Tommy Lasorda
Sep 22, 1927 (Norristown, PA) – Jan 7, 2021 (Fullerton, CA) · died at 93
General manager for the Dodgers (1998–1998).
Across the full 1-season sample, the measured profile stands out most for net WAR per trade (100th percentile), and avoidance of dead payroll (78th percentile). The clearest contrast is cheap-talent surplus (6th percentile): cost-controlled talent has created less surplus value than for most peers. Because the sample covers fewer than five seasons, those comparisons are descriptive rather than stable.
1 seasons with salary-era data across 1 stint. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.
0 pennants · 0 playoff appearances · 83–79 (0.512)
Overview
| Team | Role | Year | Pay $M |
Rel Pay |
Surp $M |
Surp WAR |
Dead % |
Cheap $M |
Draft $M |
Trd $M |
Int'l $M |
$ / WAR |
WAR | Depth | Dead WAR |
HG | Trade | Net/ Trd |
FA | R5 | RFA | PPA | CPA | WAB | TAB | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dodgers |
GM | 1998 83–79 | $58 | 140 | -26 | -24.0 | 28% | -0 | +3 | -2 | -1 | $1.7M | 29.7 | 7.0 | -5.3 | +1.2 | +29.0 | +7.26 | +7.7 | +0.3 | +0.11 | 0.46 | 0.09 | -3.2 | -8.7 | 0.512 | |||
| Career total (1985+ data) | $58 | 140 | -26 | -24.0 | 28% | -0 | +3 | -2 | -1 | $1.7M | 29.7 | 7.0 | -5.3 | +1.2 | +29.0 | +7.26 | +7.7 | +0.3 | +0.11 | 0.46 | 0.09 | -3.2 | -8.7 | 0.512 | – | – | – | ||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Trades
Trades made — 10 deals credited to Tommy Lasorda, best expected value first; surplus is realized value in $M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$27.2M
WSN · Jim Beattie
−$27.2M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$28.0M
NYM · Steve Phillips
−$28.0M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$1.6M
SDP · Kevin Towers
−$1.6M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$0.8M
SEA · Woody Woodward
−$0.8M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$10.4M
NYM · Steve Phillips
−$10.4M
ATL · John Schuerholz
+$1.6M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
−$1.6M
NYM · Steve Phillips
+$46.4M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
−$46.4M
CIN · Jim Bowden
+$28.0M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
−$28.0M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
+$102.4M
MIA · Dave Dombrowski
−$102.4M
NYM · Steve Phillips
+$4.8M
LAD · Tommy Lasorda
−$4.8M
Players acquired — 20 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | RFA | PPA | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Brown | P | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | 5 | +22.8 | +4.6 | – | 5.0% | 0.71% |
| Gary Sheffield | OF | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 4 | +14.7 | +3.7 | +1.75 | 1.5% | 0.31% |
| Mark Grudzielanek | 2B/SS | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 4 | +7.4 | +1.9 | +0.17 | 3.4% | 0.43% |
| Todd Hundley | C | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 3 | +2.9 | +1.0 | -0.20 | 0.3% | 0.03% |
| Brian Bohanon | P | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 1 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +0.00 | 0.8% | 0.14% |
| David Ross | C | LAD |
Draft | 1998 | 2 | +1.4 | +0.7 | – | – | – |
| Matt Luke | OF | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 1 | +1.3 | +1.3 | – | 0.6% | 0.11% |
| Dave Mlicki | P | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 2 | +1.2 | +0.6 | -1.02 | 0.5% | 0.09% |
| Charles Johnson | C | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 1 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +1.75 | 0.5% | 0.10% |
| Trenidad Hubbard | OF | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 2 | +1.0 | +0.5 | – | 0.5% | 0.09% |
| Devon White | OF | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – | 0.5% | 0.06% |
| Greg McMichael | P | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | -1.02 | 0.1% | 0.01% |
| Carlos Pérez | P | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 2 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.17 | 0.3% | 0.05% |
| Brad Clontz | P | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Pedro Borbón | P | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Bubba Crosby | OF | LAD |
Draft | 1998 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Sean Maloney | P | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Hiram Bocachica | OF | LAD |
Trade | 1998 | 2 | -0.2 | -0.1 | +0.17 | – | – |
| Thomas Howard | OF | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | – | -0.4 | – | – | – | – |
| Alan Mills | P | LAD |
Free agency | 1998 | – | -0.7 | – | – | – | – |
Trade-side columns: RFA is playoff-readiness percentage points added to the future roster foundation. It grades the franchise's entire side of a trade, so the same score repeats for every player acquired in that package. PPA/CPA remain player-level arrival-year probability points.
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.