CEDAR FALLS - Tommy Lasorda didn't mince words during Tuesday's motivational speech.

At age 80, after 62 seasons spent affiliated with Major League Baseball, the legendary former Los Angeles Dodgers manager had several speaking points.

First, he worked the room, cracking jokes about Italians named Tony, the Pope and the most glacially slow baserunner he ever coached. ("I told Danny Heep: 'You're so slow that, if you got in a race with a pregnant woman, you'd finish third!").

The old skipper, who won 1,599 games in L.A., preached the importance of believing in yourself. He also talked about team-building while addressing an intimate gathering at Cedar Falls' Mudd Advertising.

Then, he broached a subject most front-office types typically only speak of in hushed tones:

Steroids - the Major League black mark that has tarnished the game he has essentially devoted his life to.

"They're cheating. Anybody who takes it is cheating," Lasorda noted, speaking sternly. "If I were a pitcher, and I pitched against a guy who was taking them, I'd pitch right under his lip.

"Everybody says, 'Well, they (still) have to hit the ball.' … Yeah, but those balls that were going to the warning track are now in the stands."

Later, when pressed on the recent performance-enhancer scandal, the current Dodgers adviser tried to stick to the company line.

"Nothing can hurt baseball," Lasorda argued. "We drew more people in baseball (last) year than ever before.

"Baseball's gonna be here for a long, long time, no matter what adjustments they have to make or the stop signs they have to put up."

Few people give a sales pitch quite like Lasorda. His riffs are almost the equal of his close friend, Don Rickles. Thus, he used to sell pasta sauce. He now hocks a line of fine wines. His once-comical paunch has since shrunken, in no small part to the Slim Fast shakes he once endorsed.

Yet, Lasorda has a hard time singing the praises of today's players. Like all baseball diehards, Lasorda has heard of the steroid-inspired depositions of stars like Andy Pettitte. And, he no doubt read about the Mitchell Report, which linked 15 Dodgers to the use of performance-enhancers.

"Yeah, I worry about it," Lasorda allowed. "If guys are cheating, that's not right."

Tuesday, Lasorda spoke to a host of 9-to-5ers about improving their workplace each and every day. He's spent the better part of six decades trying to do the same for the big leagues.

So, when people talk about baseball's tarnished image, it stings the old skipper.

Lasorda said his childhood heroes were men like Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams and Hank Greenberg - stars with seemingly pristine images.

Now, he's not sure who today's Little Leaguers should look up to.

"They can't look up to those guys, that's for sure," Lasorda sighed, referring to steroid abusers.

"It has been reported," he continued, "that 500,000 high schoolers in this country are taking steroids. Those are the ones that (Congress is) worried about.

"We can't allow kids to take 'em. Because (they are) harmful, and it'll lead 'em down the path of destruction."

Sounds pretty somber. Yet, remember, those sound bites came from Thomas Charles Lasorda - a man who refers to himself as "The second greatest optimist ever" (trailing, he said, only Colonel George Custer).

Thus, Lasorda opted to end on a positive note before signing numerous autographs.

"When it's all said and done," Lasorda said of MLB's steroid scandal, "they'll get it all straightened out.

"Baseball will survive."

Contact Kelly Beaton at (319) 291-1456 or kelly.beaton@wcfcourier.com

Covering all the bases with Tommy Lasorda …

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DODGERS' NEW MANAGER, JOE TORRE?

"I've got a good feeling with him coming over. … I mean, we had a good team last year - until we crumbled like stale cookies."

WHAT DO YOU TAKE MORE PRIDE IN: YOUR WORLD SERIES WINS OR YOUR FIRST PLACE IN THE OLYMPICS?

"I managed in four World Series, and I managed in all-star games. … When I got to manage in the 2000 Olympics, I said, 'This is bigger.' People thought I was wacky … but if you win that gold medal, EVERYBODY (in the nation) is happy."

WHO IS THE BEST BALLPLAYER YOU'VE EVER SEEN?

"Mickey Mantle AND Willie Mays. … You don't see those kinds of guys come down the pike too often. The best hitter I ever saw was Ted Williams - that guy was unbelievable."