After a lot of seriousness in the playoff chase maybe it’s time for a little levity, and you can easily do that by bringing up former Dodger skipper Tommy Lasorda. With the Phillies in the World Series, I was thinking back at the rivalries the Dodgers had with that ballclub. We faced them in the playoffs in ’77, ’78, ’83, ’08 and ’09. There is history between us. There were controversies and players that donned both uniforms. I was thinking about who our favorite Phillie has been over the years and for me, aside from possibly Chase Utley, it has to the Phillie Phanatic.
Lasorda understood the schtick when it came to being the visiting manager and mascots. He was an ambassador for the game. He knew mascots were a part of it. He knew the Philly Phanatic was an icon in his hometown and that as the visiting manager, he was the villain.
He also enjoyed his trips to Philadelphia. It was a return home for him. Back to Norristown he would go, often bringing Dodger players with him in tow to meet with family and friends and inevitably share a large Italian meal. At Veteran’s stadium, his buddies would come to watch the game. The trip to Philadelphia was always a homecoming of sorts for Lasorda.
The man behind the Phillie Phanatic was a genius by the name of Dave Raymond. Aside from the San Diego Chicken, the Phanatic may have been the most entertaining mascot in the game. Raymond was the original Phanatic, and he wore the suit from 1977 to 1995. Essentially, the careers of Lasorda and Raymond almost mirrored each other in years as Lasorda managed the Dodgers from 1977 to 1996.
Raymond and Lasorda actually became friends over the years, but something happened on August 28, 1988. Some say it was a grumpy Lasorda who was suffering from the withdrawals of an anti-pasta diet. Others say the Dodger Manager was set off because he made arrangements to ensure that the Phanatic didn’t get a hold of his spare jersey for his antics. The former was probably the case and eventually the straw that broke the camel’s back.
There was a background to the story.
Over the years when the Dodgers would visit Philadelphia, the Phanatic would always somehow get a hold of Lasorda’s spare jersey from his dressing room. With that spare authentic jersey, the mascot would poke fun at the portly Dodger skipper. Usually by stomping on the jersey, or toting around Slim Fast with it, or dressing it up on a fat mannequin, where he would make fun of Lasorda to the delight of the Philly faithful. In 1988, the Dodgers were running away with the Western Division title and Philadelphia sat in last place in the East. There wasn’t much to entertain Philly fans at that time. The Phanatic was it, and he had vowed to really make a spectacle of Lasorda this time around. He needed to coordinate an “inside job” again to get Lasorda’s jersey and over the years he had been successful in accomplishing that.
That player was always Steve Sax. Sax would get the jersey out of Lasorda’s locked office when he wasn’t around and deliver it personally to the Phanatic. But on this particular road trip, things were different. Lasorda made an extra effort to ensure that the spare jersey was well hidden so even Sax couldn’t get to it. This forced Raymond to go to a sporting goods store and shell out $100 to buy a Dodger’s visiting jersey, not an easy feat in 1988 to find one in the city of brotherly love. He accomplished it, and then had a friend embroider Lasorda’s name and number on the back. It wasn’t perfect, but it would work. Raymond would later say that he spoke to the Phillies clubhouse guy and Lasorda had threatened his job if the Phanatic somehow ended up with his spare jersey. Lasorda was keeping a sharp eye on the situation.
So, to Lasorda’s chagrin, the Philly Phanatic still arrived on the field on August 28, 1988, with a replica Lasorda jersey on a hand-made chubby mannequin. The Dodger manager was beside himself with anger. “How dare they disrespect the Dodger uniform,” he would later say. “If he wants to entertain, dance, carry kids around, that’s great. But I don’t believe in demonstrating violence at the ballpark, and that’s what he does with the dummy.”
Raymond for his part, was putting on an extra special show for the fans this time. Pouncing on the dummy, running it over with his ATV, dragging the infield with it. “I did everything imaginable to that jersey,” he would later say. By the 5th inning, the Dodger manager had had enough. With the mascot on the ATV dragging the Lasorda dummy in tow, he put on a show in front of the Dodger dugout only to step away temporarily from his ATV.
This was Lasorda’s opportunity, and he took advantage of it. He got a hold of the ATV and the mascot was stuck between the mannequin and the motorbike. Once he was at this disadvantage, Lasorda made a beeline for the mascot’s dummy. The Phanatic and the manager we’re racing to it and unbelievably Lasorda won the race. What followed was the two rolling on the ground fighting over the dummy.
Raymond says that the expletives coming out of Lasorda’s mouth would make a hardened sailor blush. “I couldn’t believe it, he was actually really mad and he almost took my head off. That that would have been a disaster.” As they rolled around on the turf, Lasorda got a hold of the dummy and used it to smack the Philly fanatic a few times before returning with it to the Dodger dugout. “It was hysterical, but at the time I was mortified and terrified that I was going to lose my job,” said Raymond after the game when interviewed. Criticism was levied at both parties in a postgame article by Daily News columnist Stan Hochman who referred to them both as babies. “I told Stan I’m doing my job,” said Raymond. “I’m a professional idiot. How can you call me a baby? Tommy Lasorda is the manager of the Dodgers and he’s fighting a Muppet.”
The following day Raymond extended the olive branch to Lasorda by having a plate of veal scallopini delivered to the manager’s office. All was forgiven for the moment. Later in that offseason Lasorda managed a team of All Stars that took a tour of Japan and the Philly Phanatic went along. They had a number of lengthy conversations during that tour and became fast friends. Lasorda and Raymond forged a friendship that would last for years after both had retired from the field.
Raymond became a consultant in mascot design, (hard to believe there is such a thing), and a motivational speaker. Sometimes the two would be speaking at the same event. Lasorda would feign anger towards Raymond saying “he’s lucky to be alive after what he did to me on the field.”
Even as late as 2015 Lasorda kept up the act regarding the Phillie Phanatic. His 2015 biographical book “My Way” made mention of the 1988 incident, “I hate the Phillie Phanatic. In fact, I am not very happy about mascots in general…” So even though in private, Raymond and Lasorda were buddies, in public he continued to communicate his disdain for the mascot.
Lasorda knew Raymond’s father, (Tubby Raymond) the former Head Football coach at the University of Delaware. There wasn’t a time that they got together that Lasorda would speak reverently about Raymond’s dad.
The week that Tommy died, Raymond said the following about the Hall of Fame manager: “He was one of the last vestiges of someone that’s disappearing in baseball -personality, characters. He inspired passion and love for the game in people. He brought fun to the game, and I cherish him for that.”
We will always have that hilarious video footage of the scuffle between the two from 1988 that will go down in baseball mascot history as one of its best moments. Don Drysdale, who was announcing the game at the time, got a real kick out of the entertainment between the two as well. His laughter covering the whole event was almost as funny as the scene that unfolded before him. I dare you to watch it and not at least crack a smile.
Umpiring a Perfecto
It would be a complete omission on my part if I failed to mention a great performance in the second game of the World Series. I am talking about the masterful performance put in by home plate umpire Pat Hoberg who essentially called a perfect game.
The 36 year-old Hoberg has been an MLB umpire now only five years. This is the first Fall Classic that he has called and his balls and strikes calls were impeccable. Take a look at his charted calls for accuracy.
Talk about performing in the clutch. On the biggest stage in his life, Hoberg didn’t miss one call all night. He was 129 for 129 on pitches taken that were called correctly.
If umpire crews were always made up of guys like this, there would never be a consideration of instituting the automated strike zone in the game. Kudos to Pat Hoberg for a noteworthy performance that few will recognize. This is the guy you want calling the most important games of the year. Undoubtedly, Hoberg will get other chances to call important games in the future. He certainly deserves it. It was an MVP type performance without a doubt.
Great stuff Evan. I remember watching that game on TV. The Phanatic and the Chicken are the two best ever. I also remember another incident involving Lasorda and a mascot. August 23rd, 1989. About a year after the incident with the Phanatic, Lasorda had the Expos mascot, Youpii, thrown out of the game. The game was a 22 inning 1-0 win for the Dodgers. But so many odd and weird things happened during the game. It has sometimes been called the Eddie Murray game, since he was involved in many of the most important plays in the game. Anyway, Youpii if anything that night was the Phanatic’s evil cousin. As the game wore on, he would stomp on the roof of the Dodger dugout and irritate Lasorda. Note: the dugout roofs in Montreal at the time were metal. Murray, after singling his first at bat, had bad fortune as the game wore on and got more and more frustrated and mad as the game continued. He hit into what was originally ruled a triple-play, but reversed after much argument to a double play. Late in the game he hit a screaming liner over Larry Walker’s head, with the runner going, it looked like the Dodgers would score. The ball actually hit the wall, but Walker sold the catch to the umpires, and no run scored. Without replay, it just could not be overturned. In the 16th, a long fly was hit to RF. Walker, on third came home for what appeared to be the winning run. but third base umpire, Bob Davidson did not walk off the field like the other umps, so Murray, who had not left the field either, got the ball from Dempsey and stepped on third, Walker had left early. No run. In the 12th inning, Youpii put on a night shirt and lied down on top of the Dodger dugout. Lasorda, who at that point was fed up, told him to get the eff off of the dugout. Davidson, seeing little humor in the situation came over and ordered the mascot out of the game. Youpii left the dugout roof, and tried to circle back, but Lasorda was watching for him and told the security people to keep him away. Shortly after being ejected, the Expo fans began chanting his name. Rick Dempsey, a .179 hitter that year, hit a homer in the top of the 22nd off of Dennis Martinez, and then threw out Rex Hudler trying to steal in the bottom of the inning for the final out.
The Philly Phanatic is the best.
I watch that YouTube video about once a year or so. That and the Kurt Bevacqua audio clip are my favorite Tommy memories.
Thanks for posting the scorecard for that ump. I’m in the minority here, but I DO NOT want electronic balls and strikes. The ability to rate each and every umps home plate performance has been around for years already. Just promote the best umps just like you promote the best players. It’s not hard. Why make it complicated with some complex bug ridden system that’s going to delay each balls and strikes call by a second. Part of what makes a key pitch exciting is the instantaneous call by the ump on a called third strike. Some system delay ruins that.
Even players and fans would accept the occasional missed call as long as everyone understood that they were watching the best umps. The frustration lies with guys like Angel Hernandez, who everyone knows is terrible, still going out there and being terrible.
“But the union!!!”
Baseball needs to grow a spine. Renegotiate the contract the umpire players unions. What are they gonna do? Go on strike? That kind of leverage works for the players union, because fans actually want to see the players. No one is buying a ticket to watch umpires.
NO ELECTRONIC BALLS AND STRIKES
Utilize ump tracking and grading throughout the minor leagues and promote those who excel, demote those who don’t. To be fair, maintain an appropriate base salary and some job security for all umps, just give out bonuses to MLB umps. WS and playoff umps get additional bonuses, and are the best of the best.
Yes, they could weed out the bad ones. People get fired all the time. And the Umps union is not as strong as MLBPA, But the problem is, getting the union to go along with the firings. Hernandez is suing MLB for discrimination. So until that is resolved, he ain’t going anywhere. The minute they terminate him, he is going to say it was racial. Just how he works. Quinn Buckner is another bad ump. The ones that tic me off are the ones who feel they are the show, and they are quick to throw players out. The other kind that irk’s me, is the ump who never really takes control of a bad situation, like warning the teams if it looks like someone is hit on purpose. But I favor the electronic K zone simply because the balls and strike calls over the last several seasons have been getting worse.
Patch, my experience with ABS is very positive. There are no noticeable delays with the HPU getting immediate information in his ear bud. So there is no delay issue. I have watched games with ABS and didn’t even notice it was in use.
If they stay with HPU calling the game, it’s only fair to get rid of the strike zone superimposed on the TV screen.
A challenge system would use 2 systems to call a pitch; the HPU’s zone and the ABS zone and they are not the same for most umpires, despite the wish that they are. Using 2 separate systems to challenge won’t work.
This is not an argument for electronic balls and strikes. It’s an argument for accountability and promotion according to merit. It’s astounding that Gregg thought he had the power to get away with this performance, which some claim was deliberate on his part.
https://youtu.be/mR3eK5gCChM
The umpires union wouldn’t have much leverage in a negotiation now since the threat exists that they could easily be replaced by the electronic zone and current minor leaguers . MLB would be in a good position to break that union. Don’t think it’ll happen though.
As far as Hoberg’s zone on Saturday, I don’t ever recall a game being called so good. They say an official has called a good game when he isn’t noticed. I would say Game 2 was an exception to that because I noticed right away that the guy behind the plate was good.
I am impressed with this new crop of umpires that have been promoted in the last 5-6 years. Not only are they pretty good at calling balls and strikes but a lot of them are in shape too, unlike the old guard of guys like Froeming, West, Wendelstedt, Luciano, etc.
I can’t stand the mascots. No way I want to see that circus stuff. When Disney bought Angels & then rolled out the cartoon characters on the field – I was done with Disney Angels. Total BS.
You want lil kid stuff – head to Disney Land. Me? I want to see Tommy wrestling some kook in a clown outfit between innings. Grumpy OG I am on this one.
I mean this is genius stuff.
https://www.mlb.com/video/phanatic-messes-with-tatis-jr
https://twitter.com/NBCSPhilly/status/1403848424752046083
https://www.mlb.com/video/phanatic-heckles-marlins-pitcher
I keep a book on umpires. Pat Hoberg is the best balls and strikes umpire in MLB and has been for some time. It’s interesting what MLB does with the World Series umpire rotation with 7 umpires covering 6 spots. The guy who has the plate had the previous game off, completely. So Hoberg didn’t work Game 1. For Game 2, this was maybe the first time ever that the 6 man crew did not have a Crew Chief from the regular season on the field. James Hoye had a nice Game 1. The youth movement is helping, with guys like Alan Porter and Quinn Walcott. Young, accurate, consistent and athletic is the new wave. But there is still the old guard of hacks who apparently survive bad reviews year after year: CD Bucknor, Angel Hernandez. Ed Hickox, Rob Drake and Laz Diaz.
There are still enough shitty umpires that I strongly support the ABS. No challenge system please. But what took MLB so long to promote young talent sooner. The Joe Wests, Greg Gibson and Tom Hallion’s had to retire to get better umpires promoted. Too much of a good ole boy clique in that business.
James Hoye, by the way, in Game 1 missed 10 pitches of 173. His misses were balls called strikes but he was consistent so players can adjust to his zone. He will expand east-west at times mostly in the river off the plate on the inside to a RHB. I call that the “5 Zone”. That’s executable and he isn’t flipping coins back there.
I think tonight is Dan Iassogna – small zone. Tight north and south. May expand 5 river. Inconsistent balls and strikes at times.
Justin Turner has been named winner of the Roberto Clemente Award.
That’s going to make it much harder to send him on his way, but then I wanted to keep him around anyway.
“That’s going to make it much harder to send him on his way, but then I wanted to keep him around anyway.”
CHANGE THIS TO:
That’s going to make it IMPOSSIBLE to send him on his way, but then I wanted to keep him around anyway.
Just like it would be impossible for him to bring Carlos Correa, the Hated One, here to be our new shortstop.
You know what they say, “The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer.”
Definite “Maybe.”
Jeff Kent all over again?
That went well…,,
Great article, Evan – I remember it well.
Tommy was too funny.
The “Aaron Judge to the Dodgers Rumors” won’t stop. It could be that Andrew is really interested in Judge, or is he just driving up the price for his old buddy Farhan?
Could Judge be the leader the Dodgers need?
I view Judge as the same type of leader as Freddie, lead by example. They still need someone with attitude.
If you think this season seems to be going on forever just think, going into game 3 of the World Series it’s about 100 days until Spring Training.