Tommy Lasorda gets around. On Sunday, July 8, the 73-year-old former Los Angeles Dodgers manager was at the Osaka Dome, "producing" an American ballpark event for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, wolfing down some Dodger Dogs and doing a TV interview. Two days later, "Tumblin' Tommy" was coaching third base for the National League in this year's MLB All-Star Game at Safeco Field in Seattle.

If you saw the All-Star Game or any of its highlights (lowlights?) on TV, you watched Lasorda take that tumble after being hit by a broken bat barrel flung by Vladimir Guerrero of the Montreal Expos. Luckily, he was unhurt, and it's a good thing, because Lasorda has been one of the most lovable characters in baseball over the past 25 years. He's also one who loves Japan and things Japanese, from sushi to sumo, from karaoke to Kyoto, and his recent appointment as a consultant to the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes is apparently paying big dividends for the Pacific League franchise.

Lasorda's association with this country goes back a long way. I have an undated photo of him, young and slim, wearing Dodgers uniform No. 22 and posing with several Tokyo Giants coaches, apparently taken some time in the early 1960s at the Yomiuri training camp in Miyazaki, Kyushu. I imagine he was an L.A. coach then.

Tommy Lasorda, a fan of sumo wrestling, attempts to put a hold on former yokozuna Akebono during the Los Angeles Dodgers two-game tour of Fukuoka in 1993.

In 1979, three seasons into what would become his 19-year tenure as manager of the Dodgers, Lasorda led a National League All-Star squad on a postseason tour of Japan. In November of 1993, he brought the Dodgers to Fukuoka, by way of Taiwan, for a two-game series against the Daiei Hawks to help celebrate the first year of operation of the Fukuoka Dome. In 1995, he managed Hideo Nomo when the former Buffaloes (how's that for irony?) ace pitcher started the current wave of Japanese players going west.

Despite this, there were a few skeptics when it was announced in May that the Buffaloes and Dodgers were forming an alliance, and Lasorda, in his current capacity as Dodgers senior vice president, would become an adviser to Kintetsu, visit Osaka several times a year and find some good American players to help the Buffs, the Pacific League's last-place club the past two seasons.

"He's not gonna come here so often," said one doubtful media member.

"Can he really find players who will help Kintetsu right away?" asked another.

But he has and he has.

Lasorda has returned to Japan at least twice in the past two months, first bringing in pitcher Sean Bergman and later hurler Jeremy Powell and infielder Shawn Gilbert, all of whom have contributed to the Buffaloes first-place standing in the PL as we go to the All-Star break.

Then he was back to oversee the promotion earlier this month, whereby the Osaka Dome took on the atmosphere of an American stadium, complete with an English-language public address announcer, the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the Dodger Dogs (trademark frankfurters sold at Dodger Stadium), peanuts and other U.S. food items.

During the Buffs' game against the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, telecast on Sky A of SKY PerfecTV!, play-by-play announcers continually referred to the "Tommy Lasorda-produced" promotion, and the "producer" himself appeared in the broadcast booth for an interview and to demonstrate how to enjoy a Dodger Dog or two with some mustard.

"The people love these things," he said, referring to fans in Osaka as well as Southern California. "Sometimes I'll put on some onions, too." Lasorda's idea was obviously a success at the gate, as box scores indicated a crowd of 35,000 in attendance. Sure, it was a Sunday afternoon and the Buffaloes are winning, but there had been some rather sparsely attended games earlier in the year where, it appeared, there weren't even 3,500 at the 48,500-seat Osaka Dome.

As for the Kintetsu team's improvement, Lasorda said the Buffaloes are not a bad club.

"The third baseman (Norihiro Nakamura) has power, the first baseman (Yuji Yoshioka) has power, the left fielder (Tuffy Rhodes) has power," he pointed out, referring to Osaka's cleanup trio.

At last look, Nakamura was leading the Pacific loop in batting with a .357 average and had hit 29 homers and driven home 85 runs. Rhodes was tops with 32 homers and 90 runs scored while posting a .309 average with 79 runs batted in. Yoshioka's stats read .292 with 16 HRs and 58 RBIs.

Pitching-wise, Bergman and Powell have won some games since joining the team, and left-hander Katsuhiko Maekawa (10 wins) and righty Ken Kadokura (seven victories) are among league leaders in the hurler derby. Who would have thought Kintetsu would be at -- or even near -- the top of the league at this point in the season? No one I know.

Out of 32 media personnel who submitted preseason predictions for my Japan Pro Baseball Fan Handbook & Media Guide, and 11 fans who contributed similar picks to this column, none selected either the Buffaloes or, for that matter, the Yakult Swallows, for postseason play.

Though the Yomiuri Giants are listed atop the Central League with the most victories, Yakult, by that "ancient" method of listing team standings by percentage, had the best record in the CL through yesterday's games.

Sure, there are still 21/2 months left in the schedule and anything can happen, but perhaps we'll be seeing Tommy Lasorda-san at the Japan Series in October at the Osaka Dome, downing a couple of Dodger Dogs with mustard. Tommy, be sure to put on some onions.

Good show!