Here’s the link to Tommy’s rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from Wrigley (the photo is from a different event).  Enjoy!

This just in from the Dodgers…can’t wait to see the video.  One note about the Baby Ruth contest listed below: what the release does not state is that the winner gets to lead the crowd in singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.  It’s an awesome prize (full disclosure: I work on this promotion).

LOS ANGELES – Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasordawill sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field.  Lasorda will make his sixth appearance at Wrigley Field tomorrow singing baseball’s anthem, as his previous performances came in 1999, 2002, ’03, ’05, and ’06.

“Singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ during the seventh-inning stretch is an institution in baseball,” said Lasorda.  “I am honored to be asked, and look forward to leading the fans in the song.”

As 2008 marks the 100^th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Major League Baseball and Baby Ruth teamed up to offer one lucky fan a once-in-a-lifetime prize for the best video performance of  “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”  Fans had the chance to enter their video rendition of the song from March 31 through May 26. In June, ten semi-finalists’ videos, selected by MLB and Baby Ruth, will be posted for fan voting online. The three videos with the most votes will go to 2008 DHL All-Star FanFest where a panel of judges will determine the grand prize winner.

The “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” song was originally composed in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, neither of whom had ever been to a Major League Baseball game. The song is the third most frequently sung tune in the United States after “Happy Birthday” and the “Star Spangled Banner,” and has sold over 10 million copies in sheet music and/or records.

Over the past one hundred years more than 400 musicians in every conceivable genre have recorded the song including Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, The Goo Goo Dolls and Jimmy Buffett. The original lyrics are now part of the collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown .

President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have invited Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasorda to attend the arrival ceremony of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, it was announced today.  Lasorda will attend the arrival ceremony tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. on the South Lawn of the White House, as well as a private dinner hosted by President and Mrs. Bush later that evening at the White House.

So as many of you know, I (along with a stellar collection of some of my fellow Dodgers bloggers) had the opportunity to meet Tommy last Friday and hear his hilarious takes on past Dodger greats and not-so-greats.  What do you think the odds are that he’ll break into a speech to the Pope on the ”intelligence” levels of former players Steve Sax and Ken Landreaux as Tommy did with us?  Check out the video that our friends Steve Sax and Orel shot if you’re in for a laugh.

Oh, maybe he’ll give the Pope and the Prez his patented “God Bless Tommy Lasorda and God bless the Los Angeles Dodgers” exit speech!  That would be so sweet.  Maybe our buddy Josh Rawitch over at the Dodgers can hook it up so a few of us Dodgers bloggers can attend the dinner as well (we’ll work for Dodger Dogs).

Photo Credit: SpeakingofSports.com

As many of you know, the Dodgers hosted a group of local bloggers in a suite at Dodger Stadium last night in an effort to start a dialogue with the local blogging community. Hats off to Josh Rawitch (the Dodgers’ VP of Public Relations and Broadcasting) for putting together a stellar event, and for caring about new media outlets and their role in the greater landscape of the team.

Josh and his team put together an incredible event, and I wanted to touch on a few of the highlights:

As soon as we had settled into our seats with a tasty Dodger Dog in hand, in walks Ned Colletti. “Let’s talk,” he said, and thus began a fascinating 30-minute conversation where Ned offered his honest, blunt and straightforward views on the team as it stands now, the players and the future of the team from a personnel perspective. A truly fascinating conversation. Ned was very open, and a great communicator (his background as a former PR guy paid off). Ned also showed off his own personal style by sporting a great pair of cowboy boots (check out the photo below).

A few minutes later, in walks owner Frank McCourt. Equally honest and to the point, Frank thoroughly answered every question asked of him during his nearly hour-long visit. The result was a unique insight into how decisions are made within the organization, both from a baseball perspective, as well as when it comes to the business and community relations side of things.

Finally the last of Josh’s special guests for the evening arrived: Tommy Lasorda (who else?!?). Tommy did not disappoint entering the rooms with a shout of “Where are the bloggers?!?” Tommy captivated the room with stories from his decades managing the team, the characters he had on his clubs and his thoughts on the poignant tribute the current Dodger players gave him at the end of Spring Training. Tommy left the room with a shout of “Keep blogging!” (don’t think that’s a problem with this crowd).

Special guests aside, it was fantastic to meet some of the other bloggers that cover the team. Each person was intelligent, insightful, opinionated and well-spoken. I think we all are excited about staying in touch and building a better network of Dodger bloggers while also having increased access to the Club itself.

Other bloggers in attendance included:

Erin from Beantown West

Sax and Orel and one other blogger (sorry, I can’t remember your name!) from Sons of Steve Garvey

Ernest from Dodgers Blue Heaven

Robert from The Trolley Dodger

Robert from Dodger Dugout

Josh Rawitch from Inside the Dodgers

Finally, a huge thank you to Josh and his team for putting together a fantastic evening and really starting a productive and honest dialogue. As Josh said several times throughout the evening, “This is just the beginning.” I, for one, look forward to see what’s coming next.

One memorable line was from Ned Colletti. As he stood up to leave the suite he said, “Let’s do it again soon.” I know every blogger there agreed wholeheartedly.

I’ve had the good fortune to have good to Spring Training games for the Mariners for several years in Peoria, AZ and there is something special about being able to drive to see any number of teams play on a given lazy Spring afternoon.

In any case, be sure and check out the following article from Monday’s USA Today.  Tommy gives his final reflection back on Vero, and I think it’s appropriate we give this special place it’s due as we begin the transition to Arizona.  It’s only fitting that Lasorda manage the team’s last game in Vero Beach.  It’s a fitting tribute to one of the greatest personalities to ever be associated with the Dodger franchise.

So I’m not sure if Spring Training games count in the record books, but with Tommy returning to the dugout to take the reins of the stateside Dodgers for eight games while Joe takes a small traveling team to China next month, it technically makes 80 year-old Tommy the second oldest manager ever in the majors to Connie Mack.

Personally, I can’t wait to see how Ethier, Kemp, LaRoche, Loney and Martin react the first time the fire in Lasorda’s belly kicks in and he charges the umpires arguing a call.  Hopefully he won’t have any flashbacks to his first group of kids (Lopes, Garvey, Cey and Russell) who stayed together as starters for a record eight seasons.

You just know Tommy’s going to be treating these eight games like it’s an extended version of the World Series.  He’s going to be busting out all of his great motivational speeches, and getting the team to play harder than they ever would under normal Spring Training circumstances.  I can’t wait.

Back in the day, Tommy Lasorda’s clubhouse office was well known as the place where celebrities and athletes rubbed elbows. The office walls were covered with shots of Tommy with his pals, and it certainly wasn’t uncommon to see Frank Sinatra in the Clubhouse before a game.

Today, one of the biggest celebrity fans of the Dodgers is season ticket holder and actress Alyssa Milano. Now I know what you’re thinking, but Alyssa really is passionate about her team, and has a blog to prove it (well, I guess having a blog doesn’t prove anything, but her content does). Check it out here. She also did some post-season work with TBS’ “Hot Corner” broadband service and has launched her own clothing line for female baseball fans…and I’m certainly not against having more ladies out at the ballpark!

I’m sure Alyssa’s blog will kick into high gear once Spring Training and the regular season start, and recommend checking it out. Unlike Frank, she’s got an interesting take on the Dodgers, and at DodgerFan.net, we’re all about supporting great blogs and points of view.

Key Dodger greats on the float included famed pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and first basemen Steve Garvey and Erric Karros.  Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda was also in attendance and said, “This is the daddy of them all.”

Said Garvey, “This is back to our youth…to be on a float in the greatest parade in the world and representing the Dodgers — it’s just going to be a great morning and a great day.

“You have great former players and, of course, the great voice of Vin Scully, great managers and the young players — it really is a generational float that will touch everybody’s heart. I was a bat boy at the age of 6 with the Brooklyn Dodgers and today I’ll be standing next to Carl Erskine, so it’s going to be very sentimental. And to look at Tommy Lasorda and to look at Vin and to look at the future in players like James Loney, it’s going to be fun, fun for the crowd too.”

Garvey, coincidendally, went to the Rose Bowl game featuring USC and Illinois and sat several rows behind Dodgerfan.net contributor Alex Volk who happened to snap a picture of the legend exclusively for Dodgerfan.net!