Feb. 25, 2003

Lexington, Ky. –

The University of Kentucky baseball program concludes its season ticket campaign with an appearance by Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda on Wed., Feb. 26, to speak to the ‘Dugout Club,’ a group that meets monthly to lend support and generate enthusiasm for the UK baseball program.

Season tickets for the 107th season are now available through the Memorial Coliseum ticket office at (859) 257-1818. Tickets are priced at $75 and cover the entire 33-game 2003 home schedule. The slate includes Southeastern Conference rivals Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas and Vanderbilt, as well as in-state foes Louisville, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State and Western Kentucky. Two dates with Cincinnati are included in the package as well.

Lasorda compiled a 1,599-1,439 record and won two World Championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles in an extraordinary 20-year career as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager. He ranks 13th all-time in major league history in career wins and 12th in games managed. Lasorda’s 16 wins in 30 NL Championship Series games were the most of any manager at the time of his retirement in 1996. His 61 postseason games managed rank third all-time behind Bobby Cox and Casey Stengel. Lasorda posted a 3-1 record as the NL manager in four All-Star Games. He joined St. Louis’ Gabby Street (1930-31) as the only managers in NL history to win league titles in his first two seasons when he led the Dodgers to titles in 1977-78. Lasorda also managed nine of the Dodgers’ 16 Rookies of the Year, more than any other big league skipper in history.

In 1997, Lasorda was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in his first year of eligibility. He was the 14th manager and 52nd Dodger inducted into the Hall of Fame. Lasorda’s uniform number (2) was retired by the Dodgers on Aug. 15, 1997 and the main street that leads to the entrance of Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., was renamed Tommy Lasorda Lane on March 5, 1997. Lasorda also threw out the first pitch in Game Seven of the 1997 World Series.

The Lasorda event has been sold out. Anyone interested in purchasing season tickets can do so through the UK website at www.ukathletics.com, or can contact the UK ticket office at (859) 257-1818. Those interested in becoming part of the ‘Dugout Club’ should contact the Kentucky baseball office at (859) 257-1419.

— UK —