Dodgers: 10 greatest Tommy Lasorda moments of all time

7. Lasorda Gets Montreal’s Mascot Ejected

You can count the number of managers on one hand who’ve ever gotten an opposing mascot ejected from a game on the mascot’s home turf.

In fact, I’d wager you could probably count ’em on one Dodger Blue finger.

During a marathon in Montreal on Aug. 23, 1989, Lasorda got chippy with the Expos’ orange prankster known as Youppi!, raising a stink about the mascot clomping around on his dugout roof during a scoreless game.

A few innings later when the mischief maker returned wearing pajamas and a night cap, Lasorda emerged from the dugout to fume at him some more (or is that fumé en Français?), and umpire Bob Davidson tossed the costumed crusader from the game.

The Dodgers eventually won 1-0 in 22 innings, and the costumed crusader wandered back into the night to thunderous applause. You just can’t exterminate these things.

As the man in the suit, Claude Hubert, related years later, it may have been a misunderstanding:

"“Dodgers coach Tommy Lasorda came out and the first thing he saw was me. I explained that it wasn’t me, it was the fans,” Hubert continued. “He understood, but the third-base umpire thought he was yelling at me, so he said ‘Youppi!, get out of the game.’ ”"

Yeah. Sure, dude. Excuses, excuses.