren't anything special in way of design, but they document the guys who don't show up on cardboard very much at all.  let's have a look at tommy lasorda's coaching staff, shall we?  be sure to enjoy the dodger stadium backdrop while we do so.

1988

that's joe ferguson, ron perranoski, bill russell, mark cresse, joe amalfitano, manny mota, and ben hines.

1988 was ferguson's first year on the coaching staff, although he had been serving as their 'eye in the sky' for the previous few seasons.  starting in '88, he was tommy's bench coach.

perranoski took over the pitching coach duties under lasorda in 1981, replacing the retiring red adams who had been the pitching coach for the dodgers since 1969.

russell joined the staff in 1987 following his retirement as a player.  he replaced the retiring monty basgall as the team's infield coach which seemed appropriate as basgall was instrumental in russell's conversion from the outfield to shortstop.

cresse had been the bullpen coach under walt alston for a couple of seasons before lasorda took over the managerial reins, and continued in that role on tommy's staff.

amalfitano became lasorda's third base coach in 1983, taking over (i believe) for danny ozark.

mota began coaching first base for the dodgers in 1980, and aside from a couple of late season appearances as a player, remained on the coaching staff in a variety of roles for some 35 years.

hines had been on lasorda's staff in 1985 and 1986, but took a break in '87.  he was back in '88 as the dodgers' batting coach, taking the role back from mota who had filled in during the previous season.

1990

yes, i skipped a year, although there was no change in the staff.  however, ferguson had taken over the first base coaching duties from mota who became a sort of roving instructor, and russell moved into the bench coach spot.

1991

still no change in personnel, and the roles remained the same as well.

1992

same staff except for the guy on the far right.  that's current brewers manager ron roenicke.  bill russell was sent down to manage triple-a albuquerque, and so roenicke joined the staff in his place, taking over as lasorda's bench coach.

1993

tommy employed the same staff as the previous season.

1994

some new (and old) blood was added to the staff for 1994.  you will notice that reggie smith, the right fielder for the team of my youth, in the back row, and bill russell, the shortstop for the team of my youth is back in the front row.  gone are ron roenicke and ben hines. roenicke began his managerial career in the lower levels of the dodger organization, and russell returned from the high minors to take over roenicke's previous role as tommy's bench coach.  smith took over for hines as the batting coach and also replaced ferguson as the first base coach.  ferguson went back to his role as the 'eye in the sky' positioning defenders from the press box.

1995

here we are in 1995, and ron perranoski is no longer on the dodger staff.  he moved up north to join the giants' organization for some strange reason.  dave wallace took over for perranoski as lasorda's pitching coach and appears in the top row on the coaches card. this was the staff for lasorda's final full season as the dodger manager.

sunday morning target dodgers - featuring an honorary member of the infield

another sunday, another 15 cards from a 1990 target dodger 100th anniversary set sheet given away at dodger stadium in 1990.  enjoy.

rick auerbach

auerbach filled in for the injured bill russell for the first three months of the 1975 season.  he first appeared as a dodger during the 1974 season, although the team acquired him from the brewers in april of 1973.  auerbach spent the rest of that season in albuquerque and had his contract purchased by the brewers in september. a month later, the dodgers purchased his contract back, and he made the big league roster for the 1974 season and even appeared in the postseason that year.  very nearly a dodger double dipper, auerbach stayed with the dodgers through the 1976 season and was traded to the mets for hank webb prior to the 1977 campaign.

billy cox

cox was the dodgers' third baseman from 1948 through 1954.  this 'boy of summer' was acquired in a trade with the pirates following the 1947 season that was prompted in part by the aversion some dodgers had to playing with jackie robinson. unfortunately for cox, he was traded to the orioles prior to the dodgers' world championship season of 1955.

tim crews

along with tim leary, tim crews was part of the return package that the dodgers received from the brewers in exchange for greg brock.  crews was part of the dodger bullpen from 1987 through 1992, although he did make 4 spot starts over that span.  he also had 15 saves in a total of 281 appearances as a dodger.  following the 1992 season, crews signed with the indians as a free agent, but died in a boating accident during spring training.  both the dodgers and indians wore memorial patches for crews (the indians' patch also honored steve olin who was also killed in the accident) during the 1993 season.

fred frankhouse

kudos to frankouse's parents for not naming him frank.  fred frankhouse pitched 10 seasons for the cardinals and braves before joining the dodgers prior to the 1936 season. used primarily as a starter, frankhouse was 13-10 the first season with the dodgers, and then flipped that record the next.  1938 was his last season with the club, and he posted a 3-5 record while pitching mainly out of the bullpen.

harry harper

harper pitched for the senators from 1913-1919, showing some success with decent era in most of those seasons.  he also led the league in losses in 1919 with 21, thanks in part to the poor team for which he played and his career worst (up to that point) era of 3.72.  harper was traded to the red sox for the 1920 season, and then dealt again to the yankees in the waite hoyt deal prior to the 1921 season.  after sitting out the 1922 campaign, harper joined the robins in 1923 and made a solitary start for them.  he lasted 3.2 innings against the giants on may 8, allowing 6 earned runs, as his big league career came to an end.

tommy holmes

holmes was the national league home run champion in 1945 as a member of the boston braves.  he hit 28 homers that year, and also drove in 117 runs, both career highs.  while he still hit for average in the next three seasons, he never approached those power numbers again.  in fact, holmes had hit a total of 38 home runs over the next 6 seasons before signing with the dodgers in 1952.  he failed to hit any home runs as a dodger, although he played in only 31 games during that '52 season.  holmes hit .111 for the dodgers during the regular season, and then was 0 for 1 in his final appearances as a dodger during the 1952 fall classic.

charlie irwin

irwin finished his 10-year big league career with a season and a half as a member of the brooklyn superbas. acquired after being released by the reds during the 1901 season, irwin played third base and hit .253 over the remainder of his career.

von joshua

joshua was a dodger double dipper whose last appearance in his first go-around as a dodger came with him making the final out in the 1974 world series. the second time, the dodgers brought joshua back to the majors from the mexican league in 1979.  overall, joshua appeared in more games with the dodgers than any other team for which he played, although his best season was probably his 1975 campaign spent with the giants.

brickyard kennedy

according to baseball reference. kennedy's nickname was actually 'roaring bill', not brickyard.  strange.  he pitched for the grooms/bridegrooms/superbas from 1892 through 1901, winning as many as 25 games in 1893 and more than 20 four times.  he was 177-149 for brooklyn overall before spending the 1902 season with the new york giants and the 1903 campaign with the national league champion pittsburgh pirates. in fact, kennedy's final major league appearance came with the pirates in the inaugural world series, starting (and losing) game 5.

bill krueger

krueger's dodger career consisted of three appearances over the course of two seasons.  he was acquired by the club from the a's during the 1987 season and made 2 relief appearances as a dodger in september.  he re-signed with the dodgers for the 1988 campaign, but began the year in albuquerque.  krueger was eventually called up and was given the july 4 start against the cardinals, his lone big league appearance of the season.  krueger allowed 3 runs in 2.1 innings of work that day and was sent back down to triple-a. the dodgers traded him to the pirates for jim niedlinger following the end of the regular season.

paul minner

in 1946, and then again in 1948 and 1949, minner was a pitcher on the dodgers' roster.  he appeared in a total of 58 games and posted a record of 7-5 with a 3.16 era.  you can learn much more about minner in this post, courtesy of another dodger blogger.

joe pignatano

pignatano, a brooklyn native, debuted with the dodgers in 1957 - the team's last year in brooklyn.  he remained with the team as they moved to los angeles, and served as the team's backup backstop through the 1960 season.

ron roenicke

roenicke was dodger #3 on the 1982 topps steve sax/mike marshall rookie card.  he was also an outfielder on the team who played in 212 games for the dodgers from september of 1981 through july 18, 1983 when he was released.  roenicke went on to play for the mariners, padres, giants, phillies, and reds before rejoining the dodger organization as a minor league manager and later a big league coach. he is currently the manager of the milwaukee brewers, adding one more manager to the list who played for tommy lasorda.

joe shaute

shaute pithed for the robins/dodgers from 1931-33 after spending 9 seasons with the indians.  he was 21-19 for brooklyn in that span, with a 4.32 era compiled over 100 appearances.  while with the indians, shaute struck out only 402 batters in 1,447 innings pitched, but babe ruth accounted for over 30 of those k's according to baseball reference.

bobby valentine

bobby v was the dodgers' first round pick in their vaunted 1968 draft.  he made his big league debut just over a year later, and would appear in 5 games as a 1969 september call-up.  he returned to the majors in 1971 and 1972, playing all over the outfield and everywhere in the infield except for first base.  after hitting .274 in 119 games in 1972, valentine was included in the trade that sent frank robinson to the angels.  valentine was just 23 and was hitting .302 when he tore up his knee in may of '73 after getting his spikes caught in the angels' outfield fence. the injury plagued him for the remainder of his playing career that included post-anaheim stints in san diego, new york, and seattle.  valentine never played for lasorda in the majors (he did in the minors), but he did go on to manage in the majors and according to reports, would have been tommy's choice to guide the dodgers instead of davey johnson had valentine not already been managing the mets.  we also have valentine to thank for making tommy a coach on the 2001 national league all-star team which brought us the fantastic footage of tommy getting upended in the third base coaches box by a wayward bat.

steve sax turns two with a side of rice

yes, it's saxy time.  i recently picked up a few cards of the former dodger second baseman via sportlots, most of which show him turning two at second base.  like this 1990 score 100 superstars card

it kind of looks like he's losing his hat there.

this next one is his 1991 score 100 superstars card, and i count it as a dp turn due to his positioning around the second base bag.

it might not be a turn, but whatever.

his 1991 upper deck card definitely displays his dp turning talent

as does his 1993 fleer ultra card

that looks like luis polonia sliding in.  saxy led the league in errors by a second baseman in 1992, so in 1993 the white sox moved him to the outfield.

sax may have been more comfortable in the kitchen, as this 1993 usa rice council card suggests.

the sportlots seller included this card in my package as a bonus.  not sure how i feel about that.

there was a non-double play card in the group that i did order, however - a 1988 fleer mini

i picked up another small sax collectible in a separate deal.  this one is a 1990 topps doubleheader thingy which consists of a miniature version of his 1990 topps card encased in plastic

backed with a miniature version of his 1982 topps rookie card

it has a base so that it can stand up.  i'm thinking this thing isn't long for my collection.  it's weird and not really a card.  during this sax finding adventure, i was hoping to find a 1995 card that would have served as a final tribute.  alas, there are none. nor are there any cards of him in an oakland uniform.  he was acquired by the a's in late april of 1994, so he missed out on the mother's cookies set that year.  and, he didn't return after becoming a free agent when the '94 season ended, so he wasn't in any 1995 sets, either.

i smell a custom card coming up sometime soon.  i just realized that i forgot to pick up a copy of sax's 1987 drake's card while on this recent buying spree.  it's been added to the nefarious 9, if anyone has a copy.  you will be rewarded!