Tommy Lasorda has known Alex Rodriguez for nearly twenty years, and he was "shocked" to hear of the third baseman's recent admission to using performance-enhancing drugs.
"I never thought about him ever taking steroids," Lasorda said. "So when it did, that just shocked me. Shocked me. I didn't think he would do that."
As strongly as he felt about Rodriguez, his opinion has been altered.
"Sure, it changes my perception of him as a person and what he did, absolutely," said Lasorda. "And I feel so bad about that. The guy, he was always somebody special. We established that relationship. ... I just had so much respect, so much really good feeling about him. I never thought that he would have done it."
Lasorda 'Shocked' By A-Rod's Admission