Tommy Lasorda's portrait placed in the Smithsonian

Former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda celebrated his 82nd birthday today at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. He wasn’t a visitor; he was there for the unveiling of his portrait. KPCC’s Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde reports.

Kitty Felde: George Washington’s portraits hang there. So do pictures of Frederick Douglass and Charlie Chaplin. Now, Tommy Lasorda, who started out as a third-string high school pitcher from Norristown, Pennsylvania, joins this illustrious team.

Tommy Lasorda: So it’s a great day of my life. A day I’ll never forget.

Felde: Dodger owner Jamie McCourt stood next to the life sized oil painting of Lasorda by painter Everett Raymond Kinstler. It’s Lasorda from his managerial days on a bright sunny day at Dodger Stadium.

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Jamie McCourt: The one thing I can say about Tommy is that Tommy is larger, larger than life. And now we’re all going to know it and be reminded of it all the time.

Felde: The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery collects and displays images of men and women who’ve made significant contributions to the history and culture of America. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig noted that Lasorda was a Hall of Fame manager with two World Series rings, a coach who led the U.S. Olympic baseball team to a gold medal, and an ambassador for baseball around the world.

Bud Selig: So, Tommy, during your 60 years as a Dodger and a baseball man, you often and unabashedly proclaim that you “bled Dodger blue.” But all of us who knew you well knew better. We know that you bled red, white, and blue because in every way you have proved that you are truly a great American.

Felde: The Dodgers and manager Joe Torre are in town to play three games against the Washington Nationals. Torre dropped by the museum to tease Lasorda, saying his real legacy was making baseball less macho by introducing hugging. Torre marveled at Lasorda’s managerial skill of blending individual athletes into a winning team.

Joe Torre: When you talk about teamwork, which is what we all try to preach to our players, Tommy had the first team that I had ever seen loosen up before the game all at the same time. Baseball is not really a team sport. It’s really an autonomous sport. And it’s – what Tommy had done in relation to making players think teamwork seems subtle, but I think from the results, it really worked.

Felde: Lasorda’s four brothers, his daughter, and several former Dodger players flew into Washington to celebrate. Lasorda was nearly speechless.

Lasorda: Somebody out there asked me, “Say! What’s next for you?” I said “Heaven” because this is the utmost, the most unbelievable, the greatest – one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me in my lifetime.

Felde: Lasorda isn’t the only Dodger honored by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Portraits of Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and others grace the walls. The Lasorda painting is in the first floor’s “new arrivals” gallery, across the hall from the Shepard Fairey portrait of another new arrival, Barack Obama.