Lasorda Knows All About Being a Pope

I have no idea what to make of the news that Tommy Lasorda was invited by President Bush to greet Pope Benedict in Washington this morning. Really, I’m still trying to get over the fact that this isn’t even the first Pope he’s met:

“Lasorda, who has frequently been called on to serve in dignitary roles for President Bush and Major League Baseball, has previously met two other popes — John Paul I and John Paul II.

Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 16, 1987, halfway through Lasorda’s 20-year stint as Dodgers manager. The following season, the Dodgers won the World Series.”

If you aren’t aware, Pope John Paul I is best known for having one of the shortest papacies in history — just 33 days — because of his untimely death on September 28, 1978. Records of that first encounter are hard to come by. And while the fact that he was manager of the Dodgers when John Paul II came to Dodger Stadium (not to mention that Lasorda’s squad won the World Series the next year) is a fortunate coincidence, that Lasorda found a way to meet John Paul I in the month Paul was in power is downright miraculous. And now Lasorda is meeting his third Pope via Presidential invitation. I mean, is Lasorda even Catholic? God must love baseball.