Steel Partners Holdings Releases Letter From Executive Chairman Warren Lichtenstein on Passing of Tommy Lasorda - Seite 2

As the game unfolded, I told Tommy that there was a child on the team who had not had a hit all season. When that child came up to bat, Tommy stopped the game, which you can do if you are Tommy Lasorda at a little league baseball game, especially in Los Angeles. He walked to the plate, got down eye to eye with the batter, and spoke to him. I have no idea what Tommy said to him, and at the time, I was a bit nervous because you never knew what Tommy was going to say. Tommy winked at me on his way back to the dugout. The pitcher threw the pitch, and lo and behold; the kid hit the ball. It was right then and there that I witnessed Tommy’s gift and the power of positive coaching. We know that we can never replicate Tommy, but the impetus for creating Steel Sports is the hope that by instilling his values, we create like-minded young adults who will follow in his path.

After that game, I asked Tommy what he had said to the batter. Of course, it was his mantra, “you gotta believe!” He told the batter that he could be anything he wanted to be, and if he wanted to hit the ball, he could hit the ball. He just needed to believe in himself. Tommy always believed, and he always encouraged players and kids to believe in themselves and work hard to succeed. He said that there were three kinds of people in the world, those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened. Be the person to make it happen, but to do so, “you gotta believe!”

As Tommy and I continued to spend time together, we went to New York. I met a few of Tommy’s friends, and we had the first of many dinners at Bamonte’s in Brooklyn, where I started to realize Tommy should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most free meals ever received and for attending the most baseball games in a lifetime. That trip, he was also able to spend the Jewish holidays with my family, and he told me how he met his wife, Jo, when he spotted her in the stands at a baseball game he was pitching at in Greenville, South Carolina, and their beautiful family. Afterward, I came home to a letter of gratitude from Tommy, and he wanted me to meet Jo.

It was shortly thereafter that I had the pleasure of meeting Jo. Luckily, Jo decided she liked me and gave Tommy the green light for us to spend more time together, including accompanying me on most of the dates I had. We were catching up for lost time.

Tommy also shared the letter he had written to God, thanking him for the blessing of his wife, Jo, which I want to share with you today.

Tommy was a key figure in creating Steel Sports to help kids thrive, build character, teach life lessons, and inspire self-confidence. He was generous with his wisdom, and he always made time to talk to the kids to offer encouragement and help them believe in themselves. As Tommy said, “The difference between the impossible and possible lies in a man’s determination.” He was always there to teach the kids not just how to play baseball but how to be part of a team. He taught that we should play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back of the jersey.