Remembering Tommy Lasorda: Retired Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier shares his memories

LOS ANGELES - Andre Ethier, who spent his entire 12-year career in Major League Baseball playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, joined Good Day LA on Monday to discuss the legacy of Tommy Lasorda.

Ethier was originally signed to the Oakland Athletics in 2003 where he played in the minor leagues before he was traded to the Dodgers in 2005 and made his pro debut the following season.

The retired outfielder played for the Boys in Blue from 2006 to 2017 and retired shortly after the 2017 World Series due to injuries.

When it comes to his favorite memory of Lasorda, Ethier said he had many, but one of his first memories is one that stuck out to him while the Dodgers were at their old Spring Training facility in Vero Beach, Florida.

"The first memory I have of Tommy was in 2016. I just got traded over to the Dodgers…I had Spring Training in Arizona for my first three years in pro ball. Then all of a sudden, the Dodgers traded for me a couple weeks later I get sent out to Vero Beach, Florida when the team was still out there in Vero and didn’t know anyone. I knew 2 or 3 guys in the whole organization. [I was] sitting there on the first or second night at Dodger Town there in the old campus that they have. There’s a minor league and major league dining hall, which both teams shared, and all the coaches and staff sat..and I was the new guy in town, sitting there by myself with one or two other guys at a table and I walked up to go get another helping of the buffet-style food and Tommy points me out and says ‘Hey, you’re that guy we traded for from the Oakland A’s. Come over here and sit with me at the table. And sure enough, I was stuck in my first three to four-hour dinner at Dodger Town sitting with Tommy at a meal, which he’s known for. He loved inviting players out, especially when we came out to Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. There’s a little pizza place up the road called Grimaldi’s…he loved to invite staff, media and hold court for three to four hours at night. So that was my first Tommy memory and indoctrination of Dodger baseball and into the lure of what we know and Tommyisms, I guess you could say," Ethier said.

Watch his full interview with FOX 11's Rita Garcia above.

• Sports world, LA community pays tribute to Dodger legend Tommy Lasorda

Take a look back on some of Ethier's top moments below:

Ethier was born in Phoenix and attended college at Arizona State University.

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