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Tommy Lasorda portrait in National Portrait Gallery
Painting of Tommy Lasorda in National Portrait Gallery
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Kitty Felde/KPCC
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Tommy Lasorda and Dodger owner Jamie McCourt
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Jon Soo-Hoo
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Dodger manager Joe Torre and former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda
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Jon SooHoo
)
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Tommy Lasorda portrait in National Portrait Gallery
Former Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey tells the story of a home run derby where Tommy Lasorda bested Garvey, Bobby Valentine, and others.
Former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda is already in the baseball Hall of Fame. Now his portrait joins that of other American legends in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde was on hand for the unveiling.
Kitty Felde: The life-sized oil portrait by artist Everett Raymond Kinstler shows Lasorda in his managerial days, in uniform, at Dodger Stadium, leaning on a bat.
Tommy Lasorda: When I saw that painting, I got a little touched. I just can’t believe something like this has happened to me.
Felde: Lasorda was surrounded at the unveiling by his many brothers, Dodger owner Jamie McCourt, baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and several former Dodger players – including former first baseman Steve Garvey.
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Steve Garvey: As I walked in, and obviously we’re all a little misty, to see Tommy with a bat. Because all the years that all of his “sons” played for him, he would always want to challenge us to home run hitting contests. So today confirms that he always wanted to be a first baseman and not a pitcher.
Felde: Lasorda’s portrait joins the museum’s permanent collection. It hangs across the hall from the famous Shepard Fairey painting of Barack Obama.
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