Iowa City, IA (CSTV U-WIRE) -- There are a few times just prior to the college baseball season when one of the baseball world's most important ambassadors makes his presence felt on campuses across the country.

On Monday night in the Sheraton Hotel, Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda did just that.

The former Los Angeles Dodger manager was the guest speaker at the Iowa baseball 2006 Lead-Off Dinner. The current special adviser to Dodger Chairman Frank McCourt provided several reasons on why Hawkeye coach Jack Dahm has aimed the Iowa program in the right direction heading into his third season.

"I can say this, honestly and truly. If I had a son, I would be sure to send him to play for this guy," Lasorda said. "Because he loves what he's doing, and he's just not interested on what the players do on the baseball field; he's just as interested in what they do in the classrooms."

Lasorda answered a number of questions from the media on the current state of Hawkeye baseball, next month's World Baseball Classic, and Major League Baseball's responsibility in the elimination of steroid use.

Q: What are your thoughts on the improvement of the Iowa baseball program and the job of Dahm and his staff?

Lasorda: Well, I knew the moment he came here, [the Hawkeyes] would be improved. Because he's a good coach, and he should be coaching here for a long time. Because he has the ability to motivate players, he has the ability to handle them, and that doesn't surprise me that he's done a good job here in the couple years he's been here. That doesn't surprise me. He's going to continue doing a good job. He's going to get better.

Q: What sort of effect is the World Baseball Classic going to have as far as promoting Major League Baseball world wide?

Lasorda: Well, I'm exciting about it, No. 1. No. 2, it's something that's outstanding. I think it's comparable with world soccer. You're going to have the best baseball players in the world performing in this classic, and there are 16 countries involved. And they're going to have four pools of four teams, and I think it's going to be great. The purpose of it is, the commissioner wanted to spread throughout the world. There are countries that are now starting to play baseball. There are countries that within the next 10 or 15 years will develop good players. So, that's what the commissioner's idea was to have this classic.

Q: What sort of concerns do you have about it?

Lasorda: I don't have any concerns about it. None whatsoever. I look at this thing with a very, very optimistic outlook. Because I think it's going to be big. I went to San Diego; I did TV shows, radio shows, [and] interviews. That day tickets went on sale, I tried to persuade people to buy tickets now, because when this things starts to get bigger and bigger, you're not going to be able to get a ticket. That night, 20,000 people called for tickets. Sold out in San Diego.

Q: What do you think of the tougher steroid policy that was implemented?

Lasorda: I think it was a long time coming. We had the worst drug rule in all of sports. We couldn't test a player, because it was an invasion of his privacy. You're paying a guy $10 million a year, and you can't test him? Pilots get tested, doctors get tested, every body else gets tested. Why shouldn't they be tested? And now they are testing them, and they're going to wipe out those guys that have been taking, and they're going to wipe out the guys who were thinking about taking them. You know people say to me, 'Why did Congress get involved with baseball?' And I said, 'I'll tell you why Congress got involved in baseball. Because this has been documented that there are 500,000 young high-schoolers taking steroids.' That's the ones they're concerned with. We've got to stop those youngsters from taking it. These guys up here, they've taken it. You can't do very much about it. But those youngsters down there, those are the ones we have to get to quit taking them. And, I think, we finally got a drug rule that's going to be very, very effective.

(C) 2006 The Daily Iowan via CSTV U-WIRE