Lasorda tells Italians, Cubans: This is our game

Published November 15, 2007 5:00am ET



America’s game 

AP

Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda waved the metaphorical flag Wednesday night in recalling his Olympic victory over the Cubans in 2000.

Lasorda told the adoring crowd at the Department of Interior what his final message to the U.S. Olympic baseball team was before it met Fidel’s heavily favored hitters on the field. “We’re going to bring that gold   medal to where it belongs, the United States,” Lasorda said. “Baseball is America’s game. It doesn’t belong to the Italians, the Cubans. We’re not going to let them beat us!”

Hawking his autobiography — “I Live for This!” — the famous raconteur took questions and held forth on any and all topics, from the time he nearly got into a fight with another team’s manager (“You throw at me, then I’m going to throw at you!”) to who the greatest hitter of all time is (“Ted Williams is the greatest hitter I’ve ever seen in my life”).