buster olney:
Decades-old passion, rivalry lastsposted: Thursday, July 13, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry
ESPN Classic hosted a 32-team tournament to determine the greatest team of all time Wednesday night, and as the 1939 Yankees, the 1905 Giants, the '07 Cubs, the '63 Dodgers, the '98 Yankees and the '12 Red Sox got knocked out, there was much debate on and off camera. But no one was more vocal about the results than former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who became increasingly perplexed as the '75 Cincinnati Reds advanced through the brackets.
The final straw for Tommy came when the '75 Reds beat the '55 Dodgers -- a team for which Tommy played -- in the National League finals. We went to commercial break just before the final segment, and Jim Palmer, Lasorda, Orel Hershiser and others who participated were shuttled off to the side and told to wait until the final moments, when we would join Karl Ravech on the set.
Nobody told us explicitly, however, to be quiet. And Tommy, a coach and manager for the Dodgers in the '70s, had some things to say. "That's unbelievable!" he said. "I saw that pitching staff. We beat their brains in in '77. What are they talking about?"
A stage manager raised her hand, trying to get Tommy to slow down, because Karl was talking on air, live, about 15 feet away from us. "Incredible!" he hissed.
Joe Morgan, the second baseman for the '75 Big Red Machine, came on air and graciously gave credit to the team voted the greatest of all time -- the '27 Yankees -- and also said he believed in his own team. Babe Ruth would probably say the same thing, he added, about the '27 Yankees. And we know Lasorda felt that way about his Dodgers.
A fun night. Tomorrow, I'll post some numbers generated in the preparation for this show, regarding the all-time teams.
