CHILDREN EXPRESS SADNESS : DAY CAMPERS WILL MISS THEIR FRIEND.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

A child walked up to Dodgers pitching coach Dave Wallace during a break Monday at the Baseball Development Center camp in Encino and asked if he was happy that Tom Lasorda was retiring.

Wallace was emphatic in his reply: ``No. I'm going to miss him.''

For the most part, it was business as usual at the Encino Little League camp Monday morning. The instructors were teaching the campers, ages 8 to 10, in various skills. Dodgers coaches frequently drop by the camp owned by Dodgers coach Reggie Smith. They make appearances and sign autographs.

But there was something different this day. The kids knew there was talk of Lasorda retiring after almost 20 years as manager, and they went around asking each other if they had heard the news.

``I had one kid come up to me and say, `Did you hear? How will the Dodgers be like? He was so concerned,'' said Kate Stoll, who works at the center.

``When I played for Tommy (1977-81), there were a lot of decisions he made based on the feelings of the players,'' Smith said. ``It was more to keep the players in the game. He'd say, `What would you do in this situation?' Or `Who would you use?' It kept us alert. One thing it did: He didn't have to tell certain guys to get prepared to go into the ball game. They knew when he might do something. In a sense, we were managing ourselves.''

Lasorda was a frequent visitor to the center, and 9-year-old Evan Ducker, who splits his living time between Van Nuys and Granada Hills, recalled one time he heard Lasorda speak.

``He told us about working hard and how hard it is to get to the majors,'' Ducker said. ``He told us, mentally, what you've got to do. He reminded us to work hard.''

The center's campers often went to Dodgers games, Stoll said. When they did, there was one person the campers wanted most to meet.

It wasn't Mike Piazza.

``When we go to the stadium, it's, `Can we meet Tommy Lasorda?' '' Stoll said.

``You're talking about 8, 9, 10-year-olds who know who he is,'' Wallace said. ``That says a lot.''

While the children were talking about Lasorda retiring, it was the way he was stepping down that dominated what the adults said.

``That's life, and unfortunately, that happens,'' Dodgers coach Manny Mota said. ``Tommy's health, that's what counts.''