Lasorda’s Contract Extended Through 1990 by Dodgers

Speaking with both evangelical fervor and relief, Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda renewed his vows of loyalty to the only baseball organization for which he has worked, after it had done the same to him Friday. The Dodgers extended his contract as manager through the 1990 season.

“I’ve been a very, very lucky man,” said Lasorda, in his 12th season. “I’ve said it so many times: I want to die as a Dodger. This is the only place I’ve ever really wanted to work. I could never even think of saying, ‘The Big Something in the Sky,’ or, ‘Bleeding Something Blue.’ It’s always, ‘The Big Dodger in the Sky.’ ”

The two-year extension ends speculation, begun last fall, that Lasorda, baseball’s oldest manager at 60, would leave the organization when his contract expired at the end of this season.

Financial terms of the extension were not released, but it is believed that Lasorda got a considerable raise from his current salary of $500,000 a year. Lasorda’s seven-man coaching staff also got a two-year extension.

According to Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president, the extension was made to avoid Lasorda’s status becoming a distraction. Claire also said the Dodgers’ record, 15 games over .500 at the halfway mark of the season, was a factor.

Earlier, Claire had said he and owner Peter O’Malley would wait until the end of the season before deciding on contractual matters, including Lasorda’s. Twelve Dodger players also will be free agents after this season.

“We had said earlier that Tommy’s contract will be decided at the end of the season,” Claire said during a news conference. “We didn’t want it to become a distraction. But we felt that doing it now, it would put away any distractions during the season.”

Afterward, Claire explained that Lasorda’s status was going to be a distraction no matter when management addressed it. So, Claire and Lasorda met earlier in the week to discuss the managing situation.

“We could certainly see signs that, regardless of our intent, we’d have to face this distraction during the season,” Claire said. “We didn’t want this to be deceptive, but we saw a way we could avoid distractions.

“(The team’s success) wasn’t a primary force. Obviously, though, the fact we are in first place and playing well had a little to do with it. So, yes, it was a factor.”

Claire denied, however, that representatives from any other teams had approached him or O’Malley for permission to talk to Lasorda. But late last season, the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs reportedly asked O’Malley’s permission to talk to Lasorda. Apparently, they were turned down. O’Malley has not acknowledged that those requests were made. Claire said: “No, there was no outside stimulus from another club that made us make a decision now. When Peter and I met earlier this week and he asked me about the managing (situation), I said Tommy is the only man for the job.”

According to the principals, Lasorda was not approached about the contract extension until Thursday night after he, O’Malley and Claire had appeared as guests on KABC radio’s “Sports Talk” program. Lasorda and O’Malley said they had dined together Thursday night, and that they had met with Claire Friday morning to work out details of the contract.

Lasorda said: “Peter and I had dinner at an Italian place, and it was over pasta fagioli (beans) that he asked me. Peter knew that (entree) was one of my weaknesses.”

Was Lasorda surprised, given management’s previous stance that they would wait until fall?

“Yeah, a little,” he said. “Really, I didn’t think whether (O’Malley) would talk to me in August or September or when. I’m just very, very pleased and happy that Peter still wants me. I mentioned to Peter that just a couple months shy of 12 years ago, we walked down the same hallway from my first press conference.

“Boy, have those years gone by so fast . . . I love my job. There isn’t anybody who loves his job more than me. Did I ever doubt I’d be back? I didn’t even think about it? Because for 40 years, I’ve said I want to die a Dodger.”

Lasorda, who previously has expressed an interest in becoming a general manager, will be 63 when his contract expires in 1990. Asked if this will be his last managerial contract, Lasorda said:

“I don’t look for it to be my last, if things go right and continue the way they are. I will do anything in my power to help the Dodgers. I love managing. When there comes a time when I can no longer manage, then I still hope to contribute any way I can.”

Lasorda said he was relieved, mainly because he no longer will have to field questions about his job status.

“Getting the extension will cease all the rumors,” Lasorda said. “My concentration was always on managing. I knew everything would fall in place eventually, whether (O’Malley) wanted me or not.”

Lasorda, whose managerial record was 974-838 going into Friday night’s game, said the Dodgers’ first-half success might have persuaded O’Malley to retain him.

“I’m just like a ballplayer in the last year of a contract,” Lasorda said. “You just go out and do the best you can.”

According to Claire, there never was a question that Lasorda would remain with the Dodgers beyond this season.

“If Tommy felt he had to make a change, I don’t think it would have been in his best interest to leave,” he said. “I told him that Tommy Lasorda will always be a Dodger. That will never change. There is no man in baseball who is a better ambassador. I don’t think there is a more recognizable figure. I don’t think people see him on the street and say, ‘There’s Tommy Lasorda.’ They say, there’s Tommy Lasorda of the Dodgers.’ It works well for him, and it works well for us.”